MythBusters (2011 season)


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 myths tested on the show as well as the results of the experiments. On March 16, 2011, Discovery Channel announced that the 2011 season would commence airing on April 6, 2011.

Episode overview


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

Episode 160 – "Mission Impossible Mask"

Firearms Force

Episode 161 – "Blue Ice"

Blue Ice

Myth statementStatusNotes
If the contents of an airplane toilet are jettisoned mid-flight, they can freeze into a solid mass capable of inflicting severe injury upon hitting the ground.ConfirmedKari spoke with an airplane technician and learned that although a pilot cannot dump the toilet mid-flight, the contents can leak out if certain valves and seals fail. The Build Team put together a section of a plane fuselage with a toilet outlet designed to suffer a slow or sudden leak as needed.
Grant and Tory visited a NASA research center and placed the rig in a tunnel designed to replicate the high wind speeds and cold temperatures typical of airplane cruising altitudes. When the toilet was dumped all at once, the liquid quickly atomized in the wind, leaving only a thin film to freeze on the fuselage. However, a slow leak allowed the ice to build up into a large mass that did not break loose until the rig "descended" to 12,000 feet.
To determine the ability of such a chunk to survive a fall to earth, Kari and a skydiver flew up to that altitude, threw a 35-pound ice block out of the plane, and jumped out after it as Grant and Tory tracked it from the ground. The block did not suffer any significant melting or damage during the fall or impact, prompting the team to declare the myth confirmed but unlikely due to the number of safeguards that would need to fail simultaneously to achieve the result.

Episode 162 – "Running on Water"

What Is Bombproof?

The Build Team investigated the ability of everyday objects to reduce the likelihood of injury or death from an explosion. They began by detonating a charge of C-4, with rupture disks at various distances set to burst at and . Distances of were found to be the thresholds of the death and injury zones, respectively, due to the blast shock wave.
For each object tested, they placed it at 10 and 20 feet, with rupture disks and a foam-cutout figure protected by it. They evaluated the question of surviving the shock wave by taking cover behind...
Myth statementStatusNotes
...a wooden table.ConfirmedThe tables were placed on their side, facing the blast, and the disks and figures were set behind them. Both figures were broken in the blast. The table was destroyed, but the disks did not burst. At, the table was heavily damaged; the "injury" disk did not burst, but did buckle noticeably. The team noted that shrapnel from the splintered table might cause injury or death independently of the shock wave.
...a car.ConfirmedThe cars were placed to present one side toward the blast, with the disks and figures behind the front end. No injury was noted at 20 feet, while only the "injury" disk burst at 10 feet.
...a metal dumpster.ConfirmedThe disks and figures were placed inside the dumpsters. The team observed the same results as for the car and noted that the side toward the blast showed some deformation.
...a cinderblock wall.ConfirmedSince the team only had enough time and materials to build one wall, they moved the blast site as needed to achieve the 10- and 20-foot distances. The 20-foot test was performed first; the wall stood, and the disk deformed but did not burst. After the wall was repaired, the 10-foot blast collapsed it and crushed the figure. However, the disks remained intact.

Episode 163 – "Bubble Trouble"

Dynamite Axe

Episode 164 – "Torpedo Tastic"

Exploding Wine

Episode 165 – "Blow Your Own Sail"

Adam and Jamie compared movie sound effects to their real-world counterparts by recording samples of both. They looked into the realistic nature of...
Myth statementStatusNotes
...a punch.BustedThey first hung up a pig carcass and took turns punching it, but had to pull their punches in order to keep from injuring their hands. The results did not resemble the movie sound effects, so Adam attached a ballistic-gelatin fist to a baseball bat and swung it at the carcass full force, with similar results. Sound designer Steve Boeddeker explained that the movie punch was heavily manipulated and built up from various sounds to build drama.
...a reloading gun. ConfirmedAdam cocked a.45 caliber pistol and its sound closely matched its movie counterpart. Steve explained that this is because modern sound engineers can record sounds of actual guns and save those sounds in a digital library for future use. This can apply to any gun regardless of size and caliber.
...a rattlesnake’s rattle.ConfirmedOwen Maercks, a snake expert, brought in a rattlesnake and coaxed it to shake its tail, producing a sound very close to its movie counterpart.
...a gun fitted with a suppressor.PlausibleAdam and Jamie visited a shooting range and fired.45 caliber and 9mm pistols, both with and without suppressors. With the help of sound expert Roger Schwenke, they found that the suppressor reduced the sound level considerably, from 161 to 126 decibels for the.45. The movie sound effect was not a perfect match, but did have enough similarity to result in a "plausible" verdict.
...an explosion.BustedIn the opening sequence of the myth, Jamie blew up a car rigged with primer cord and gallons of gasoline. He, Adam, and Roger observed that the movie explosion had a longer duration and covered a wider range of frequencies. A second attempt, using of C-4, gave a more substantial blast but still did not match the movie.

Blow Your Own Sail

Episode 166 – "Spy Car 2"

A twist on "Spy Car Escape", with the focus on offensive rather than defensive methods to disable an enemy car. Adam and Jamie tested the use of...
Myth statementStatusNotes
...wheel-mounted spikes.ConfirmedJamie built replicas of wheel spikes from the films Goldfinger and The Green Hornet. He and Adam drove side by side at, with Jamie using a set of devices on his passenger-side tires to damage Adam's driver's side as much as possible over. Both film designs shredded at least one of Adam's tires and left deep gouges in the bodywork.
Jamie then built a new device from a short pipe the same diameter as the hubcap, with the free end sharpened into blades. This design tore up Adam's bodywork, popped one tire, and pulled the other one off its rim, leaving the car sitting on its chassis.
...a hood-mounted machine gun.ConfirmedAdam built two mounts to hold a fully automatic paintball gun on the hood of a car – one for a fixed position, and another that could be aimed with a joystick and camera/monitor system. He and Jamie did a control run, with Adam driving and shooting at a target vehicle with a handheld semiautomatic gun, but only scored one glancing hit.
Next, Adam mounted a gun and a full ammunition hopper on his hood and chased Jamie, who drove a target car with the rear windshield removed. He was able to riddle the rear end and hit Jamie's head and seat a few times with the fixed mount; in the aimed-mount test, he got so many hits in such a short time that Jamie called an early end to the run.

Spinning Ice Bullets

Episode 167 – "Dodge a Bullet"

Water = Pavement

Episode 168 – "Fixing a Flat"

Adam and Jamie tested three impromptu remedies for a flat tire in the wilderness, without a spare being available. At a 2-mile off-road hazard course, they set up a typical highway vehicle and cut into one tire. They tried to drive using...
Myth statementStatusNotes
...straw stuffing in the tire.PlausibleThey removed the wheel, stuffed the tire with straw, and re-mounted it. The car performed adequately through one lap, but showed signs of losing its stuffing after the run. Adam and Jamie decided that straw could work as a short-term fix.
...a makeshift sled under the tire.BustedThey forced a branch underneath the flat tire, running front to back, and lashed it to the wheel. Although Jamie was able to drive the car forward with a push from Adam, the branch came off at a speed bump.
...a replacement wheel carved from a log.ConfirmedThey cut a log section to size, made it as round as possible, and mounted it in place of the wheel. It performed well through one full lap, and Adam and Jamie decided that it was the best solution so far.

Next they investigated ways to remedy a flat tire in an urban setting, setting up a road obstacle course. They tested...
Myth statementStatusNotes
...driving on the rim. PlausibleAfter revving the engine until the wooden wheel broke, Jamie mounted a bare rim in its place. Despite the trouble with balance and poor acceleration, he was able to navigate through every obstacle in the course.
...a manhole cover. PlausibleAdam found a cover that was the same size as the tire, mounted it, and was able to drive the course successfully.
...driving with all four wheels modified. Rims perform betterAdam and Jamie raced side by side on identical courses. Jamie's bare rims gave him better traction than Adam's manhole covers and allowed him to win the race at a steady speed.

Flaming Reel

Episode SP15 – "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"

A countdown of the cast's 12 favorite myths involving forms of transportation.
#Name Myth featuredComments
12Plane CrazyTalked Into Landing"Breaking" a NASA flight simulator
11Out of ControlInstant ConvertibleTrouble with setting up crashes
10Fuel for ThoughtDon't Drive AngryGrant and Tory reliving the stress that Kari put them through to test this myth
92 Wheels...Are Better Than 4Motor Bike Flip, Tablecloth ChaosAdam and Jamie commenting on two motorcycle-related myths
8RC FreaksCar SkipTrouble with remote control systems on cars
7Stunt DrivingDrafting for Money, Knight Rider Ramp, Cyclists Drafting a Big RigSpecialized driving by the cast. Includes a previously unaired segment from 2007 in which Tory drafts behind a truck while riding a bicycle.
6Controversy CornerAirplane on a Conveyor BeltThe myth that has generated the most debate among viewers
5Putting It on the LineBoth versions of "Peeing on the Third Rail", from 2003 and 2004Adam urinating on camera to help build the original dummy for this myth, then later on an electric fence
4Pimp My RideReverse EngineeringExtreme modifications to cars for testing myths
3Need for SpeedSonic Boom Sound-OffAdam vomiting as he breaks the sound barrier during a flight with the Blue Angels
2Taxi!Supersize Jet TaxiTesting complicated first by insurance company objections, then by pavement peeling off the runway
1CarmageddonAdam: Donated Car Explosion
Jamie: Ramp Jump
Kari: Fixing a Car with Duct Tape
Grant: Snowplow Split
Tory: Elevator Car Cut
Each cast member's favorite myth involving automotive destruction

Episode 169 – "Let There Be Light"

Bumper Cars

Episode 170 – "Paper Armor"

Paper Armor

Episode 171 – "Bikes and Bazookas"

Starting this episode, the theme music is "rearranged and performed" by The Dandy Warhols.

Bike vs. Car

Red Bazooka

Episode 172 – "Newton's Crane Cradle"

Bird Balance

Episode 173 – "Walk a Straight Line"

Binary Fender Bender

Episode 174 – "Duct Tape Plane"

Adam and Jamie investigated three viral videos involving excavators. They tested the machine's ability to...
Myth statementStatusNotes
...row a barge on open water, using the excavator's bucket as an oar.ConfirmedThey set up two excavators on a barge and had a tugboat tow them into San Francisco Bay. Their goal was to keep control of the barge's direction and maintain forward momentum toward the shore. The first attempt failed due to strong currents pushing them into the bay; when they started closer to shore, they were able to row to the dock.
...spin in place and allow a person tethered to the bucket to wakeboard.Confirmed Jamie operated an excavator set in the middle of a pond while Adam rode the board. After a few adjustments of bucket height and spin speed, Adam successfully stayed upright. He enjoyed himself so much that he created a special category for this myth: "Pure Unadulterated Fun."
...load itself into the back of a cargo truck.ConfirmedAdam met with an expert machinery operator to work out the details of attempting this feat. By carefully manipulating the boom, bucket, and tracks, he was able to lean the front end against the tailgate, then turn the cabin around and lift the rear end off the ground so he could drive into the cargo bed.

Duct Tape Plane

Episode 175 – "Flying Guillotine"

The Flying Guillotine

Episode 176 – "Drain Disaster"

Bedlam-Proof Bedliner

The Build Team tested viewers’ claims concerning the toughness of spray-on truck bedliner resin. They investigated its ability to withstand...
Myth statementStatusNotes
...a car crash.BustedThe team sprayed one half of a car with bedliner, leaving the other exposed, and carried out crash tests. In front- and rear-end collisions with a concrete barricade, the treated side showed much less damage than the untreated one. However, when Tory rammed each side with a second car at, the team found the same serious damage on both sides.
...a dog bite.ConfirmedGrant built a robot modeled after a German shepherd’s skull, calibrated to match its bite force. The team sprayed one sleeve on each of four jackets – denim, leather, canvas, quilted coat – and tested the robot on all eight sleeves. It easily bit through the untreated sleeves and damaged the dummy arms underneath, but could not penetrate the treated ones. Tory chose the quilted coat for testing against a police dog; after it had been completely sprayed, he put it on and suffered no injuries when the dog tried to bite him.
…an explosion.ConfirmedThe team built wood-frame and cinderblock walls, one treated and one untreated of each type, and placed Buster behind each before setting off a C-4 charge in front. The untreated walls were badly damaged and threw large amounts of debris on Buster, while the treated ones showed no damage and protected him.

Episode SP16 – "Location, Location, Location"

A countdown of the cast's 12 favourite locations for testing myths, with an emphasis on one myth that was tested at the location.
No.Name Myth featuredComments
12Home Sweet HomeNo specific mythM5 Industries, the MythBusters' home base, is examined. It includes details on the origins of the M5 name, the opening and closing of M6, the shop initially used by the Build Team in 2004, as well as M7, the Build Team's home since 2005.
11Don't "Quarry" About It!Cement Mix-Up
Knock Your Socks Off		The quarries used by the MythBusters are examined. Adam and Jamie detail the last-minute addition of the concrete truck explosion. The Build Team also details the damage control after the pressure wave from a quarry explosion caused collateral damage in nearby Esparto, California and why they have not been at that quarry since.
10African AdventureElephants Scared of MiceThe myths tested in South Africa are featured. Though initially they were filming for Supersize Shark, due to inclement conditions they decided to film an impromptu myth to better make use of their time there.
9Runaway RunwayTree CannonThe runway at Alameda is featured. The location is frequented so much that Grant recalls that some fans mistakenly believed that M5 was based in Alameda. Jamie notes that the hand-carved cannonball that was shot out of the tree cannon was never found, even after 7 years.
8Zombie TownElevator of DeathAbandoned areas are featured in this entry, with a special focus on the abandoned residential neighborhood nicknamed by the crew as "Zombie Town." The effort into cleaning up the site before "Elevator of Death" could be tested is detailed.
7Cool for SchoolNo specific mythUniversity and government research facilities used by the MythBusters are detailed, with a specific emphasis on the rocket sled testing facilities in New Mexico Tech. Jamie also talks about the people who run these facilities and the insight they provide to the myths being tested.
6ThunderdomeNo specific mythThe local power-generating stations used in myths that require high-voltage electricity, nicknamed the "Thunderdome" by Adam, is featured.
5Just Hanging Out!Seven FoldsThe hangars at Moffat Field are featured. The Build Team recalls an owl dung that had to be removed from the paper between testing days as the paper was being laid out.
4Presidential PerksPresident's ChallengeThe MythBusters' three visits to the White House is featured, and featured is Jamie's speechlessness at Barack Obama's introduction speech congratulating the role of MythBusters in children's science education. The 500 students chosen in that test were all from the high school where Jamie's wife has been a longtime science teacher.
3It's Snow JokeSpinning Ice BulletsMyths tested in wintry conditions are tested. The Build Team talks about having to brave the weather in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
2Deserted DesertJATO Rocket
Confederate Rocket		The Mojave Desert is featured. Kari, then an intern at M5, details on her role in the pilot episode, having driven through the night to catch up to Adam and Jamie. Adam and Jamie detail on having an M5 truck stuck in the mud on two occasions during "Confederate Rocket". Jamie also notes that portions of the desert are cleared for types of testing that the MythBusters have yet to fully make use of.
1Home Away From HomeSawdust CannonNicknamed "home away from home", the bomb range is explored. Jamie talks about how some of the myths involving explosives would otherwise be illegal if the bomb range was not available. The Build Team details their experience with the non-dairy creamer cannon and how much more dangerous than it was originally anticipated. The challenges of working in rainy conditions, when the ground is wet and muddy. The episode ends with a montage of explosions from myths tested on the range.

Episode SP17 – "Wet and Wild"

A countdown of the cast's 12 favorite myths involving water.
No.Name Myth featuredComments
12Wettest & WildestWaterslide WipeoutBuilding the massive, steep launch ramp for this myth, and Adam's experience sliding down it
11Water BombWater Safe
Black Powder Shark		Two of the cast's favorite myths involving submerged explosives
10Out in the ColdSwimming in SyrupChallenges of staying warm during the swimming time trials, filmed during winter in San Francisco
9Dive! Dive! Dive!The SqueezeThe Build Team's unsavory experience with the pork dummy Tory built to help test this myth
8MythBusters on IceBlue IceThe Build Team reflects on their visit to a NASA low-temperature wind tunnel
7Under PressureExploding Water Heater
Steam Powered Machine Gun		Dealing with the energy and hazards of steam in myth testing
6Pool CrueltyBulletproof WaterMayhem caused by firing high-powered weapons into a swimming pool
5Water TortureChinese Water TortureUnpleasant experiences of Adam and Kari during this round of testing
4The Life AquaticOctopus Egg PregnancyAdam's discovery that the texture of his skin was unusually pleasant to octopi
3BoatmageddonBifurcated BoatThe Build Team's repeated difficulties in setting up and performing their tests on land
2Hidden DepthsAdam: Eye Gouge
Jamie: Fish Flap
Build Team:
Fatal Flashlight		Memorable shark myths, as chosen by each cast member
1Rock the BoatBuilding a Pykrete BoatThe inspiration for building a speedboat out of newspaper-based "Super Pykrete", stemming from the cast's second trip to Alaska

Episode 177 – "Wheel of Mythfortune"

Adam, Jamie, and the Build Team test four myths chosen at random from viewer submissions.

Pick a Door

Adam and Jamie tested the myths that when people were presented with the Monty Hall problem, they would...
Myth statementStatusNotes
...tend to stick with their first choice.ConfirmedAfter they built a game-show mockup set at a local theater, Adam acted as a game-show host and had 20 volunteers play a game of "Pick a Door." Once a player chose a door, Jamie opened an empty one and Adam offered the player a chance to switch; all 20 stayed with their original pick, many of them believing that they had a 50-50 chance to win at this point.
...be more likely to win if they changed their decision.ConfirmedThey built a small-scale simulator to do 50 trials each, with Adam always switching his choice and Jamie never switching. Adam won far more often than Jamie did, and Jamie explained the reason: because the player has a 2/3 probability of choosing a losing door at first, switching turns the odds in their favor.

Grenade Shrapnel

Firearm Fashion

Adam and Jamie examined the effectiveness of handgun firing stances often used in movies to find out if they allow a handgun user to shoot faster and more accurately than the standard two-handed stance. They set up targets at and each took a turn firing 8 rounds from a.45 caliber pistol, evaluating their performance on a combination of speed and accuracy. The techniques they tested were...
Myth statementStatusNotes
...the Weaver technique.ConfirmedThis was the control technique because it is known to be effective and is actually used by law enforcement personnel. The final score for the control was 7.3.
...from the hip.BustedThe final score for this technique was 2.8, far lower than the control. The main reason was that neither Adam nor Jamie had any way of knowing where they were aiming because they could not look down the sights on the pistol. They also had no ability to aim in the same place every time.
...from the shoulder, with a straight arm.PlausibleThe final score for this technique was 7.1, which was very close to the control. It was effective because, like the Weaver technique, Adam and Jamie were able to use the sights on the gun to aim well.
...from the shoulder with the gun turned sideways, gangster-style.BustedThe final score for this technique was 1.3, the lowest score of all the techniques tested. Like shooting from the hip, Adam and Jamie were not able to aim using the sights.
...using two guns pointed straight ahead, fired alternately.BustedFor both of the two-gun techniques, Adam and Jamie used twice as many bullets, which still gave an accurate comparison because the doubled amount of time counteracted the doubled scoring opportunities. The final score for this technique was 4.1, lower than the control. Adam and Jamie found it difficult to repeatedly switch looking down each gun between shots.
...using two guns with the arms crossed.BustedThe final score for this technique was 4.6, which was also lower than the control. Like the previous technique, it was found difficult to manage two guns at the same time. Notably, however, the score for this technique was slightly higher than the previous technique.

There was one more technique tested in the 2012 season that proved more effective than the control.

Flaming Tire

Episode 178 – "Toilet Bomb"

Flock Formation