1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,240 On this episode of Mythbusters, can a cardboard box become a lethal missile? 2 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:16,400 Or is it a tissue of lies? 3 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:21,000 And on the straight and arrow, the guys take aim at some archery folklore. 4 00:00:21,000 --> 00:00:22,000 So close! 5 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:23,000 So close! 6 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:28,000 Who are the Mythbusters? 7 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:29,000 Adam Savage. 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:32,000 I reject your reality and substitute my own. 9 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:33,000 And Jamie Heineman. 10 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,000 We're either going to die or we're going to fly. 11 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,000 Between them more than 30 years special effects experience. 12 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:42,000 That was intense. 13 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:54,000 They don't just tell the myths, they put them to the test. 14 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:59,000 If this show is taught as anything, it's that when Mythbuster and automobile meet head-on, 15 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:08,000 the result is usually carnage for the car. 16 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:10,000 So what's on the menu today? 17 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:18,000 Let's see, one car, a bunch of crash barriers, a very nervous looking buster, and a tissue box? 18 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,000 Oh boy, this doesn't look good. 19 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:22,000 Damn it. 20 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,000 This one is called the killer tissue box. 21 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:30,000 What are you doing up there anyway? 22 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,000 I got some new stilts. 23 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:34,000 And... 24 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:36,000 Just doing a blueprint on stilts. 25 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:42,000 Anyway, killer tissue box says that this tissue box could potentially be deadly. 26 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:47,000 That in an auto accident, if it's sitting on the back shelf of your car, when you collided with something, 27 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:53,000 it would be propelled forward with enough force to actually kill you when it hit your head. 28 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,000 What, 60 miles an hour or so? 29 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,000 Something like that. 30 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:00,000 Let's try. 31 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,000 I don't think this is going to kill you. 32 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,000 No, I didn't really feel it. 33 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:06,000 Try again. 34 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:10,000 Okay, starting to feel around about there. 35 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,000 Don't we do this full scale? 36 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:13,000 Alright, why not? 37 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:20,000 Now the simplest and most spectacular way to test this myth would be to place a tissue box on the rear shelf of a car, 38 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,000 get Buster behind the wheel, and crash the vehicle at high speed. 39 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,000 And you know what? 40 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,000 That's exactly what the myth Busters are going to do. 41 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:34,000 One of the things that we have done in the past because it's easier to do is to simply drop cars 42 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,000 to determine what kinds of impacts we get. 43 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:44,000 In this case, gravity is an important thing because when the impact occurs, 44 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:47,000 the object is sooner or later going to fall. 45 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:58,000 You know, the question is whether it'll, what speed do we have to achieve for the thing to go relatively straight from the back shelf right into the back of the head. 46 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:06,000 And we can't test that in any other way than to actually get out there on a road and try this. 47 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:09,000 Here's our victimized vehicle. 48 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:14,000 This poor old fury's been left to the myth Busters' tender mercies before. 49 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:23,000 In the drive shaft pole vault myth, Jamie rigged the fury to operate by remote control. 50 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,000 But this time he doesn't want to sacrifice valuable and delicate equipment, 51 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:34,000 so they settle on a more primitive form of remote control, otherwise known as towing. 52 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,000 They'll still have to control the fury's steering so Adam sketches out a plan. 53 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:44,000 The bar is, the wheel is attached to the car here and the steering comes down like this, right? 54 00:03:44,000 --> 00:03:49,000 We're going to attach a bar to the wheel that comes out here on each side. 55 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:56,000 There'll be a pin here and a crossbar and we're going to pull from this point forward. 56 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:03,000 And this means that if this moves, this actually helps the car steer directly towards where it's being pulled. 57 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:09,000 And to be honest, this point won't be forward of the front of the car so it shouldn't affect the crash. 58 00:04:09,000 --> 00:04:13,000 Building the steering rig will be Grant's responsibility. 59 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:20,000 So here's our killer tissue box. 60 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:24,000 Don't want to measure its distance to your head here. 61 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,000 All right. 62 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:30,000 It looks just about 42 inches. 63 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:34,000 You know, I was thinking about tissue box flying in a car crash, 64 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:38,000 and I was thinking anything that's moving forward is also going to be affected by gravity, so it's going to go down. 65 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:44,000 But we've got a lip on this back that the back seat creates, and that's pretty universal from my experience. 66 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,000 That's a nice little ski jump there. 67 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:52,000 Yeah, it's going to give it a little bit of something like that, so it might actually hit you right in the head there. 68 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:53,000 Okay. 69 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:57,000 Being a classic car, the Fury has bench seats and no head risks. 70 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:02,000 There's nothing protecting the driver's cranium from the cardboard killer lurking in the back. 71 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:10,000 But as this crash test footage graphically shows, modern vehicles offer a precious little protection when back seat items go ballistic. 72 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:15,000 And Buster's cousins were only doing 30 miles per hour. 73 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:23,000 It may seem like a freak occurrence, but in the United States in 2001 there were an estimated 13,000 people that were injured 74 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:27,000 by unrestrained objects in the back of the car during an accident. 75 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:35,000 Well, we found two cases in Australia where drivers were impaled through their seat by their very own golf umbrellas. 76 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:43,000 And here in the United States there was a young woman who was injured while leaving her local shopping center in a minor fender bender, 77 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,000 and she was killed by the groceries she had just purchased. 78 00:05:46,000 --> 00:05:48,000 Food for thought. 79 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:56,000 Now with Grant Harder at work modifying the Fury steering, Adam and Jamie have time to think. 80 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,000 And that usually spells trouble. 81 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:00,000 What's the plan? 82 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:06,000 Well, obviously we are prepared to crash a full-sized car with a tissue box in it, 83 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,000 but we don't just want to test a tissue box, we want to test a variety of objects. 84 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:15,000 And we don't have enough cars to crash one for every object we want to test. 85 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:20,000 So I think it's a perfect opportunity for us to build a repeatable crash test rig 86 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:26,000 where we can see how each of these objects reacts under the worst-case scenario crash conditions 87 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,000 without destroying our rig every time we use it. 88 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:34,000 The rig will have to be lightweight, yet able to handle huge G-forces. 89 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:39,000 Even in low-speed collisions, people can be subjected to around 80 Gs. 90 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:43,000 Astronauts pull only eight at lift-off. 91 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:46,000 Now, what materials should they use? 92 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:54,000 Jamie's wondering around the metal supply shop like an art buff in a gallery. 93 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,000 Six or seven inch square piece, that's pretty cool. 94 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:02,000 Steel will guarantee strength, but make the rig heavy to tow. 95 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:08,000 Aluminum is much lighter, but then there's a chance the sled will disintegrate on its first run. 96 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:13,000 What I've decided to do, which is different by the way than Adam's choice, 97 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:23,000 is to simply take an aluminum I-beam and attach it to the underside of a 4x8 sheet of aluminum, a diamond plate. 98 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:26,000 And we'll do a little bit of reinforcement on it. 99 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:32,000 Weight is actually fairly critical with this thing because the heavier it is, the harder it's going to be to stop. 100 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:35,000 We'd have to go with a really heavy cable at some point. 101 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:41,000 I'm trying to keep things really solid and robust and yet light. 102 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:57,000 The only bad thing that can happen is all those rip and I just don't see it happening. 103 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:58,000 Are you going to cut this off? 104 00:07:58,000 --> 00:07:59,000 No. 105 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:04,000 The rig will be attached to the tow vehicle using a breakaway hitch made of wood. 106 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:08,000 It should be strong enough to support the weight of the rig during acceleration, 107 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,000 but weak enough to break at the point of impact. 108 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:18,000 Can't help thinking these guys must have built a mean go-kart. 109 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:22,000 Adam adds a rear shell for our tissue box to sit on. 110 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:24,000 Now they need a target. 111 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:31,000 In the past, the mythbusters have used ballistics gel to mold recognizably human targets. 112 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:37,000 But for this high-speed experiment, Adam's opting for a slab of gel in a box. 113 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:44,000 This is one of the boxes that's actually going to hold my ballistics gel on the front of this car. 114 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:49,000 You can see it's got a lip in here and the lip is so that when I pour ballistics gel up to the top, 115 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,000 it's actually captured by this mold. 116 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:54,000 It's never going to get released from that. 117 00:08:54,000 --> 00:09:01,000 Hopefully, when this car stops at 50 miles an hour, the ballistics gel is not going to tear itself out of the mold. 118 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:06,000 Right, the crash test vehicle is ready. 119 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,000 It's time to take this show on the road. 120 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:19,000 Adam and Jamie have found the perfect place to test the killer tissue box myth. 121 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,000 We're in Alameda, California on an unused naval airstrip. 122 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:28,000 And we need this because we need a long, straight, open run. 123 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,000 They've got a thousand feet of cable. 124 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:33,000 One end is attached to the crash test vehicle. 125 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:39,000 The other is attached to three concrete barriers, each weighing 4,000 pounds. 126 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,000 The barriers will act as an anchor. 127 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:49,000 When that cable is pulled straight, their combined weight will bring the crash sled to a very sudden stop. 128 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,000 Slow it down. 129 00:09:55,000 --> 00:10:02,000 For serious grunt up front, they've hired a pickup, which will tow the sled up the runway at highway speed. 130 00:10:03,000 --> 00:10:10,000 The first thing that I need to do is test how fast I can get this car going at about a thousand feet. 131 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,000 Because that is the length of cable that we've purchased for testing this myth. 132 00:10:17,000 --> 00:10:22,000 Oh, cool. That's 75 miles an hour at about a thousand feet. 133 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:26,000 Adam makes some final adjustments to the crash test rig. 134 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:31,000 Well, we've got our back seat here and we've got our ballistics gel making a head here. 135 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:40,000 The tissue box is going to go on the back shelf and on impact, it's going to travel forward and hopefully hit our ballistics gel with our meter here, 136 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,000 which has got one inch markings. 137 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:47,000 We should be able to see exactly what its velocity is and calculate how much force it's imparting to someone's head. 138 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,000 Time for a test run. 139 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:59,000 This is when we find out if all our hard work is for naught. 140 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:08,000 The truck hits 60 miles per hour. When the sled reaches the end of its tether, it should stop dead. 141 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:16,000 The cable snaps and the crash sled is like a dog lit off its leash. 142 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:21,000 Damn it! Can we get a break please? 143 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,000 How about we try that again? It's obvious we need a stronger connection. 144 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,000 So this time Jamie loops the cable through a hole in the eye beam. 145 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,000 Oh, I hope this works. 146 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:33,000 Take two. 147 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,000 I hope this works. 148 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:39,000 We've got 200 pounds of metal on the move at 60 miles per hour. 149 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,000 Crash cart and cable part company again. 150 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,000 I don't know what we're going to do. 151 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:58,000 This time though, the cable ripped an 18 inch tear in the aluminum eye beam. 152 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:02,000 It's also taken a sizable chunk out of Jamie's ego. 153 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,000 That's my mistake. 154 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,000 I just... 155 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:09,000 It makes sense now seeing what it does. 156 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:14,000 You know, I should have done the math. I should have done the engineering on it. 157 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:21,000 I didn't do the engineering and I didn't do the math because I thought I understood what was going on and I thought I made a good rig. 158 00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:24,000 But I was wrong. I should have done it. 159 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:28,000 The cart is as light and as sturdy as it could possibly be, I think. 160 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:34,000 But his method for holding the cable to the rig just did not hold up. 161 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:40,000 I mean, it's really kind of shocking to both of us what the cable did to 18 inches of quarter inch aluminum. 162 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:44,000 That means the tissue box experiment will have to be postponed. 163 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:46,000 Tomorrow's another day. 164 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,000 Unfortunately, it also happens to be Saturday. 165 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:52,000 And that's got one Mythbuster myth. 166 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:55,000 I'm not happy at all about coming back on Saturday. 167 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:59,000 You know, this is the last experiment we're doing this week. 168 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:02,000 It's supposed to be done by now. It's a sunset. 169 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,000 And you know, we're all pretty tired. 170 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:07,000 So nobody likes coming on a Saturday. 171 00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:09,000 But we've got to get this thing finished. 172 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:11,000 Cry me a river, Adam. 173 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:13,000 Thank you. 174 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,000 No! 175 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:29,000 While Adam and Jamie go back to the drawing board, 176 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,000 Tori and Carrie have gone back in time. 177 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:37,000 Carrie, I'm starting to feel like Robin Hood's Merry Men. Why are we dressed like this? 178 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:42,000 Well, we've come to the Renaissance Fair because we need to investigate a very classic Hollywood myth. 179 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,000 Robin Hood and an arrow. 180 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,000 So this myth, we're talking about actually taking one arrow and splitting it with another one. 181 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,000 But our definition is going to be very Hollywood. 182 00:13:49,000 --> 00:13:51,000 We want to go from the tail to the tip. 183 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,000 Well, guys, you've come to the right place. 184 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:58,000 At the Toulouse County Renaissance Fair, there's no shortage of would-be Robin Hoods, 185 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,000 already and raring, to loosen arrow or two. 186 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:09,000 And it's a fair bet that our anachronistic archers are familiar with this little piece of movie history. 187 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:15,000 It's the 1938 classic, The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn. 188 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:22,000 Finding himself up against it in an archery contest, Flynn Let's Fly, producing the shot of a lifetime. 189 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000 He's split bowtower! 190 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,000 Now that's what I call shafting your opponent. 191 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,000 But is it possible? 192 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,000 Or have we been Robin Hood-winged? 193 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:36,000 Our very own little John and made Marion issue a decree. 194 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,000 Harry, Harry! 195 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:43,000 All the archers in the land! 196 00:14:43,000 --> 00:14:47,000 This is the Myth Buster Challenge. 197 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:56,000 Is there any archer so skilled as to split a wooden arrow completely in twain from knock to tip? 198 00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:03,000 Any archer capable of completing his task shall be awarded a kiss from the fair ma- 199 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,000 Sorry? 200 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:06,000 Yes! 201 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:08,000 Okay, yeah, you're not going to get that. 202 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:09,000 My mistake. 203 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:16,000 What you will get is the coveted Myth Busters Golden Arrow, our highest archery honor. 204 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,000 God save the archers! 205 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:24,000 God save Myth Busters! 206 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,000 16 archers accept the challenge. 207 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,000 We'll come back later to see how they get on. 208 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:36,000 But of course, it's not the Myth Buster way to just stand back and let someone else take potshots at the myth. 209 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,000 The build teams up to its own arrow-splitting antics. 210 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:42,000 Oh! 211 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:49,000 At Pacifica Archery in Daly City, California, the guys pick up a few basics. 212 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,000 So what is the definition of a longbow? 213 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:58,000 One piece of wood, okay, where the string doesn't touch the limb when it's strong. 214 00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,000 See here? 215 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,000 That was just on each point. 216 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:02,000 It's not touching. 217 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:03,000 Help. 218 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:11,000 If you only have these guys heard the myth, they have a whole bunch of composite arrows which have been rear-ended Robin Hood style. 219 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:17,000 Archers call it telescoping, and it's about a one in three thousand shot. 220 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:26,000 Modern arrows like these are designed not to split, so the guys will have to use a good old-fashioned wooden shaft for their test. 221 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:33,000 But they know it's possible to fire one arrow into another. 222 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:35,000 Hey you guys, look at this. 223 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:37,000 I split the feathers. 224 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,000 I didn't split the arrow, but I split the feathers. 225 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:41,000 Wow, look at that. 226 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,000 That's getting really close. 227 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:44,000 Do you think we can do some practice? 228 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,000 I think maybe we might be able to. 229 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:50,000 This chronograph is designed to measure arrow speed. 230 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:54,000 It has two light sensors, one at each end. 231 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:58,000 The chronograph measures the time it takes for the arrow to pass between them. 232 00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,000 Once it knows that, it can then calculate speed. 233 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,000 It's 243 feet per second. 234 00:17:04,000 --> 00:17:10,000 If Robin Hood ever did split an arrow, he did it using a bow like this. 235 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:17,000 We know from the excavation of a ship called the Mary Rose that long bows were the weapon of choice in Robin Hood's day, 236 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:22,000 and they were usually made from a wood called U that's spelled Y-E-W. 237 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:31,000 When the bows excavated from that site, tell us that they averaged between 90 and 180 pounds of pull strength on those bows, 238 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:35,000 although the larger ones were mostly used under siege conditions for armor piercing. 239 00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:39,000 Modern bows rarely go above 60 pounds of pull strength. 240 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:43,000 But using a long bow takes a great deal of skill. 241 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:49,000 If the guys hope to have any chance of splitting an arrow, they might have to employ a little modern technology. 242 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:53,000 Compound bows are made from aluminum and fiberglass. 243 00:17:53,000 --> 00:18:00,000 Once the bow has been cocked, a pulley system kicks in, which takes the weight of the draw and makes it easier to aim. 244 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:05,000 Our chances of splitting an arrow are going to be much higher with a compound bow. 245 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:10,000 It's got higher accuracy because you don't have to be fighting it in order to aim. 246 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:15,000 Once the cams kick in, you can easily aim it. 247 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:22,000 Plus, it's got much higher speed, so all of that kinetic energy is going to be going towards splitting the arrow. 248 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:30,000 While the build team have been delving into the world of archery, Adam and Jamie have been boning up on their folklore. 249 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:34,000 Turns out the split arrow myth wasn't a Hollywood invention. 250 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:39,000 Adam, did you know that there is no direct evidence that Robin Hood ever existed? 251 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:49,000 Well, the first reference to him is a late medieval poem titled A Guest of Robin Hood, but there is no mention of arrow splitting in that poem. 252 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:57,000 The first mention of arrow splitting, I believe, was in a work called Ivanhoe written by Sir Walter Scott in 1818. 253 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:05,000 That's the Victorian era, and the Victorians were notorious for their hunger for anything that smacked of a fairy tale. 254 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:10,000 And it's probably that era where this story built itself into such mythical proportions. 255 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:42,000 Going on what we saw the last time these guys picked up a bow and arrow, he might be right. 256 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:50,000 At the end of the ancient death ray experiment, they were using flaming arrows to try and satellite their homemade Roman tri-ree. 257 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:54,000 But the only thing to go up in smoke was their reputations. 258 00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:01,000 At least this time, Tori will be using his own bow. 259 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:03,000 Did you actually go hunting with that bow? 260 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:08,000 I didn't actually hunt it with this. It was just for target practice, but my dad got it for me for Christmas. 261 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:14,000 The first arrow strikes the target, and straight away, there's a problem. 262 00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,000 I'm wondering if that's going in too deep. 263 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:22,000 Carrie used hay as backing. Question is, is the hay letting in too much arrow? 264 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:29,000 See how deep it's going into the hay, and I think our chances of splitting the arrow are better if there's more arrow exposed. 265 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:32,000 So the hay's out, replaced by foam. 266 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,000 Take two on the target arrow. 267 00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:42,000 I think this is good because it's sticking out far enough, and it looks pretty perpendicular to the target. 268 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,000 And you hit it the same hole twice. That's pretty amazing. 269 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:46,000 Well, that's a good sign, right? 270 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:51,000 That's a great sign. Also on the high speed, the block only moved a minimal amount. 271 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,000 Not nearly as much as the hay target. 272 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:54,000 This is much better than the hay target. 273 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,000 Perfect. Let's get to splitting. 274 00:20:56,000 --> 00:21:02,000 Using modern aluminum arrows, Tori starts trying to split this myth right down the middle. 275 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:10,000 Get almost there. 276 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:21,000 Yeah, right. 277 00:21:21,000 --> 00:21:24,000 No luck. Maybe if he moves closer. 278 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:27,000 I need all the help I can get at this point. 279 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:39,000 You got a really tight grouping, but it's above the target arrow. 280 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:40,000 Yep, really? 281 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:43,000 Yep. 282 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:49,000 He's getting close. 283 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,000 Are you ready? 284 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,000 He's kissing it. 285 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,000 Real close. 286 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,000 I didn't split it. I definitely hit it. 287 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:57,000 Look at that, dude. 288 00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:58,000 Oh, nice. 289 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:15,000 I chipped off the glancing blow. 290 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,000 More arrows, more close calls, but no Robin Hood. 291 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,000 Time for a change of tactics. 292 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:27,000 My feeling is if we switch to the broad head arrow tips, our likelihood of splitting an arrow is much greater. 293 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:34,000 Because right now, these arrow heads are just, I don't think, they're not a good design for splitting an arrow. 294 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,000 Seriously, look at that. It's like throwing pencils at it. 295 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:50,000 This time, they're also going to shorten the odds of a split by giving Tori a whole Sherwood forest to fire at. 296 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,000 Oh, I got a split. 297 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:53,000 Did you? 298 00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:54,000 Yeah. 299 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:55,000 Let's see. 300 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:58,000 I mean, it didn't split it right down the middle, but it definitely... 301 00:22:58,000 --> 00:22:59,000 Oh, yeah, look at that. 302 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:00,000 Look at that. 303 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,000 It definitely split it about, like, six inches down. 304 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,000 That won't do, I'm afraid. 305 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:09,000 We want to see an arrow cleft in twain, my friends. 306 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:15,000 The problem seems to be the human factor. 307 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,000 I can't hit one of them. 308 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:22,000 We're going to have to figure out some kind of mechanical system to get an accurate shot every time. 309 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,000 Can't you make a robot? 310 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:25,000 I think so. 311 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,000 Let's make a robot. 312 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,000 All right. 313 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,000 A robot. Why not? 314 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:38,000 In no time, Grant's whipping up an arrow shooting rig, designed to make the exact same shot every time. 315 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,000 So the bow goes here. 316 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:45,000 String gets pulled, clipped into this thing. 317 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,000 Winch motor here. 318 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,000 Winch line here. 319 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:52,000 Pulls it back. 320 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:56,000 And then this is the quick release. 321 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,000 And that will release the string. 322 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,000 Perfect shot every time. 323 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:07,000 Music 324 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,000 For this to work, the bow will have to remain rock steady for every shot. 325 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:15,000 So the bracket holding it in place has to be perfect. 326 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,000 Music 327 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,000 Like a glove. 328 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:24,000 Music 329 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:28,000 It's time to unveil the arrow bot. 330 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,000 Here we go. Three, two, one. 331 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,000 Dude, that rocks. 332 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,000 Nice. Nice. 333 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:39,000 Now let's see if the arrow bot can hit the same spot. 334 00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:43,000 Oh, that's sweet. 335 00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:45,000 Looks like we could be on to something. 336 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:48,000 Oh, dude. That's amazing. 337 00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:50,000 It's really close. 338 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,000 Nice work, brother. 339 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:58,000 This is probably going to show us if it is in fact possible to split an arrow, because we're having it so it's dialed in. 340 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:03,000 And hopefully it will be shooting exactly in the same spot every single time. 341 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:05,000 With a human, I don't think that's possible. 342 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,000 The first shot will be taken from 20 feet. 343 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,000 The wooden target arrows put in place. 344 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,000 The pointed tips are off, broad heads are on. 345 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:15,000 Right, we're all set. 346 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:22,000 Oh, it's so close. So close. 347 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,000 Nice grouping, Grant. 348 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,000 Thanks, dude. 349 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:29,000 Even so, the trajectory of each arrow still varies slightly. 350 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,000 So they're going to try the old bundle of arrows trick again. 351 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:38,000 This time the target shafts are so close together there's barely any space between them. 352 00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,000 I think we're going to split an arrow from knock to tip. 353 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,000 I think we've got the optimal setup right here. 354 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000 The shooter is positioned. 355 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,000 We've got a bundle of arrow shafts. 356 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:53,000 I think the odds are very high that we'll be able to split an arrow. 357 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:57,000 That was before Grant saw this high-speed camera footage. 358 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,000 It's a matter of arrow dynamics. 359 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,000 Arrows don't fly straight. 360 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:05,000 They flex and twist in the air. 361 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:12,000 So the question is, could one ever strike straight enough to carve another shaft straight down the middle? 362 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,000 Three, two, one. 363 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,000 Three, two, one. 364 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,000 Three, two, one. 365 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,000 That was way off. 366 00:26:29,000 --> 00:26:32,000 But hang on, guys. Those aren't real arrow shafts, are they? 367 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:36,000 We got this doweling from the hardware store. 368 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:41,000 But what we've discovered is that we actually should use arrow shafts. 369 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:46,000 True arrow shafts that have the correct humidity, that have the correct grain. 370 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:53,000 And hopefully with these new cedar arrow shafts, we'll have better results at trying to split. 371 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:57,000 The cedar shafts are screwed in place. Let's try it again. 372 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,000 Three, two, one. 373 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,000 Somehow the arrow found a way between the shafts. 374 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:10,000 That was a beautiful shot. But don't have a split arrow. 375 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,000 Three, two, one. 376 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:19,000 Another test, and this time a partial split. 377 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,000 That is the best stone here, right here. 378 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:25,000 Now, just fill off this bottom one. 379 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,000 Three, two, one. 380 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,000 That was a good shot. 381 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:35,000 Grant's rig is right on target, but still no Robin Hood. 382 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:37,000 Just a growing pile of kindling. 383 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:40,000 Three, two, one. 384 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:43,000 There's another big piece. 385 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,000 We got a little bit of a split here. I'm going to go ahead and peel this off. 386 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,000 But, you know, still not a Robin Hood. 387 00:27:56,000 --> 00:28:01,000 Tari thinks the amount of kinetic energy being delivered to the target might be too great. 388 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:06,000 I don't know, I'm just thinking that this might be too powerful and it's just splintering them instead of actually splitting them. 389 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,000 The solution? Move the rig back. 390 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:16,000 But now the wind is becoming a factor, and they're not hitting anything. 391 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,000 Oh gosh darn it. 392 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:23,000 This myth is fast becoming one ye olde pain in the arrow shaft. 393 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,000 Makes you wonder how they did it in the movie, doesn't it? 394 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,000 Well, they did have this guy on set. 395 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:34,000 Howard Hill was an uncannily accurate archer, arguably the best of all time. 396 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:40,000 This modern day Robin Hood won 196 field tournaments in a row. 397 00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:44,000 And the distance is 30 feet. 398 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:49,000 Hill did a lot of work in Hollywood, and his own movie showed just how good he was. 399 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:53,000 Every shot was its own special effect. 400 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:59,000 And as though to prove his skill, he cuts a string at 12 paces. 401 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:04,000 If anyone was capable of splitting an arrow, it was Howard. 402 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:10,000 When he's run out of ways to shoot with his hands, he holds the bow with his feet. 403 00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:17,000 But there's no evidence that he took the movie shot. 404 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:27,000 One thing's for sure, Carrie and her cohorts could really do with Howard's help right about now. 405 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,000 Adam and Jamie are trying to solve the case of the killer tissue box. 406 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:37,000 Their new crash test vehicle came unstuck, prompting a rethink. 407 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:44,000 Adam, I've been running the numbers and that 200 pound cart going 70 miles an hour has an enormous amount of force. 408 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:51,000 It I believe comes out to about 35,000 foot pounds of kinetic energy that it's applying. 409 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:55,000 Well, I mean the problem we have is we can't make our sled any lighter. 410 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,000 I mean it weighs a couple hundred pounds. 411 00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:59,000 There's no place to actually remove any weight. 412 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:06,000 I think the only option open to us is to slow down our testing speed and do all of these tests at like 45 miles. 413 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:15,000 Okay, and I had another thought and that was that we can use some heavy nylon strapping or something like that and wrap it around that whole I-beam. 414 00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,000 And maybe that'll distribute the load a little bit more. 415 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:24,000 I think that's great and I think between those two things we should actually get some good tests out of this rig. 416 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,000 Back at Alameda, the crash rig gets a makeover. 417 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:29,000 Jamie? 418 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:30,000 Yeah. 419 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:33,000 I think this is a really good solution. 420 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:38,000 These straps have a combined braking force of 40,000 pounds. 421 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:41,000 We are good to go on this end. 422 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:43,000 Give us a countdown on your call. 423 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:44,000 Okay. 424 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:46,000 Right, let's give it another go. 425 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:54,000 As another precaution, Jamie's going to lower the towing speed to 45 miles per hour. 426 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:57,000 Come on, come on, come on. 427 00:30:58,000 --> 00:30:59,000 Right there. 428 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:01,000 I wanted to stop right there. 429 00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:03,000 Yeah! 430 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,000 That's what I'm talking about! 431 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:09,000 Perfect, the crash rig stopped right on cue. 432 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,000 The cables stayed attached. 433 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:23,000 To give you some idea of the force involved, the 4,000 pound concrete barrier was dragged along like a piece of styrofoam. 434 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,000 Jamie, that was perfect. 435 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:29,000 Exactly 45 miles an hour, over. 436 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:32,000 Mythbusters now has a mostly working crash test sled. 437 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,000 I'm very pleased, yeah. 438 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:37,000 Finally, we're ready to do some crash testing. 439 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:41,000 Here are some objects you might find on the rear shelf of someone's car. 440 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,000 Well, this one's definitely the heaviest. 441 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:45,000 Right. 442 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,000 And so there's an argument to be said there that it could crush your head. 443 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,000 This one also is fairly heavy. 444 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,000 I'd say it's a toss up between these two. 445 00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:59,000 And then this one's also, maybe this one could break your neck even if it didn't crush your skull. 446 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,000 That thing's about right up there with the Kleenex box. 447 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:08,000 Well, if the myth is correct, this Kleenex box is at the top of our lethality pyramid. 448 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:12,000 This little guy weighs just 125 grams. 449 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:20,000 But remember, in a sudden impact, small objects can pack a big wallop, up to 30 times their own weight. 450 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:25,000 Unfortunately, on this run, the bobblehead's not going anywhere. 451 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:30,000 The bobblehead fell over into the fence of screws and did not move over. 452 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:34,000 At a certain speed, I'm sure that a bobblehead could be lethal, 453 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,000 but I don't think that speed is 45 miles an hour. 454 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:40,000 Maybe we'll have more luck with the subwoofer. 455 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,000 The crash rig slams to a halt. 456 00:32:44,000 --> 00:32:50,000 The subwoofer keeps on going, striking the ballistics gel at 45 miles per hour. 457 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,000 But at this way, you'd really be able to feel the beat. 458 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:00,000 Just like we thought it might, the knob that describes the subwoofer, 459 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:03,000 is the one that's going to be the most powerful. 460 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,000 You'd really be able to feel the beat. 461 00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:11,000 Just like we thought it might, the knob that describes the seat over the back shelf, 462 00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:16,000 that like one inch little riser kicked this up and you can see it go up. 463 00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,000 But it pretty much would hit you dead on in the head. 464 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:23,000 We'll have to crunch the numbers to find out how hard, but it was a pretty good hit. 465 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:25,000 What if a hatchet hit ya? 466 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,000 You want to catch this? Check this out. 467 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:40,000 At 45 miles per hour, it'd be like something out of a B-grade slasher film. 468 00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:43,000 Oh my god! Dude! 469 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:47,000 Look, the ax head's out on the other side of the board. 470 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:50,000 Not in a million years could we have done it that good. 471 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:56,000 Well, I think it's safe to say that you don't want to be carrying hatchets on your rear shelf. 472 00:33:56,000 --> 00:34:02,000 This is your head. This is your head with an ax in it. Are we clear? 473 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:08,000 Well, we still have the fire extinguisher and the bowling ball to try. 474 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:12,000 A fresh gel cartridge is screwed in place. 475 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:25,000 That looked like a perfect hit. 476 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:32,000 For one kilogram, fire extinguisher probably wouldn't be fatal, but it would definitely ruin your day. 477 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:36,000 It definitely didn't cut too deep. That's probably a really nice cushion for it. 478 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:41,000 I'm pretty sure that could have gotten you a concussion or something like that if you got hit by it. 479 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:47,000 But we can't really prove it by the blow-stix gel. We'll have to look at the high-speed footage. 480 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:49,000 Oh, there you go. There's your proof. 481 00:34:49,000 --> 00:34:51,000 There's your proof. Took a real hit there. 482 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:56,000 Yeah, if I whacked you on the back of the head hard enough to do that, you'd be hurting. 483 00:34:58,000 --> 00:35:00,000 Now the bowling ball. 484 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:07,000 Actually, it's more like a cannonball. 485 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:20,000 Remember, Jamie was only doing 45 miles per hour. 486 00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:28,000 I think a rig has held up admirably. 487 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:35,000 I'm not sure if it will hold up to 70 miles an hour, but it's time to see what a tissue box does at the worst possible speed. 488 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:37,000 Alright, let's do it. 489 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:41,000 They put the rig back together. The tissue box is put in place. 490 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:47,000 Okay, this is the 70-mile-an-hour test. This is maximum speed. Over. 491 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:53,000 Okay, and going in five, four, three, two, one. 492 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,000 Find out if this is actually deadly. 493 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:04,000 Jamie ups the pace to almost 70 miles per hour. 494 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:14,000 The box of tissues imparts almost 50-foot pounds. 495 00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:19,000 But at 323 grams, it just doesn't have enough mass to do much damage. 496 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,000 There's just no way. I mean, we tested a whole bunch of stuff. 497 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:25,000 The bowling ball went right through this whole rig. Tissue box. 498 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:32,000 It might be like ow, you know, but I'm guessing that the ow from the airbag is going to be a lot worse. 499 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:41,000 Jamie, I think killer tissue box is definitively busted. 500 00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:49,000 Even if you had a decorative plastic or metal cover on this thing, it just doesn't have the mass to inflict lethal damage. 501 00:36:49,000 --> 00:37:04,000 But we should point out to our viewers that anything that is sharp or weighs over a couple of pounds or so is not something you want to have unrestrained in the back of the car, even in the back seat, because it could be, if not lethal, definitely dangerous. 502 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:16,000 Absolutely, but I think the final word on this should be left to Buster, who is living proof such as it is, that in a head-on 70-mile-an-hour collision, this is the very least of your worries. 503 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:29,000 Our trio is still trying to split an arrow. They've moved Grant's rig back indoors. 504 00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:37,000 We had to move the rig inside because it turns out the wind is really becoming a factor with these arrows, and our accuracy is totally off. 505 00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:41,000 So we've moved everything inside, and we're going to try this experiment again. 506 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:50,000 Our current thinking is that there's too much kinetic energy. One of two possibilities is our fired arrow comes in and hits a target arrow and just shatters it. 507 00:37:50,000 --> 00:38:01,000 The other possibility, and this is Tori's theory, is that the fired arrow comes in and hits a target arrow, which flexes, and it doesn't allow us to get a clean shot down the middle. 508 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:09,000 So hopefully, by reducing the amount of velocity, we can reduce the kinetic energy and get a clean split right down the middle. 509 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:16,000 Still nothing. 510 00:38:16,000 --> 00:38:23,000 We've given up. Obviously, from any distance, we're not getting the accuracy that we need in order to split the arrow. 511 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:27,000 We're going to take accuracy out of the equation and move into the end of an arrow. 512 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:32,000 We're going to put the machine right on it, fire it, and see if that is able to split an arrow. 513 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:40,000 They set up for a point-blank shot. Will the target split, or might Tori be on the lookout for a new bow? 514 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:48,000 There's a minor possibility we might break Tori's bow, but the producer has agreed to buy Tori a new bow. 515 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,000 Everyone takes cover. 516 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:02,000 It's split in around six inches. 517 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:06,000 Looks like there could be a split in the build team as well. 518 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:18,000 Guys, in my mind, this is busted. I mean, there's no way anybody's going to be able to do this on command if we're right up against it with every possible accuracy established. 519 00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:21,000 I just, I'm thinking this is busted right here personally. 520 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,000 Now they're splitting hairs. 521 00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:29,000 Well, the only problem is that how we define it is, is it possible? We didn't add the on-demand part. 522 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:35,000 Yeah, but that is the myth. I mean, he has to be able to do it one right after the other. Otherwise, it's just a fluke. 523 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,000 It is a fluke. 524 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:42,000 On a fluke, but that's not the myth. On a fluke, that's just, that's just silly. 525 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:49,000 I think it's too soon to call it busted. I think it is possible. Maybe it's not, but I just think it's too soon to call it busted. 526 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:58,000 I'm willing to give it another shot, but you guys are going to have to prove to me that this is possible on-demand for me to actually personally feel it's confirmed or plausible whatsoever. 527 00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:07,000 Back in the days of yore at the Tulare County Renaissance Fair, 16 noble archers have accepted the Mythbusters challenge. 528 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:14,000 Whom, so ever, can split a wooden arrow from knock to tip shall claim the coveted golden arrow. 529 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:22,000 Each contestant gets three shots. 530 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:35,000 When that doesn't work, they all fire information. 531 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:38,000 I don't know, I didn't see any splitting arrows. 532 00:40:56,000 --> 00:41:02,000 The target's got more bristles than a porcupine, but there's still not a split arrow in sight. 533 00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,000 How many of you have done it before? 534 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,000 I've done, I've done... 535 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:08,000 Some archery, you mean? 536 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:09,000 No, I split the arrow. 537 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:10,000 Not splitting all the way down? 538 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:11,000 Not all the way down to the head. 539 00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:14,000 Half, only half way. 540 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:21,000 Travis Fletcher is master of an archery guild whose members shoot at Renaissance fairs all over the state. 541 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:24,000 He has his own ideas about the origin of the myth. 542 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:30,000 The splitting of the arrow was actually more likely an archery game that was used in order to train the archers. 543 00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:36,000 It was called slusting the wand, where an arrow would have been set as a vertical target. 544 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,000 Either in the ground or against a tree. 545 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:45,000 And then the archers would have attempted to split the arrow or slit the arrow with theirs. 546 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:51,000 We came here to see if any archer could split an arrow and it doesn't look like it's going to happen. 547 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,000 Yeah, you know what, I'm starting to think that this is impossible. 548 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:56,000 Looks like we're going to have to take the golden arrow home with us. 549 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:57,000 Oh, that's too bad. 550 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:03,000 And we are locked and loaded. 551 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:07,000 Back at Mythbuster HQ, they're still trying to split an arrow. 552 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,000 It took less time to split the arrow. 553 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:12,000 And three, two... 554 00:42:12,000 --> 00:42:16,000 Once again, they've got arrow and target shaft touching. 555 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:18,000 Look at the angle, it just kind of carved it out. 556 00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:21,000 Tori and Grant study the high speed shot. 557 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:28,000 The blade of the arrow is just basically following the grain of the wood and just popping out where it ends. 558 00:42:28,000 --> 00:42:32,000 Yeah, also I see that the arrow is kind of flexing on impact. 559 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:40,000 Yeah, maybe what we should do is make a channel so that way the shooting arrow follows that all the way down the target arrow and it has no chance of moving. 560 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:45,000 Right, they're like totally aligned and then as it goes through, you get a straight split. 561 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:46,000 Yeah, okay. 562 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:51,000 Some might call it thorough, some might call it cheating. 563 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:57,000 Grant fashions a thin tube that encases both arrow and target, holding them in exact alignment. 564 00:42:57,000 --> 00:43:03,000 Hopefully, the arrow will be guided all the way along the target shaft, splitting it right down the middle. 565 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,000 Three, two, one. 566 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:07,000 They try a copper tube. 567 00:43:10,000 --> 00:43:12,000 Three, two, one. 568 00:43:13,000 --> 00:43:18,000 They try carbon fiber, but nothing can stop that arrow from following the grain. 569 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:24,000 So as far as I'm concerned with all of our testing, which I believe was extremely thorough, I'm calling this one busted. 570 00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:36,000 You cannot split an arrow from the tail to the tip and unless somebody can come out of the woodworks with either a video or does it right in front of my eyes on command one after the other, I'm saying this is busted. 571 00:43:36,000 --> 00:43:38,000 I'm totally with you, busted. 572 00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:40,000 Busted with a capital B. 573 00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:55,000 Adam and Jamie have busted the killer tissue box myth, but if you think that's going to stop them destroying the fury, you're sadly mistaken. 574 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:57,000 Can you help me? 575 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:04,000 That car is going to be total on the tarmac at top speed straight into these crash barriers. 576 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:13,000 It's kind of important that they be lined up just so because each one of these only weighs about as much as the car does and the car is going to be traveling quite quickly. 577 00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:23,000 So with that in mind, we've overlapped them and put one in the back of them so that they'll hopefully not move too far with the impact. 578 00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:28,000 Before they get too carried away, they'll have to make sure Grant's steering rig works. 579 00:44:28,000 --> 00:44:30,000 That means a test tow. 580 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:40,000 The worst-case scenario is that we start up with the truck dragging the fury and the fury goes way off and smacks into something of value, like a crew member. 581 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:46,000 To make sure that doesn't happen, Adam's volunteered to get behind the wheel of the fury. 582 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:55,000 Last time I was in this car, Jamie lost control of it with his RC controller and sent me through a fence. 583 00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:59,000 Cut to shot of Adam going through fence. 584 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:01,000 Jamie! 585 00:45:12,000 --> 00:45:14,000 This is working beautifully. 586 00:45:17,000 --> 00:45:19,000 Jamie guns the pick-up. 587 00:45:22,000 --> 00:45:24,000 I'm in a car and I'm not touching anything. 588 00:45:25,000 --> 00:45:27,000 What did it do? 589 00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:29,000 Were you still having to steer it at all? 590 00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:30,000 I didn't have to touch it. 591 00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:31,000 Oh man, that's great. 592 00:45:31,000 --> 00:45:33,000 Yeah, it was absolutely beautiful. 593 00:45:33,000 --> 00:45:36,000 Well, that's what I wanted to hear. 594 00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:41,000 It veered off by about a half a degree when you were moving and then you started moving forward and it corrected. 595 00:45:41,000 --> 00:45:44,000 So, I mean, it's exactly what we wanted it to do. 596 00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:45,000 Let's crash this puppy. 597 00:45:45,000 --> 00:45:46,000 All right. 598 00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:49,000 They just have to replace Adam with another dummy. 599 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:53,000 For one spuster, you should feel right at home. 600 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:58,000 And now, the final and perhaps deadliest component of this test. 601 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:00,000 The tissues. 602 00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:01,000 Okay. 603 00:46:01,000 --> 00:46:04,000 This is actually really scary. 604 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:06,000 You know, we did a test. 605 00:46:06,000 --> 00:46:13,000 It seems like it's working okay, but 4,000 pounds of car rolling kind of on its own at 50, 60, 70 miles an hour is a scary thing. 606 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:16,000 And we've got to kind of thread a needle with the end of it. 607 00:46:16,000 --> 00:46:21,000 So, this is just, I'm going to be way back down there. 608 00:46:21,000 --> 00:46:22,000 That's all I know. 609 00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:25,000 One end of the cable is attached to the fury. 610 00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:31,000 The lines then threaded through holes in the barriers and the other end tied to the pickup. 611 00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:36,000 Jamie floors the accelerator. 612 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:38,000 The car looks great. 613 00:46:38,000 --> 00:46:43,000 The fury chews up tarmac and hits the barrier at more than 60 miles per hour. 614 00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:49,000 Cubatic laughter. 615 00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:51,000 Thank you, gentlemen. 616 00:46:51,000 --> 00:46:53,000 Have a good day. 617 00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:54,000 Thank you. 618 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:55,000 Thank you. 619 00:46:55,000 --> 00:46:56,000 Thank you. 620 00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:57,000 Thank you. 621 00:46:57,000 --> 00:46:58,000 Thank you. 622 00:46:58,000 --> 00:46:59,000 Thank you. 623 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:00,000 Thank you. 624 00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:01,000 Thank you. 625 00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:02,000 Thank you. 626 00:47:02,000 --> 00:47:03,000 Thank you. 627 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:04,000 Thank you. 628 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:05,000 Thank you. 629 00:47:05,000 --> 00:47:06,000 Thank you. 630 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:10,000 Yeah. 631 00:47:10,000 --> 00:47:13,000 At the point of impact, the front of the fury leapt up in the air, 632 00:47:13,000 --> 00:47:17,000 so the tissue box's trajectory took it into the back of the seat, 633 00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:19,000 instead of Buster's noggin. 634 00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:22,000 So, Grant, what's the time to reset and do this one again? 635 00:47:22,000 --> 00:47:23,000 Yeah, 636 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:25,000 it's going to take a little bit more than twenty minutes I think. 637 00:47:25,000 --> 00:47:27,000 Oh, let's see. 638 00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:28,000 Okay. 639 00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:30,000 What was your speed and impact? 640 00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:32,000 Sixty-five miles an hour. 641 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:34,600 Finally, the box survived intact. 642 00:47:34,600 --> 00:47:36,400 The cardboard's not crumpled. 643 00:47:36,400 --> 00:47:38,200 There's not even a single torn tissue. 644 00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:42,200 Let's see, is there a buster-shaped head imprint on this? 645 00:47:42,200 --> 00:47:43,200 No. 646 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:44,720 Well, it looks pretty good. 647 00:47:44,720 --> 00:47:48,040 You know, that's a good indication that this is really deadly, though, that it's the one 648 00:47:48,040 --> 00:47:51,280 thing in the car that's tough enough to survive an impact. 649 00:47:51,280 --> 00:47:55,320 Grant plugs into the accelerometer implanted in Buster's head. 650 00:47:55,320 --> 00:47:57,800 114.8 Gs. 651 00:47:57,800 --> 00:47:59,800 114.8? 652 00:47:59,800 --> 00:48:00,800 Yeah. 653 00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:04,080 Dude, that's very significant. 654 00:48:04,080 --> 00:48:05,080 Very significant. 655 00:48:05,080 --> 00:48:09,880 Remember, an astronaut pulls only 8 Gs during lift-off. 656 00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:13,760 This came out of the accelerometer, and what I've got right here is interesting. 657 00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:18,320 At 100 milliseconds, I'm already said it's a peak of 115. 658 00:48:18,320 --> 00:48:20,280 That's the modulus of all three axes. 659 00:48:20,280 --> 00:48:27,240 And here, in the Z direction, I have about 75, and in the X direction, I have about 90. 660 00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:31,160 So Z being top of the head, and X being side to side. 661 00:48:31,160 --> 00:48:34,560 So I think he must have turned and smacked his head on the dash. 662 00:48:34,560 --> 00:48:35,560 I think so. 663 00:48:35,560 --> 00:48:39,880 So you think maybe it's that buster was trying to twist out of the way of the deadly tissue 664 00:48:39,880 --> 00:48:43,160 box as it was making its way like a bullet towards the windshield. 665 00:48:43,160 --> 00:48:49,480 Well, if that's the case, then clearly the second spike has to be the tissue box sitting 666 00:48:49,480 --> 00:49:04,800 buster in the head. 667 00:49:04,800 --> 00:49:07,920 Monday nights are about to burn rubber. 668 00:49:07,920 --> 00:49:12,960 Coming soon, Top Gear, the motoring show with its foot on the pedal and its tongue in its 669 00:49:12,960 --> 00:49:15,120 cheek, only on SBS.