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 (the myth is Busted, Plausible, or Confirmed).
Episode overview
Episode 137 – "Boomerang Bullet" Original air date: January 4, 2010 Adam and Jamie probe a potentially fatal three-way ricochet, while the Build Team tries to re-create medieval germ warfare by turning trees into catapults.
360° Ricochet
Conifer Catapult
Episode 138 – "Soda Cup Killer" Original air date: March 24, 2010 This episode was Jessi Combs's final appearance as a member of the Build Team.
Cup vs Car
Fall Guys
Episode 139 – "Dive to Survive" Original air date: March 31, 2010 Kari Byron returns to the series as of this episode.
Dive to Survive
Phonebook Freedom
Episode 140 – "Spy Car Escape" Original air date: April 7, 2010
Spy Car Escape
Based on countless car chase scenes from spy movies, the MythBusters try to test whether a pursuing car can be stopped or eluded using...
The MythBusters then built their own car-stopping devices. They then attempted to see if a pursuer could be stopped with...
Vector Vengeance
Episode 141 – "Bottle Bash" Original air date: April 14, 2010
Bottle Bash
Leather Cannon
Episode 142 – "No Pain, No Gain" Original air date: April 28, 2010
No Pain, No Gain
Adam and Jamie subjected themselves to four painful stimuli – heat and electric current for Jamie, capsaicin (injected under the skin) and cold for Adam – and chose to use cold for their investigations. They then built a chair for test subjects to sit in, with an ice bath at into which they would immerse one hand for as long as they could endure it, and imposed a 3-minute maximum. The following four myths were tested.
Gas Canister Rocket
Episode 143 – "Mythssion Control" Original air date: May 5, 2010
Crash Force
Jamie and Adam revisited the "Compact Compact" myth after fans complained about a claim Jamie made in the earlier episode. During the investigation he had said that two cars hitting each other at is "equivalent to a single impact going into a solid wall at 100 miles an hour". This was disputed by fans claiming that according to Newton's third law, two cars hitting each other at 50 mph is the same as one car crashing into a wall at 50 mph.
Knock Your Socks Off Revisit
The fans put forward a number of arguments, citing that the Build Team did not have a proper human analogue, and that they used elastic socks instead of non-elastic ones. The Build Team also decided to see whether hairy or hairless legs would be a factor in the myth.
Episode 144 – "Duct Tape Hour 2" Original air date: May 12, 2010
102 Uses for Duct Tape
The MythBusters and the Build Team investigate whether the "handyman's secret weapon" can be used to...
Episode 145 – "Waterslide Wipeout" Original air date: May 19, 2010
Waterslide Wipeout
Based on a viral video that can be found on YouTube, this myth was done by the MythBusters by fan request.
Left Hand Turn
This myth was based on claims that delivery companies use programs that calculate routes using as few left turns as possible to maximize fuel efficiency.
Episode 146 – "Fireball Stun Gun" Original air date: June 2, 2010
Fireball Stun Gun
Fireworks Man
Episode 147 – "Flu Fiction" Original air date: June 9, 2010
Fever Pitch
Adam and Jamie explore three myths associated with the common cold.
Tornado Decapitation
Episode SP14 – "Top 25 Moments" Original air date: June 16, 2010
A countdown of the cast's 25 favorite myths and moments to date, with comments from Adam, Jamie, and the Build Team. This was an 86-minute-long special.
Episode 148 – "Hair of the Dog" Original air date: October 6, 2010
Beat the Bloodhound, Part 2
A revisit of the "Fool the Bloodhound" myth from 2007. Adam and Jamie investigated new suggestions for evading detection by a scent hound, using the same dog (Morgan) and handler from that earlier episode. Given a five-minute head start, Jamie fled while using...
Adam and Jamie also explored a bloodhound's ability to single out a suspect from a group.
Beat the Sniffer Dog
Four contraband-detecting dogs – Buck, Rex, Gypsy, Max – and their handlers took part in a series of tests arranged by the Build Team. They investigated the possibility of fooling the dogs by...
Episode 149 – "Storm Chasing Myths" Original air date: October 13, 2010