List of Penn & Teller Tell a Lie episodes


This is the episode list of the television series Penn & Teller Tell a Lie which airs on Discovery Channel.

Episode overview


No. in seriesNo. in seasonTitleOriginal air dateU.S. viewers

Episode 1

Originally aired on October 5, 2011
ClaimPoll ResultsConclusionClue
You can land a plane by steering with its doors.11%TrueN/A
B-Flat makes alligators hungry for love.14%TrueN/A
The best heat shield is 99% air.4%TrueN/A
A zookeeper was able to stop a tiger from killing him by stuffing his fist in its mouth, triggering the tiger's sensitive gag reflex and causing it to retreat.50%LieThe security camera footage shows the entrance to the New York Public Library, rather than the zoo in which the story was supposedly held. The "victim" was also a Hollywood animal trainer and the tiger was from the movie Gladiator.
You can reduce pain with obscenity.6%TrueN/A
Bodybuilders can't lift a 112-pound woman11%TrueN/A
A head of hair can lift a Mustang4%TrueN/A

Episode 2

Originally aired on October 12, 2011
ClaimPoll ResultsConclusionClue
A wing walker can light a match on an airborne plane.11%TrueN/A
Bacon plus oxygen can cut steel.21%TrueN/A
Wallpaper can stop a wrecking ball.9%TrueN/A
Didgeridoos stops snoring17%TrueN/A
Our "mighty cheese" is a mighty good wrestler.14%TrueN/A
You can eavesdrop with a laser pointer.14%TrueN/A
35 jet engines were used to contain a forest fire in Shoshone National Forest in 2009.14%LieThey said the capital of Wyoming was Laramie, when it is actually Cheyenne.
They put the engine backwards.

Episode 3

Originally aired on October 19, 2011
ClaimPoll ResultsConclusionClue
Two bullets blow up car21%TrueN/A
Wine was a Weapon in World War II45%LieThey claimed bottle built up 500 joules of pressure, but pressure isn't measured in that unit and the footage of the swastika was flipped.
Fresh road kill is good11%TrueN/A
Eggs hold up cheerleaders6%TrueN/A
Robots attack9%TrueN/A
Piranha will not kill you8%TrueN/A

Episode 4

Originally aired on October 26, 2011
ClaimPoll ResultsConclusionClue
Butter knife splits bullet just as well as a Samurai Sword11%TrueN/A
Termites blow up house53%LieThere aren't any native species of Drywood termites in Montana. There has never been any reported case of home fires being started by termites. The "Termite wood dust" they used in their fire demonstration was actually Lycopodium powder. The home explosions shown in the piece were Stock footage found in the Discovery Channel's video library. Penn stated that the research team could find no reason why it could not happen, there were just no documented cases of it actually happening.
Pan for gold in NY12%TrueN/A
How to win a coin toss13%TrueN/A
Anti-Gravity House6%TrueN/A
Hydrogen Peroxide fuels rocket5%TrueN/A

Note - There was a second lie in this episode. This episode only had 6 stories, not 7 as the introduction stated.

Episode 5

Originally aired on November 2, 2011
ClaimPoll ResultsConclusionClue
Machine guns miss the mark4%TrueN/A
Clothing can be made out of Milk 21%TrueN/A
Pizza Box in Space 16%TrueN/A
Man outruns a horse26%TrueN/A
Floating dessert20%LieThey said that Helium was the lightest and most abundant element in the universe, when it is actually Hydrogen.
Bottle game can be rigged4%TrueN/A
Hook & loop beats truck9%TrueN/A

Episode 6

Originally aired on November 9, 2011
ClaimPoll ResultsConclusionClue
Linen armor stops arrows 3%TrueN/A
You can pour a drink while upside down in a Barrel Roll4%TrueN/A
Humans use echolocation4%TrueN/A
Magnet removes tattoo83%LieThe tattoo of a Chinese glyph translates as "not real" or "false". Electromagnetic paddle was actually half a defibrillator. While showing the "high tech" equipment in the lab, they included a shot of a microwave oven. The list of names in the typo-ridden scientific study included silly names such as "Hellen O.F. Troy" and "Mel B. Rooks", and fictional characters like "Carlton S. Banks, Bel Air".
Road makes music 2%TrueN/A
Snails on a razor1%TrueN/A
Liquid nitrogen cracks safe3%TrueN/A