The MythBusters The MythBusters

MythBusters Episode 105: Viral Hour

Premier Date: September 3, 2008

A small car can be lifted into the air by high pressure fire hoses.

confirmed

The MythBusters first performed a small scale experiment using a model car and several garden hoses branching from a single fire hose. The model care levitated, proving that the premise is at least feasible. During their full scale experiment, the MythBusters initially couldn’t get a real car to levitate, partly because a city water usage cap limited the amount of time the hose could be kept on. However, they had the idea to remove the car’s engine block, assuming that the people who performed the stunt in the viral video may have done the same thing. Once the engine was removed, the car levitated about fifteen feet in the air.

Goats can be startled into fainting.

confirmed

Tory and Kari went to a goat farm and attempted to scare some goats into fainting. They tried several attempts, from using an umbrella to hiding in food, and were able to demonstrate that goates can, indeed, be literally scared stiff. The attending goat handler explained that some goats, when startled, involuntarily stiffen their leg muscles, which can cause them to fall over and give the appearance of fainting. Tory and Kari warned that results may depend on the goats, but the myth is still very true.

A person can create a huge fireball by dispersing a cloud of sawdust and igniting it with a flare.

confirmed

The Build Team built the cannon according to the specifications shown in the video. After some failed attempts, the sawdust eventually ignited into a large fireball exactly as shown in the video. The Build Team then decided to scale up the sawdust experiment, using a larger more powerful cannon and extremely flammable powdered non-dairy creamer. This created a massive fireball that even startled the Build Team.

A pool of dense gas can make a tin foil boat appear to float in the air.

confirmed

The MythBusters proved this by using sulfur hexafluoride, a gas six times more dense than air. The gas was poured into a rectangular vessel, creating “invisible water” upon which a simple tin foil boat floated. Subsequently, pouring some of the sulfur hexafluoride into the boat caused it to sink.

You can charge an MP3 music player like an iPod by plugging a USB cable into an onion that has been soaked in electrolyte fluid for half an hour.

busted

Grant tested this myth according to the process shown in the video, but was unable to get the iPod to charge. In order to confirm whether or not any charge was moving across the onion, Grant plugged a voltmeter into the onion, which indicated that there was zero charge in the onion. Grant explained that the basic idea would be that the electrolytes could be used as a sort of “wet battery”, but the setup in the video lacked the vital anode and cathode, which would actually move the electrolytes. With this evidence, Grant declared the video a hoax.