Ask The Mythbusters

Who are the Mythbusters? Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are the hosts of a unique and popular television show on the Discovery cable channel. Working from a background in the special effects industry and shooting on location at effects warehouse M5 Industries, Jamie and Adam attempt to shed light on hearsay, rumour, and myth. Along the way they usually run across a little bit of science, too. Today, you have a chance to put questions to them. We'll take the 15 best questions and pass them on to the gentlemen to be answered sometime soon after the Thanksgiving holiday. One question per comment, please, and keep things topical. We'll post their responses as soon as we get them back, so ask away.

Vegie

[markyland]

If you were a vegetable, which one would you be and why?

Cool

[JWW]

Mythbusters is a great show! Oh, yeah I should ask a question.

I understand completely why you guys warn us to "not try this at home". But who warns you guys?

Ok all joking aside. You guys do some really dangerous stuff on the show. What has been the scariest/ most hair raising moment on the show so far, a time when you might have thought "this is really going to hurt"?

Oh this is an easy one...

[tgd]

What is Kari's phone number, and whats her favorite restaurant?

Kari and Grant

[GigsVT]

Are Kari and Grant a couple? I noticed Grant let Kari use his TI-30Xa calculator. I can't imagine such a sacrifice would be made lightly.

Geek myth

[Anonymous Coward]

When are you going to test the "myth" that Geeks can't get laid. Bonus points if the "testing" involves Kari.

I can answer this one...

[Anonymous Coward]

That guy Buster has been pretty messed up a couple of times. I think he's had just about every part replaced.

Re:Myth or not?

[__aaxwdb6741]

They busted this.
The answer was no, and Adam even tried getting shot by a penny in the ass for the purpose of ... showing his ass on cable.

Re:Houston, we have a busted/confirmed myth

[Lord_Dweomer]

How about trying to find the WMDs in Iraq.

Who would you rather have on your team

[AngryMuppet]

BA Baracus [imdb.com] or Angus MacGyver [imdb.com]?

Re:Favorites

[Such007]

Have you ever done any experiments on tapeworms? Can they live outside the body, say for example in a tap line at a bar?

I have a question for the Mythbusters.

[sgant]

Is it true that Athena really came out of Zeus' head? I find that really hard to believe because we all...oh, what's that? Not that type of myth?

Never mind then...oh, and great show!

Bust this myth

[DaFallus]

Is it true that if I give $8000 and all my banking information to Sumbawi Katangi at First Nigerian Bank I will inherit Prince Muntu's $8 million fortune?

Ballistics Gel

[tdischino]

What's the naughtiest/kinkiest thing you've ever molded with Ballistics Gel?

Re:Computer myths?

[harlows_monkeys]

We accidently destroyed the monitor on a "Battlezone" arcade game by putting it in some kind of out-of-spec mode. We were trying out a bug that we'd heard could crash the game (with the permission of the owner, who was curious and watching). Basically, you get down to your last tank, and then keep dodging shots until the game sends a missile. You time it right so that when the game takes away the enemy tank and replaces it with the missile, there is a last shot from the enemy tank still in progress, and you run into that shot and die.

What happens then is the game goes into demo mode. However, that missile is still there, and it kills the demo tank. The game then crashes, as the demo mode code did not expect the demo tank to die.

What happened in our case was the monitor then went freaky, and that distinct smell and smoke that you get when a monitor fries appeared.

We wanted to try this again after it was fixed to see if it was reproduceable, but the owner was against it as none of us could afford to cover the damages if it happened again (we were all poor college students).

Re:upside down car

[TubeSteak]

Your argument makes sense, but the "less this, means less that, means less this" logically make any sense.

Downforce is downforce. The only situation where I'd question the ability of the car to hold traction would be during an extended driving session where the downforce is at a 90 degree angle to earth. Kindof like a plane flying on its side... it doesn't have any flight surfaces (other than the rudder, which cars don't have) providing lift in that direction.

Anyways, if you're going fast enough, that transition between right side up and upside down is irrelevant because gravity generated downforce.

Personally, I think you just don't like the idea of cars driving upside down.

Re:Houston, we have a busted/confirmed myth

[Anonymous Coward]

How about trying to prove that slashdoters actualy have gone on a date?

Re:Repeatable Experiments

[Rude Turnip]

As fun as that would be, I'll be you anything that some slack-jawed yokel will fsck it up and lose another limb. Litigation-ilarity will ensue.

Re:Oh this is an easy one...

[CmdrPorno]

415-620-5412... Call her and ask her what her favorite restaurant is!

Re:Favorites

[carlos_benj]

The only problem with it is that you're left with a salty residue on your beer can/bottle. The first few sips are salty unless you wipe it off.

That is a problem. I'd suggest wiping it off then.......

With brilliant thinking like this, do you suppose I could have a spot on the show?

Do cats always land on their feet...?

[Anonymous Coward]

Do cats always land on their feet? What if they are in a box that is spinning as it is thrown into the air?

Re:Favorites

[IngramJames]

allegedly this was the first confirmed case of this being captured on camera, rather than being repeated as hearsay

I remember watching that being done on UK TV as a kid in the 70s. I wasn't that impressed, because the glass didn't shatter violently and spectactularly, like it would have done if Murdoch off the A Team had shot it with an AK-47 in a bar raid on local moonshine suppliers.

I don't know what that says about me, and I don't much care to ask.

Re:Oh this is an easy one...

[Durandal64]

And in this thread, we're busting the myth that Kari might actually be interested in random people posting on Slashdot.

Re:Favorites

[netsrek]

they did investigate the myth that a human could give birth to (iirc) an octopus. it turned out that the human stomach is too harsh of an environment for nearly all animals

Babies live in the stomach!?!?!?!

Migratory Coconuts

[dj245]

I've always wondered if Coconuts really migrate or if a swallow could carry one. Maybe if two of them carried it on a sort of line...

Re:Cool

[AKAImBatman]

Whatever? Whatever?!? I don't think you realize the peril you place yourself in! Now the wrath of the First Church of Buster [mythbustersfanclub.com] shall verily rain down upon you! Repent! Repent before you are smitten! ;-)

Re:Houston, we have a busted/confirmed myth

[Anonymous Coward]

You'll find them under Saddam's Disneyland resort where all the Iraqi children used to play in happiness before the evil US destroyed it with their imperialism.

Re:Your show is great fun to watch and all, but...

[Moofie]

Maybe in California. In America, they're perfectly legal.

G-Spot

[Anonymous Coward]

Is there such a thing, and where can I find it?

Self Description?

[mcflaherty]

Here at Slashdot, we take pride in our nerd and geek heritage. A lot of the knowledge and pastimes you demonstrate on your show qualify as pretty nerdy. Would you describe yourselves as geeks?

Re:Favorites

[blair1q]

> Its said to be impossible to prove a negative

It's not true.

Re:Houston, we have a busted/confirmed myth

[nmb3000]

Good evidence that we truly never landed on the moon can be found here [uiuc.edu]. Irrefutable if you ask me.

Re:Favorites

[Zordak]

Prove it!

Dear Mythbusters...

[Anonymous Coward]

...after seeing the show about peeing on a powerline I've tried it myself... unfortunatly I live in europe and it seems that we use slightly higher voltage to run our trains. When I wake up in the hospital I was askd why I did it and I said it was shown to be safe on Mythbusters... then they told me that in europe the voltage for powerlines for trains is from 15.000 V to 50.000 V depending on the country...
--
My dick'n balls are now busted...

Re:Favorites

[Stele]

How about the "size doesn't matter" myth?