List of MythBusters pilot episodes


The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, and the like. This is a list of the various myths tested on the show as well as the results of the experiments.

Episode overview


No. in seriesNo. in seasonTitleOriginal air dateOverall episode No.

Episode P1 – "Jet-Assisted Chevy"

This myth was inspired by the Darwin Award-winning Arizona Dept. of Public Safety story about a former Air Force sergeant mounting a JATO rocket to a 1967 Chevrolet Impala and firing the rocket while at highway speed——on a deserted road. It was also alleged that when at, he had to make a turn with a slight upgrade but burned out his brakes trying to stop, was launched into the air, and hit the side of a mountain.
Myth statementStatusNotes
A car with a JATO rocket attached can speed up to, become airborne, and impact with the side of a cliff.Busted
Adam and Jamie could not acquire real JATO rockets from the Air Force and instead used three amateur rocket motors of equivalent power to one JATO rocket. The rockets increased the speed of the car considerably. Although no speed measurement was made, the speed was clearly nowhere near the 300 mph suggested in the myth. The car also did not become airborne. This myth was revisited in the Supersized Myths special and tested a third time in the celebrating 10 years on the air.

Pop Rocks

This myth was inspired by the alleged death of Mikey of Life Cereals commercial fame—allegedly due to gastric rupture caused by an excess of carbon dioxide from a six-pack of soda and six pouches of Pop Rocks.
Myth statementStatusNotes
Consuming large quantities of Pop Rocks and cola can cause one's stomach to explode.BustedTesting the myth using pig stomachs filled with hydrochloric acid to approximate a stomach's acid, Jamie and Adam found that not enough carbon dioxide was produced by the reaction to make a stomach explode. However, with six cans of cola and six packages of Pop Rocks, the subject would experience considerable pain. This was also done at a at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. However, Jamie and Adam did note that there are documented cases of gastric rupture due to an excess of CO2 and did manage to blow another pig stomach by using acid, soda, and a larger-than-recommended quantity of sodium bicarbonate.
Also, in a similar myth dealing with Diet Coke and Mentos, it was learned that the simple act of drinking the soda released most of the carbon dioxide in it, rendering the reaction between soda and Mentos much less powerful than normal.

Episode P2 – "Biscuit Bazooka"

This myth was inspired by a BBC and Reuters story about an obese woman flying on a Scandinavian Airlines System flight from Europe and getting stuck on the lavatory toilet due to suction, forcing the crew to land the plane while she was still on the toilet.
Myth statementStatusNotes
An obese person can get stuck on an airline vacuum toilet.BustedJamie and Adam replicated the circumstances with a used airplane toilet that has pressure on the ground as well as in the air and a weighed-down set of buttocks made of hot-melt vinyl to make it fleshy and soft and reinforced with wood. However, they were unable to get a perfect seal on a modern airplane toilet, even after removing the shroud to give the butt the best chance at sticking. They found a properly working toilet provides suction for only a few seconds, and even then, the suction is not beyond human ability to overcome.
Note: This is the first myth Kari Byron participated in testing, serving as the model for the buttocks, which were then supersized for the mold.

Biscuit Bullet

Falling Lawyer

Episode P3 – "Poppy-Seed Drug Test"

Poppy Seed Drug Test

''Goldfinger''