The MythBusters The MythBusters

MythBusters Mini Myths: Egg-uinox, Mini Shark Myths

Premier Date: January 1, 2004

These “mini myths” were not originally part of a broadcast episode. They were shown online or as outtakes, and some were included in subsequent specials or DVDs.

You can only balance an egg on its ends during the spring and fall equinox.

busted

There is nothing special about the spring and fall equinoxes that allow you to balance an egg on end. You can do it on any day of the year as long as you’re dexterous enough. Hard boiled eggs balance better than raw eggs however.

Sharks are attracted to the color yellow.

plausible*

When all the results were counted, the sharks preferred to go for the yellow seal dummy before the other ones (red, blue, black, white, silver), and Jamie said this result was confirmed by experts in the field.

(*In the subsequent Jawsome Shark Special, this same myth was described as “busted” and the discrepancy was not clearly explained.)

Sharks can detect a single drop of blood dropped into a pool of water.

busted

The sharks detected fish blood, however they either did not detect human blood or did not care about it. Also, like any scent, the sharks weren’t able to detect the blood until their noses came into contact with the blood particles, and the smell grew weaker as the blood got diluted by the water, meaning that a single drop of blood in a particular area of the pool would not be detectable by any shark that was not in that area, and was not swimming right into the blood.

(This segment was eventually included in the Jawsome Shark Special.)

A shark’s skin is rough enough to be used as sandpaper.

confirmed

When compared to various grains of sandpaper, the sharkskin that Adam and Jamie acquired was comparable to a very high-grain (400 to 600) of sandpaper, and can be used as such, even on a rotary sander.

(This segment was eventually included in the Jawsome Shark Special.)

There is a rule of thumb a casual observer can use to adequately estimate the size of a shark.

busted

Out of all the measurements taken of lemon sharks, only one (from nose tip to dorsal fin tip) could consistently be used to estimate the shark’s size, and it, in itself, requires an up-close and personal measurement, something that would be too difficult and dangerous to be done by a casual observer.