06x17 - Alcohol Myths

[bunniefuu]

Please, don't try anything

that you're about to see us do
at home.

Ever!

NARRATOR: On this episode
of "Mythbusters"...

Ba-da-da-da!
Ba-da-da!

NARRATOR:... Doctors Hyneman
and Savage raid the "Ark"-hives

for a movie myth
about a bike flip.

[ Laughter ]

If you poke a pole
in the front spokes,

will it really flip out?

[ Laughter ]

The timing was perfect.

-lf you say so, Junior.
-[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR: And Kari, Grant,
and Tory are breaking bad...

I'm bustin' out of here, see?

NARRATOR:... to test tall tales
of prison breaks.

They want to know
if you can rappel to freedom

using bedsheets, toilet paper...

Freedom!

-NARRATOR:... and hair?
-[Bleep]

-Oh! Oh!
-Ow!

NARRATOR:
Who are the Mythbusters?

Adam Savage...

That's 100 % wacky right there.

-NARRATOR:... and Jamie Hyneman.
-Pain is your friend.

NARRATOR:
Between them, more than 30 years

of special-effects experience.

Joining them -- Kari Byron...

-Let's do it.
-NARRATOR:... Grant Imahara...

Danger!
Warning! Warning!

NARRATOR:
...and Tory Belleci.

Okay, you want to play rough,
little gopher?

NARRATOR:
They don't just tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

Let me guess.

-lndiana Jones?
-Yes.

Cast your mind back to "Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade."

Indy and his father
are racing away from the Nazis

on a motorcycle.

Nazis come up alongside them
and are about to get them,

but Indy doesn't have a weapon.

Quickly thinking,
he grabs a flagpole,

jams it in the front spokes
of the n*zi motorcycle and...

The motorcycle flips up
in the air, end over end.

Bad time for the n*zi.

Exactly.

That is our movie myth.

NARRATOR: It's a classic scene
from the silver screen.

The Doctors Jones,
Junior and Senior,

are being chased
by the Third Reich on bikes.

But a flagpole in the front
wheel of the nearest n*zi,

and a motorcycle flip-out
sees our hero escape

with a trademark cheesy grin.

This one's really interesting
from a physics sense.

Because when I look
at that scene,

it doesn't seem awkward
or out of place.

But it does beg the question,

is it really that easy
to redirect all the energy

that's going this way
to going that way?

I'm thinking
that we break it down

to its constituent components,
test each one,

and then put them
all back together

for a full-sized finale.

This will be fun.

It's been years
since I've been on a motorcycle.

Ever since that -- that g*ng,
right?

[ Horn honking ]

NARRATOR:
So, first things first.

It's a motorcycle myth,
and we'll be needing a...

JAMIE:
That's a bike.

NARRATOR: Exactly.

ADAM:
Aw, it's lovely.

Actually, we rode across the
country in one of these things.

No way.

I'm just reeling from learning
something about you

I didn't know.

It seems that there's
a never-ending supply of those.

NARRATOR:
Okay, it may be old-fashioned,

but the movie bikes
are vintage World w*r I I.

ADAM:
I know what you're saying.

You're saying
this really doesn't look like

a vintage World w*r I I era
motorcycle, and it isn't.

In fact, it's from 1981, but
it is the exact model of bike

used by the stunt men
to perform their stunts

for "Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade,"

which means that it,
and not some vintage bike,

is the perfect test platform
for us for this for this myth.

NARRATOR:
Now that that's sorted,

let's kick things off
as Adam and Jamie focus

on the first aspect of the myth.

ADAM: Since this myth is all
about the poking of a flagpole

into the spokes of a motorcycle,

one of the things
we want to know is,

how fast can we poke a flagpole?

NARRATOR:
Because once they know the speed

of a human flagpole poke...

ADAM:
Nice, tiger.

NARRATOR:... they can calibrate
their remaining tests

to just that.

Just plain funny to watch you
exert yourself like that.

I don't know why, exactly.
It just is.

High comedy.

-Whatever floats your goat.
-[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR: And the high comedy
on the high speed

reveals the magic number to be
30 miles per hour.

Cue part two
of the experiment --

a remote-control
flagpole thruster.

You might remember
this puppy right here

from "Birds on a Truck" because
this was our pigeon catcher.

NARRATOR: Yep, it's not a prop
from "Mad Max."

It really is a pigeon catcher.

ADAM: [ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
Not that it caught any pigeons.

JAMIE: It has an air reservoir.
It has a valve.

It has everything we need
to sh**t the stick

into the wheels
of the motorcycle.

In 3, 2, 1...

[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
Yeah, that looked a tad faster

than 30 miles an hour to me.

But let's see what Adam thinks.

ADAM: One.

[ Wood rattling ]

[ Laughs ]

That might be a little too fast.

NARRATOR: Hmm.
That's what I said.

Is everybody okay?

JAMIE:
That's dangerous.

Yeah, we might have to
tune that one back.

I'm not gonna get tired of that.

NARRATOR: And so, to get
the speed they need --

around 30 miles per hour...

ADAM: This is
an exceedingly weird operation.

NARRATOR:... they add some hose
to decrease the pressure.

Firing in 3, 2, 1.

That might be it.

ADAM: That's it.
That's the butter zone.

12 p.s. i., we get
28 1/2 miles per hour.

That's perfect.

NARRATOR:
As odd as this sounds,

after destroying
their wooden backstop,

they finally got the ex-pigeon
catcher throwing a flagpole

at a realistic speed.

TORY:
I'm free!

This might sound crazy,
but a lot of the fans are saying

that you can actually make rope
out of toilet paper,

and it'll be strong enough

that you could scale down
a jail wall and escape.

Toilet paper?
Are you serious?

GRANT:
Well, if we're gonna do that,

I think we should do
the all-time classic --

making a rope out of bedsheets.

I know it's kind of out there,

but let's also do
the "Rapunzel" version of this,

where you make a rope
out of hair.

-Ew.
-lck

NARRATOR: Any prison break worth
its place in urban folklore

involves a death-defying descent
from a great height...

...including
these fan-site fables.

Desperate convicts eager to be
ex-convicts have escaped jail

with the apparent aid
of cell-made ropes

of toilet paper and bedsheets.

And if you include
Rapunzel's luscious locks,

that's three harebrained
escape plans to test.

So, how are we gonna test this?

Why don't we each take one of
the materials, make our ropes,

and see which one of us makes it
down the side of the building?

And may the best rope win.

Wait, wait.
I want bedsheets, then.

Too late.

NARRATOR: Yes, in
a vertigo-inducing finale...

KARI: Aah!

Oh, my God.
I want to throw up.

NARRATOR:... our fun-loving
criminals will find out for real

if the ropes made
from their mythical materials

will aid and abet
their jailbreak.

Stupidest idea ever.

NARRATOR: Or send them
plummeting to their doom.

Ow!

NARRATOR:
But before all that,

let's take you
back to the beginning...

...where Kari's plan
for a braided escape

is giving her a bad hair day.

KARI: Is this not
the most disgusting thing

you've ever seen --
an entire box of just hair?

NARRATOR:
Yes, coming in at number one

on the weirdest
raw-material chart

are 50 human-hair ponytails.

KARI: We have to break out of a
building that's 14 stories high,

so I have to make a rope
that is 140 feet long.

I think the difficulty here
is not gonna necessarily

be the strength of the hair,
'cause this feels really strong.

I think it's gonna be where
the hair splices together.

I have to come up with some sort
of knotting or braiding system

that it won't slide apart
and, you know, 100 feet down,

I'm not just gonna plummet
to the earth.

And it's gross.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
Grant's mythical method

is a little more conventional
and a film-fugitive favorite.

GRANT: In order to make sure we
have maximum authenticity here,

we've gotten these bedsheets

from our friends
in Alameda County,

and they're actual
county-jail linens.

NARRATOR:
And finally Tory,

who has some serious
tensile strength issues

with his authentic
one-ply prison-issue tissue.

[ Metal rattling ]

There you have it.
It's not strong enough.

NARRATOR:
But he's a man with a plan.

TORY:
If you look at the toilet paper,

it's perforated
for your convenience

of pulling off
one sheet at a time.

Already it's got
this built-in weak link.

So I think twisting it,
rolling it

will give me the extra strength
that I need.

Look at that.

The same amount of toilet paper
just wrapped up

is strong enough
to now hold the three kilos.

So this is the way I'm gonna
make my toilet-paper rope.

-MAN: Fire!
-Go!

NARRATOR:
Adam and Jamie's past crusade

to hold Hollywood
to scientific account...

-Whoo!
-ADAM: Oh, that's great!

NARRATOR:... has given the team
some memorable moments

of movie mayhem.

MAN:
Buster's on the ground.

NARRATOR:
But on this last crusade,

the team are tackling
the tall tale

that a stick between the spokes
can cause...

...a head-over-handlebars flip.

So far they've got their bike

and rigged a remote-control
flagpole thruster.

So, what's next?

JAMIE: When this bike is moving
at highway speeds,

the spokes are going so fast,
you can hardly see them.

So what we need to find out
is whether it's possible

for a human to thrust a stick
into those spokes

fast enough to get them
cleanly through there,

and then, once that occurs,
what happens to the wheel.

NARRATOR: And to get the wheel
spinning at chasing speeds --

50 miles per hour --
Adam whips up a dynamometer.

And now it's time for the old
spoke-and-poke test.

NARRATOR:
So with the bike secured,

this test is all about the space
between the spokes

and not the full flip.

This is gonna be cool.

NARRATOR: Will a flagpole thrust
at realistic speed

actually penetrate the wheel?

3, 2, 1.

NARRATOR:
Apparently not.

Well, that was
a bit of a letdown.

NARRATOR: Yes, the stick
just bounced right back out.

And after a second test
under the same conditions...

...produces a similar result,

the guys decide
they are missing the point.

Firing, 3, 2, 1.

NARRATOR: Perfect.
Penetration.

Wheel stoppage.

And, as a bonus,
some controlled mayhem.

We broke some stuff.

JAMIE:
We successfully stopped

the wheel with the stick,
and that's great.

That's 15 pounds coming to a
dead stop from 50 miles an hour.

But this was a stationary test.

When we go out on the road
with this,

there are hundreds of pounds
in this bike,

plus the rider,
that want to keep on going.

And that's where
the real fun is gonna start.

NARRATOR:
So it's full scale ahead,

and the plan in the can
looks a lot like this.

At the push of a button,

the bike and Buster
will begin freewheeling.

That, in turn, will trigger
the flagpole flinger

and jam the stick
into the spokes.

And to get things rolling
in the right direction,

Adam's reinventing the wheel.

ADAM: Well, the first problem
I think we've got to solve

is exemplified by taking a look
at this footage again.

Yeah. See that?
Okay.

The hubbed spoked wheel
is not really ideal for us

to shove a stick into

'cause those spokes
are not gonna stay put.

We need a wheel that can stay
put under continued abuse

for repeated tests, and we're
gonna use steel plate to do it.

We've had two of these
plasma-cut

out of quarter-inch steel plate.

We're gonna bolt them
to one of the motorcycle rims,

have a tire put back on it

and a couple of flange-mounted
pillow blocks on the axle,

and that ought to hold up to
everything we can throw at it.

[ Laughs ]

The Road Warrior would be proud.

This thing is absolutely
as solid as a rock.

It's perfect.

[ Tires screeching ]

NARRATOR:
For the prison-break parable...

This place can't hold me!

NARRATOR:
...Grant "Iron Man" Imahara...

I'm bustin' out of here, see?

NARRATOR:
...Kari "Knuckles" Byron...

-MAN: Come on.
-I was framed!

NARRATOR:... and
"Don" Salvatore Belleci...

Framed, I tell you!

NARRATOR:
...are pretending to be put away

in order to break out.

Prisoners, step in.
Lockdown.

NARRATOR: They're going to find
out if you can effect an escape

with ropes made of bedsheets,
toilet paper, and hair.

KARI: My collection of hair
gathered from the shower

and all the rattails
I've been stealing...

Aah!

...I will have no problem making
a rope and getting out of here.

NARRATOR:
But despite being forced to use

authentic cell-made materials...

Warden, I got diarrhea.
I need more toilet paper.

NARRATOR:... the guys
won't really have to prepare

their escape in their cells.

They get to do that
back at the shop,

where Tory has worked out

that if he twists
one-ply prison-issue tissue,

it becomes less fragile.

TORY: As you can see,
I'm twisting the toilet paper

into little strings.

Once I have enough strings,
I'll weave it into a rope,

and hopefully that will be
strong enough to hold my weight,

and that will be my ticket
out of this joint.

And this process is taking
a long time,

but, let's face it, I'm in jail.

I got nothing but time.

Someday I'll be free

Bing

NARRATOR:
It may be time-consuming,

but before
modern manufacturing techniques,

this is exactly
how real rope was made.

Fibers of material
were twisted into yarns.

A few of these yarns

were twisted in the opposite
direction to form threads,

and, again, several of these

were counter-twisted
to form rope.

So it might sound crazy, but
Tory could be on to something.

[ Laughs ] I'm gonna get
out of jail in no time.

NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
Kari's about to find out

if her plan for a braided escape
is even viable.

KARI: I'm a little nervous
about the strength of the hair,

so I've got a knotted piece here

that I was actually just gonna
try my weight on.

I'm really kind of nervous
about this because of...

[Bleep]

...that factor.

Maybe I need to find some
inmates with some less healthy,

slippery hair --

some good, fried-out,
bleached-blond inmates.

NARRATOR: Yeah, or maybe,
just like a conventional rope,

you could braid a number of
those single strands together.

KARI:
I'm gonna take three braids

and tie them all into one braid

so that it's sort of
how rope works,

where one fails, it has two more
to kind of depend on.

And hopefully that can give it
more strength.

Unfortunately,
I'm getting claw hand

from, like, all the braiding.

Ugh.

NARRATOR:
And that just leaves Grant,

who got lucky, with the least
labor-intensive material.

GRANT:
The bedsheet is beautiful

because you can go
to the prison laundry,

steal as many as you need.

You don't need a hundred years
to make your bedsheet rope.

You need about, I don't know,
maybe two hours,

and you're climbing
your way to freedom.

NARRATOR:
However, the toilet-paper plan

is taking a lot, lot longer.

I need to spread my wings
and fly.

NARRATOR:
So, to speed things up,

our crafty criminal uses
his mastermind to good effect

by twisting multiple strands
at once and cheating.

TORY: So, I've taken five sheets
of toilet paper,

twisted them together
to create this.

Now I'm gonna take three
of these, wrap them together,

and then take that
and wrap that together

and hopefully create a rope
that's gonna be strong enough

to hold up my weight.

NARRATOR:
Meanwhile, over in Grant's cell,

he's testing to see if
the sheets can take the strain.

GRANT: So, what we have here
is a single standard

Alameda County bedsheet
with a knot tied at the top,

threaded through
150 pounds of weight,

which is equivalent
to my body weight.

And as you can see,

it's actually doing quite well
so far.

NARRATOR:
Outside in the exercise yard,

Tory is also ready
for a strength test.

This might work!

NARRATOR:
Kari, however, is still

desperately braiding
and plaiting.

She's more concerned about
the hair's joints and splices

than its tensile strength.

After all, keratin, the major
protein component of hair,

is as hard as nails --
literally.

It's also the stuff that forms
horns, claws, and hooves.

The question is,
will it also make rope?

Jamie and Adam
are flipping out...

That might be a little too fast.

Firing.

NARRATOR:
...testing the movie myth

that jamming a stick
between the spokes...

...will cause
a motorcycle flip-out.

But they've got
a tough build ahead.

In order to go full scale
with this,

we need to both be able to hold
this bike and let go of it

at very precise timing.

So we're gonna start
by building a trailer

that holds it upright,
that, on the push of a button,

releases it,
and then, once it's released,

will fire a stick right through
those front spokes.

NARRATOR: In engineering terms,
there's a mountain to climb.

And what better way to show the
passage of time than a montage?

And a cross-dissolve later,
the rig is ready to roll.

But before the cameras do, the
team needs a change of scenery.

-Ready?
-Yep. Let's go.

[ Tires screeching ]

NARRATOR: And the location
they've chosen is, surprise,

the disused runway at Alameda.

ADAM: It's a good day
for a motorcycle accident.

-JAMIE: I think so.
-Let's make a few.

NARRATOR: Unlikely to have
a motorcycle accident is Jamie,

our very own cross-country
motorbiking Mythbuster.

-But Adam?
-ADAM: Let's trade.

NARRATOR:
Well, that's a different story.

[ Engine revs ]

How do you undo this?

I'm not so sure
this is a good idea.

Adam on a motorcycle?

Even with seat belts,
I worry about Adam.

Are you done yet?
We got some work to do.

-Let's get busy.
-All right. Let's do it.

-[ Engine stalls ]
-Oh! Aw.

NARRATOR: So while Jamie
reassembles the trailer

and release rig,

Adam brightens up the bike
for its big scene.

And with Buster's ride
secured to the trailer...

...he's ready for a test run.

ADAM: This may look pretty
straightforward,

but, actually,
it's a pretty complicated rig,

and there's a lot of little
things which we're not sure

exactly how they might react
to getting up to speed.

So that's the first thing
we're gonna do --

get the whole rig up to speed
and just see how it runs.

NARRATOR:
And with the truck easing up

to 25 miles per hour...

JAMIE: I don't see
any problem with that.

NARRATOR:
...Buster stays upright

and has no problems
keeping in line.

Now it's time
to start the mayhem.

Start the mayhem!

Yeah! [ Growls ]

NARRATOR:
Jailed for science,

Kari, Grant, and Tory are going
a little stir crazy.

Man, I got to get out of here.

If only we could figure out
a way to escape.

If only we had a rope
or something.

NARRATOR:
Yes, they're putting

three mythical rope-making
materials to the test.

The hair's been braided,
the toilet paper twisted,

and the sheets rolled
and knotted,

which means
our ingenious inmates

are ready to become outmates.

And the coop
they'll be flying from

is the Alameda County
Courthouse Jail.

They have to rappel
from the roof

using only
their cell-made ropes.

[ Creaking ]

[ Laughing ]
Not bad.

All right, you guys.

This is the moment of truth
for our prison-escape ropes.

We've got 100 % human hair,
toilet-paper rope,

and the old-school classic,
bedsheet.

Well, since yours is probably
the most likely to work,

maybe you should go first
to show us how it's done.

And then this way,
we can test out

the SWAT team safety mechanism.

-[ Laughs ]
-Fine. I will.

-Good luck, man.
-All right.

-Freedom!
-KARI: Good idea.

Him going first.
I like that.

NARRATOR: So Grant,
the nominated human guinea pig,

is first up.

But rest assured,
he's in safe hands.

Jack Tucker and Mike Norton
are SWAT team rappel masters,

and they've rigged a harness
and rope system

that will allow Grant
to climb unassisted...

unless he falls.

Well, that certainly
gets the juices flowing.

Um... yeah.

It's a little bit different
perspective up here.

[ Dramatic music plays ]

Okay.
I can do this.

NARRATOR: With every inch
of that terrifying drop

playing on his mind,
Grant forces himself

to focus on prepping
for the climb.

GRANT: So this is the moment
of truth for my bedsheet rope.

Can you actually escape using a
bedsheet and not have it break?

[ Laughing nervously ]

Okay. It's long enough.

Okay.

[ Wind whistling ]

So careful observers may note
that I'm wearing,

in addition to my standard
prison garb, a safety harness.

Now, the important thing
is that the safety harness

is only in case the rope breaks
or there's some other problem.

Okay, you guys.
I'm ready to go.

The bedsheet will be holding
my entire weight the whole time.

Here I go.

NARRATOR:
Grant's first careful steps

are onto a convenient ledge
just over the edge.

Holy sheets!
That's high!

NARRATOR: But from here on in,
it's down to Grant

and those knotted bedsheets.

All right.
You guys ready?

-KARI: Ready!
-TORY: Yeah!

Here we go with the, uh,
old-school bedsheet.

Be careful, little buddy!

NARRATOR: Despite the concern
below, the early signs are good.

KARI: He's doing
the walk-down-the-wall thing.

TORY: Oh.

It looks like he's done this
before.

You've broken
out of jail before?

KARI: Wow.
Those are holding up.

NARRATOR:
The bedsheets are holding up.

[ Chuckling ]
He's getting tired.

KARI:
Oh, man.

NARRATOR: The question now is,
can Grant hold himself up?

-Ugh. Oh [bleep]
-KARI: Oh, God.

He's just hanging!
He's just hanging!

TORY: Hang on, buddy!
Don't let go!

You're almost free!

Attaboy!

-This sucks.
-KARI: You can do it.

GRANT:
I've got climbing experience.

But there's nothing to hold on
to up there except for the rope.

TORY: Pretend like
your life depends on it.

'Cause it kind of does.

GRANT: So I just thank God
I got those big knots in there,

'cause if I didn't have that,
I'd be done.

KARI: Oh, Grant.
You're doing so good.

TORY: You're almost there, dude.
You're halfway there!

KARI: The sheets
are totally holding you up.

GRANT:
There were a couple places

where I couldn't quite get
a foothold,

and the rope just slipped
through my hands,

and that's where I got
these hideous rope burns,

which are really,
really hurting.

TORY:
Look at the pain in his face.

Freedom's like 20 feet away.

KARI: Yeah!

GRANT:
Ow. Ow!

KARI:
Oh, yes!

Yes, yes, yes!

Yeah!

TORY: Let go!
You're there, dude!

-Yeah!
-Yeah!

-You're free!
-GRANT: I'm free!

-I'm free!
-KARI: Confirmed!

Ow!

NARRATOR: Freedom!

But with a bad case
of rope burns.

You did it!

The good news is,
I can totally see

why they put this in movies.

Because the entire time,
the bedsheet was solid.

There was no ripping,
no tearing,

no giving way of the bedsheet.

That was solid.

And, you know, if I had been

in a little bit better
physical condition,

I probably would have gotten
down that no problem.

NARRATOR: And what that means is
that scaling the jailhouse wall

with a bedsheet rope
is confirmed.

I'm free!

For those playing along at home,

here's where we stand so far
in the myth

that jamming a flagpole into
the front spokes of a motorcycle

will cause it
to flip up in the air.

We've gotten the motorcycle
wheel up to 50 miles an hour

and found out that yes,
a human is totally capable

of jamming a flagpole into that
front wheel and stopping it.

We broke some stuff.

The question now is,

if you're doing that
to a motorcycle that's moving,

will it have the effect
that the myth states?

The bike immediately stops
and starts to cartwheel

while going up in the air.

Now we're gonna see
what happens for real.

NARRATOR:
And with the crowd expectant,

the teams set up and step up
for the first test

at 25 miles per hour.

-You know what I hope?
-What?

-I hope it works.
-Me too.

All right.
Let's start it.

NARRATOR: Buster, looking
every inch a crash-test biker,

tailgates the truck,
ready for his moment of glory.

WILL:
20 miles per hour.

NARRATOR: And once the team
are at test speed...

-25.
-NARRATOR:... Adam calls it.

Firing in 3, 2, 1.

JAMIE: Ah, it went through.
It stopped the wheel.

Okay, Will, stop.

ADAM:
Slow down and stop.

NARRATOR:
It all happened pretty fast.

But a quick look
at the high speed

confirms the Rube Goldberg-esque
rig worked like a dream.

Jamie hit the switch.
Buster was released.

ADAM: Oh, I see it
clicking the switch.

NARRATOR:
The cannon fired,

and the flagpole was jammed
into the spokes...

ADAM: Dude!
The timing was just dead-on.

NARRATOR:... giving Buster
a taste of asphalt.

How you doing, buddy?

NARRATOR: But there was no sign
of the mythical flip.

ADAM:
It couldn't be better.

But I didn't see
no bike-o flip-o.

NARRATOR:
Yep, no bike-o flip-o.

More of a bike-o topple-o.

So, what's next?

JAMIE:
The next thing we're gonna do

is ramp the speed up
a little bit

so that the bike will tend to
want to stay upright for longer,

and we'll probably get a little
more energy in the process,

which means a bigger flip
if we're gonna get one at all.

NARRATOR:
So it's take two.

ADAM:
Holding up well.

NARRATOR: And this time,
they take the truck to 40.

WILL:
40 miles per hour.

Okay, firing in 3, 2, 1, go.

Oh!

-[ Laughs ]
-JAMIE: Okay, he can stop.

-Tell him to stop.
-[ Laughing ] Stop.

NARRATOR:
So, the additional momentum

didn't help
the bike get airborne.

Instead,
that extra energy was used

to snap the flagpole in half.

You know what?
That right there is the test.

-You know, that's the test.
-Yeah.

And it didn't work.
It broke the stick.

ADAM: I think that was the
circumstances of the myth there.

We got the bike going
at 40 miles per hour.

We got the stick firing
perfectly into the spokes.

It didn't stop the bike.
It didn't flip the bike.

And it broke the stick.

JAMIE:
So, what's next?

Stronger stick.
That was the circumstances.

Let's try and get the results
with a big, fat, steel stick.

-Steel it is.
-Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR: Yep, just like Buster,
the myth is down,

but not quite out.

Kari, Tory, and Grant
have had success

with the first of
their rappel-to-freedom tests.

KARI: Yeah!

-You're free!
-GRANT: I'm free!

I'm free!

This myth
is absolutely confirmed,

and I love it
when myths are confirmed.

The rope did not break.

You can make a bedsheet rope
and escape from jail.

Let's not air this
in the prisons.

NARRATOR:
That's one down -- literally.

I'm free!

NARRATOR:
With two to go.

KARI:
I'm not afraid of heights,

but I am really afraid
of falling,

and I'm not a mountain climber.

This will be the first time
I really will have done

anything remotely like this,
so yeah, I'm nervous.

Oh, my God.
I want to throw up.

[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
And no wonder she's nervous.

It's clear hair isn't exactly
an ideal rope-making material.

GRANT: I was watching her
form the rope,

and there were many times
where she had to take it apart

because she would test it
and it would just go "fwshh!"

She's got multiple strands,
you know,

forming a big, thick rope
of hair, but I don't know.

At this point, my confidence
isn't especially high.

NARRATOR:
And neither is Kari's.

Whose hair-ball idea is this?

NARRATOR: Well, it's
a "hair"-brain plan, for sure,

but it's too late
to turn back now.

We're about to find out if
that hairy lifeline will cut it.

TORY: Man. Oh.

GRANT: It's looking pretty good
so far, actually.

TORY: Well, the hair is --
It's holding up.

GRANT:
That's great.

TORY: It's incredible
how strong it is.

-Whoa!
-GRANT: Whoa!

NARRATOR: It defies belief,
but Kari's descent

is being supported
by nothing more

than a 1 40-feet-long
triple-braided ponytail.

How's it going, Kari?

KARI:
I see split ends.

TORY: You should have used
conditioner.

KARI:
There's split ends!

NARRATOR:
Hair-care issues aside,

Kari's descent is going
spectacularly well.

TORY:
You're almost free!

NARRATOR:
And her technique of sliding

instead of climbing
is just perfect.

-Yeah!
-You're free!

GRANT:
You did it!

The hair didn't break.

I've got to say,
I'm totally amazed.

My hands -- little jacked.

This rope is composed
of hair that's braided.

And if you look at it,

it's actually kind of springy,
which is just crazy.

It's effective.

Disgusting, but effective.

Yeah!

Oh, my God!
That was so scary!

-Yeah?
-And the hair didn't break.

I can't believe it didn't break.

KARI: It was like I'd slide,
grab a knot, slide, grab a knot.

But the whole time, I was just
like, "It's coming undone,

it's coming undone, it's coming
undone, it's coming undone!"

When I was right close to
the ground, I had about a foot.

Then I kind of dropped
a little bit.

That's the only time
I actually felt the rope

kind of -- the belay --
was the last foot.

The whole time, that was
sheer human hair strength.

NARRATOR:
Incredible, but true.

But unlike the bedsheets,

the guys are reluctant
to call this one confirmed.

TORY: The hair worked,
and it didn't break.

I mean, it's not
the most practical technique,

but if you can get
that amount of hair

and braid it together,
you can make rope and escape.

NARRATOR: Yeah,
unless your name's Rapunzel,

getting that amount of hair
could be an issue.

But as a mythical rope-making
material, it does actually work.

ADAM: 3...

NARRATOR:
On the motorcycle movie myth,

Adam and Jamie are having
a flipping good time.

I didn't see no bike-o flip-o.

NARRATOR:
But so far there's been no sign

of the mythical
head-over-handlebars flip.

JAMIE:
Okay, you can stop.

NARRATOR: So they decided
to beef things up a bit.

So, at 40 miles an hour,
hickory didn't really cut it.

So this time,
we're gonna use a steel pipe.

This is about eight times
as heavy, and...

...it's gonna do something
pretty violent.

ADAM: Hopefully,
this is the "it" shot.

This is either going to flip
this motorcycle

or prove once and for all
that it's totally not possible.

-I hope this works.
-What's not to work?

[ Both laugh ]

Oh, so many things.

NARRATOR: But if it goes
according to plan,

Buster will soon be taking
a short, dizzying flight

with a mandatory crash landing.

Okay. Pull in 3, 2, 1.

Go!

Oh!
[ Laughs ]

Give me five there!

NARRATOR: Another
smooth execution by the rig,

and you could say
the guys are pleased.

Well, that seemed to work
just beautifully.

It doesn't get
any prettier than that.

-JAMIE: No. It was flawless.
-And the bike did not flip.

JAMIE: No.
The tires skidded.

You know, that's it.
That's the perfect test.

ADAM:
It's forward momentum.

It doesn't transfer immediately
to vertical momentum.

It makes all the sense
in the world

now that I've seen it happen.

JAMIE: You know, you could stop
the bad guy that way

if you happen to have
a steel pipe,

but it's not getting airborne.

It won't happen.
It's gonna do exactly that.

ADAM:
Dude, that totally worked.

Freakin' "A."

The most important thing
to keep in mind about this test

is the traction between
this wheel and the road surface.

Nice work, Buster!

If you bring the wheel
to a dead stop

like you will if you put
a stick between the spokes,

it's gonna skid.

You're gonna lose control.

It'll slip out from under
the bike, and it's all over.

It will not get it airborne
like it did in the movie.

Oh! So satisfying.

NARRATOR: So, no bike-o flip-o
even with the mayo.

ADAM:
You know what we have to do now.

We have to finish on a bike
that's... doing a flip.

Hook or by crook,
we have to finish with that.

Physics, one, movies, zero.

NARRATOR:
And so it's back to the shop

to square the account and find
out the physics of film effects.

[ Horn beeping ]

Dude, check this out.

It looks like this whole scene
is just a trick of editing.

You can see
that when the bike takes off,

it's totally stationary, and if
I frame forward a couple frames,

you can see a small expl*si*n
underneath.

That's a classic Hollywood
sleight of hand.

Yeah, it's pretty clear if we're
gonna do this Hollywood-style,

we're gonna need some expl*sives
to get that bike in the air.

-We need a boom.
-Exactly.

NARRATOR:
Yep, so the key is TNT.

And with that in mind,

our special-effects specialists
get back to work.

JAMIE: This is what is known
as a mortar.

Now, this is what is going to
make the bike

do what we couldn't do
with a stick through the spokes.

We're gonna fill this
with gunpowder.

We're gonna put it
underneath the bike,

and it's gonna fire
a bunch of black powder,

sh**ting the bike
way up in the air

and spinning while it does it.

NARRATOR: To survive that
black-powder-powered flight,

the bike gets a once-over
from Adam.

ADAM: I reinforced
its skeletal structure

so that it can be punched
from behind the engine

and fly up in the air to glory.

NARRATOR: Sounds great, unless
your name happens to be Buster.

To get to the, uh, bottom
of the toilet-paper jailbreak...

Oh, this prison food's
k*lling me!

[ Farts ]

You need to put more fiber
in the damn food!

NARRATOR:... Tory has taken
a swipe at making a rope

from genuine one-ply
perforated prison poop paper.

So my toilet-paper rope is done.

It's taken me a long time,
and it looks like rope.

However, it's still
only toilet paper.

I'm hoping it's gonna be strong
enough to hold up my weight.

KARI: [ High-pitched voice ]
His chances are made of paper.

GRANT: His escape technique's
paper-thin!

[ Normal voice ]
We better get out of here,

or they're gonna put us
in the loony bin.

Toilet-paper rope escape

is probably
the stupidest idea ever.

It's not that stupid.
You've had stupider ideas.

I'm gonna kick your butt
if I survive, Grant.

Watch that first step.
She's a doozy.

NARRATOR: And that first step
is also the crucial moment

when nothing but toilet paper
is taking Tory's weight.

KARI: [ Laughing ]
Oh, my God!

[Bleep]

NARRATOR: But, incredibly,
a few expletives aside,

it's all going according
to plan -- sort of.

TORY: Toilet paper is used
to wipe your butt,

not climb down a building.

NARRATOR: It seems
the real issue with the tissue

is finding a firm grip.

-Oh! Oh!
-TORY: [ Grunts ]

I'm off -- [ Grunts ]

[Bleep]

[ Groans ]
[Bleep]

-Are you okay?
-[ Weakly ] Yeah.

NARRATOR: And that right there
is why we hired the SWAT team.

Tory slipped.

-KARI Oh!
-TORY: [ Grunts ] [Bleep]

NARRATOR: And if it wasn't
for the safety harness,

he was a goner.

But aside from that sudden
and terrifying drop...

GRANT: Yeah, dude,
you're almost there!

NARRATOR:... Tory and
the toilet paper hold firm

and make it safely
to terra firma.

-GRANT: [ Laughs ]
-Freedom!

GRANT: Yeah!

You did it!

-How's those hands?
-They're numb!

Who would've thought toilet
paper works to escape prison?!

I'm amazed.

I'm amazed that the toilet paper
did not break.

Freedom!

At least while he was
making his way down.

I'm free.
I can't walk, but I'm free.

NARRATOR: Yeah, it broke, but
it didn't break during the test.

And so Tory gives toilet paper
his seal of approval.

TORY:
Oh [bleep]

I'm totally convinced
that toilet paper used as a rope

is a plausible way
to escape from prison.

You saw it.
It didn't break.

It stretched a lot,
but it didn't break.

It was incredible.
Toilet paper.

It worked!
We're free!

That was amazing!
Two plausibles and a confirmed!

Hair, toilet paper,
and bedsheets!

All right. I'll see you guys
in Mexico in a month.

Welcome back.
Here's where we stand.

We have already busted the myth

that if you jam a flagpole
into the spokes of a motorcycle

at speed,
that it will flip end over end.

Totally not possible
within the laws of physics.

Now Jamie and I are gonna do it
Hollywood-style

with our favorite tool --
expl*sives.

In Hollywood, also,
geeky television-show hosts

get to dress up like
their favorite movie heroes...

-[ Whip cracks ]
-That's the only crack I know.

I can't... crack like that.
Ow.

...pretend to be in one
of their favorite movies.

[ Whip cracking ]

All right.
Let's get to filming.

NARRATOR: And to make sure
this silver scene re-creation

is spot-on, the bike and Buster
get a makeover

by the wardrobe department.

ADAM:
It looks good.

NARRATOR:
And Buster is given no choice

about his participation
in the upcoming stunt.

That's how the old Hollywood
stunt men used to do it.

"Wire me in!" they'd scream.
[ Chuckles ]

Buster's old-school.

NARRATOR: With our very own
member of the Third Reich

on his bike, the guys,
with the help of Matt the pyro,

prepare the mortar that
will send Buster into the air.

JAMIE: We've got this mortar
with the plate

right on top of it.

That plate is welded
to the bottom of the motorcycle.

It's very secure.

When that gunpowder goes off,

the plate is gonna go up,
and that's all there is to it.

NARRATOR: With Jamie applying
the finishing touches,

Adam takes delivery of
the final piece of the puzzle.

Dude, I totally want
one of these.

NARRATOR: So now Adam's got
the ride to go with the outfit.

Awesome. Look. It's got a seat
for Jamie and everything.

Ba-da-da-da!
Ba-da-da!

NARRATOR: And with that out
of his system, it's stunt time.

ADAM:
It's like nerd fantasy camp.

Okay, so, here's
how the Mythbusters'

big-budget movie shot
is gonna break down.

Jamie and I will start
the motorcycle and sidecar

about 100 feet
behind our stunt cycle.

We're gonna drive right past it.

When we get 100 feet
ahead of it,

the pyro's gonna detonate
the charge in this.

Our stunt Buster is gonna fly
up in the air end over end,

and the long lens
that we're sh**ting it from

is gonna make it look like we're
a lot closer to the expl*si*n

than we actually are.

[ Horn beeping ]

You ready, old man?
You got a taste for adventure?

[ Chuckling ] Okay.
Here we go.

[ Engine revving ]

NARRATOR: So everyone,
including Buster, is all set.

Adam and Jamie roll up to speed,

and Matt waits with his finger
on the detonator.

To get the shot,
the timing, camera angle,

and flight of the bike
has to be just so.

And that couldn't have gone
better.

[ Laughs ]
Well, the timing was perfect.

If you say so, Junior.

[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
Well, let's check the footage.

The mortar exploded as Adam
and Jamie hit their mark,

and Buster, the chasing n*zi
with a stick in the spokes,

goes head over handlebars.

ADAM: [ Laughs ]

Oh, that's awesome.

JAMIE: I'm seeing it go
a*s over teakettle.

ADAM: That's exactly
what it looks like in the movie.

NARRATOR: Yep, as
a quick comparison confirms,

the guys got the shot.

ADAM:
It's beautiful.

You may watch this
and still think,

"I think it could happen
to the motorcycle

under the right conditions."

Let me point out
this stick in the wheel

made the motorcycle skid.

How much energy did it take

to make the bike go
completely vertical?

Enough energy to crush this
3/8-inch-thick steel plate

and crack the frame
in like 19 different places.

That's a hell of a lot
more energy

than you can generate
with a wooden stick.

Myth busted.

And now, Buster, for doing such
a good job, gets his reward.

He really likes it this way.

Nice work, Buster!
Nice work!