07x05 - Seesaw Saga

[bunniefuu]

Do not try
any of the experiments

you are about to see at home.

You heard him.
Don't do it.

NARRATOR: On this extra-sticky
episode of "Mythbusters"...

ADAM:
This will be, by far,

the strangest thing
we have ever done.

NARRATOR:
Adam and Jamie strip down

to test a classic
physics conundrum...

ADAM: Ohh!
Oh, holy crap, that is slippery!

NARRATOR: Can you swim
just as fast in syrup

as you can in water?

Oh, my God, look at you.

NARRATOR:
While Tory, Grant, and Kari

put the bite
on two b*llet myths.

Your mom is in my head, and
she's saying, "Don't do that."

NARRATOR: Could Davy Crockett
really split a lead slug

on an ax blade?

That is crazy.
Look at that.

NARRATOR: And could MacGyver
blow open a steel door

with a g*n butt
and the powder from six b*ll*ts?

- Brace yourself.
- Fire in the hole!

This will not be pretty.

Who are the Mythbusters?

Adam Savage...

Don't lick the mixing spoon!

NARRATOR:
...and Jamie Hyneman.

When in doubt, C-4!

NARRATOR:
Between them, more than 30 years

of special-effects experience.

The timing was perfect.

NARRATOR:
Joining them... Kari Byron...

That was a rush!

- NARRATOR: Grant lmahara...
- Let's get it on!

NARRATOR:
...and Tory Belleci.

I'm alive!

NARRATOR:
They don't just tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

So, I see swim goggles.

I see a swim cap,
and I see syrup.

I'm sensing a really big mess
in our future.

Am I right?
Oh, you are correct.

This is a classic
physics thought experiment.

Simply stated, it is thus...

that you can swim as fast
in syrup

as you can in regular old water.

Well, the syrup is thicker,
so I would think that it would

slow down your movement
through it.

That might be true,
but it also might be true

that the thicker syrup

gives you more
to push against with your hands.

So, what this boils
down to, then,

is whether those two forces
cancel each other out, right?

That's what we got to get down
and dirty and test.

NARRATOR:
On the surface,

you'd think
that swimming in syrup

could only end
with drowning in syrup,

but maybe not.

The thick resistance
that slows you down

might also mean
you've got more to push against,

increasing your propulsion.

Like Adam says,
it's a classic physics dilemma,

and we'll be testing it
with real swimmers.

Sweet.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here
and say we need to get a pool,

a bunch of syrup,
and start testing.

You're right, but with
two notable exceptions.

One, we're not gonna use
real maple syrup.

We're going to use guar gum,

which should allow us to get
exactly the viscosity we want.

Two, we couldn't find a pool

that would allow us
to fill it with syrup.

We're gonna have to make
our own.

In fact, I propose we make
two pools...

one filled with water,
one filled with heavy syrup.

Swim in each
and compare our times.

It's that simple.

Well, let's dive right in.

Okay!

Well, this may look like
just a clearing

in the hills of
Dublin-Pleasanton, California,

but by the time
we're done with it,

by the end of the day,
when we're through

digging a pair of 75-foot-long
pools with these puppies,

this will be
an experimental space

on the leading edge
of fluid dynamics,

swimming, and goo.

NARRATOR: Before they tackle
the swimming or the science,

the boys need to show
their blue-collar credentials.

And what do you know?

It's poetry in motion.

ADAM: We are now about to line
these in heavy plastic

and fill them with water.

And we're using four layers
of heavy plastic,

hopefully to keep any leaks
from happening.

We've tried to eliminate as many
sharp objects on the bottom.

Perfect.

ADAM: Ha ha!

Wow!
It's freakin' dark in here!

JAMIE:
Okay, everybody just stay put.

Make sure you hang on
to your edges.

We're ready for water.

[Siren wailing]

NARRATOR: An Alameda County
fire truck pumps the water.

And the plastic lining,

bolstered by some
hefty plywood decking,

seems to be holding.

Oh, it's turned out to be
a heck of a pool.

ADAM:
Dude, this thing looks awesome.

Dig a hole, you got some
plastic, you got a pool, huh?

[Laughs]

Ah, well,
if the other trench is ready,

let's make some goo and fill it.

JAMIE: Okay.

NARRATOR: It's time
to get sticky for science.

- What is it?
- All right.

MacGyver is on a cargo ship.

He's trying to rescue a boy

who's locked behind
a steel door.

He empties out six b*ll*ts
and ignites the gunpowder

using an empty cartridge,
and then blows the lock open.

[Scoffs] I wouldn't have
thought of that one.

NARRATOR: Mac's method is to
pack the powder from six b*ll*ts

inside a shred of cloth.

He stuffs that in the lock,
shoves in an empty cartridge,

and smacks the firing cap
with the butt of his g*n.

Hang on. I thought MacGyver
had an extreme aversion to g*ns.

True. He took a .38
from a guard he'd just K.O.'d.

But let's not forget.

There's a child's life
at stake here.

Sorry.
Forgot that.

But, still, it's a loaded g*n.

Why wouldn't he just point it
at the lock and sh**t it out?

Well, he thought it would
ricochet straight back

off a steel door.

So, what do you guys think?

I say let's give it a try.

Let's do it.

NARRATOR: It's unusual for us
to start testing a myth

with an alternate method,

but this really is
the elephant in the room.

KARI: If I had only a g*n
to unlock a door,

Personally,
I would try sh**ting it

before I would even remotely
think of MacGyver's method.

So, I guess we'll see
if he made the wise choice.

NARRATOR: Grant and Tory
fix the g*n just a foot shy

of a similar lock
stuck inside a solid steel door.

For safety's sake, they've set
up the rig inside the bunker.

All right, we're hot.

We're c*ck.
We're loaded.

Let's get out of here.

NARRATOR: Even in the drizzle,
they're better off out than in.

TORY:
Here we go.

In 3... 2... 1.

Ooh, that was a good one!

NARRATOR: Turns out it was
much more than a good one.

This lock was cracked
with the very first b*llet.

We punched a hole
in the face of that lock.

- What?
- KARI: Is it open?

[Laughs]

- I don't accept that.
- We got it open in one shot!

- Are you sure it was locked?
- I am positive it was locked.

I... I don't know what to say.

This never happens to us.

I fully expected us to be here
all day, round after round,

bouncing off the top
or denting it.

NARRATOR: But Mac took a leaf
from our book,

using materials in ways
that were never intended.

Now, before we jump
straight to the big bang,

let's test his prep.

First up, can you pull a b*llet
apart with your fingers?

But he is MacGyver.
He has the strength of 20 men.

[Laughs]

NARRATOR:
Apparently not.

Tory has the Zen-like patience

of a 3-year-old
unwrapping a birthday present.

Okay, right now,

your mom is in my head, and
she's saying, "Don't do that."

NARRATOR:
So that's just Hollywood hokum.

Aah!

NARRATOR: What about setting off
a firing cap

with the broad butt of a .38?

Okay, so, we need to test
this MacGyver scene.

We need to find out if you can
set off one of these caps

by hitting it with a g*n.

All right.
This should be fun.

NARRATOR: Our guys are
dedicated, but not insane.

These cartridges have all been
emptied of gunpowder.

- Ready.
- Set.

Go.

Now, I know it looks like
we're having a lot of fun,

but this is very dangerous.

We're taking all the precautions
to make sure

everything is done safely.

Nobody should ever try

setting off a b*llet
outside of a g*n.

NARRATOR: It's a bust
for Mac's ignition system.

Now [chuckles]
I don't know about yours,

but I flattened the crap
out of mine,

and it still didn't go off.

Why is that?

NARRATOR: That's because
this tiny firing cap,

flush to the back
of the cartridge,

is designed to be
struck precisely

by an equally tiny firing pin.

So, for our testing,

Kari fits a similar pin
in the base of the g*n grip.

Grant builds a simple rig
to swing the g*n

to smash the cap
to ignite the powder.

- GRANT: Ba-bang.
- TORY: Bang.

That is gonna be awesome.

NARRATOR: But just how much
gunpowder do you get

from six b*ll*ts?

Okay, so,
that amount of gunpowder

is only 30 grains.

That's not a lot.

Let me show you
how much that is.

That is all we have to work with
to blow this lock up.

I don't know
if this is gonna work.

ADAM: It's time to fill our pool
with syrup,

and the role of syrup today
will be played by guar gum.

It's a powdered food thickener,

and somehow we've got to make


with 10,000 gallons of water,

and that's
where this truck comes in.

Amazingly,
it is uniquely custom built

for mixing guar gum with water.

So, if I'm correct, you place
a 50-pound bag right here,

slice open the end,
and it dumps in right there?

Exactly right.

Have you ever mixed up
a guar-gum mixture

this thick before?

We've never mixed it
this thick before.

We're not even sure
if it'll pump.

NARRATOR: Well, it's better
breaking their toys than ours,

and let's remember
that Adam and Jamie

will soon be swimming in this.

I'll swim first,
if you don't mind.

There's your starting p*stol.

There's your timer.

And, uh...

These things are so comfy
I've been wearing mine all day.

[Chuckles]

NARRATOR: Jamie averts his eyes
and bites his tongue,

knowing he'll be the next man

stripping down
to his racing undies.

All right!

Let's go!

JAMIE:
On your mark.

Ready.

[g*nsh*t]

NARRATOR: This is the first
of three freshwater sprints.

They'll average out the times

for a comparison
to swimming in syrup.



I'll bet I'll do faster
the second time.

Just got to get used to swimming
in such a narrow channel.

NARRATOR: It really doesn't
matter how fast he swims,

so long as they get
a good set of numbers.



[g*nsh*t]

NARRATOR:
But Adam just can't resist

showing off for the ladies.

A little bit quicker each time.



Do you want to go?

- Did you pee in the pool?
- I did not.

NARRATOR: And that's
good enough for Jamie.

He dons the cap and goggles
and hands the g*n to Adam.

I got to say, I feel less
like a swimming coach

than a guy defending his house
in the middle of the night.

You kids get off my lawn!

[g*nsh*t]

NARRATOR: Jamie proves to be
more of a distance swimmer,

but, again,
speed isn't the issue.

JAMIE:
What kind of a swimmer am I?

Well, I'm not very fast.

I get the job done.
That's about it.

[g*nsh*t]

ADAM: 24.

NARRATOR: And now they're ready
to swim in something

that's more like treacle.

This stuff is


JAMIE:
I know what you're thinking...

"Of course you're gonna
swim slower in syrup

than you are in regular water."

But what if you get
more purchase

on your paddling hands and so on
in something that's thicker?

NARRATOR:
And here's another thought...

molecular bonds in syrup like
this are constantly changing.

It all depends on
the temperature and the speed

and the shape of a body moving
through the liquid.

JAMIE:
What is happening in syrup

is that we have things
known as polymer chains.

They're long strings
of molecules

that basically
are like spaghetti noodles,

like cooked spaghetti noodles,
and they stick together.

When they soak up water,

you've got these bunches
of these polymer chains,

and depending on the speed
that you move through them,

depending on their thickness and
what exactly they're made of,

they can either just part

and let you go
through this mix like water,

or they can bunch up.

They can become something like
the La Brea tar pits.

There's all sorts
of different ways

that these can end up
affecting you

as you're swimming in them.

NARRATOR:
Jamie's right.

It's almost impossible to
untangle the molecular physics

of Newtonian fluids
from Einsteinian viscosity.

But Adam has
a very prosaic prediction.

Honestly,
I don't see it happening.

That stuff
is just too darn thick.

I think the difference
we'll be seeing is much greater,

on the order of like 30%, 40%,
like 5, 6, 8 seconds difference.

NARRATOR: Adam is the first
to see if swimming in syrup

is faster
than his freshwater freestyle.

Ohh!

[Laughing]

Oh, holy crap, that is slippery!

NARRATOR: He looks fast,
but those resounding plops

tell a different story.



That was respectably close.

That's not that much different.

That's only about


This stuff feels
completely bizarre.

Oh, it's like being born again.

[Laughs]

NARRATOR:
So let's get born again again...



NARRATOR:
...and again.

[g*nsh*t]

JAMIE: Well, your slowest times
are faster

than my fastest times in water.

ADAM: [Laughs]

NARRATOR: And there's
more good news to come.

Adam's average freshwater times

weren't that much different
to swimming in syrup.

I'm really surprised
how fast I was able to go.

I would've thought
the syrup would slow me down

by, like, a factor of 2,
not by a factor of .2.

NARRATOR: But we'd like
two sets of figures.

Time for Jamie to dip his doodle
in that cold, cold sludge.

[Laughs]

Ready... set...

[g*nsh*t]

JAMIE: I actually kind of like
this stuff.

It's kind of cozy in here.

But swimming in it?

Not so much.

No friggin' way!

ADAM: Really?

This is much heavier to me.

I found that swimming
in this stuff

made me a lot more tired
than swimming in water.

[Breathing heavily]

That looked like a lot of work.

NARRATOR:
So, Jamie officially retires

from competitive syrup swimming.

We'll be using Adam's averages
to make the comparisons.

[Laughs]

You all right?

I'm fine.

I'm just glad
I didn't fall in there.

JAMIE: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Tory, Grant, and Kari
are ready to test

if TV legend Angus MacGyver

could possibly have blown
the lock on a steel door

using only loose gunpowder,
an empty cartridge,

and the butt of his g*n.

KARI: We're back
at the Alameda b*mb range,

which is one of our
favorite places to go

because we can do all the things
that we can't do in the shop,

like blow doors open
with gunpowder.

Get in there!

Somebody go get MacGyver!

All right, so, that is 30 grains
of smokeless powder.

GRANT:
That's six b*ll*ts' worth?

TORY: Yeah, I know.
Doesn't look like much.

Do you think
that's gonna blow the lock open?

Hey, it worked for MacGyver.

Yeah, I doubt it.

I think the hardest part
is gonna be

getting that into the lock.

I know.

All right, let's do it.

NARRATOR: Kari does manage
to stuff the cloth in the lock.

That's the first real thumbs-up
for this myth.

Okay, that should be it.

NARRATOR: Then the boys attach
Grant's custom rig

to the doorframe.

GRANT: So, our lock
is right behind here.

It's got the bit of bandana
with the powder in it.

This is our cap, and this is
our mechanism to swing the g*n.

It's a little more complicated
than just hitting it,

but for safety's sake, we need
something to do it remotely.

TORY: Do you want to put tension
on the string,

see if it holds up?

GRANT:
Yeah. Go ahead.

Perfect.

Okay, this is
"MacGyver Gunpowder in Lock,"

test one.

You guys ready to have
your minds blown?

Yeah.
Here we go.

In 3... 2... 1!

NARRATOR:
No smoke, no fire, and no boom.

I realize the earplugs
are more for your countdown

than the actual popping.

GRANT: [Laughs]

NARRATOR: The pin on
the g*n grip did strike the cap,

but it didn't ignite the powder.

Yeah, it went off,
but the powder didn't.

So, what's the next step?

The obvious thing
is that the cap is not coming

into contact with the powder
because of the cloth.

Maybe what we do
is we put a hole in the cloth

so that we have the cap
in contact with the powder.

All right.
Well, let's give that a shot.

NARRATOR: So Tory sensibly
spreads the gunpowder

all the way back
to the ignition cap.

GRANT: Here we go.


NARRATOR:
Silence is deafening.

Mac's mini-hostage
wouldn't even know

that someone
was trying to rescue him.

TORY:
It didn't ignite the powder,

and that was in contact
with the cap.

I'm starting to think
that, no matter what,

a cap going off isn't gonna
ignite the gunpowder.

NARRATOR:
But Grant has found a loophole

that might just save this stunt
and salvage Mac's reputation.

GRANT: Now, the type
of gunpowder that we're using

is smokeless gunpowder, which is
found in modern ammunition.

But at one time,
the .38-caliber round

had black powder,

which has a bit more punch
than the smokeless.

My prediction is,
this is not gonna work.

But I'm optimistic.

NARRATOR:
This might be their last chance

to blow the lock like Mac did.



[Cheering]

It ignited.

- That was cool.
- That was cool.

All right, let's see
if it opened that lock.

No.

NARRATOR:
The lock is intact,

though it still looks
real good on the high-speed.

GRANT: It looks just like it did
on the episode.

- TORY: Yeah.
- Except for that part

where the door opens.

NARRATOR:
So, this door-busting myth,

as seen on TV, is busted.

But Grant still has faith
in the general principle.

Just for the sake
of argument,

let's say that MacGyver had
a lot of black-powder b*ll*ts.

Yeah!
Let's fill the whole thing!

Fill the lock with black powder
and then see.

NARRATOR: So they do,
all the way up to the keyhole.

TORY: And I've measured out


That's 120 b*ll*ts worth
of black powder.

Now, that's a lot more
than MacGyver had.

Is that gonna be enough
to blow the lock open?

We're about to find out.

NARRATOR: And their best chance
for a big result

is to forego the cartridge cap
for an electric igniter.

How it works is you apply
a battery to this end,

the current flows
through the wire,

heats up a little piece of wire
here at the end

that heats up a chemical,
and... phht!..

Instant ignition
for our gunpowder.

NARRATOR: Now Kari's prepared
to make a prediction

that's crystal clear.

KARI: I think there's gonna be
a nice colorful boom,

but I don't think

that we're actually
gonna explode this lock,

because I think
that the keyholes

are gonna let
all of that pressure out.

NARRATOR:
You can't fault the theory,

but this ain't over till they've
blown the gizzards out of it.

All righty, boys.

- Yes, girl.
- [Chuckles]

This is lock, half full of black
powder, electric igniter,

just for the heck of it
because we can.

Well, if it does explode,
it could open that door.

I don't know about that.
We'll see.

All right, in 3... 2... 1.

- Ohh!
- Ohh!

Yeah!

Wow!

We blew the door open!

Blew the door open!

Why am I always wrong?

Yeah!

KARI:
I grossly underestimated

the power of black powder
in this lock.

I thought there was no way
in heck that door was opening

and it's wide open,
and I hate it

when Tory's right and I'm wrong.

I hate that.

As much fun as I had today,
I'm a little bit disappointed.

Why? 'Cause every prediction
you had was wrong?

Yeah.
A little bit.

But, I mean, guys,
we busted MacGyver.

Yes, but we proved that
the general principle is sound.

You just need
a lot more gunpowder.

And we even proved
that you could set off gunpowder

using an empty cartridge

by hitting it
with the butt of a g*n.

I'm very impressed.

But we did have
a clear demonstration

on how this was supposed
to have worked from the TV show

using only 6 b*ll*ts
worth of powder,

and we didn't come
anywhere close to that.

All right,
so this one is busted.

Busted.

Busted.

Well, you know what?
It's not MacGyver's fault.

It was the writer's fault.

Good point.

MacGyver is real.

Yeah.
So is the tooth fairy.

No, that's a myth.

No, he's real, too.

No, Sasquatch is a myth.

NARRATOR:
We all love syrup on pancakes.

But Adam and Jamie are dipping
into some complex physics

to see if they can swim in syrup

just as fast as they can
in water.

Blaah!

[Laughing]

Well, the results are in.

We both swam
significantly slower in syrup.

It's not looking good
for the myth.

I know, but I'm not willing
to let this one go.

I'm starting to believe
that we might've gotten

this whole viscosity thing
all wrong.

How so? Nobody would deny
that we were swimming in syrup.

Right. But it was an average
Joe's interpretation of syrup,

and it was 1,500 times
more viscous than water,

and this myth has its origins
as a physics thought experiment.

To a physicist,

something that's only
twice the viscosity of water

could be called a syrup,

and we might get
very different results

with a material like that.

NARRATOR:
Back in the trenches,

it's time for a full-scale
refill with a brand-new recipe.

This should be perfect.
Let's let her rip.

All right.

Let's bring on the water.

So, we have,
in order to test this,

scaled back
our syrup swimming pool,

all the way down to something
that's only between

two and five times as viscous
as water.

But rest assured,
to a physicist,

this is a significant difference
from regular water.

Now the question is...

"Will there be a significant
difference in my swimming time?"

NARRATOR: But first,

we'll have to re-rate Adam
in regular water.

After all, it's a new day,

and he could be
a few seconds slower or faster.

Adam's first effort shows that
getting a new set of figures

was a prudent move.

JAMIE:
You're there!



Damn!

I was worried
that I was out of shape,

but that's pretty darn good.

Let's go for another one.

- JAMIE: Go!
- [g*nsh*t]

NARRATOR: The average time
for all three swims

is a full second faster
than the day before.

Why don't we take a quick break
and then move into the syrup?

Why don't we take a little bit
of a reasonable break,

and then I'll swim in the syrup?

Okay.

NARRATOR: While Adam takes
a well-earned soak,

let's reflect
on the practical benefits

of learning to swim
through syrup.

Somebody is gonna be wondering

what possible real-world
application this is gonna have.

That person would be ignoring

the fact of the great


in which a massive vat
of molasses broke free.

Molasses poured into the streets
and k*lled 21 people,

who presumably had no idea
how to swim in syrup.

Well, it just goes to show,
you got to collect those skills

to be ready for anything,
right?

Yeah.

NARRATOR:
Meantime, back at Club Mud...

Aah! It's cold.

Okay, here we go.

Whoa! Aah! Ooh!

JAMIE: Okay, Adam in syrup
twice as thick as water.

[g*nsh*t]

NARRATOR:
...Adam strikes out again...

You're there!

NARRATOR:
...and sets a really fast time.



Nice!
You know what that is?

That's significant data.

- Let's go again.
- Okay.

NARRATOR: Adam's next two laps
are both well under 15 seconds.

JAMIE:
You're there!



Ah, it looks like I'm getting
tired and slowing down.

JAMIE:
A little bit.

NARRATOR:
At the very least,

this comparison
looks like a close call.

JAMIE: Do you want to know
how you did?

ADAM:
Lay it on me, coach.

JAMIE:
Okay, well, in the heavy syrup,

you swam 27% slower
than you did in water,

but in the light syrup,

you swam 2.8% slower
than you did in water.

- Wow.
- That's a big difference.

Yeah, I mean, I'll wager
there's a difference

between any three of my times
in either of the water

or either of the syrups
was greater than 2.8%.

Yeah, that's less than
half-a-second variation.

That's well within
the margin of error.

That's a really cool result.

NARRATOR:
In the heavy treacle analog,

Adam's times were 28% slower
than they were in water,

so that's myth busted.

Then, again,
his times in light syrup

were much the same
as swimming in water,

so that's myth confirmed.

Obviously, there's a threshold
between the two,

and I'd like to find where
that threshold exactly is...

i.e., something that
the layperson would call syrup,

yet you can swim
just as fast in it.

Why am I chopping wood, you ask?

Not because I'm a lumberjack
and I'm okay,

but because we're about
to test a myth

that comes from one of America's
greatest legends...

Davy Crockett,
king of the wild frontier.

Now, apparently,
he would take his ax

and throw it against a tree.

And then he would take
his trusty musket, Betsy,

fire a shot at the ax head,

and split the b*llet
clean in half.

And that is what
we're gonna test

to see if it's really possible.

NARRATOR:
Back in the early 1800s,

Davy Crockett gained fame

as a U.S. Congressman
and a fearless frontier type.

Self-described as half horse,
half alligator,

Davy had a reputation for,
well, embellishing the truth.

He once boasted
the prettiest sister

and the ugliest dog
in the country.

So, look, this guy was real

and a huge part
of American folklore.

Yeah, back in the '50s,
almost every kid

had one of those
Davy Crockett coonskin caps.

But he did tell
a lot of whoppers.

He used to say that he could
grin the bark off a tree.

And that's just one tall tale.

With all these crazy stories,

it casts a lot of doubt
on this myth

that he could split a b*llet
by hitting an ax head.

Fortunately,
I couldn't agree more.

NARRATOR:
It's an old-time myth

you just couldn't test
with modern firearms.


the g*ns were slower

and the lead b*ll*ts
were rounder and softer.

But rest assured,
the axes were sharp.

All we have to do
is sh**t the ax head

with a b*llet
and split it in two.

How hard can that be?

What are we gonna do
with the rest of our day?

[Laughing] I don't know.

KARI: I'm always looking forward
to the historical myths,

and this one is extra fun

because I really, really am
into Davy Crockett.

I love all of the cap-and-ball
musket sh**ting.

It's gonna be a good day.

NARRATOR:
That's the spirit, Kari.

Unwavering optimism
in the face of yet another myth

that beggars belief.

There you go.

Pin the tail
on the coonskin cap.

TORY: Hitting our target with
these muskets is gonna be tough.

They're heavy. They're not as
accurate as a modern-day r*fle.

So we thought maybe if
we dress up like Davy Crockett,

maybe that'll give us
an advantage to hit our target.

Maybe we channel him.

Davy, Davy,
help me hit my target.

But I doubt it.

NARRATOR: Now, most folk
wouldn't take advice

from a man who shot his own hat,

but I wouldn't say that out loud
to Jim Mitchell.

Jim's an expert
on antique American firearms.

- Jim!
- Good to see you again.

Good to see you.

KARI:
Jim's outfit terrifies me.

I feel like his hat is gonna
bite him at any moment

or just, like, crawl up on me.

I see you got a couple of
.58 calibers there with you.

Are you comfortable with them,
sh**ting them, loading them?

Maybe you should give us
a little refresher course.

NARRATOR:
It sure couldn't hurt.

These old-time r*fles
aren't exactly user-friendly.

First thing,
you load up your powder.

Measure your powder out
into the measure.

KARI: It's quite a procedure
loading up a musket.

First, you've got to pour
the gunpowder

directly into the barrel.

Then you've got, like,
a lubricated little patch

that you stuff a lead ball on,
and you have to stuff it

all the way down.

I mean, can you imagine
loading that thing

over and over and over,
if you had to be a quick shot?

NARRATOR: But sh**ting
these g*ns is just as tricky.

They all need practice,

and here's Kari's tip
for making fruit salad

in less than
a tenth of a second.

- GRANT: Nice!
- [Laughter]

NARRATOR:
Grant shoots a soda bottle.

[g*nsh*t]

TORY: Yeah!

- KARI: Nice!
- Ha ha!

NARRATOR:
And Tory terminates a tomato.

Get it.
Get that tomato.

That's what you get
for not being organic!

Whoo!

TORY: Right now,
we're just hitting the targets

just to see if we can
sight these g*ns in,

and they seem pretty accurate.

The tricky part now, though,
is to be able to hit

that ax blade dead center
with the b*llet

so we get it to split,
because if it hits

a little bit to the left
or a little bit to the right,

it might just deflect
and stay one b*llet.

We need it to hit
right in the middle

so we see two pieces after
the b*llet hits the ax head.

NARRATOR: Tory, Grant, and Kari
are testing the myth

that Davy Crockett could hit
two targets with one b*llet

by splitting it
on an ax blade.

So, now it's our chance
to do this myth for real.

Now, legend has it
that Davy Crockett

could do this trick
from 40 yards.

So we're gonna measure out


NARRATOR: But that's looking
a long, long way off.

And...



That's kind of far.

TORY:
I'm gonna take a shot.

I doubt I'm gonna split it
on the first one.

But who knows?
Maybe I'll get lucky.

Sometimes it's better to be
lucky than good.

NARRATOR: Now, we should get
some idea of just how sharp

the sh**ting has to be.

Not bad at all.
Let's try a take two.

KARI:
Still a little to the left.

Tory has got one more shot

before the others
get their chance.

Confirming the two-target myth

means splitting a b*llet
in half.

That's as tough as anything
these guys have ever attempted.

KARI: Lookit.



- Whoa!
- I hit the blade.

- That's great.
- That is crazy.

Look at that.
It just hit here.

I was maybe
an eighth of an inch off

from hitting it dead center.

KARI: I think with a little
practice, you could hit that.

Yeah, if you practiced, you'd
be able to hit this all day.

But we're not looking
at accuracy.

We're looking at whether or not
you could split the b*llet.

All right, well,
let's split the difference.

Come in 20 yards
and then try it again.

All right.

NARRATOR:
They bring the mark in,

because this myth is more about
if a b*llet can split in two,

than where you took
the shot from.

- Hey, nice shot.
- Wow!

NARRATOR:
Kari goes close.

Whoa!

NARRATOR: Then closer,
as she grazes the handle.

GRANT:
Look, you can see the burn mark.

Nice shot!

- Thank you.
- Good one.

- Give me one more. One more.
- All right, one more shot.

NARRATOR: Hard to say no
to a girl with a g*n.

KARI: Close, but no cigar,
as my dad would say.

Look at that.
Just grazed the ax.

To be able to hit the blade
by sh**ting off hand,

it's gonna take a long time
and a lot of practice.

NARRATOR:
Daylight is fading,

so Grant gets to sh**t off
a sandbag.

This could be the shot
that confirms the Crockett myth.

This ax don't stand a chance.

- You hit the blade.
- Look right here. Skimmed it.

You're real close.

TORY:
So you've just got to go over

just, like, an eighth
of an inch to the right.

Like a hair.

NARRATOR:
The shots are almost perfect,

but for this test,
"almost" just doesn't cut it.

You know what? It's incredibly
difficult, even off the rest.

So I'm gonna give it
one more shot.

NARRATOR: And Grant can see
Coyote Jim waiting in the wings.

GRANT:
No splits.

If Davy Crockett could do this,
he was quite a shot.

TORY: Now, before we move on
to the expert,

how would you guys feel about me
taking one shot from the bench?

- Sure. Go ahead.
- Knock yourself out.

I'm dying to do it.

NARRATOR:
And we're dying to see

if this split-b*llet myth
is just another tall tale.

Someone needs to step up
and hit that blade

with perfect precision.

[Laughter]

Ha ha!

NARRATOR:
Tory has done it.

One-half of the b*llet went
left, and the other went right.

- You did it!
- I can't believe it.

- It actually worked.
- KARI: Both sides. Look.

Right there,
that's where it hit.

- ch*nk, ch*nk.
- Yeah.

- GRANT: It's confirmed.
- TORY: Totally confirmed.

- Who thought that?
- Davy Crockett didn't lie.

So, we showed
you can split a b*llet

and take out two targets
at once.

Yeah, that was using
an ax, ammunition,

and weapons
from Davy Crockett's time.

And a little bit of mojo
from Davy Crockett.

The outfits.

So, this one's confirmed.

- Confirmed.
- Confirmed.

NARRATOR:
Jamie and Adam are testing

if the extra thrust you'd get
from swimming through syrup

might just counteract
the added resistance.

So, now they'll mix up
one last batch

with a texture that's more like
good old maple syrup.

[Horn blares]

Not too thick, not too thin,
but just right.

That's the Goldilocks myth.

We're mixing up a batch
right now,

and, soon, we'll be putting it
to the test.

NARRATOR:
It's a blend that should meet

any definition of syrup...


JAMIE: So, these are
Adam's last three swims,

and given how fast he swam
in the light syrup,

his times in this stuff
should be really interesting.

What's my time?



Yeah! [Laughs]

JAMIE: That goofy-looking scum
on top we call fish eyes.

It's just clusters of guar gum.

Adam actually
seems to enjoy swimming in it.



[Laughs] Yeah!

Whoo!

- Good job.
- Thank you.

You're done.
You can get out now.

I'm officially done.

NARRATOR: Adam's times
were nice and steady,

but it stands to reason

that a better swimmer
would be even more consistent,

and that makes
for better science.

Enter this fine specimen.

Nathan Adrian
was a gold-medal winner

at the Beijing Olympics.

- Hello, sir.
- Hi. How's it going?

Oh, my God, look at you.
[Laughs]

- Hi, Nathan.
- Hi. How are you doing?

That's perfect. You feel like
running some tests for us?

Absolutely.
I'd love to.

NARRATOR: Let's start him off
in a bent pool

filled with straight water
to set a baseline time.

ADAM: This surprise of Jamie's
is proving extremely fruitful.

Not only is Nathan fast,
which I expected.

He's super consistent.

All of his times are within
a half a second of each other.

My times had about
a one-second spread,

so it just means that the data
is that much more precise.



Can we let him get out?

Let's let him get out.

NARRATOR: Now it's time
for this sports hero

to swim in something gooey
and slippery.

[Spitting]

ADAM:
On your mark!

- Get set!
- [g*nsh*t]

JAMIE:
Nathan, just...

pretend that you're one
with the syrup.

Almost dead on the money.



Is that funky or what?

It's so weird.

NARRATOR:
You can bet this wasn't part

of Nathan's post-Olympic dream.

JAMIE: Just think about it
like you got to swim faster

to get out of it quicker.

[Laughs]

[g*nsh*t]

NARRATOR:
A man with the right stuff,

forced to wallow
in some very wrong stuff.

ADAM: Awesome!

I can tell you're starting
to get into it a little bit.

It grows on you after a while,
doesn't it?

[Laughter]

ADRIAN:
As far as resistance goes,

when you're swimming at speed,
it doesn't feel

all that much different
than water, truthfully.

NARRATOR: So, Jamie tries
to make sense of the stats.

Nathan was a full 9% slower
in medium syrup than water.

More surprisingly,

while his water times
were super consistent,

his syrup swims were much
less consistent than Adam's.

And with Adam swimming just


which is almost
within his margin of error,

this myth could still go
either way.

JAMIE: Do you think
that you were slower

because the goo
was offering more resistance

or because it was messing
with your technique?

I'd have to say
it was definitely messing

with my technique and how
comfortable I was in the water.

It's such a huge disadvantage

to be in such
a foreign environment

with the goop and everything.

NARRATOR: None of which
seems to bother our boys,

but given
Nathan's erratic times,

Adam is prepared
to drop a bombshell.

We're gonna throw out Nathan's
swim times in the syrup.

See, we brought him in...

being an Olympic swimmer,
one of the best in the world,

we thought
it was gonna eliminate

swimming time as a variable.

But because what he does
for hours every day

is swim in a clear-water pool,

following a line,
going as fast as he can,

the syrup threw his technique
out the window.

Mine prove the point
much better than his do.

That's pretty cool.

So, how are we gonna
wrap this one up?

The simple fact is that
you swam just about as fast

in the medium,
or Goldilocks syrup,

and the light syrup
as you did in water.

Well, so, I'd say that makes it
solidly plausible.

You can swim as fast in syrup
as you can in water.

Plausible, depending on
the viscosity of the "syrup."

NARRATOR: So, that's a wrap
for swimming in syrup,

but there's still
some unfinished business

on the MacGyver set.

GRANT: Well, we Mythbusters
have never been ones

to leave well enough alone,

and we have a door here that
we just don't want to take home.

NARRATOR: And with a little help
from J. D. And some C-4,

they won't have to.

The question is...
do you want to do

a surgical kind of
an entry around the lock,

or do you want to just
blow the crap out of it?

NARRATOR: Hardly worth asking
the question, really.

Blow the crap out of it.

- Let's blow the crap out of it.
- Yeah!

I guess we'll be
in the bunker, then.

NARRATOR:
So, our guys duck for cover.

J. D. Sets the charge

and bellows out
his four favorite words.

Fire in the hole!

Fire in the hole!

Fire in the hole!

In 3... 2... 1.

- KARI: Whoa!
- Whoa!

That's what I'm talking about!

NARRATOR:
To borrow a phrase

from the poet of plastic
expl*sives, Jamie Hyneman,

bye-bye, door.

[Laughs]

Screw black powder.

That is incredible.

That's like 70 feet away
from the blast site.

[Laughs]

GRANT:
Now, personally,

I think that if MacGyver had
carried around a lot more C-4,

he could've gotten through
a lot more doors a lot easier.