1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 The Mythbusters are stepping out for science. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:08,500 We want some destruction! 3 00:00:08,500 --> 00:00:14,000 Can you destroy a bridge using just the rhythm of marching feet? 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,000 Smile with confidence. 5 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:20,000 We're using the ones that were on the top of the toilet. 6 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,000 But is there more in those bristles than meets the eye? 7 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:24,000 Sit down more! 8 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,000 And ski boat or row boat? 9 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Jamie and Adam test the myth of human horsepower. 10 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Who are the Mythbusters? 11 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,000 Is my missing an eyebrow? 12 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:38,000 Adam Savage. 13 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,000 I always enjoyed seeing Adam in pain. 14 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:42,000 Oh! 15 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:43,000 And Jamie Heineman. 16 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,000 Jamie wants a big bone. 17 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:50,000 Between them, more than 30 years special effects experience. 18 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:51,000 You're kind of sexy. 19 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,000 They don't just tell the myths. 20 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:57,000 They put them to the test. 21 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,000 Alright Adam, so we're standing in front of this bridge 22 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,000 and we're wearing silly hats. 23 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:13,000 What are we doing? 24 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,000 Well, this one is called Breakstep Bridge. 25 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,000 And it's actually at least a couple hundred years old. 26 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:23,000 The idea behind it is that soldiers marching information in sync across the bridge 27 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,000 might actually destroy that bridge. 28 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,000 The myth says the problem happens if soldiers marching rhythm 29 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,000 matches the bridge's natural vibrations. 30 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:39,000 They amplify the wobble, increasing pressure on the structure. 31 00:01:41,000 --> 00:01:44,000 According to folklorist Heather Joseph Witham, 32 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,000 history records that as a dangerous combination. 33 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:50,000 The first instance we know of this occurring 34 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,000 was April 14th in 1831. 35 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,000 The Broughton Suspension Bridge spanned the River Irwell in Manchester, England. 36 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,000 There was a group of military men marching across this bridge 37 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 when a pin collapsed and a chain broke 38 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:06,000 and part of the bridge actually collapsed into the river. 39 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:09,000 The rhythmic marching was blamed 40 00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:14,000 and signs like this one on the Albert Bridge started to appear. 41 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:18,000 Breakstep soldier or Break the Bridge was the warning. 42 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:19,000 Don't believe it? 43 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:25,000 A similar thing happened to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940. 44 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,000 A particular wind set the whole structure vibrating 45 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:34,000 and once it started, it couldn't stop till it collapsed. 46 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,000 Adam, do you have any experience building a bridge? 47 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,000 No, but you know, that doesn't ever stop me before. 48 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:44,000 So here's the plan. 49 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,000 The guys will build a bridge and a miniature army to walk on it. 50 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:52,000 Then they'll see if the rhythm of the footsteps can make it vibrate. 51 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:57,000 If it works, the vibrating should get bigger and bigger 52 00:02:57,000 --> 00:02:59,000 like a kid bouncing on a trampoline. 53 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,000 Fueled by a heady mix of ignorance and enthusiasm, 54 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,000 Adam the Mythbuster becomes Adam the Bridge builder. 55 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,000 They're making a suspension bridge. 56 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:12,000 Oh, okay. 57 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:19,000 Never want to think small. 58 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:24,000 Adam's first ever bridge will be 60 feet long and 6 feet high, 59 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,000 a mini Golden Gate. 60 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:31,000 Essentially, he's making long, flat, strong boxes. 61 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:37,000 He'll need 6 exactly the same to join end to end to make the road bed. 62 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:43,000 And I've only got to make 12 of these, you know, in like a day. 63 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:47,000 I've done more work in less time. 64 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,000 He's also been known to do less work in more time, 65 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,000 but today he's making progress. 66 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,000 That's pretty good. 67 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Take the extra time on the front, save it on the back, life's good. 68 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,000 Do you remember the guy in the beret and the mustache on that? 69 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,000 Well, that's me. Yeah. 70 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,000 Life's good for Jamie too. 71 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,000 He's on the hunt for a piece of equipment, 72 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:15,000 and it turns out the guys who make it are fans of the show. 73 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:20,000 Better still, they send a whole box full in no time. 74 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:21,000 Wow. 75 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,000 Jamie has a new toy. 76 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:28,000 This is a brand spanking new kinetrol actuator. 77 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,000 These would normally open and close a valve on, you know, 78 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:34,000 maybe in some industrial process. 79 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,000 Only Jamie could get excited about a piece of industrial equipment, 80 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:43,000 but then only Jamie could see its potential to make little marching robots. 81 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:48,000 Put a crossbar on here with a shoe on the end of each crossbar, 82 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,000 and so as this thing swings back and forth like this, 83 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:57,000 the shoes will go up and down, and this thing will go up and down, 84 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,000 and that's our walking mechanism. 85 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:05,000 If all goes well, it won't be long before Jamie's hearing the pitter-patter of little feet 86 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,000 in army boots. 87 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,000 There's a lot of unknowns here. 88 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,000 Nothing we're not used to on Mythbusters. 89 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:24,000 What is known is Adam's finished the six sections of road day. 90 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:29,000 Now the two uprights, which stand at either end of the bridge. 91 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:35,000 Not bad for a first attempt. 92 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,000 60 feet of steel. 93 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,000 This is not comfortable in the least. 94 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,000 Good job, by the way. This is a nice piece of work. 95 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:48,000 This is like one of those Marine Corps obstacle courses, right? 96 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,000 It's like, how fast can you? 97 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,000 I could do it faster than that. 98 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,000 How much faster? 99 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:05,000 Many people feel it's a bad idea to train around jagged steel edges, 100 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:10,000 but all Adam is concerned about is making this thing twang 101 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,000 like the world's longest guitar string. 102 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,000 The goal is to get this bridge to tune it to about three hertz, 103 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,000 which is about three beats per second, 104 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,000 which is about a soldier's marching cadence. 105 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:26,000 And then once we get that, we put our frequency oscillator on it. 106 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,000 Basically a big weight that hits the bridge at the right moment. 107 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:30,000 Boom, boom, boom. 108 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,000 And we'll start to watch the bridge go, you know, 109 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:35,000 wiggy every time we hit it. 110 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:37,000 It should be pretty cool. 111 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,000 Sorry. 112 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:42,000 I'm sorry. 113 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:43,000 No, no, no, no. 114 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:44,000 I'm really sorry. 115 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:45,000 No, you cut. 116 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,000 Yeah, I'm cut. 117 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,000 It's easy to forget this is risky work. 118 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:54,000 One slip and bloodsheds not far behind. 119 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,000 It just went through the outer layer. 120 00:06:57,000 --> 00:06:59,000 Only a flesh wound, he says. 121 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:03,000 Adam showing a bit of British stiff upper lip. 122 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:07,000 Of course, not everything the Brits do is so rigid. 123 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:11,000 In June of 2000, the new Millennium Pedestrian Bridge 124 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:16,000 across the Thames in London got off to a very shaky start. 125 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:17,000 It seems to be swayed. 126 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:19,000 Not that bad, is it? 127 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:21,000 Well, it feels bad to me. 128 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:22,000 I feel sweet. 129 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:26,000 The bridge had to be closed for fear it would collapse. 130 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,000 Turns out it had a slight sideways wobble 131 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:32,000 and crowds subconsciously swayed with that, 132 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:34,000 making it worse. 133 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,000 It eventually reopened after modifications. 134 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,000 Back at myth-busting HQ, Jamie's army is falling in. 135 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:47,000 They might not look much now. 136 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,000 All plastic helmets and two big boots. 137 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:52,000 But to test this myth, 138 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:56,000 Drill Sergeant Heinemann will turn this spare parts outfit 139 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:00,000 into a well-drilled marching machine. 140 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:02,000 In the bridge. 141 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,000 Adam is soldiering on despite his injured arm. 142 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:10,000 The Mythbusters backlot is about to become a theme park 143 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,000 with the addition of a 60-foot suspension bridge. 144 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:19,000 Two main cables span the length of the bridge. 145 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,000 Lighter lines run down to the road deck. 146 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:31,000 The whole thing tensioned tight as a drum. 147 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,000 We may, we may just be able to walk on this puppy. 148 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,000 Drum roll please. 149 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,000 Adam is a happy camper. 150 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,000 It seemed a bridge too far, but it wasn't. 151 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,000 I have to say this is one of the more satisfying things I've ever built. 152 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:54,000 Now, in true Mythbusters fashion, 153 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,000 the only thing left to do is see if it can be shaken to pieces 154 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:00,000 by Jamie's soldiers. 155 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,000 But first, there's some other busting to do. 156 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,000 It's the unspeakable myth. 157 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,000 The one you just can't flush away. 158 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:12,000 There's poo everywhere. 159 00:09:12,000 --> 00:09:15,000 Is there more than toothpaste on that brush? 160 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,000 There's actually a bunch of myths around and surrounding bathrooms 161 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:27,000 and cleanliness and ideas of what the clean parts of our house are. 162 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,000 But actually, I think the main idea is to make sure 163 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,000 that the bristles of a wet toothbrush 164 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:37,000 make an ideal collection surface for things like airborne bacteria. 165 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:42,000 There's no rosy way to say this, so let's cut to the chase. 166 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:46,000 What we're talking about here is fecal coliform bacteria. 167 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,000 The bacteria that lives, well, you know where. 168 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:52,000 The belief is that you shouldn't leave your toothbrush in the bathroom, 169 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,000 particularly not too close to the toilet. 170 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,000 Because there's all sorts of bacteria floating in the air 171 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,000 which ends up on your toothbrush and therefore in your mouth. 172 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,000 Adam, you know, before we even start this experiment, 173 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:07,000 we should probably do a simple test to see whether the toilet 174 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,000 actually produces an aerosol. 175 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:12,000 You mean like whether when it's flushing it actually makes little droplets 176 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,000 and vapor that go everywhere? 177 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:15,000 Exactly. 178 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:19,000 Some color in the water, and Adam's got any flying droplets 179 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,000 covered in a layer of water. 180 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:22,000 Go. 181 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,000 Well, I see some drops. 182 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:26,000 All right, well, there you go. 183 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,000 The aerosol part of the myth is definitely true. 184 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,000 Yeah, these are probably the least of our worries 185 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,000 because we can see these and they're big heavy drops. 186 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:35,000 What we should be concerned about, I think, 187 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:37,000 are the ones that we don't see. 188 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:40,000 They're little tiny things that may be going, who knows where. 189 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:43,000 But can those tiny droplets drift away? 190 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,000 I think we should be concerned about that. 191 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,000 I think we should be concerned about that. 192 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:49,000 I'm not going to be on who knows where. 193 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:54,000 But can those tiny droplets drift all the way to your toothbrush? 194 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:56,000 The mythbusters aim to find out. 195 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:58,000 Well, do we have a plan? 196 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,000 Of course we have a plan. This is mythbusters. 197 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:03,000 The reason we've got so many toothbrushes here is because we want to lay out 198 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:08,000 a really broad test pattern to see if distance from the toilet 199 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:11,000 orientation to the toilet and height from the toilet 200 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:16,000 affect the number of fecal coliforms that we can find when we test the toothbrushes. 201 00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:22,000 Adam has clearly given this whole dirty toothbrush thing an awful lot of thought. 202 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,000 In no time, he's fitting out the bathroom in the mythbusters workshop. 203 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:31,000 I'm going to use this PVC and some fittings to make a pair of toothbrush racks. 204 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,000 I'll show the rig begins. 205 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:41,000 Forget fancy blueprints. He's making it up as he goes along. 206 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:44,000 It only has to last for a month. 207 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:53,000 It's not pretty, but it'll do. 208 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,000 What the hell have you done in my bathroom? 209 00:11:56,000 --> 00:12:00,000 We're going to set up 24 toothbrushes in this and every morning we'll have a protocol. 210 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,000 And we will each be responsible to take each toothbrush, 211 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:09,000 wash it in distilled water so we don't cross contaminate and put the wet toothbrush back. 212 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:12,000 Then there will also be two controlled toothbrushes on top of the toilet 213 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:15,000 that we will brush our teeth with and at the end of a month 214 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:20,000 we will check and do fecal coliform tests on the toothbrushes and see which ones have gathered the most. 215 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:22,000 Next up, the brushes. 216 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:28,000 The guys will wash their hands with antibacterial soap every time before they touch them 217 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:30,000 to prevent possible contamination. 218 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:36,000 And importantly for the experiment, this bathroom will stay open for business. 219 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:40,000 A chart will keep track of exactly how much business is getting done. 220 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,000 What do you think one, two and three would be? 221 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,000 One would be... 222 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:45,000 Urine. 223 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:46,000 Two would be... 224 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,000 Fecal matter. 225 00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:48,000 And three... 226 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,000 I don't know, what's number three? 227 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:56,000 Let's say perhaps an aerated approach to dispersing fecal matter. 228 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:02,000 For a breath of fresh air, two more brushes will be kept in the office away from the bathroom. 229 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:08,000 Jamie, these are our external controls, uncontaminated toothbrushes outside of all the experimental conditions. 230 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:12,000 We'll rub these with a little toothpaste and rinse them with the water as well. 231 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:19,000 If fecal coliform bacteria are found out here, they'll be embarrassed looks all around. 232 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:29,000 It'll take a month, but the Mythbusters hope to answer a question that lurks in every bathroom. 233 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,000 Is that toothbrush safe? 234 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:39,000 If you want to know more about the robot and the water skier, 235 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,000 sit down more, I'm straight. 236 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:49,000 Stanford University has, if they pull this off, they'll become myth-busting immortals. 237 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,000 This is Apollo 13, baby. 238 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,000 In Houston, we don't have a problem. 239 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,000 Big guy, what is the one we're doing today? 240 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:58,000 We have a new sport. It's called row skiing. 241 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:00,000 Row skiing? 242 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,000 Yeah, you water ski behind a rowboat. 243 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,000 So what are we going to get out of a little dingy rowboat? 244 00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:08,000 I'm going to start battling as fast as I can while you try and get up on water skis. 245 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:11,000 Actually, it's skiing behind a rowing eight. 246 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,000 Now that's an eight-person rowing shell. 247 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,000 The question is, can we do that? 248 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,000 Actually, it's skiing behind a rowing eight. 249 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,000 Now that's an eight-person rowing shell. 250 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:26,000 The question is, can we get up on a plane with water skis behind a boat like that? 251 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:32,000 So we're going to ask eight strapping young lads in the prime of life to yank our sorry asses out of the water? 252 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,000 That's the gist of it. 253 00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:37,000 Skiing behind a rowboat? 254 00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,000 Who ever heard of such a thing? 255 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:46,000 Folklorist Heather Joseph Witham says this myth was made up by rowers for rowers. 256 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:51,000 You're not going to have construction workers talking about a rowing eight or water skiing, 257 00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:54,000 but you're going to have rowers talking about this. 258 00:14:54,000 --> 00:15:02,000 Probably not even water skiers, because this functions for rowers as a way to comment on what they're doing, 259 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,000 as a way for them to comment upon their sport. 260 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,000 It's saying, look how fast we manly men can go. 261 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:19,000 The fast manly men at the Stanford University's varsity rowing team 262 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:24,000 have confidently agreed to put their egos on the line to test this one. 263 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,000 Fire! 264 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,000 Picking up the water! 265 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:32,000 These boats are $30,000 worth of carbon fiber rocket ship. 266 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:37,000 With crew on board, it weighs nearly a ton, 267 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,000 but the acceleration isn't like a motorboat. 268 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,000 It surges and sinks with every stroke. 269 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:47,000 It is about accelerating only when the blade actually enters the water. 270 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,000 Once it's out of the water, it's all poetry and love sonnets. 271 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,000 Everything is cool and easy. 272 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:55,000 Once the blade goes back in, it's dark and violent thoughts. 273 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,000 Sam, stay focused. 274 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:04,000 A racing crew will be having those dark and violent thoughts about 40 times a minute. 275 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:09,000 Going fast, they'll generate a boat speed of about 15 miles an hour. 276 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:13,000 Skiing is normally done at 20 or more. 277 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:17,000 Have you heard the myth about water skiers being pulled behind these boats? 278 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,000 Yeah, I think it's urban legend, but we're out to prove them wrong. 279 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:22,000 You think it can happen? 280 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:27,000 I don't know, man. These guys got legs like steel and arms like pipes. 281 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:29,000 I think they can do it. 282 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,000 Even at top speed, they're slow by skiing standards. 283 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:38,000 And that's before they add the drag of the skier. 284 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:42,000 But failure is not a word in this coach's vocabulary. 285 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,000 You know, I got a feeling that good things are going to happen. 286 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,000 I think we might have a new business. 287 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:50,000 We might be pulling people here. These workouts might be a good way for us to go faster. 288 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,000 Amazing to watch. It made me feel pretty fat and old. 289 00:16:55,000 --> 00:17:01,000 They're so in sync and there's so much testosterone flowing on those boats, you can just feel it. 290 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:06,000 And, you know, we give them a real challenge, like get this guy up out of the water. 291 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:10,000 They're going to be, you know, just scrambling for it. It's going to be fun to watch. 292 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,000 Now the mythbusters have a big problem. 293 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:21,000 The athletes might be up to the challenge, but neither Jamie nor Adam knows how to ski. 294 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,000 Let's see Willie. Adam. 295 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:31,000 They don't just need a fast teacher. They need the water ski terminator. 296 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,000 Good. So you guys are skiing now? 297 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,000 We are. We're here for some lessons. 298 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:37,000 We're going to get the lessons going here. 299 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,000 This will be an unusual session for Willie. 300 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,000 He'll be teaching them how to go slow. 301 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:49,000 He was a champion skier in Germany before moving to America and turning pro. 302 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:54,000 We'll go about 1500 rpm to establish the minimum speed for him to ski at. 303 00:17:55,000 --> 00:18:01,000 This would be about the same in terms of speed, what it feels for him behind the rowboat. 304 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,000 Jamie, move on and out. 305 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,000 Beginners start on a boom, not a rope. 306 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:12,000 When the boat pulls, keep your shoulders back. Don't let them come forward. Ready? 307 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,000 This is why I wanted Jamie to go first. 308 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:28,000 You made the mistake and Ben and his arms. You got to keep his arms straight. 309 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:34,000 That's his thing. Arm straight? Keep them straight. Slowly stand up. 310 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:42,000 Jamie, stand tall. Get your shoulders up. There you go. 311 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,000 Jamie's a fast learner, but he's going more than 20 miles an hour. 312 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,000 The water feels solid. 313 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:54,000 You're going to slow you down to the speed behind the rowboat. 15 miles per hour. 314 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,000 When Willie drops the speed, staying upright gets harder. 315 00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:08,000 Jamie, slowly sit down. Get in the squat. Sit down. Sit down. More. Sit down more. Arm straight. 316 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:11,000 Okay, slowly stand up. 317 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:17,000 Get your shoulders up, Jamie. There you go. Very nice. 318 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:24,000 Perhaps it's just fear of upsetting Willie, but Jamie is skiing like a natural. 319 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,000 Turns out he's just as good on the rope. 320 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:36,000 That felt pretty good. We did get it down pretty slow. 321 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:42,000 I think we just nudged 10 miles an hour, which is, my guess is probably the minimum 322 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:47,000 that we can really reasonably expect to stay up on the surface of the water. 323 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,000 The slower you go, the harder it is. 324 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:53,000 Now it's Adam's turn. 325 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,000 Never had a pair of big old paddle straps on my feet before. 326 00:19:56,000 --> 00:20:00,000 We'll see how much of a fool I make of myself. Hopefully a lot. 327 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:07,000 In fact, he does just fine. He's on the rope in a jiffy. 328 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:18,000 Unfortunately, his legs give out a jiffy after that. 329 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:33,000 I think Adam is one tired cookie. 330 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:39,000 Even with the falls, Jamie and Adam have Willie's seal of approval. They're ready for the challenge. 331 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:44,000 I do believe that both skiers you have here, Jamie and Adam, can do this. 332 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:52,000 I think the only difficulty that I can think of is for the crew to generate enough speed 333 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,000 initially to get him out of the water. 334 00:20:55,000 --> 00:21:00,000 Jamie can have this one. He can water ski behind that boat. 335 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:07,000 I'm not in shape. It's all this upper thigh and lower back power that you've got to do, 336 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:13,000 just halfway in this crouch. A couple of times I just dropped because I had no more strength. 337 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:19,000 I think if the guys are actually physically capable of pulling me through the water, I can do it. 338 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:23,000 It's just a question of how fast they can get going with that kind of load. 339 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:28,000 It's all up to those Stanford, you know, butch guys. 340 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:35,000 Stanford will get its chance, but first there's that other nasty myth to attend to. 341 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,000 The mythbusters have become slaves to dental hygiene. 342 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:50,000 Every morning they carefully wash their hands, put toothpaste on each of 24 brushes, 343 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,000 and rinse them off again using distilled water. 344 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,000 Lesson one, never give Adam a squirt gun. 345 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:10,000 Next, they clean their teeth using two very special brushes. 346 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:15,000 We're using the ones that were on the top of the toilet, the closest ones. 347 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:21,000 At the end of the month, they'll test the brushes for fecal coliform bacteria. 348 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:26,000 If nothing else, they've busted the myth that television is a glamorous industry. 349 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,000 Today, it's toilet bowl close-ups. 350 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,000 You've reached the pinnacle of your career. 351 00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:35,000 I couldn't get any business with this, could I? 352 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:43,000 Toilets and cleanliness are the subject of many an urban legend, including this one. 353 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:48,000 There's a young couple, honeymooning, somewhere in the Caribbean, and they come back to their room 354 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:50,000 and they see that it's been ransacked. 355 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,000 They've been burgled of just about everything. 356 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:56,000 There's only two things remaining, their camera and their toothbrushes. 357 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,000 So they go out and they purchase new clothes and other necessities, 358 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,000 and they end up having a fantastic time. 359 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,000 So they get home and they develop their film. 360 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:11,000 And upon looking at the different photographs, they get to one that, what's that? 361 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:15,000 And they notice that one thief has taken a picture of the other thief, mooning, 362 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:20,000 and the picture is of his backside with their toothbrushes sticking out. 363 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:25,000 Jamie and Adam aren't swallowing any of this myth. 364 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:30,000 But they are professionals and they're on the scent of something big. 365 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:37,000 You know, given that I've had toothbrushes sitting near toilets for nigh on 30 years at this point, 35 years, 366 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,000 it doesn't bother me at all. 367 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:44,000 It's a long, boring, dirty job ahead. 368 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:49,000 But if anyone's qualified for this sort of work, it's the Mythbusters. 369 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:01,000 Jamie Heineman has one of the world's most unusual day jobs. 370 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:05,000 Nike wanted us to take a shoe and turn it into a motorcycle, 371 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:10,000 a radio-controlled motorcycle that looked like something that somebody would actually build. 372 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:15,000 And it was to illustrate how fast the shoe is, because it's an athletic shoe. 373 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:23,000 His company makes special effects props for ads and movies. 374 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:31,000 We had to start off with pre-existing motorcycles and check them out and learn how they were put together. 375 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:37,000 And then we modified that kind of thing and ended up actually pretty much building from scratch 376 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:42,000 an entire motorcycle mechanism to fit within the shoe. 377 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:46,000 It wanted us to run it on an asterotourk. 378 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:53,000 With this thing even having even a small pebble is like running over a speed bump. 379 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,000 It's what I live for. It's what I enjoy doing. 380 00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:03,000 If I have time off, I'm down here at the shop. 381 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:07,000 Sometimes I'll wake up in the middle of the night giggling with some idea, 382 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:11,000 and I just come down, turn the music up, and all of a sudden I've got this thing 383 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,000 that nobody ever thought of before, didn't exist before. 384 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:31,000 Now the guys are using the same ingenuity when it comes to testing the BreakStep bridge. 385 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:36,000 But seeing as no one would let them wreck a real bridge, Adam has built one himself. 386 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:40,000 And Jamie's built, well, he's built these things. 387 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,000 Not just one, but twelve little dudes. 388 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:50,000 Custom-made Stompers, whose mission is to shake this bridge to death. 389 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,000 It's certainly got the neighbors talking. 390 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,000 So Ed, have you heard the story about the BreakStep bridge? 391 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:56,000 Yes, I have. 392 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:57,000 What have you heard? 393 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:03,000 Well, I've heard that it was a battalion of men, soldiers walking across the bridge. 394 00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:06,000 The bridge was supposed to have wobbled and tumbled. 395 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,000 That's what we're going to try and replicate here. 396 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,000 It's great. It's great. 397 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:16,000 The plan is to hook the soldiers up to an air compressor, normally used to power a jackhammer. 398 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:19,000 Jamie's little guys should start marching. 399 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:23,000 If they get the speed right, that should set the bridge vibrating. 400 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:24,000 They're going to launch these things. 401 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,000 It may like flip the whole bridge over or something. 402 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,000 With the first turn on of the switch. 403 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,000 There's no way these are going to flip my bridge. 404 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,000 Not even close. 405 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,000 This was built to last. 406 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:38,000 Okay, let it down. 407 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:43,000 Maybe it's not indestructible after all. 408 00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,000 All right, cool. At least we're finding all the weak points. 409 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:50,000 All right. 410 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:56,000 A few repairs and the bridge is over its troubled waters. 411 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,000 And now they're ready to wreck it. 412 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,000 I see we go for it. 413 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,000 Okay. You're the bridge builder. 414 00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:10,000 Power on. 415 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:15,000 Remember, Jamie's worried the force could tip the bridge over. 416 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:27,000 Jamie's made a doo-wop group. 417 00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,000 Not a battalion of soldiers. 418 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,000 It's like the California raisins. 419 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,000 The boys are looking a little wimpy. 420 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,000 Seems Jamie's not feeding them enough air from the compressor. 421 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,000 This has to have two hoses on it. 422 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:54,000 It seems that Jamie didn't really inspect the equipment with any real kind of an eyeball before testing the compressor. 423 00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:59,000 Okay, here we go. 424 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:05,000 This time there should be less doo-wop and more destruction. 425 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:09,000 Now we're talking. 426 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:21,000 They've got plenty of power now, but the soldiers aren't perfectly in time. 427 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:29,000 They're not getting the single regular vibration through the bridge, called for in the myth. 428 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:35,000 Instead, those boots are just smashing Adam's road deck to pieces. 429 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,000 This is bothering me. 430 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,000 Well, sorry. 431 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:53,000 I wish you'd thought about that, because people are going to watch this and start to smash up the stuff without it moving. 432 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:55,000 People are going to be like, what the f*** is he telling us? 433 00:28:55,000 --> 00:29:02,000 To get the timing exactly right, Jamie will have to individually adjust the airflow to each of his soldiers. 434 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:07,000 It's a fiddly process, and fiddly is not Adam's strong suit. 435 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:15,000 I have to say that at the very start of this, Jamie and I had a big argument about whether or not to do this electrically or electrically. 436 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:18,000 Or pneumatically, with air. 437 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:23,000 And I strongly suggested that we not use air. 438 00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:29,000 I explained it to him in great detail, and he decided to ignore a good portion of it. 439 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,000 I'm pleased that the actuators are definitely doing what we needed. 440 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:40,000 They were the right choice for this job, and they'll certainly go as fast or as slow as we need to get them to go. 441 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:44,000 I think the biggest problem is not my little soldiers, it's the bridge. 442 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:49,000 There's blame in the air. 443 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:53,000 But it's not always easy to destroy a bridge. 444 00:29:53,000 --> 00:30:01,000 In a master stroke of forward planning, this one in North Carolina was completed just before Adam was due to flood the valley. 445 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:07,000 So, gathered around a very small table, the authorities decided to knock it down. 446 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:10,000 First, they piled on huge weights. 447 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:17,000 That only resulted in an amazing new use for animated arrows. 448 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:23,000 So, they called in the Air Force, but the fly boys were having an off day. 449 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,000 So, was the artillery come to that? 450 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:31,000 Finally, mines did the trick in spectacular fashion. 451 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:39,000 Adam and Jamie are desperate to destroy their bridge with a bucking Bronco vibration that shakes it to bits. 452 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:46,000 When we hit the resonance of the bridge, the bridge going up and down with it will be extremely rhythmic and will get bigger every time. 453 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,000 And it'll actually be pretty catastrophic. 454 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:53,000 Catastrophic destruction is the desired outcome for most Mythbusters experiments. 455 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:59,000 So, for the third and final time, Jamie's army is ready for combat. 456 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:03,000 Alright, Jamie, nice and slow. 457 00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:19,000 The troop is marching its metal heart out, but it can't match the frequency of the bridge. 458 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:23,000 There's no wave of vibration rolling through the roadbed. 459 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:27,000 Something's got to give. 460 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:32,000 Come on! 461 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:38,000 Come on! 462 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:56,000 They've broken the bridge, but only through sledgehammer power, not sweet, harmonic vibration. 463 00:31:56,000 --> 00:31:58,000 All my cables held? 464 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,000 Yeah, these things are starting to work. 465 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:05,000 Yeah, look, the whole thing parallelogrammed. That's where it failed. 466 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:09,000 These things appear to me that we were just beating on the thing. 467 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:16,000 And while the beating was in a certain rhythm, I don't see the bridge responding to it in that rhythm. 468 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:20,000 Jamie's army will be sent home in disgrace. 469 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:27,000 But like the two last soldiers left out in the jungle, the Mythbusters refuse to accept defeat. 470 00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:33,000 Jamie is already planning another monster robot to attack the bridge. 471 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:39,000 They might have lost the battle, but later in the show, they will resume the BreakStep Bridge War. 472 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,000 I think I could get this bridge back up and running in half a day. 473 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:47,000 Well, it looks like we're not quite done, but it was fun to see these guys pound away. 474 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:49,000 They were kind of cute, weren't they? 475 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:53,000 They were very cute. Cute for science. 476 00:32:58,000 --> 00:33:03,000 There's absolutely nothing cute about the toothbrush surprise. 477 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:07,000 I'd like to point out the difference between my toothbrush and Jamie's toothbrush. 478 00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:09,000 Bring it up. 479 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:14,000 Jamie's is neat and perfect. Mine is absolutely trashed. 480 00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000 I don't know what that says. 481 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:22,000 The only good news, this is the last day before the brushes will be tested. 482 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:27,000 I get them wet, and then I foam the toothpaste on, and then I rinse them out. 483 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,000 We could do a myth about how fast paint dries. 484 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:40,000 For the last month, they've been testing the myth that microscopic fecal coliforms can waft from your toilet onto your toothbrush when you flush. 485 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:45,000 A month is a long time for this kind of work. 486 00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:56,000 You'll watch every action-packed second as water and toothpaste meet in a fecal coliform farm of total destruction. 487 00:33:56,000 --> 00:34:05,000 To see if there really is something to worry about, the mythbusters have called on expert microbiologist Dr. Joanne Engel. 488 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:12,000 She's going to subject the mythbusters bathroom to more scrutiny than is strictly desirable. 489 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:17,000 I'm taking the toothbrush and I'm spreading it on the auger here, so if there's a lot of bacteria on here, it'll grow. 490 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:20,000 And then I'm also dipping it into this bacterial broth. 491 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:27,000 And again, if there's just even a couple of bacteria on here, it'll grow overnight after I incubate these in a nice warm oven. 492 00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:36,000 Every single toothbrush is sampled. 493 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:40,000 These are the ones that we've actually been using to brush our teeth. 494 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:43,000 It's been a very busy bathroom. 495 00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:47,000 But there's also the two controls kept out in the kitchen. 496 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,000 This is the first time I've ever, these toothbrushes, has been in the bathroom. 497 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,000 Okay. 498 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:54,000 But they've been brushed with. 499 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:55,000 Yes. 500 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:59,000 They've undergone the same treatment. 501 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,000 I'm going to incubate them in a 37 degree oven overnight. 502 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:07,000 And if there's bacteria on here, we should be able to see them. 503 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:12,000 The whole gang is relieved to finally be getting out of that little bathroom. 504 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:18,000 And soon they'll know for sure if their toothbrushes hold an unwelcome surprise. 505 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,000 The MythBusters are ready for the water ski challenge. 506 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,000 Can you ski behind a rowing 8? 507 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,000 So you ready? 508 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:35,000 There's more than a myth on the line this morning. 509 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:39,000 Stanford University has volunteered its best crew for the job. 510 00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:43,000 Their reputation is at stake, though coach is playing it cool. 511 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:50,000 With the expert crew that MythBusters has provided, I believe that there's no way we can fail. 512 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:57,000 First things first, these perfect fragile rowing shells don't come standard with a ski rope. 513 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:02,000 The MythBusters have got to tie one on without tearing a hole in the boat. 514 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:09,000 If we run a line of thin, like, high strength cord to each one of these outriggers, times 8, 515 00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:13,000 that's more than enough distributed load across the whole boat 516 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,000 and you ought to be able to water ski all day behind it. 517 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,000 All day, huh? 518 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:20,000 That's only your thighs that are going to give out, buddy. 519 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:27,000 By distributing the load over the 8 rigors, Adam will minimize the strain on the boat and the rowers. 520 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,000 For the most part, these guys won't even be able to see this rig. 521 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:32,000 It won't affect their rowing at all. 522 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,000 $30,000 per boat. 523 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,000 We don't want to put a nick in the darn thing. 524 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:40,000 That's the ski rope taking care of. 525 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,000 But that's the easy part. 526 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:48,000 The bare minimum speed required to pull Jamie out of the water is 10 miles an hour. 527 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:55,000 In a race, a crew can reach 15, but Jamie's drag is sure to slow them down. 528 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,000 It certainly helps if I weight a lot less than I do. 529 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:01,000 I weight about 180, 170, 180. 530 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:06,000 And, you know, if I weight 100 pounds, I'm sure it would be easier on them. 531 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,000 But that's why we came to Stanford. 532 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:15,000 Another problem for Jamie is unlike a speedboat, the power here won't be constant. 533 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:19,000 It will surge with each stroke, pulling him off balance. 534 00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:20,000 Coach has a strategy. 535 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,000 You're going to have to just do the walk on guy, you know what I'm saying? 536 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:23,000 Yeah. 537 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,000 And just withstand the jerky, jerky. 538 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:26,000 It's going to whip you. 539 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,000 Yeah, I know. I've got to dampen it. 540 00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:31,000 Remember, for Jamie and Adam, this is just another myth. 541 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:34,000 But for Stanford, it's a matter of honor. 542 00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:35,000 Just sit up. 543 00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:36,000 Don't think length. 544 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:40,000 Think connection of hips and straight arm cable and draw. 545 00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:43,000 Let's have the boat just tug him a little bit. 546 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:47,000 Suddenly, Jamie's being dragged into something bigger than he realized. 547 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,000 It's too late for second thoughts. 548 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:56,000 This is about sporting glory or national televised failure. 549 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:58,000 And there are no excuses. 550 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,000 Explanations did not get the man on the moon. 551 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:02,000 It will not get this myth buster out of the water. 552 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,000 Okay. 553 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,000 This is Apollo 13, baby. 554 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,000 In Houston, we don't have a problem. 555 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:08,000 Get ready. 556 00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:10,000 Attention. 557 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:13,000 Go! 558 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:19,000 Go! 559 00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:20,000 Get back here! 560 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:23,000 Wait up! 561 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:24,000 Ho! 562 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,000 Ho! 563 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:26,000 Hey! 564 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:27,000 Hey! 565 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:28,000 Stop rolling! 566 00:38:28,000 --> 00:38:30,000 If you're not pulling, stop! 567 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:31,000 Jim and Jack Christmas. 568 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,000 These guys are still rolling. 569 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:35,000 So close. 570 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:38,000 He was up, but couldn't hold on with the surge. 571 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,000 This might just be possible. 572 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,000 Jamie, man, that was beautiful. 573 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:44,000 It was working. 574 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:46,000 You think you can get it going? 575 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:50,000 It's just in a state of constant, almost out of the water. 576 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:51,000 Right. 577 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:53,000 It's the hardest thing that a skier can do, I think. 578 00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:55,000 Well, you think you're good for another go? 579 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:56,000 Oh, yeah. 580 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:57,000 Excellent. 581 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,000 Nice lock on, big dog. 582 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:00,000 That was all you. 583 00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:01,000 That was all you. 584 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:06,000 We got to be quicker with the second stroke or longer with the first stroke. 585 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:10,000 It's just going to be up to me to maintain it, I think. 586 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:13,000 Sam, same thing that you guys just did. 587 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:18,000 So Jamie, big dog Heinemann prepares to battle the surge again. 588 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:22,000 The guys in the engine room have proved they've got the muscle to get him up. 589 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:24,000 He can't let them down. 590 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,000 Attention! 591 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:31,000 Go! 592 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:36,000 Stay up. Stay up. Come on, dog. Stay up. 593 00:39:36,000 --> 00:39:38,000 Come on, big dog. Stay up! 594 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:41,000 Go! Bring it up! Bring it up, boys! 595 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:43,000 Jeez! We had it! 596 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:48,000 It's close, but still no cigar. 597 00:39:48,000 --> 00:39:52,000 These Stanford guys won't settle for near enough. 598 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:56,000 Jamie will ski even if it kills him. 599 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,000 Power was there, I was having trouble dealing with the surgingness. 600 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:02,000 Try and put the weight back when that surge hits you. 601 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:06,000 So you've got a little more hip and power into it, because it's going to surge. 602 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:08,000 That wasn't bad for the first two runs, though. 603 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:10,000 No, no. Well, we ain't done yet. 604 00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:13,000 You're pulling your ass out. You're going to be doing this thing without a wetsuit and the bray. 605 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:15,000 Glass is on if I can have my way. 606 00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:19,000 Get up, guys. Let's pull this toy out of the water. 607 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:22,000 Heinemann, that was twice as good as last time. 608 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:25,000 You think you can do it twice as good as that? 609 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:28,000 I'll keep trying. Just need like a good 30-second run. 610 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:32,000 Come to the steer. Come to the steer. 611 00:40:32,000 --> 00:40:35,000 This is the third and final attempt. 612 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:38,000 Coach can smell something special in the air. 613 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,000 Stay tough, all right? Stay tough. 614 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:46,000 Never enjoying it. It's like you guys are right on the cusp of both meeting together at a higher plane. 615 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,000 Looks good. 616 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:51,000 I want you to put him on a ride that he won't forget. 617 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:55,000 So once you get him up, keep him up and make it. 618 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,000 Let's get his skin tone a little bit fearful. 619 00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:00,000 Little white. Let's scare him. 620 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:05,000 Jam! Jam on it. Let's do something that's never been done. Here we go. 621 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:08,000 Attention. Go! 622 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,000 He's up and he's skiing. 623 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:24,000 Nicely done, Jerry. 624 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:26,000 Yeah! 625 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,000 Keep it going, big dog! Keep it going, big dog! 626 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:37,000 Good man, ball! Good man, ball! Good man, ball! 627 00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:50,000 It's not pretty. Jamie's fighting every surge, but they've done it. 628 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,000 Nice job, big dog! 629 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:06,000 Yeah, guys! Yeah! Nice job! 630 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:12,000 Jamie's run lasted nearly 40 seconds. 631 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:16,000 I'm pleased. This punch, that worked better than I'd ever hoped for. 632 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:22,000 The fact that I could do this says that it ain't as ridiculous at all as we thought. 633 00:42:23,000 --> 00:42:26,000 Yeah, it was a workout. I was breathing hard after that. 634 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:28,000 Whoa! Whoa! 635 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:30,000 Good job. 636 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:39,000 Stanford's finest have prevailed and proved this weird myth really is possible. 637 00:42:39,000 --> 00:42:44,000 Never underestimate young, strong myth busters. 638 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:50,000 One of those good things about youth is they don't know obstacles. 639 00:42:50,000 --> 00:42:54,000 You demand, or as we say, Y.D.M. 640 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:05,000 Flush with success, da men now have to see da women. 641 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:08,000 The toothbrush surprise results are in. 642 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:12,000 Did we actually find any fecal coliform on the toothbrushes? 643 00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:16,000 Well, we did, but in fact, all the toothbrushes... 644 00:43:16,000 --> 00:43:21,000 That'll leave a bad taste in your mouth, but the slides don't lie. 645 00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:26,000 Those little pink dots are fecal coliforms found on the brushes, 646 00:43:26,000 --> 00:43:31,000 and it made no difference how near or far they were from the toilet. 647 00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:35,000 Can we say that the exposure to the bathroom to the air 648 00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:38,000 contaminated these with a small amount of fecal coliform? 649 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:44,000 So that'd be one interpretation, but recall that you also exposed these guys to distilled water 650 00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:47,000 and some toothpaste, and they got handled a little bit, 651 00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:50,000 so it could have also come from other sources as well. 652 00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:53,000 But brace yourself, folks. There's more. 653 00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:58,000 Remember those control toothbrushes kept outside the bathroom? 654 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:02,000 There was also fecal coliform on our controls, which were nowhere near the bathroom. 655 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:08,000 That's right. These guys here, so they have some pink colonies on them, too. 656 00:44:08,000 --> 00:44:15,000 Unpleasant as it seems, fecal coliforms are virtually an unavoidable part of daily living. 657 00:44:15,000 --> 00:44:17,000 But it's not all bad news. 658 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:20,000 So, you know, this is perhaps the most critical question. 659 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:23,000 Should the American toothbrushing public be worried about our results 660 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:25,000 that there is fecal coliform on their toothbrushes? 661 00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:28,000 I don't think they should be. It's a very low level, and as you can see, 662 00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:31,000 we're all happy and healthy standing here and been exposed to that. 663 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:36,000 Easy for her to say. Adam and Jamie have just learned a valuable lesson. 664 00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:40,000 Some myths are best left unanswered. 665 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:43,000 You know, we put our bodies on the line a lot on this show, 666 00:44:43,000 --> 00:44:46,000 but brushing my teeth with fecal coliform for a month, 667 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:49,000 that goes just a little bit farther than I really wanted to go. 668 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:52,000 There's poo everywhere. What are we going to do? 669 00:44:58,000 --> 00:45:02,000 The Mythbusters are rebuilding the Breakstep Bridge. 670 00:45:02,000 --> 00:45:06,000 We weren't really happy with the collapse of the bridge the first time on the Breakstep Bridge, 671 00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:10,000 so I'm putting it back together, and we're going to try it a second time, 672 00:45:10,000 --> 00:45:13,000 a little more scientifically, perhaps. 673 00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:18,000 The science of this myth is the regular, rhythmic footfalls of marching soldiers 674 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:22,000 can resonate within a bridge, causing it to collapse. 675 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:28,000 And the challenge is to induce a regular vibration that gets bigger with every beat 676 00:45:28,000 --> 00:45:32,000 till the whole thing shakes itself apart. 677 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:38,000 Wind caused a similar thing to happen in a famous collapse at the Tacoma Narrows. 678 00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:44,000 So far, the Mythbusters' attempts with little marching soldiers failed. 679 00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:49,000 So instead, Jamie's making one big, heavy one. 680 00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:54,000 That's starting to be pretty cool. 681 00:45:54,000 --> 00:45:58,000 We're getting a nice, controllable, harmonic out of this thing. 682 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:01,000 I think we have what we need to work with. 683 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:05,000 Could this be the monster that will destroy the bridge? 684 00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:10,000 The mechanical arrangement on the soldiers was such that it was a little more messy. 685 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:15,000 This thing, I think, will be able to isolate what exactly is going on 686 00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:18,000 by being able to watch just this. 687 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:24,000 We've got this fairly large wave, but we want to hit that wave exactly at the perfect time 688 00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:29,000 each time it comes back, and that's what it is to match a harmonic. 689 00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:33,000 So if the timing's even a little bit off, we won't be correct at all. 690 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:41,000 So in the name of inducing wanton destruction, the Mythbusters lay it on the line one more time. 691 00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:43,000 A little faster, maybe? 692 00:46:45,000 --> 00:46:47,000 That's too fast, slower. 693 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:50,000 Yeah, you see how it got cancelled out? 694 00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:52,000 We had something there for a second. 695 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:54,000 Go back and...that's really close. 696 00:46:54,000 --> 00:47:00,000 Believe it or not, that tiny little wobble is more success than they got last time. 697 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:07,000 But they can't seem to turn that ripple into a tsunami that will wreck the bridge. 698 00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:10,000 We'll get a lot more reaction with more weight on it. 699 00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:12,000 Alright, let's try it then. 700 00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:20,000 Ah, the old Mythbusters motto, when in doubt, adds something heavy. 701 00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:24,000 Now bear in mind, Adam has bled for this bridge. 702 00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:28,000 It was big, complicated, and time-consuming. 703 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:32,000 It's his pride and joy, and he really wants this to work. 704 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:33,000 Let's go. 705 00:47:43,000 --> 00:47:48,000 Once again, the bridge has failed before any real vibration got going. 706 00:47:48,000 --> 00:47:51,000 All that hard work has come to nothing. 707 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:55,000 Adam's taking it quite well. 708 00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:59,000 Best just stand back for this. 709 00:48:00,000 --> 00:48:02,000 We're on some f***ing destruction. 710 00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:09,000 Feel better now? 711 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:10,000 I do feel better now. 712 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:11,000 Good for you. 713 00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:17,000 The bridge is dead. 714 00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:19,000 Adam killed it. 715 00:48:19,000 --> 00:48:24,000 For all their time and effort, they couldn't replicate the myth. 716 00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:27,000 Maybe this one just never happened. 717 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:31,000 My thinking on this would be, given your average platoon of soldiers 718 00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:37,000 and your average large suspension bridge, there's no danger they pose to the bridge. 719 00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:38,000 I'd say the myth is totally busted. 720 00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:44,000 It would have to be that they were so close to the overloading weight of the bridge 721 00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:49,000 to begin with, to create that kind of force, that I think it is truly a myth. 722 00:48:49,000 --> 00:48:50,000 Excellent. 723 00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:52,000 Let's pack this puppy up. 724 00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:54,000 I'm tired of busting myths today.