The MythBusters The MythBusters

MythBusters Episode 30: Son of a Gun

Premier Date: March 30, 2005

An American Civil War soldier impregnated a woman after being shot in the groin and having the bullet continue on into the woman in question.

busted

No spermatozoa could be found alive in tests. In addition, it was well documented that an abdominal wound would have been fatal to the woman (or man) in that era.

A person can be electrocuted by talking on the phone during a lightning storm.

confirmed

Adam and Jamie placed a ballistic gel dummy on a chair and put a telephone receiver on its ear. They activated a machine that was able to shoot 200,000 volts of electricity towards a mock-up hut. The electricity shot from the mouthpiece of the phone into the mouth of the dummy, and it set off the gunpowder charge that Jamie taped to the phone receiver as a signal. A voltmeter wired up to the test rig blew a fuse.

A person can be electrocuted by using the shower during a lightning storm.

plausible

The dummy was not hit. A small fire did occur, however, and the voltmeter again blew a fuse. During both experiments, small electromagnetic pulses interfered with the camera.

A boat can be driven with its trailer still attached.

confirmed

The boat can still be driven, but there is a great loss in maximum speed. A trailer shop owner said on the show that he once had to deliver a boat and trailer to a customer in such a manner, as the only access to the customer’s boat ramp was from the water.