Narrator: on this episode
of "mythbusters"...
Fly, fly.
That's it. Come on. Fly!
Narrator:
...high fliers adam and jamie
Get caught up in a tall tale
from the world of physics.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Narrator: they're asking,
if birds in a truck take flight,
Does the trailer get lighter?
[ Laughs ]
they're all flying.
Narrator:
and kari, grant, and tory
Get all bent out of shape
On the biggest build
of their mythbusting careers.
Jamie makes it look so easy
when he does it.
Narrator: if a boat traveling
at 25 miles an hour
Crashes into a channel marker,
will it split in two?
[ Laughter ]
Yeah!
Narrator:
who are the mythbusters?
Adam savage...
[ Foreign accent ]
is everybody ready for diving?
Narrator:
...and jamie hyneman.
Gets me all worked up
just looking at it.
That was beautiful!
Narrator: between them,
more than 30 years
Of special-effects experience.
That was heavy.
Narrator: joining them --
grant imahara...
Are you feeling lucky, punk?
Narrator: ...tory belleci...
Somebody order
some exploding pants?
Narrator:
...and kari byron.
High expl*sives and electricity.
Whoo!
Narrator:
they don't just tell the myths.
They put them to the test.
Okay, adam,
what have you got for us?
Here's the story.
A guy is driving
behind a big truck.
Every time the big truck
gets to a bridge, it stops.
The driver of the truck
gets out, bangs on the side,
And then proceeds
across the bridge.
He says, "why you are banging
on the truck?"
The truck driver says,
"well, I've got a load of birds.
They're over the weight limit
of these local bridges.
So, whenever I get to one,
I bang on the truck,
They fly around,
and my truck is lighter."
Clever.
So the myth for us is,
If you're driving around
with a truckload of birds
And they take flight,
is your truck lighter?
Narrator:
so the question is,
Will a container full of
flapping feathery friends
Lighten the load?
For years, this simple concept
Has had big-brained boffins
baffled.
On campus, it's a conundrum
that's frazzled physicists,
Not to mention
the furor on the fan site.
Sounds like a job
for the mythbusters.
Should we start small
Or should we go for
the whole enchilada all at once?
Well, obviously, eventually
we're gonna need a truck.
But I think we can start
right now by going out,
Catching a bird,
building a chamber,
And seeing if it weighs the same
when the bird is sitting
As opposed to when the bird
is flying.
Okay, well, I got some pretty
sensitive scales downstairs,
And I can probably dig up
a net somewhere.
Let's do it.
All right.
Narrator: for this myth
to take flight,
Our dynamic duo
have to land some pigeons.
And in a scene
straight from hitchcock,
The birds appear from nowhere.
[ Cooing ]
Narrator: pigeon whisperer adam
and accomplice jamie
Use a variety of snares,
nets, and snacks.
The birds will be
too fat to fly.
Narrator: but their
pigeon stalking comes to zero,
And they realize
they need some help.
Enter kate martin,
pigeon wrangler.
Martin:
brought you some pigeons.
Adam: awesome.
Come on, you guys.
Two pigeons in
an official pigeon carrier.
Look at that.
Narrator: finally adam's
all pigeoned up
And ready to begin
small-scale testing.
A clear plastic chamber will
double up as a truck trailer.
And when activated,
A vibrating floor will encourage
the pigeons to take flight.
But this is your gig, adam.
Why don't you
take us through it?
Adam: I've got my bird
flying chamber here.
It's got a closed top.
The bottom is a screen,
Which I can vibrate
by plugging into this battery.
The whole thing is standing on
top of a very sensitive scale.
First thing I'm gonna do
is turn on the scale,
Which will zero it out.
I'm gonna put the birds in.
I want to see the birds weigh
a certain amount.
I'm gonna turn on the platform,
which will vibrate,
Hopefully they'll fly around,
And we'll see
if there's any difference.
Narrator:
so if the myth is true,
When the pigeon gets some air,
The combined weight of the
chamber and bird will come down.
Sounds simple.
Fly, fly. That's it.
Come on. Fly!
Come on, take off,
take off, take off.
Narrator:
now, there's your problem.
The bird just ain't flying.
Maybe we need to build
a bigger chamber.
So plan b is a bigger chamber
And better motivation to fly
than a vibrating floor.
What have you got, jamie?
My current favorite
is thinking about setting up
A weed-whacker-like affair.
And we could put, like,
a half a dozen motors
So that it's just
kind of whizzing around.
I mean, I can't imagine
this would hurt them.
I mean, you could --
it doesn't hurt you, right?
No. [ Laughs ]
Narrator: for our animal-loving
viewers, let's be clear.
Adam's pain threshold
is way below the pigeons'.
So if adam's okay,
the bird will be, too.
All right, if you
haven't been paying attention,
My first attempt did not work
'cause the chamber was too small
And the pigeon
didn't want to fly.
I have fixed those problems.
I'm gonna use a different
pigeon-annoying technique,
And I'm using a bigger tank
so he can actually fly around.
I feel like calling this guy
jackson for some reason.
Now, I have a nephew
whose name is jackson,
And I have another nephew
whose middle name is jackson.
He doesn't remind me
of either of them.
Narrator:
okay, jackson, you're up.
Now, remember, all you got to do
is what you were born to do --
Fly.
It'd freak me out, but it's
not doing anything to him.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on, jackson.
Come on.
Come on. Come on.
Boo. Boo.
Narrator:
uh, that's pigeon for "fly."
It's also desperate
Because if they can't get
jackson to take off
And stay airborne,
this myth is grounded.
Okay, guys.
Check this out.
I found it on the internet.
Kari: whoa!
Tory: is that photoshopped?
Apparently not.
And supposedly the boat
hit the channel marker
At 25 miles per hour.
Seriously?
That's split like 15 feet?
[ Chuckles ] you know what I see
in our near future.
Yeah! Crashing boats.
Crashing boats.
Absolutely.
Narrator: this tall tale
of high jinks on the high seas
Has two halves.
Literally.
We know it happened, because
it's been well-documented.
But the myth is in the details.
Apparently,
in this watery fender bender,
The boat bifurcation occurred
at 25 miles per hour.
Fact?
Or has someone got their facts
bent out of shape?
So, what's the plan?
This is what we do.
We rent one of these speedboats,
we take some insurance out,
And we crash it
into a channel marker.
And we tell them
we were going 25 miles an hour.
Narrator: okay. Why not?
Well, the $350,000 price tag
And a bad rep with
insurance companies is why not.
But all is not lost.
Down at john beery yachts,
Our trio of thrillseekers
get the opportunity
To experience the power
behind the powerboat.
And sean, their high-speed
chauffeur for the day,
Has even heard of the myth.
The myth that we're working on
today came from the internet.
There's this photo
going all over
Of a sports-performance
boat --
Not yours,
but one sort of like that --
That apparently was going
And bifurcated itself on
a channel marker 17 feet deep.
Now, do you think that's
possible at that kind of speed?
In my opinion, no.
The photograph
that I viewed,
That boat
had to have been traveling
At a much greater rate of speed
to get the damage that I saw.
Narrator: well, with a top speed
of 150 miles per hour,
Faster we can do.
But, unfortunately,
Someone is going to
quite literally miss the boat.
Ro-cham-beau.
Odd man out.
Ohhh!
You're in the chase boat!
You've got to be kidding me!
Narrator:
with just room for two,
It's all but one aboard.
With engines and hearts racing,
Grant discovers
his voice hasn't broken.
[ Voice breaking ] okay.
[ Laughs ]
There aren't any seat belts
in this thing, are there?
Narrator: with the speedo
approaching 100 miles an hour,
No wonder grant's nervous.
Wow! [ Laughs ]
It's fantastic.
Great.
Are you trying
to hold my hand?
No, I'm just trying
to hold on to something.
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: by now the guys
at donzi performance boats
Have realized kari and grant
Can't afford the fuel for this
trip -- never mind the boat --
And this myth investigation
is anchored at square one.
The mythbusters are trying out
for "csi."
That's crash-scene
investigation.
They're asking,
Can you bifurcate your boat in a
collision with a channel marker?
The only evidence they have
is this photo
And accompanying reports
That the boat was traveling
at 25 miles per hour.
To find out if this is possible,
Our team want to replicate
myth conditions
And impale their own boat.
But with a brand-new boat
way out of their price range,
Our crack team of researchers
Has found
the bargain of a lifetime.
Do you think
it's seaworthy?
I don't know
if it's seaworthy.
But it's definitely
crash worthy.
Kari:
we got this boat for a bargain.
It was only $1,500.
We're talking about boats
that can be up to $350,000.
So we were
a little apprehensive about,
When it showed up,
what it was gonna look like.
Turns out it's amazing.
The structure is perfect.
It may not have an engine,
But we'd have to
take that out, anyway.
So we're really, really excited.
Narrator:
no wonder kari is excited.
Because with
a full-scale boat dry-docked
In the "mythbusters" marina,
the team can move on.
And first up are some
small-scale crash tests.
And this 1/10 model
is a great starting point.
Oh, I love this boat.
It's my favorite boat.
I don't want to crash it.
[ Smooches ]
Okay, we need to crash
these boats over and over.
I need to make several of them.
So I need to make a mold
of this particular model boat.
I'll make a silicone mold.
I'll paint silicone over this
in two halves,
Make a another mold
on top of that.
Then I'll be able
to pull it apart
And lay up any material I want
inside the mold.
Done.
Narrator: meanwhile,
grant has been working on a rig
To tow the models
into a replica channel marker
Simulating the mythical
impalement impact.
His remote-controlled winch
and trolley is calibrated
So the boat crashes
into the steel pole
In exactly the same place
as the myth --
Just to the left of the bow.
But hold on.
Where'd the h2o go?
Grant: so you at home
might be wondering
Why we're doing our
small-scale experiments
On land as opposed to water,
Since ostensibly the myth
is about a boat on water.
This myth
is about kinetic energy --
A mass at a certain velocity
hitting an object.
And that we can certainly do
on land.
Narrator: so this is a dry run
in more ways than one.
Go.
Narrator:
no mythical split.
Just a glancing blow.
Well, the boat's intact.
Narrator:
and with everything to scale,
There's only one thing for it --
more speed.
Should we ramp it up?
Sure.
Whoa.
h* h* h* h*!
That was cool.
Narrator: but despite
increasing the speed,
The impact and resulting damage
peaks at glancing blow.
Oh.
That was cool.
But grant's frustrated,
And his ocd kicks in.
That's obsessive crash disorder.
He wants to see some damage
and hands tory a challenge.
I will give you 5 bucks
If you can ram this into
the channel marker and break it.
Oooh. $5?
I'll give you 10 bucks.
Narrator: that's a whole week's
salary, and tory can't resist.
[ Laughs ]
Okay.
So it can be done.
And the team suspect
the angle of attack was key.
Like in the myth, tory was
aiming to the left of the bow,
And he adds
a turn into the pole.
Kari:
if it can do it like that,
That shows me maybe the turn
is the way to go.
Let me try it again
just going straight
And see what happens.
Narrator: with an attempted
head-on collision,
It's back to glancing blow.
And with that discovery,
The small-scale tests
are back on track.
To be sure, tory once again adds
that last-minute twist.
And what do you know?
Tory:
well, that tells us a lot.
It tells us it's better
to hit the marker at a turn
As opposed to just going
straight into it.
Finally, a result.
But it's been
a long and frustrating day,
And kari and grant feel the need
to let off some steam.
I am so sick
Of doing
small-scale experiments!
Narrator: pete townshend,
eat your heart out.
Okay, so how crazy was that,
That it took tory smashing
that boat by hand into the pole
Before we could find out
That we need to turn
at the last minute to split it?
You know,
I think these variables
Are just too tough
to scale down.
If we're gonna
test this for real,
We need to go to full scale.
I propose we do this on land
Because this myth
is really about kinetic energy.
It's the mass,
which is the boat,
Hitting the channel marker
with a certain velocity.
And doing it on water
doesn't buy us anything extra.
Yeah, and I think it would be
a lot easier to control on land.
Narrator:
among top-level physicists,
It's a fundamental question
with a hotly debated answer.
If the weight of a truck
full of birds is "x,"
When the birds take flight,
Is it now "x"
minus the weight of the birds?
That is,
does the truck get lighter?
Adam and jamie's first foray
in this myth fell flat,
So it's time to look
outside the box.
Cue the aerodynamicist
to speak some geek.
Can you tell us something
about the mechanics of flight
That would apply to this?
I mean, we know birds
flap their wings,
And there's lift involved,
there's downward pressures.
What's going on here
that we need to be focusing on?
Well, the basic premise
of all flight,
Whether it be a helicopter
or a plane
Or a bird flapping its wings
or just even gliding,
Is that it takes air
and deflects it downward.
And the downwards force
on the air will, in turn,
Cause a reaction force upward
that will help lift
Whatever the object is
against the force of gravity.
Wait, a helicopter
and a bird
Are actually using the same
physical principles to fly?
Absolutely.
It all comes down
to newton's laws.
Narrator:
so let's get this straight.
To get airborne,
You push down on the air
beneath you hard enough
To lift your own weight.
And because the principle works
for birds and helicopters alike,
Jamie and adam have an idea,
Which means
the pigeons get a break.
Jamie: we figure that
a similar sort of a thing
That might show the same
phenomenon, if there is one,
Would be a little helicopter
that we can control.
Narrator:
but it's not as simple as that.
Flying a chopper in an enclosed
space creates turbulence,
Making it hard to hover.
So to run the bench test,
adam's built this rig,
Which will allow it to lift
But keep it centrally tethered
at the same time.
Adam: excellent. 52.0.
Narrator: adam has measured
The weight difference
of the container
With and without the chopper.
Now the question is,
when the helicopter takes off,
Will the chamber get lighter?
Adam: hey!
We have liftoff!
We got liftoff!
Look at that!
The scale is not changing.
[ Laughs ]
Dude!
That's liftoff!
I so did not expect
this rig to work.
All right.
[ Laughs ]
Narrator: in a break
from "mythbuster" tradition,
Adam has success
with a scale test.
Adam: I know that my helicopter
weighs 6/10 of a pound.
So if the myth was true,
I should have seen that meter
go from 52.5 or 52.6 to 52 flat.
Narrator:
but that's not the whole story.
This myth is about birds.
And trust jamie to get straight
to the heart of the problem.
We got to try it in a truck,
Or something close to it,
with the birds.
Narrator:
so it's full scale ahead.
And after
a "mythbuster" makeover,
This trailer, standing in
for the truck in the myth,
Will be full of flying birds
for the final test weigh-in.
Jess: that's cool.
You look like a little animal
in a circus cage.
[ Chuckles ] rrr!
Narrator: with the front fitted
with clear plastic,
Jess and jamie are done,
and it's time for a flight test.
There are no scales yet,
So this test
is simply to confirm
The birds are comfortable
spreading their wings.
If they don't, adam and jamie
are back to square one.
Hey!
But it's immediately obvious
there's plenty of room.
So final prep
on the big rig begins.
The flight motivators
go in first.
These rotating foam tubes
Are supposed to keep the pigeons
in the air.
[ Laughing ]
There we go.
We have liftoff.
Next the team makes sure
there are no nooks or crannies
Where the pigeons can land
and take a rest.
It works for mythbusters...
[ Laughter ]
...but how about the pigeons?
You ready?
Ready?
I have no idea
what's gonna happen here.
Narrator: so adam and jamie have
finally got jackson and friend
To fly in an enclosed space.
Look at that!
[ Laughs ]
Now comes the tricky bit --
Catching a flock more birds,
Letting them loose
in the trailer,
And accurately weighing them.
The story of the bifurcated boat
Has brought kari, grant, and
tory close to breaking point.
And to prevent this parable
of split personality
From sinking without a trace,
it's land ahoy.
With the decision
to move onto terra firma,
The team is on firmer footing.
Because by supersizing
their crash-test rig,
They have a ready-made plan.
As before,
the reinforced channel marker
Is at ground zero.
Grant's winch system
will be replaced by a tow truck.
And the boat trailer,
modified with a smart wheel,
Will steer accurately
towards its date with disaster.
But there's one final piece
of the plan --
How to get
that last-minute turn.
If we learned anything
from our small-scale tests,
I think the turn is probably
one of the most critical things.
So, there has to be
some way for us to steer it
Into the channel marker
at the last second.
To get the boat to turn
when we want it,
Maybe what we could do
is make a set of smart wheels
At the front of the boat,
And this will steer the boat
wherever we want it to go.
And then what we could do
is put, like, a crossbar here.
And we'll put a post
in the ground,
So when this bar hits
that post,
It'll turn the wheels
into the marker.
Cool. Sounds good.
Narrator:
so it's a done deal,
And the newly named
mythity split
Ups anchor and ships out.
Kari: say goodbye
to the mythity split.
Narrator: its port of call --
a familiar dockside destination
With an impeccable
"mythbuster" pedigree.
Kari: we're back here
at the alameda runway.
This is the site of some of
our more famous myths.
And, in fact, I'm sitting
on the "x" right here,
Which is going to be
our channel marker.
It's also the spot
where our "compact compact,"
In the end,
smashed into each other.
Aah! Oh!
Narrator: hoping to match
that spectacular smash
With a big bang of their own,
The team embark
on what's to become
Their toughest build ever.
Kari: bueno!
That's spanish for "good."
Narrator:
kari and grant begin
By raising the channel marker
into position.
Kari: now that we have
the pole in place,
The next step is to weld around
the bottom of the pole
To hold it in place
to the plate.
Then we're going to lay
that heavy, heavy girder
To the back of this pole,
And then triangulate
railroad track to it.
So it's going to be
completely stationary
And not going to move
when we smash the boat into it.
I'm just excited
we got the pole in place.
I'm gonna do my pole dance.
Not what you expected, huh?
Narrator:
while grant and kari
Have been cranking up
the heavy metal,
Tory has been trashing
his trailer
And adding the smart wheels.
Now they can steer
with a single cable tow.
And when the hull
of the mythity split
Hits the channel marker,
the trailer won't be in the way.
Things are going so well,
grant finds time to hang around.
The prep for the boat myth
is going great so far.
I just hope
that the weather holds out.
Narrator: just had to mention
the weather, didn't you?
And as the rain gets heavier,
the problems mount,
And the work on the final stages
slows to a crawl.
I'm so over this one.
I'm pretty much over this one.
Narrator: with
old testament-style flooding,
Maybe they could rename
their boat the ark.
Yeah, I think we were
a little bit worried
That the fans might be upset
That we weren't doing this
on the water.
Well, now we are!
Narrator: despite the tough
conditions, they pull through...
Jamie makes it look
so easy when he does it.
Narrator: ...and push on
for a tow test of the trailer.
Tory: I'm so excited.
It works.
And it looks really cool.
We got, like,
a boat car or a car boat.
I'm not sure which one.
Narrator: and with just
the trigger to rig
For the critical
last-minute turn,
It's all hands on deck.
Kari:
we've mapped out exactly
Where the bow
should hit the channel marker.
And this, I'm drilling a hole
right here for the trigger,
Which will turn the wheels,
Slam the boat
into the channel marker,
Therein bifurcating the boat
or not.
Narrator: so the build
is finally complete,
And kari and tory,
uh, celebrate.
The boat is moved into position.
Gently.
No one wants the wheels
to come off now.
All right.
Now for the moment of truth.
Narrator: at the opposite end
of the track,
Grant has the truck
all hooked up and ready to tow.
Grant: so these are the chains
connected to the tow truck.
Got our shackle.
This is a breakaway rope
for safety.
And then the cable.
Think we're ready
to take up slack.
Narrator:
and as twilight descends,
They're wet, cold, but ready
to put this tale to the test.
All right, take it slow,
And then take it up
to 25 miles an hour on my count.
Ready?
Grant: ready.
In 3, 2, 1.
Go.
Narrator: this is it.
Remember, they're asking if a
speedboat at 25 miles per hour,
Plus channel marker,
Equals this kind of
boat-splitting destruction.
We're about to find out.
Grant: 5 miles per hour.
Can you guys go faster?
Narrator:
but suddenly, disaster.
Did we lose the cable?
The cable broke.
[Bleep]
Narrator: as tory said --
"that's not good."
The breakaway rope that's
designed to break on impact
Snapped under
the strain of the tow.
And with this last-minute
failure in the fading light,
Team unity
is the first casualty.
So for all the other things
where we tow something big
Into something else
and it crashes,
We use a breakaway rope.
And, you know,
there's a standard one
That we've been using,
which is a blue marine rope.
We know its breaking strength
is 6,000.
But on this particular one, tory
really didn't want to use that.
He wanted to use this.
So, uh...
But tomorrow
I think what we're gonna do
Is go back to what
we used to use that was working.
Dude, we've never used
the blue rope.
We always use the blue rope!
No, we haven't.
Yes, we do!
Not for the breakaway.
[ High-pitched ] yes, we do!
[ Mockingly ] no, we don't!
Narrator:
seeing as grant and tory
Are rejecting
each other's reality
And substituting their own,
This argument
is on a road to nowhere.
Let's come back tomorrow.
"Bifurcated boat"
has once again
Brought our wet-and-mild
mythbusters to breaking point.
We always use the blue rope!
No, we haven't.
Yes, we do!
Not for the breakaway.
[ High-pitched ]
yes, we do!
But all that actually breaks
are their voices.
And in the cold dark
of the next day,
They once again prepare
the good ship mythity split
For its 25 mile-an-hour
collision.
Cool.
Positions, everyone.
Jess takes her place
in the tow truck,
And the rest of the team stand
by, level with the crash zone.
Okay, jess.
Are you ready?
Ready when you are.
All right. Here we go.
In 3, 2, 1.
Drive.
All right.
We're at 5 miles per hour.
Okay. Gosh.
Now we're at
Yeah.
It's picking up!
Come on!
Oh, my god! I can't believe
this is gonna happen!
It's perfect!
That's 25.
Here it goes, here it goes,
here it goes!
[ Laughter ]
Yeah!
Wow!
It's beautiful!
It hit right on target.
Great job, you guys.
Narrator:
well, the rig worked.
And big things
hitting big things
Always equals happy mythbusters.
Look how much damage it didn't
do to the channel marker.
Yeah!
It's still standing. Unh!
But look.
Look at where the trailer is.
It totally turned.
It turned!
It turned!
It worked!
You can see it for yourself.
No bifurcation.
Kari: I guess the story
might not have happened
Exactly as it was reported.
So we're gonna say 25 miles
an hour, it's busted.
Oh, the story's busted at 25.
And so is our trailer.
Dude, it worked perfectly,
though.
It turned right into
the channel marker.
Yeah!
Busted!
Narrator: so, busted is
the unanimous verdict.
And a closer look at the boat
Reveals no evidence
to the contrary.
Whoa.
Oh, my god!
This is some serious damage,
but no bifurcation.
Grant: yeah, look at it.
Look at that, you guys.
Kari: it definitely indented,
and it did do the turn.
It did do the turn
exactly as we predicted.
I just don't think there was
enough speed behind it.
No. No, definitely.
If we were going faster, though,
I could definitely see it
Splicing through
this thing.
Considering how much damage
is done here, yeah,
Maybe if we were going
a lot faster.
Narrator: regular viewers
will guess what's coming next.
But for the uninitiated,
The mythbusters are never
quite satisfied until...
I want to see some carnage.
So now the big question is,
How are we gonna try to do
another run with this trailer?
We want to try to see
if we can get a bifurcation
At 50 miles an hour.
That's gonna be the tricky part.
Kari: we don't got
a lot of time here,
And we need to fix the trailer.
So, we're going to try
some quick and dirty methods
To get this thing rolling.
It doesn't have to roll well.
It just has to go.
So our first try is going to be
to take that corner,
Chain it to the channel marker.
And then we're going to take
the other corner,
And we're going to try
and pull on it
And maybe get the trailer
to sort of reshape itself
Almost sort of square.
Tory: it rolls.
We might be able
to do this again.
Kari: then we're gonna try
to cut off the first two wheels
So that the axles
That are kind of bending
into each other are gone.
And then we'll just start
dragging it.
If it rolls at all, we're gonna
stick the boat on it,
Throw it back there,
and drag it into this bad boy.
Tory:
[ laughing ] yeah!
Looks good!
Yeah!
I think
we can do another run.
Narrator: the prospect
of high-speed carnage
Does wonders for the morale.
Okay, escape plan
same as last time.
If the boat's coming at you,
run.
So we busted
the 25-mile-an-hour myth.
Yep.
So let's do this one.
All right.
Count it down.
Jess, you ready?
I'm more than ready.
All right.
On my countdown.
Ready.
In 3, 2, 1.
Narrator: the question
is a fan-site favorite.
If the birds in a truck
take flight,
Is the truck lighter
than when the birds are at rest?
To answer, adam and jamie
have weight on their minds.
Well, if you think about
the birds moving in this truck,
They're gonna be shifting
the weight of it.
It's like you or I
dancing on a bathroom scale.
It's not
a consistent weight.
So we want to
be able to graph
The weight of this thing
as it changes.
We want to be able to look
at the final thing
As points
on a graph over time.
Well, there are these things
called load cells.
They're an instrument
that detects pressure.
And maybe we could use those
as a sensor
That we put in each corner
of the truck body
And plug them
into a computer.
In fact,
now that I think about it,
There was this company that
approached me some time ago
That has a computer
that's made to take, like,
It could easily take
the load cells as inputs,
And they probably could graph it
anyway which way we want.
Yeah.
That's perfect.
Why don't you call
those guys,
And I'll get on finding us
some load cells.
Okay.
Narrator: hey, adam.
How about this one?
This is gonna be
what weighs our truck.
This is a load cell.
We're gonna put one
under each corner.
As the trailer sits on this,
This piece of metal
will bend a little bit.
That bend will be registered
by a crystal inside here
Which will output a change
in voltage through this wire
That will be read
by our computer
And output as points on a graph
over time.
It measures up to 500 pounds
Down to a sensitivity
of like 1/10 of an ounce.
It is perfect for our needs.
Narrator: now all they need
is a bunch of birds.
And jamie, undaunted by
their recent failure,
Has a cunning plan.
Jamie: I figure jackson can be
sort of a stool pigeon,
I think they call it.
That's a good solution,
I think.
If he gets a bunch of visitors,
we'll have bunch of pigeons.
[ Laughs ]
all right?
I love it.
I think it's great.
Good luck, jackson.
Narrator:
surrounded by bird feed,
Jackson settles in
for the free buffet.
But once again, the local
pigeons are just too smart.
So the undaunted jamie
has been daunted.
I'm giving up.
Narrator: and the only birdbrain
in a net is adam.
We're gonna catch some pigeons
with "mythbusters" invention.
And I think it's gonna be
a web sh**ter.
Narrator: it's the motto
mythbusters live by --
If it's worth doing,
it's worth overdoing.
Adam: jamie and I have discussed
various plans,
And I think we're going to build
Something similar
to a potato cannon
Of plumbing parts
made into an air chamber
With an electrically operated
valve and a manifold
That spreads four tennis ba*ls,
With this net between them,
around our unsuspecting pigeons.
Adam: [ laughing ]
You ready?
All right.
I'm ready.
Ugh! [ Laughs ]
Ohh.
Wow.
That was cool!
[ Laughter ]
Narrator: that was cool.
It works on adam.
But as we've seen,
the pigeons around here
Are a lot smarter
than the tv hosts.
Shh.
Jamie's hunting pigeon.
Adam: [ laughs ]
Narrator: but despite hardware
rambo would be proud of,
The local pigeons remain
as free as...
Well, as free as birds...
Jamie: ugh!
Narrator: ...which means
en route to the full-scale test,
Kate the pigeon wrangler
gets another call
And once again comes up trumps.
Adam: how many is that?
Martin:
I think we got 36.
That ought to do it.
Narrator: with the birds
taken care of,
Adam and jamie can concentrate
on setting up.
And the abandoned naval yard
is just perfect.
Jamie: this is the same location
that we used
For "k*ller cable snap."
And we used it because it's got
a big, flat welding grid
That is a nice, level surface.
For birds on a truck,
it makes a perfect platform
For the trailer to be on
because we need it superlevel.
The next thing that we're
gonna do is jack this trailer up
And put it on blocks.
On the top of each block
in each corner,
Each of the four corners, will
be a thing called a load cell.
Narrator: with all four
load cells in position,
Grant and jess set up
at the command center.
They'll monitor the weight
of the trailer
Throughout the experiment.
Grant: okay, so we've calibrated
all of our load cells,
Which are the sensors
that are gonna tell us
If there are any changes
in the weight of the truck.
Those are going into a computer.
The computer's gonna record
all that information
Along with video in real time
So we can see if,
when the birds fly up,
If there are any changes
in the weight.
Narrator: and with the pigeons
in position and not flying,
The team has starting weight.
Okay, so that's a difference
of 11 pounds
With the birds in place.
I'll zero everything out
to that,
And that will be
our starting point, right?
Narrator: right.
So if the weight drops
while the birds are flying,
The myth is confirmed.
It's go time.
Grant: stand by.
And I am recording now.
Okay.
I'm spinning the motors.
Jess, in 3, 2, 1.
Go.
Welcome back.
We're trying
to bust the myth that,
If you're driving with
a truckload of birds
And they all take flight inside
that truck,
Is it lighter than when
they're just sitting there?
This is our full-scale rig.
It's sitting on four load cells.
We've got calibrated
computer equipment
Reading exactly the weight
of those birds sitting there.
They're all gonna fly
at the same time.
They can't land anywhere
With these foam batons
that are spinning.
We're gonna test this myth
for real and see if it's true.
[ Cooing ]
Narrator:
so the bird-truck myth
Is about to shake
its tail feathers.
Jess, in 3, 2, 1.
Go.
[ Laughs ]
they're all flying.
It's beautiful!
Most of them are flying.
That's great!
Okay, I'm ready.
I'm gonna call it, all right?
All right.
We're done.
Okay.
Grant: and stopping.
Whoo! That worked better
than I thought it would.
They all flew for, like,
a good maybe 15 seconds.
That's great.
Narrator: but getting
a truckload of birds to fly
Isn't the point.
The question is,
does the trailer get lighter?
So there's no difference
when they were in the air?
Grant: no. But you can see
minor fluctuations
Happening very quick.
But what I see is
the fluctuations
Have about
the exact same amplitude
Both above and below
the zero point.
I mean,
it's a noisy signal,
But here it's clear
there's no difference.
[ Chuckling ] yeah.
It's great.
Dude, that is beautiful!
Adam: although the data
is quite noisy --
Which of course it would be with
so many variables of 20 birds --
It proves that
the birds on a truck
Do not change the weight of that
truck in any significant way.
Narrator:
so the myth is busted.
But jamie and adam
still aren't quite satisfied.
This helicopter is gonna be
a very clean and stable signal.
We should be able to see it
on the graph much more steady
Than we see the birds.
And this is the nail
in the coffin for this myth.
If we see no change
in the weight of the trailer
With the helicopter in it,
It's busted again
and once and for all.
Narrator: stepping up
for the tricky task
Of flying the
remote-controlled chopper
Is m5 shop assistant chris.
And his boss, jamie,
is full of encouragement.
Chris is well motivated
to not crash the helicopter.
You know, it's a fairly
expensive helicopter.
So, you know, it will
just come out of his pay
If he does any harm to it.
Either that or I'll fire him.
Narrator: with thoughts of
unemployment crowding his mind,
How could he fail?
Adam: chris, we're ready to go
when you want.
Get that thing
just a foot off the ground.
Okay.
Come on, baby.
Whoa!
Did you get a reading?
Hold on.
We're gonna have to look.
Can you k*ll it?
Narrator: unsurprisingly,
that brief, disastrous flight
Doesn't yield any results.
[ Chuckling ] oh, dude.
All right.
Why don't you go back
to the shop
And get
your other helicopter,
And we'll try and get
a reading on that one?
Yeah.
Narrator: chris,
despite jamie's ominous silence,
Believes he's still employed
And soon returns
with his own model chopper.
Chris, hover that puppy
as you will.
Hey, chris, tense much?
[ Motor revving ]
Jamie: it's off.
Adam: yeah!
Okay, perfect!
Shut it down.
That was perfect.
Narrator: there was no bother
with that hover.
But what about the results?
It's off the ground.
And the line's stable.
The line is
totally stable.
Jess:
and then when it gets back down.
Give me some, man.
That is beautiful!
Perfect. [ Laughs ]
Narrator: no wonder
they're pleased with themselves.
This is the myth
that just wouldn't die.
Jamie: this myth
has been very persistent.
It's been all over the fan site.
It's been all over the web.
And I'm glad
we finally put it to rest.
You can see
what's going on here.
It's very clear,
especially with the helicopter.
You know,
the helicopter is sitting there.
Its weight is on the trailer.
And at a certain point, the
props speed up appropriately,
The weight is shifted away
from the feet of the helicopter,
And, instead, it's replaced
By air pushing down
on the trailer.
It's six of one,
half a dozen of the other.
There's no free lunch here.
Busted.
Totally busted.
Well, I thought we did
a great job of it.
I mean,
the rig worked really well.
Do you think this is
going to somehow curb
The furious debate
on the fan site?
Of course not.
Yeah, I bet it won't,
either.
But, man,
this is the final word
Because nobody else
Has ever gotten 20 birds
flying simultaneously in a truck
While weighing it
every tenth of a second.
In your face!
It's busted.
It's busted.
Narrator: kari, grant, and tory
have drowned the myth
That at 25 miles per hour
You can have two boats
for the price of one.
Yeah! [ Laughs ]
Narrator:
but it wouldn't be "mythbusters"
If the team didn't ramp it up
In an attempt
to replicate the results.
So we've already
busted the myth.
Bifurcated boat.
Into a channel marker.
It's busted.
But that's not
what this is about.
This is about actually
splitting the boat in two.
So we set up a tow cable on each
side of the channel marker.
We're going
for 50 miles an hour,
And we're going to get
this boat to split.
Absolutely.
All right.
On my countdown.
Ready.
In 3, 2, 1.
Narrator: the target speed
is 50 miles an hour.
And our tow trucker
has his foot to the floor.
Come on. Faster.
Come on. Faster!
Punch it.
Faster!
Kari: oh!
Whoa!
h* h* h*!
[ Laughs ]
wow.
Well, it didn't bifurcate,
but it was still pretty cool.
Narrator: once again,
the mythity split didn't.
As per the myth, contact was
just to the portside.
But despite the increased speed,
The result was still
only a glancing blow.
Kari: the way these are made
is very, very strong.
It's beautiful.
It's not likely that something
Is going to split
down the middle.
Yeah. You'd have to get a really
good shot at a high velocity.
Narrator: with the trailer gone
but the boat still intact,
The team have to get creative
to get satisfaction.
I need more carnage.
We still have the crane.
So what we're gonna do is take
the boat up about 100 feet
And drop it on the ground.
Then I'll be satisfied.
Go, go, go,
go, go, go!
Yeah!
Yeah!
Yeah! Ha ha ha!
All: ohh!
Narrator: whoops.
I'm thinking that went down
like a lead balloon
With the crane driver.
We are in so much trouble.
Not yet.
Yeah. We're kind of in trouble.
A little trouble.
Narrator: yep, I wouldn't want
to be the one to tell jamie.
Tory: whoa!
Ohh!
Dang!
Grant: okay.
Well, as adam would say,
"there's your problem."
Did we get insurance
on this truck?
Anyone?
All right, I know
we didn't get bifurcation.
But crashing that boat into the
channel marker, that was cool.
I mean, we have a picture,
we have a police report,
And we know
this kind of damage is possible.
Even at 45 miles per hour,
We couldn't get
that kind of damage.
So unlike the boat,
this one's busted?
Busted.
Busted.
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
05x08 - Birds in a Truck
Watch/Buy Amazon
A weekly documentary in which two Hollywood special effects experts attempt to debunk urban legends by directly testing them.
A weekly documentary in which two Hollywood special effects experts attempt to debunk urban legends by directly testing them.