The Mythbusters are funny

Just watched episode #77 where they try to replicate "A boat moving at 25 miles per hour can be split down the middle by hitting a channel marker" on land, by putting the boat over a trailer and pulling it with a cable towards a sturdy metal pole. Am I the only one who sees how ridiculous it is that they've completely overlooked the hydrodynamics involved in the original collision? What the hell was the admission test for those kids? Looks? Acting? Intelligence doesn't seem to be part of the criteria

reply to post by Deny777


After they blew a hole through a couple of houses with a cannon i bet insurance has got a bit tougher/harder to get and they're not as popular as they used to be so the budget has probably gone down so renting underwater gear is a bit too expensive?

reply to post by Maxatoria


Indeed... It sounds like someone has clipped their wings just a little bit. Any fan of the show has to admit ...they like playing just a half step from that line all the time. I guess someone wasn't buying their idea to do a more realistic version?

What irks me about this show is how they want to pass off their stunts as "science" and "experiments." While it can be an entertaining program at times (if for reasons unintended), "scientific" it is not.

Originally posted by Maxatoria
reply to post by Deny777

 

After they blew a hole through a couple of houses with a cannon i bet insurance has got a bit tougher/harder to get and they're not as popular as they used to be so the budget has probably gone down so renting underwater gear is a bit too expensive?

Indeed, budget was even mentioned during the show, BUT all they had to do in order to emulate water drag a little more accurately would be set things up on an abandoned railroad track, I guess those do exist, don't they? That way the boat wouldn't bounce at the pole as it certainly wouldn't in the water because of the drag. Anyway, if they didn't have the means for doing it right, they shouldn't do it at all, let alone tag said myth as "busted".

reply to post by FatherStacks

They are sure a lot more scientific and educational, at the level that ever is for TV, than shows like CSI, NCIS and the rest of the 'pseudo-science' make believe only Hollywood can come up with. I'd give them that much.

They remind me of Mr. Wizard from way back when Dinosaurs roamed the Earth and an old fart named Reagan ruled the kingdom. lol.. Except Mr. Wizard wasn't terribly nice to people at times (err...some Youtube titles get more direct ) and Mr. Wizard never blew anything up ...intentionally anyway.

Heck.. When people are walking around thinking they know science by CSI shows? Mythbusters is almost Higher Education!

Babes with high-powered rifles and explosives.



Just like my honeymoon.

Originally posted by beezzer
Babes with high-powered rifles and explosives.

Just like my honeymoon.

Can't argue with that

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


You are absolutely correct. Those forensics shows give such a skewed representation of science to the lay public it is almost scary. I remember as an undergrad setting up our PCRs on Mondays so we could get the results by Thursday or Friday...yet these detective shows can get full DNA sequencing in no-time. Mythbusters is fun, I won't deny it. Please forgive my being uptight about science in shows...I'll try to do better next time.

reply to post by FatherStacks

Awww.. Now I feel bad for commenting...I'm just a humble little bunny with my own opinion. Nothing more...

I guess what I like about Mythbusters is that despite usually blowing past solid science to get their end result...they do at least make a good faith effort to explain the way something is supposed to work or should work before telling everyone they're doing this or that differently so they get their explosion or whatever in the end anyway.

Any "Myth" that the Mythbuster team debunks or verifies I take with a grain of salt. Their methods are far from scientific and are shoddy at best.

I quit watching the show years ago because of slanted test methods.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


Nah, don't worry. I just didn't want to come off as a d-bag. Not while I'm still new anyway.

edit: well...there was more of a point to this post, but i hit send too soon and lost my train of thought. sorry everyone.