MythBusters Episode 108: Blind Driving

A blind person can drive a car safely by following instructions given by a passenger.

confirmed

Adam and Jamie first tried driving while blindfolded but failed miserably. When a truly blind person was behind the wheel, he could drive fairly well. Adam and Jamie also tested the circumstance of the passenger (instructor) being intoxicated. This caused communication to break down and resulted in erratic, dangerous driving, much like the driver himself was drunk. Finally, the MythBusters speculated that a person rendered blind before they could get a driver’s license would lack preconceptions about driving, making following instructions less difficult than if they had previous driving experience.

It is better to hit a golf ball straight through a tree than around it because it is 90% air anyway.

busted

Tory, having played golf since high school, hit 10 golf balls at a tree (the upper, foliaged portion), resulting in 6 going through, 2 bad shots, and 2 ricocheting off the trunk; Grant and Kari proved inept at driving. Grant then built a robot which only got 24 out of 100 golf balls through the tree. Tory also competed against the robot, getting 27 of 100 hits through the tree.

Metal-cleated shoes attract lightning.

busted

Two identical ballistics gel dummies were constructed. One wore metal cleated shoes, and the other wore plastic cleated ones. Both were exposed to simulated lightning, and lightning actually struck the dummy with plastic cleats in 6 out of 10 trials.

The shock wave from a C-4 explosion can knock a golf ball into the hole.

busted

After recreating the circumstances in the movie, the C-4 explosion failed to result in the huge fireball seen in the film and the golf ball did not move as a result of the shock wave. For effect, Tory, Grant, and Kari later used gasoline to duplicate the fireball seen in the movie.

(This myth is based on the final scene of Caddysack.)