The MythBusters The MythBusters

MythBusters Special 9: Mega Movie Myths 2-Hour Special

Premier Date: September 13, 2006

The Dukes of Hazzard: A car can jump a significant distance using a pile of dirt as a ramp and land with minimal damage or loss of momentum.

busted

The car managed to jump 172 feet (51.6 m), three feet (90 cm) short of the estimated distance of the gorge jumped in the movie. However, the car crashed nose-down and was destroyed, busting the myth (and the car). It is somewhat widely-known that stunt cars rarely survive the bigger jumps (and must subsequently be scrapped).

Big Trouble in Little China: A lock can be broken by shooting it with handguns.

busted

The 9mm pistol and the .357 Magnum failed to open either the padlocks or the deadbolts.

A lock can be broken by shooting it with shotgun slugs or high-powered rifle ammunition.

plausible

Both types of ammunition were able to disable the locks by completely obliterating them. However, the MythBusters note that this lock-busting method would be very dangerous in real life due to ricochet or spalling. Because of this hazard, military and SWAT units use a special shotgun cartridge called a Breaching round to break through doors.

Austin Powers in Goldmember: A car can be equipped with a discreet ejector seat.

plausible

A pneumatic ejector seat fitted into a car seemed to fool most of the people who inspected it, and the seat successfully launched a test dummy out of the car. However, the design of the car plays a huge role in concealability, which is why Jamie and Adam opted for a roomier, boxier car rather than one of the flashy and sleek sports cars often seen in spy movies.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: A person can fall through layers of awnings and survive.

plausible

Buster was broken into pieces during the fall, but “survived” his fall (according to the shock sensors) with less-than-lethal (but still serious) “injuries”. Tory then demonstrated the movie method of using pre-cut awnings and safety wires. (Adam was originally slated to perform the stunt, but was stopped at the last minute due to insurance reasons.)

Underworld: One can escape through a floor by shooting a ring around them.

busted

Even a fully-automatic MP-5 failed to break through the support beams in any reasonable amount of time, even with the assistance of a 12-gauge shotgun. This method also wastes a lot of ammunition; Tory had to fire all of his 360 rounds of ammunition. Finally, due to the close proximity of the shots to the shooter, flying debris and the possibility of ricochets makes this method extremely dangerous.

The Count of Monte Cristo: A sword can cut off the blade of another sword.

busted

A genuine Japanese-constructed Katana did slice through the replica stainless-steel sword. It also broke another genuine sword, but this break was caused by stress fracturing rather than being cut through. Katana vs. Rapier: Rapier was bent into snapping, but not cut. Claymore vs. Katana: Katana flexed but didn’t break. Claymore vs. Viking sword: Viking sword severely nicked the Claymore. In the end, though some swords managed to break the other, none were able to actually cut through another sword.