Yesterday, I kicked back and watched a MythBusters marathon on the Discovery Channel. If you like to watch people shoot things and/or blow them up for fun -- all the while explaining the science behind what they are doing -- this show is for you. (All I could think of when I watched this show was -- I want this job!!) I learned that salsa can corrode metal bars, pants saturated with certain pesticides can ignite and practically explode, you really can shoot a hole in a coin using today's high powered guns and mixed alloy coins (but not using the guns of the old west and traditional silver dollars), and that you shouldn't heat jawbreaker-style gumballs in the microwave (they can explode when you bite them and cause burns). If you're wondering whether a myth you've heard is true, you can submit your idea to the show. You can also discuss episodes and debate whether the tests were run correctly. Head on over to the MythBusters Talk About It page to learn more about their forums.
[Note to my younger readers: This show is rated PG. My six-year-old thought it was too scary to watch.]
2 comments:
One of the benefits of visiting my parents only twice a year. They pay for expensive cable, and record MythBusters for us. I love the way they blend fun and questions and hypotheses and safety and the unexpected and quick calculations and good, old-fashioned, classical science and engineering.
I think my favorite episode was the one where they dismantled all of the safety valves and devices on a hot water heater. The hot water heater actually shot up into the air like a rocket and the force blew out the walls of little shack that they had placed it in. Fortunately, no one was hurt but it was sure fun to see the reaction on everyone's faces!
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