1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Please, don't try anything that you're about to see us do at home. 2 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,000 Tori, Carrie and Grant are in over their heads as well. 3 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:37,000 Something feels like it's dangerous, I'm not sure exactly what yet. 4 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,000 Snowed under by a snowplack. 5 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:44,000 There are cursed items in the world and this is one of them. 6 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:48,000 Who are the Mythbusters? 7 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,000 Adam Savage 8 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,000 and Jamie Heineman. 9 00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:56,000 This is gonna kill you. 10 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,000 Between them more than 30 years of special effects experience. 11 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:03,000 That's what I'm talking about! 12 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,000 Joining them, Tori Belleggi. 13 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:07,000 Very excited about this. 14 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:08,000 Carrie Byron. 15 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:09,000 Look, he cracked into his skull. 16 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:11,000 And Grant Imahara. 17 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,000 Don't say anything. 18 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,000 They don't just tell the Myths. 19 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:19,000 They put them to the test. 20 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,000 You care to explain what we're doing? 21 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:37,000 16 feet off the ground, standing above 9,000 gallons of swirling water and I'm in a wetsuit? 22 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:40,000 Sure, this story is called the Whirlpool of Death. 23 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:46,000 Now, this is a story that's been going on as long as man has been going to sea. 24 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:55,000 This is the mythical, hungry, evil vortex that appears in the ocean sucking boats and sailors down to Jamie Jones Locker. 25 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:56,000 That's the one? 26 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:57,000 That's the one. 27 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,000 Adam's right on the money. 28 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:03,000 Whirlpools have always been a mesmerizing maritime menace. 29 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:08,000 He might have been Lord of the Jungle, but in the face of a swirling vortex, 30 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 even the mighty Tarzan was up the creek without a paddle. 31 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,000 A canoe's one thing, but a whole ship. 32 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:21,000 In part one of this myth, Adam and Jamie will construct their own Whirlpool in a giant tank 33 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:25,000 and bid bond voyage to some scale model ships. 34 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:30,000 And in part two, they'll see what effect a Whirlpool has on a lone swimmer. 35 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,000 I jump in right now. 36 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:33,000 Yeah, right. 37 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:34,000 I would. 38 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:36,000 Namely, Adam. 39 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,000 Go on then, let's get in. 40 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:39,000 Cold on there. 41 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:40,000 This is the end of the story. 42 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,000 We got a whole bunch of material to cover before we get to this. 43 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,000 The first thing they want to do is clap eyes on a real Whirlpool. 44 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,000 And they don't have to go very far. 45 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,000 Yeah, we're going to look for turbulence here, 46 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,000 which means I'm pretty sure we're going to cut to some shots of me vomiting 47 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,000 while we were doing some shark week investigation. 48 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:01,000 You bet, Adam. 49 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:06,000 We get plenty of mileage out of that queasy constitution of yours. 50 00:03:09,000 --> 00:03:11,000 This time he's taken seasickness pills, 51 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,000 which I'm sure the boys from the Coast Guard appreciate. 52 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,000 So, Hector, where are we going to find a couple of currents going against each other? 53 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,000 I might see some whirlpools. 54 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:29,000 Right around the South Tower right here between the Swooey and the South Tower. 55 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:30,000 And right on cue. 56 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,000 There's one right there. 57 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:37,000 Not just one, it's a virtual convoy of vortices, 58 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,000 all brought about by the bridge pylon. 59 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:46,000 The water that's directly behind the piling is moving more slowly, 60 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,000 and the onrushing water that's going past it is mixing with it, 61 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:52,000 and you start with swirling. 62 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:56,000 But not all whirlpools are the result of obstacles in the water. 63 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:00,000 Most oceanic whirlpools form when opposing currents meet head-on. 64 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,000 As the currents start to swirl around each other, 65 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:05,000 a vortex forms in the center, 66 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,000 causing the water to spiral downwards. 67 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:12,000 In some cases, the vortex can plunge hundreds of feet. 68 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:17,000 These whirlpools may not do anything but make it a little squirrelly to steer this boat, 69 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,000 but if I was in the water with one of them, 70 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:21,000 I think I'd be in a little bit of trouble. 71 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,000 I don't know that it would pull me down so much, 72 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,000 but it'd be definitely spinning you around. 73 00:04:27,000 --> 00:04:29,000 See, that's like six, eight feet across, 74 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,000 and if you were in the middle of that, you'd be kind of like... 75 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:34,000 you'd be a little upset. 76 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:38,000 And on that note, it's back to the workshop. 77 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:44,000 Well, obviously, it's easy to create a whirlpool in a cup. 78 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000 Well, that would be a whirlpool. 79 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:50,000 That would be a whirlpool. 80 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:54,000 But the question is, how do we create it full-sized? 81 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:56,000 Well, I've done it before with paddle wheel. 82 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:00,000 I was thinking about trying to use water jets to create a whirlpool, 83 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,000 and maybe even a recirculating system. 84 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:05,000 Okay, well, we can try both in a somewhat smaller scale 85 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,000 than the real full-sized one and see what happens. 86 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:12,000 Adam has a small pool pump and a tank with a hole at the bottom. 87 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,000 When the pump is switched on, water is sucked down the hole 88 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:18,000 through the pump and recirculated. 89 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,000 The result? A perfect conical vortex. 90 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,000 Oh, look at that! 91 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,000 That would be a vortex. 92 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,000 And Adam being Adam, he can't resist staging a mock naval mishap. 93 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,000 Technically, if this is a real container ship, 94 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:37,000 this whirlpool would be well over a mile in diameter. 95 00:05:37,000 --> 00:05:41,000 Here's a little boat, unsuspecting on the high seas, 96 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,000 and... oh, no, it's a whirlpool! 97 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,000 That would be bad! 98 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:49,000 So the pump works well. 99 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,000 Now it's Jamie's turn. 100 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:58,000 He's got two metal paddles attached to a cordless drill motor. 101 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:00,000 330 rpm. 102 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:04,000 The depth of the vortex is... 103 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,000 nine inches. 104 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:09,000 Alright, let's move up to the medium-sized level. 105 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,000 I want to kick it up a notch. 106 00:06:11,000 --> 00:06:14,000 Kicking it up a notch means a larger tank, 107 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,000 a larger pump, 108 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,000 and larger blades on Jamie's paddle. 109 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,000 But while Adam's early results are replicated perfectly... 110 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,000 14-inch vortex. 111 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:30,000 That's going all the way to the bottom, isn't it? 112 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:32,000 Going all the way to the bottom. It's a perfect vortex. 113 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:37,000 Jamie struggles to come to grips with the increase in size and speed. 114 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:40,000 That's pretty much all the way to the bottom, and that's 15 amps. 115 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:41,000 Okay. 116 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:46,000 They up the ante again, this time a 50-gallon tank. 117 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,000 Once again, the pump provides an instant vortex. 118 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 Dude! Perfect! 119 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:55,000 Jeez, man, it's totally full depth. 120 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:58,000 And Adam's made an intriguing discovery. 121 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,000 Each time they move to a larger tank, 122 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:05,000 it takes proportionally less water to maintain the whirlpool. 123 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:08,000 48 gallons total, and in order to maintain that whirlpool, 124 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,000 we only needed to move 25 gallons per minute. 125 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,000 It means that as we're getting larger, 126 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:18,000 it requires less of the total volume to maintain that whirlpool, 127 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:19,000 which is fantastic. 128 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,000 On the other hand, Jamie's paddles are using more power 129 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:24,000 and threatening to take off. 130 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,000 We've still got a way to go. We're only at 8.5 volts. 131 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,000 I'm having trouble holding onto it. I'm really using a lot of strength. 132 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:36,000 There's no beautifully shaped vortex, just a violent churning. 133 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,000 It's more of like a huge depression. 134 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:41,000 It's like you're slinging the whole ocean outward, 135 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:45,000 and it's not really a suction vortex. 136 00:07:45,000 --> 00:07:49,000 It's just sort of centrifugal force throwing things away from the middle. 137 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:53,000 And between the two, I'd much rather get into the one that I made with the pump 138 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:55,000 than get into a tank with that thing. 139 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,000 Funny you should say that, Adam. 140 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,000 You know, I've been thinking about this, 141 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,000 and I think we also need to actually test it on a full-sized person. 142 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:06,000 What do you think? 143 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,000 Okay, I'll go in. I'm not going to like it, though. 144 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:16,000 To see how much he's not going to like it, Adam makes a mini-Adam. 145 00:08:16,000 --> 00:08:18,000 So I made a scale. 146 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,000 He has not scaled to wait to us, and that was actually critical. 147 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:24,000 I wanted to see what would happen if we were totally, totally buoyant, 148 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:27,000 like wearing life preservers in the Red Man suit. 149 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:30,000 We drop in from the side. Whoa! 150 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,000 I wouldn't be at all surprised if you didn't just pass out. 151 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,000 And if you pass out and you're in that water, 152 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:42,000 unless you're tethered, you're screwed. 153 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:47,000 Once again, it looks like Adam will be going in over his head. 154 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,000 It felt like you're hopping into a pool full of water, 155 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:52,000 and you're hopping into a cone of water that drops down 156 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,000 potentially 10 to 15 feet below you. 157 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,000 That doesn't sound really pleasant. 158 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:04,000 Still to come, it's sink or swim as Adam prepares to confront the whirlpool of death. 159 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:05,000 Whoa! 160 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:06,000 And after the break, 161 00:09:06,000 --> 00:09:10,000 Tari, Carrie and Grant take on a truck with a life of its own. 162 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,000 Make no mistake, this is a death trap. 163 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,000 Adam, you grew up in a snowy part of the U.S., right? 164 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:23,000 Yeah. 165 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:25,000 So you're an expert on the snow plows? 166 00:09:25,000 --> 00:09:26,000 Sure. 167 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:31,000 Have you ever heard of a snow plow blasting a car off the road as it passes? 168 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:35,000 No. In the winter, that happens without any outside influence. 169 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:40,000 Well, one of our fans on the website claims to have seen exactly that. 170 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:45,000 Snow plow with its plow up, passing on a freeway at high speed, 171 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,000 blew a car clean off the freeway. 172 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,000 I'm extremely dubious. 173 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,000 You can see where they're going with this one, can't you? 174 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,000 They're going to get a snow plow and a car, 175 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,000 have them pass head on at highway speed 176 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:02,000 and see if the car winds up on its roof. 177 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:08,000 It sounds simple, but this myth will push our intrepid trio to the absolute limit. 178 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,000 This has been like the most troublesome myth I think we've ever done. 179 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:14,000 And for Grant, one of the most dangerous. 180 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:20,000 Where do you think we should start with this one? 181 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,000 Well, first of all, I want to know how much energy it takes to actually flip a car. 182 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,000 Ah. Yeah, that shouldn't be too hard to do. 183 00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:33,000 We could take our scales so we can measure force and then pick off a few points 184 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:37,000 and just try and pull it over with a static load. 185 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:38,000 You volunteering your car? 186 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:40,000 Not my car. 187 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:42,000 Okay then, how about this one? 188 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:48,000 Tori's been scouring the car yards and this looks like it might fit the bill flip-wise. 189 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:52,000 It has a high center of gravity, it has a short wheelbase, 190 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:57,000 it's got a lot of surface area being so flat and it's really, really lightweight. 191 00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:00,000 To find out what it takes to knock this vehicle off its tires, 192 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:07,000 Tori lassoes it, ties the rope to a force gauge and attaches that to a pickup. 193 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:10,000 Carrie counts off the pounds to tipping point. 194 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:16,000 500 pounds, 1000 pounds, 1000 pounds at peak time. 195 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,000 Then she calculates the surface area of one side 196 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:26,000 and works out the pressure needed to push the vehicle over. 197 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:30,000 I've done the calculations, it's going to take point 2-1 psi to flip this car, 198 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:31,000 that's pounds per square inch. 199 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,000 They've got their test vehicle. 200 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,000 The other thing they need is a snowplow. 201 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:40,000 Tori's heard on the grapevine where they might get one for Nix. 202 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,000 High in the Sierras on the California Nevada border, 203 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:50,000 this broken down plow has sat half buried in its wintry tomb for years. 204 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:53,000 They should never have disturbed its sleep. 205 00:11:53,000 --> 00:12:00,000 Carrie, Tori and Grant are about to face the curse of the snowplow. 206 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:04,000 No one knows for sure how long it stood dormant in that field, 207 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:08,000 but long enough for it to become a rodent hotel. 208 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,000 Don't let him bite you! 209 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,000 What's that saying about rats and sinking ships? 210 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:18,000 I feel kind of bad now. This was his home. 211 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:25,000 Somehow they've got to get this lunk of metal moving at 70 miles an hour. 212 00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,000 At the moment they'd be happy if it moved at all. 213 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:36,000 When it does get going, they'll want to know how much air pressure is coming off the plow. 214 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:39,000 So Carrie builds a pressure gauge. 215 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:42,000 Basically it's a tube filled with colored water. 216 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,000 As air pushes in one end of the tube, 217 00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:50,000 the water level rises along a scale marking off air pressure in pounds per square inch. 218 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,000 An anemometer will also measure wind speed. 219 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:57,000 Now as the plows not yet rolling, 220 00:12:57,000 --> 00:13:02,000 they test the gauge by bolting it to Jamie's truck and tearing off down the highway. 221 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:09,000 Surely a vehicle this big and fast generates lots of air pressure, doesn't it? 222 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,000 How fast are we going? 223 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:15,000 We're at 65 miles an hour. 224 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:23,000 65? This is where we're actually getting about a half inch reading on here, which is, you know, way less. 225 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:28,000 Remember, it took 0.21 psi to flip the test vehicle. 226 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:33,000 At 65 miles per hour, Jamie's truck is pushing only a sixth of that. 227 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:36,000 So what hope does the snow plow have? 228 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:39,000 Mr. Bellachy's already hearing alarm bells. 229 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:44,000 You know, you're driving down a two-way highway and a semi-truck flies by you 230 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,000 and I've had that happen where my car feels like it's going to go off the road, 231 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:52,000 just from the wall of air that it's pushing in front of it. 232 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:59,000 So if I wasn't blown off the road by a semi, I don't think I would be blown off the road by a snow plow. 233 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:03,000 We'll never know, Tori, unless you can get this one going. 234 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,000 So you're just going to cut the drive shaft? 235 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,000 Pretty much. All of them. 236 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:13,000 Cutting the drive shafts will free the wheels from the rusted gearbox. 237 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,000 On the next towing attempt, the plow inches forward. 238 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,000 Stop! Good! 239 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,000 Alright, cool. 240 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:21,000 So it moves. 241 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:22,000 It should work. 242 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000 It works! 243 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,000 Nice! 244 00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:31,000 I wouldn't get too excited, Grant. Your wheel woes ain't over yet. 245 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:36,000 One of your wheels isn't turning. You're just sk... it's just scraping along. 246 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,000 First run, top speed two miles per hour. 247 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,000 We traveled a total of 50 yards. 248 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:44,000 One of our tires is locked. 249 00:14:44,000 --> 00:14:48,000 And if that doesn't spin, it's going to create a lot of friction 250 00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:52,000 and it may skew the truck in one direction or the other. 251 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:57,000 And so the wheels come off this experiment, both literally and metaphorically. 252 00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:01,000 The free plow could wind up costing them plenty. 253 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,000 Ahead on Mythbusters, a strange foreboding. 254 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,000 Something feels really dangerous. 255 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:13,000 The curse of the snow plow continues. 256 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:14,000 Alright, I've got it. 257 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,000 And Adam prepares to brave the vortex. 258 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:27,000 Adam and Jamie plan to make a whirlpool in order to see if a ship really can be sucked down 259 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,000 in true Hollywood special effects style. 260 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:36,000 They also plan to throw Adam in and see if he swallowed whole. 261 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:40,000 Now, what they'll be wanting is a whirlpool like this one. 262 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:47,000 It's the world's largest tidal vortex and it churns the waters off Deer Island Point in Canada. 263 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:52,000 Nicknamed Old Sal, it can reach more than 200 feet in diameter 264 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:57,000 and has been known to swirl at a top speed of around 14 knots, 265 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:02,000 almost three times faster than the eddies Adam and Jamie saw under the bridge. 266 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:06,000 You know, I was concerned and wanted to make sure that our methodology for a full-scale whirlpool 267 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:10,000 was super accurate and actually I confirmed it with a couple of experts. 268 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:16,000 Our recirculating pump method is absolutely the most accurate way to reproduce a tidal whirlpool. 269 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:22,000 Great. Well, we've got our pump and our researchers also got us a 9,000 gallon tank. 270 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,000 So that should be, you know, sufficient for our needs. 271 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:28,000 And I suppose next we need to start thinking about the boats. 272 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,000 Well, we're not going to fit a real boat in there. 273 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,000 So we want to try something like a container ship. 274 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,000 I'm going to have to make a scale one. 275 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:42,000 We should also make, say, something like a fishing troll or something that is smaller in real life as well. 276 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:44,000 That sounds great. 277 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:49,000 Suddenly, a normal day at M5 turns into Christmas morning. 278 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,000 Ah, look at that. 279 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:55,000 It's the toy every kid wants. 280 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,000 A container ship. 281 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:59,000 Gee, thanks, Dad. 282 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,000 Now I can replicate international commerce. 283 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,000 The container ship model is one to 550 scale. 284 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:08,000 The model trawler is one to 50. 285 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,000 Time is short. 286 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,000 So he calls for backup. 287 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:15,000 We brought back Jess from the Mailbag Special. 288 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:17,000 You remember Jess? 289 00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:21,000 She was one half of the girls team trying to reproduce Archimedes death ray. 290 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,000 There is a fierce competition going on right now. 291 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:28,000 And we're okay with it because we know eventually we're going to win. 292 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,000 They didn't win. 293 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:32,000 I think that they cheated. 294 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:36,000 But it's that sort of fighting spirit they need around here. 295 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:40,000 She's going to help me with some of this stuff to do on this boat, 296 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,000 getting them leveled up and getting their displacement correct. 297 00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,000 So when the whirlpool is going, we have scale ships to test. 298 00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:50,000 Jess' first job, filling the hulls with lead shot, 299 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,000 so the models displace a realistic amount of water. 300 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:58,000 Unfortunately, this container ship might have to leave port without its containers. 301 00:17:58,000 --> 00:18:00,000 It's just going to be too top heavy. 302 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:05,000 So I think we need to eliminate these all together. 303 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:09,000 But we should seal up this top so that it doesn't gather water. 304 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:13,000 While Jess gets everything ship shaped, 305 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,000 This is gold and purple. 306 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:17,000 How much cooler does it get? 307 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,000 Adam and Jamie are off to the local dive shop. 308 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:21,000 Hello. 309 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:22,000 Hi, good to see you again. 310 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:23,000 Good to see you. 311 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:24,000 Hello. 312 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,000 With Adam's planning to jump into their whirlpool of death, 313 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:31,000 one or two safety precautions might go astray. 314 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:38,000 And basically, it's a little tank with a purge valve in an emergency. 315 00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:42,000 You would pull off that cover, hold it up, 316 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:46,000 put your lips around here, purge it once, and then breathe off it normally. 317 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:47,000 Sounds easy. 318 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:53,000 But just to make sure, Adam wants to test the emergency air tank in the dive shop training pool. 319 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:59,000 I know there's going to be payback, but I just couldn't resist. 320 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:02,000 Problem is you'll never know. 321 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:03,000 Okay. 322 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:04,000 Oh, thank you. 323 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:05,000 There you go. 324 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:06,000 You're welcome. 325 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:10,000 They want to see how long it takes Adam to get the tank to his mouth. 326 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,000 Jamie plays at being a whirlpool, 327 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:15,000 pulling Adam under and spinning him around. 328 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,000 Adam's a little slow on the draw. 329 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:22,000 There was definitely a little bit of a moment of panic because he pulled me right under. 330 00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:23,000 Let's try that again. 331 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:24,000 Okay. 332 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:27,000 The tank starts to roll, Jamie's pulling. 333 00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:28,000 Whoa. 334 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,000 This time he can breathe easy. 335 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:37,000 Coming up, the whirlpool of death gathers momentum. 336 00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:40,000 And next... 337 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:44,000 I don't think we should get you going at 70 miles an hour with you in it. 338 00:19:44,000 --> 00:19:47,000 Grant tries to tame the plow. 339 00:19:48,000 --> 00:19:52,000 Please, don't try anything that you're about to see us do at home. 340 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:53,000 Ever. 341 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,000 You know, considering the man hours, 342 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,000 wouldn't it have been a little bit cheaper to get a truck for maybe a thousand bucks 343 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:26,000 that all the wheels roll on? 344 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,000 With one of its wheels totally frozen, 345 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:33,000 the only thing this plow's likely to flip is Tari's lid. 346 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:40,000 Finally, after almost two days and several gallons of lube... 347 00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,000 Look at that. 348 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:43,000 Hey! 349 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:44,000 Frogger has! 350 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:45,000 Hey! 351 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:46,000 Check it! 352 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:47,000 Hey! 353 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:49,000 You got it working! 354 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:50,000 Hooray! 355 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:52,000 The snow plow goes. 356 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:55,000 Question now is, will it stop? 357 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:58,000 For this experiment, breaking will be crucial. 358 00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:02,000 Normally, the Mythbusters stop vehicles by running them into things. 359 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,000 They are the collision kings. 360 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,000 But not this time. 361 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,000 Unlike previous episodes where, you know, 362 00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:19,000 our breaking system was, well, a crash, 363 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:23,000 this time we just want the vehicles to pass each other 364 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:27,000 and then be able to decelerate them after that. 365 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,000 There's only one way to find out if the plow's brakes work, 366 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,000 and that's to tow it along and have it go. 367 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,000 That someone will be Grant. 368 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:39,000 Carrie's got a bad feeling about this. 369 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,000 I don't know exactly what it is about today 370 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,000 and right now and what we're doing, 371 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,000 but something feels like it's dangerous. 372 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,000 I'm not sure exactly what yet, 373 00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,000 but something feels really dangerous. 374 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,000 And that would be different from usual, how? 375 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,000 Even though Grant will have a crash helmet 376 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:56,000 and a safety harness, Tari's getting jittery. 377 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,000 I don't think we should get you out of this. 378 00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,000 We're not going to get you out of this. 379 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,000 Tari's getting jittery. 380 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,000 I don't think we should get you going at 70 miles an hour 381 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,000 with you in it. 382 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,000 I just don't think it's safe. 383 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,000 If you can't stop fast enough, 384 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:14,000 you might take another path into this, you know, to wherever. 385 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:18,000 For this run, they settle on a sedate 20 miles per hour. 386 00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:20,000 And they're wise to be cautious. 387 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:24,000 Let's face it, nothing else on this relic has worked so far. 388 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,000 What are the odds the brakes will? 389 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,000 All right, we're at 20 miles an hour. 390 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,000 We're at 20 miles an hour? 391 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,000 Okay, ready to break? 392 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:38,000 Ready to break in three, two, one, and out. 393 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,000 Grant stomps on the brake. Nothing. 394 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,000 He yanks the emergency brake, 395 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:46,000 but still the plow doesn't stop. 396 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,000 Instead, it runs over the tow chain. 397 00:22:52,000 --> 00:22:55,000 The chain snaps and the plows off its leash. 398 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,000 Lucky, it was only a slow tow. 399 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:04,000 Okay? 400 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,000 Yeah. 401 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,000 That was 20 miles an hour. 402 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,000 We almost killed them. 403 00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:12,000 Okay, when the chain went to the side 404 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:13,000 and your wheel actually took it, 405 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,000 it also took the entire steering rig and knocked it. 406 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,000 So if you were going 70, this thing would have flipped. 407 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,000 Those brakes have to work, 408 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,000 so it's time to wheel in some professional help. 409 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,000 Snow plow experts Pat Manning and Matt Edgman 410 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:30,000 are the guys who found the plow for us. 411 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:33,000 Things that could be wrong with it, rust, water. 412 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,000 All those things can complicate something on a vehicle this old. 413 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,000 Matt's more optimistic. 414 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:43,000 He bleeds the brake system, and what do you know? 415 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,000 Hey, Grant, I think it's working. 416 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,000 Time to go for a ride. 417 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,000 You know, we've been out here for three days. 418 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,000 This would have been the fourth day. 419 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,000 You guys got it working in 45 minutes. 420 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,000 Oh, man! 421 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,000 That's fantastic. 422 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,000 There's no way Grant or anyone else 423 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,000 will be in either vehicle when the test happens. 424 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,000 So he devises a remote-controlled braking rig 425 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:07,000 for both the plow and the target vehicle. 426 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,000 When he flips a switch, 427 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:12,000 a linear actuator presses the pedal. 428 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,000 So I guess that's it. 429 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,000 Meanwhile, over at Whirlpool Central, 430 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,000 the guys are ready to go full-scale, 431 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,000 breathlessly awaiting the arrival of their big tank. 432 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:30,000 This is our tank. 433 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,000 It's 9,200 gallons. 434 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,000 It's 10 feet wide and 16 feet tall, 435 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,000 and it was specially made just for us. 436 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:42,000 First, Jamie cuts a hole in the bottom for the intake hose. 437 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:46,000 The tank will have to sit above ground to leave room for the plumbing. 438 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:49,000 It is going to weigh about 45 tons, 439 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:52,000 and it's got to drain right out the bottom. 440 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:55,000 And we need to have some space for that, 441 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:57,000 but also be able to support the whole thing. 442 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,000 So these railway ties are a platform for that to sit on 443 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:04,000 and also allow us to pump, recirculate the water. 444 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaking of which, here it is. 445 00:25:07,000 --> 00:25:10,000 A 200-horsepower consumption. 446 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:13,000 A 200-horsepower construction pump 447 00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:16,000 capable of moving 4500 gallons a minute. 448 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,000 Which should provide enough energy to get this whole 449 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,000 close to 10,000 gallons of water swirling and create a vortex. 450 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:28,000 One anaconda-like hose will carry water away from the tank. 451 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,000 A second will put it back in the top. 452 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:36,000 Soon they've got a monolithic version of Adam's Benchtop setup. 453 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,000 Now, just add water. 454 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:45,000 Myth Turn Jess fills a water truck from a hydrant. 455 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,000 How do we know when it's full? 456 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,000 The truck holds 2000 gallons, 457 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:52,000 and filling it takes about 30 minutes. 458 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,000 With the tank holding more than 9000 gallons, 459 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:58,000 it'll take hours to fill. 460 00:25:58,000 --> 00:26:01,000 Even with San Francisco's weather pitching in. 461 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:04,000 We're going to do this experiment no matter what. 462 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,000 They say, hell or high water? 463 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,000 Well, that's precisely what's happening here. 464 00:26:09,000 --> 00:26:13,000 Stay with us as the Whirlpool of Death swirls into action. 465 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,000 Yeah! 466 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:20,000 And next, the plow leaves tarry, carry and grant all at sea. 467 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:23,000 Okay, I'm going to break. Three, two, one. 468 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,000 The Mythbusters want to flip this vehicle using only the air pressure 469 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,000 coming off this snow plow. 470 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,000 This is the plan. 471 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:36,000 The plow and the flipped vehicle will each have 1500 feet of towing cable attached. 472 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,000 The cable will be fed through a system of pulleys, 473 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,000 which will allow the towing vehicles to move away from the track. 474 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:48,000 These are our road barriers that we're going to be using to anchor our pulleys. 475 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,000 Right now they're empty. 476 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:53,000 We're going to fill them with water, and after we're filling them with water, 477 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,000 they'll weigh around 1200 pounds. 478 00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:58,000 The pulleys are strapped to the barriers and ready to go. 479 00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,000 But before getting the vehicles to pass, 480 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:05,000 they've got to make sure Grant's remote braking rig can stop the plow. 481 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:10,000 We're going to hook it up to the 1500 feet of cable, 482 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,000 tow it through the pulley system, and then brake, 483 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,000 and pray that everything works. 484 00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,000 I'm ready to go. Are you ready? 485 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:19,000 Yeah. 486 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,000 Let's do it. 487 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,000 How confident are you in these brakes? 488 00:27:22,000 --> 00:27:24,000 Oh, you know, pretty confident. 489 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:25,000 Okay. 490 00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,000 Let's hope that confidence isn't misplaced. 491 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:33,000 If the brakes don't work, the plow will plow straight into the barriers. 492 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:39,000 Okay, Carrie, call out the miles per hour as you accelerate, 493 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:43,000 and when you hit 70, get ready for a little bump. 494 00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:46,000 Okay, rolling in three, two, one. 495 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,000 Carrie accelerates. 496 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:52,000 Like some horror movie monster, the plow lurches into life. 497 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,000 10 miles! 498 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,000 They're aiming for 70 miles per hour, 499 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:02,000 but the car is struggling to pull the plow up to speed. 500 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:06,000 Carrie only reaches 40 before Grant has to brake. 501 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:11,000 Okay, I'm going to brake. 502 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,000 Three, two, one. 503 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:14,000 Crap. 504 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,000 The plow doesn't even slow down. 505 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:20,000 Oh, no! 506 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,000 Oh, man. 507 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,000 Well, let's see if that would be 100% carnage. 508 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:31,000 This is how things usually look after a Mythbusters experiment, 509 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:32,000 not before. 510 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,000 I'm thinking we're going to build a wall of sandbags. 511 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:36,000 At least... 512 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,000 That might be our best bet to stop this thing. 513 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:41,000 You mean, so you spent three days on a remote control trigger, 514 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:44,000 and we're going to put a wall of sandbags in front of it? 515 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,000 All right, this has been like the most troublesome myth I think we've ever done. 516 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:51,000 The Curse of the Snow Plow Strikes Again. 517 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:59,000 Back at the big tank, Adam's itching to know if his plan to pump-start a whirlpool 518 00:28:59,000 --> 00:29:03,000 will work in 9,000 gallons of water. 519 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:06,000 So they fire up the pump and give it a whirl. 520 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,000 Ho, ho, ho! 521 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:14,000 Yeah! 522 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,000 I guess we judged it right. 523 00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,000 No, that is so... oh, man! 524 00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,000 In fact, it's working too well. 525 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:26,000 Nature's fastest vortex moves at 14 knots, 526 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,000 about 42 revolutions a minute, which looks something like this. 527 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:35,000 But remember, they've got two scale model ships. 528 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:39,000 What happens when they scale down the whirlpool to match? 529 00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,000 150th scale? 530 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:46,000 That's one revolution per minute. 531 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,000 Which looks like this. 532 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,000 And the 1,500th scale container ship? 533 00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:58,000 That's one revolution every 10 minutes. 534 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,000 Which is practically not moving at all. 535 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:05,000 So after all that, their scale experiments simply won't work. 536 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,000 But leave it to Adam to put a positive spin on things. 537 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:13,000 So I think we look at this as a damage experiment. 538 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:18,000 We see where the ship starts sustaining actual danger and damage of sinking. 539 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,000 And then we calculate what the speed is. 540 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,000 And see how that compares to real world whirlpools. 541 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:29,000 Alright, this is our 1,500th scale container ship. 542 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:33,000 It's actually 1,000 feet long in real life, like the ones behind me. 543 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:35,000 Imagine this is the ocean. 544 00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:40,000 If this ship was real, it would be traveling at 230 miles per hour. 545 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:45,000 And even then, it's not in any danger of being sucked down. 546 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:49,000 So in terms of scale, of naturally occurring whirlpool, 547 00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:55,000 that's going 20 times faster than the fastest whirlpool ever recorded. 548 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,000 So it's like over 200 knots or something, right? 549 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:01,000 Yeah, it's way off the charts. 550 00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:04,000 So now we have to find out what it would take. 551 00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:11,000 The pump roars into life, and soon a vortex of supernatural strength opens up. 552 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,000 It sunk without trace, I believe, is the term. 553 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:21,000 Well, it's down to Davy Jones' locker, isn't it? 554 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:23,000 Alright. 555 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:26,000 That's about like, you know, Mach 3 or something. 556 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:31,000 That whirlpool was like a half-mile in diameter. 557 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,000 Well, that's what it took. 558 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,000 Time for boat test number two. 559 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:40,000 Alright, so this is a 1,50th scale fishing trawler. 560 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:44,000 In real life, it's about 70 feet long, and it's heading towards... 561 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:50,000 That would be a pretty significant anomaly there. 562 00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:52,000 Whoa! 563 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:54,000 Oh! 564 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,000 At this point, it's going about 130 knots, 565 00:31:57,000 --> 00:32:02,000 and that's not creating a vortex that's enough to suck this thing down. 566 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:03,000 Yeah. 567 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:08,000 That's four times, five times as fast as the fastest vortex ever recorded. 568 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:10,000 But the trawler's not even taken on water. 569 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,000 Jess poses the question on everyone's lips. 570 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:17,000 So what I want to know is how much it will take to suck this little boat down. 571 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,000 Alright, well, let's start up the pump. 572 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:28,000 This vortex would be 150 feet in diameter, moving at more than a hundred knots, 573 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,000 anchors away, 574 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:34,000 and the fishing trawler becomes catch of the day. 575 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:39,000 Now, that is the kind of whirlpool they write about in fiction. 576 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:45,000 Unfortunately, there's no such thing as that kind of whirlpool in that scale in the whirlpool. 577 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:48,000 Yeah, it wouldn't even be great if it were. 578 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:55,000 I think we've already proved that there is no vortex large enough that could suck down a ship as large as a container ship. 579 00:32:55,000 --> 00:33:04,000 If even a 70-foot-long ship, the tidal flow required to create a vortex that could suck it down is not possible on this planet. 580 00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:10,000 But don't pull the plug yet, Adam. We still have to see what the whirlpool will do to a person. 581 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,000 Is everybody ready for diving? 582 00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:15,000 Troubled waters lie ahead. 583 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:21,000 This has been One Problem Plow. 584 00:33:23,000 --> 00:33:26,000 This is a cursed item. 585 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:30,000 There are cursed items in the world, and this is one of them. 586 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,000 It's everything we try and do to it goes wrong. 587 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:41,000 So far, what they do know is that the pressure needed to flip their chosen vehicle is 0.21 pounds per square inch. 588 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:47,000 But when Carrie tested her air pressure gauge, not even Jamie's truck could push anywhere near that much. 589 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:51,000 Desperate times call for desperate measures. 590 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:57,000 The snow plow is kicking our butts. There's no way we're going to have time to test to see how much wind the regular plow is pushing. 591 00:33:57,000 --> 00:34:03,000 Okay, well, I say to save time from here on out, we build the largest plow we possibly can. 592 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:09,000 I mean, something ridiculously large that's, you know, as tall as a cab, but still drivable on the road. 593 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:12,000 If that can't flip it, nothing will. 594 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:14,000 We had a cut to the cheese. 595 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:15,000 I like it. Let's do that. 596 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:21,000 The plow's been behaving like Frankenstein's monster. Now it's starting to look like it, too. 597 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:26,000 They weld a steel frame to the existing plow and attach sheets of plywood. 598 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:32,000 They hope the added surface area will funnel a strong enough blast of air to flip the vehicle. 599 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:39,000 Time to see if the monster plywood plow can push enough air to flip the test vehicle. 600 00:34:39,000 --> 00:34:42,000 The metal missiles will be towed towards each other. 601 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:52,000 For maximum safety, the cable's been threaded through a system of pulleys so the tow vehicles can head away from the track and away from danger. 602 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:59,000 Okay, here we go. In three, two, one, go. 603 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:06,000 The plow extension will increase drag, meaning it'll be even harder to tow the lumbering beast up to 70 miles per hour. 604 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:10,000 Nevertheless, they gun the tow vehicles. 605 00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:13,000 There's no plow's moving. Okay, there's no plow's moving. 606 00:35:13,000 --> 00:35:15,000 And the target vehicle's moving. Great. 607 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,000 Nice. 608 00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:19,000 Now there's no turning back. 609 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:25,000 The plow hits 60 miles per hour, faster than it's ever gone before. 610 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:33,000 Will the vehicles cross paths or crash head-on? 611 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:38,000 They pass like jousting knights. The distance between them just a few feet. 612 00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,000 The target vehicle doesn't so much as tilt. 613 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:44,000 All four wheels remain firmly on the tarmac. 614 00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:48,000 After everything that's happened, finally they have a successful test. 615 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:53,000 Now Grant just has to bring both vehicles to a gentle start. 616 00:36:01,000 --> 00:36:03,000 Okay, total devastation. 617 00:36:03,000 --> 00:36:05,000 This looks like a bad thing, but it really isn't. 618 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,000 Why is it not a bad thing? 619 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:08,000 I'll tell you why. 620 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:13,000 We have the snow plow driving at top speed, going across the road here, 621 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:16,000 and the car passed it and it didn't get blown off the road. 622 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:22,000 So we show that you cannot blow a car off the road with snow plow. 623 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:26,000 The super plow is nothing but smashed plywood and twisted metal. 624 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,000 It looks like urban destruction. 625 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:32,000 I bet this is going to be a really good shot. 626 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:38,000 Oh yes, Gary, it is. 627 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:42,000 The brakes obviously failed again, or did they? 628 00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,000 Grant's got a confession. 629 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:47,000 I forgot to activate the brakes. 630 00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:49,000 You didn't activate the brakes! 631 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,000 Well, I activated an after-crash into the barrier. 632 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:58,000 I knew there was something wrong because that went right through. 633 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,000 Yeah, well, that was cool. 634 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:04,000 I think that's why my snow plow looks like that. 635 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:09,000 Strangely enough, no one appears too upset. 636 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:11,000 I'm glad Grant didn't hit the brakes, 637 00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:14,000 because there's nothing better than seeing that truck destroyed 638 00:37:14,000 --> 00:37:16,000 because it's given us so many problems. 639 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:17,000 I'm happy. 640 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:21,000 What is this? 641 00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:23,000 This is the door from the snow plow. 642 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:24,000 We decided to keep it. 643 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:27,000 Why? I don't know, because we had so many problems with that snow plow. 644 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:31,000 We should just melt it down, but I guess we're going to keep it as a reminder. 645 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,000 I take it it wasn't the easiest myth, the bust. 646 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:36,000 No, we did everything we possibly could. 647 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:39,000 We used an infeasibly large snow plow, 648 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:42,000 the biggest plow that our expert concedes he'd ever seen. 649 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,000 Also, we used a really small lightweight car. 650 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,000 We did get the car to pass the snow plow about 4-6 feet apart. 651 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,000 At 60 miles an hour, nothing happened. 652 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:51,000 Nothing. 653 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:52,000 It didn't flip. 654 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,000 So that would make this one pretty easily... 655 00:37:54,000 --> 00:37:56,000 Busted. Busted? 656 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:57,000 Clearly busted. 657 00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:00,000 You guys aren't looking forward to revisiting it anytime soon? 658 00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:02,000 I don't think we need to. 659 00:38:02,000 --> 00:38:03,000 No. 660 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,000 Don't write to Tori about this one. 661 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:06,000 Don't do it again. 662 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:10,000 And just to make sure the snow plow's curse is lifted forever, 663 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:13,000 the Mythbusters take sweet revenge. 664 00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:30,000 Okay, it's over. 665 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:32,000 It's over now. 666 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:33,000 The curse is over. 667 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:35,000 The curse has ended. 668 00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:37,000 That's it. No more. 669 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:48,000 The Whirlpool of Death Myth has gone down the gurgling. 670 00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:51,000 Adam and Jamie have shown that no natural whirlpool 671 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:54,000 is powerful enough to swallow a ship. 672 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:57,000 It's down to Davy Jones' locker, isn't it? 673 00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,000 But how about a person? 674 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:01,000 Well, we're about to find out. 675 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:05,000 How many other people get a chance to jump into a huge man named Fortex? 676 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:08,000 Don't think many are queuing up, actually, Adam. 677 00:39:08,000 --> 00:39:11,000 Is everybody ready for diving? 678 00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:15,000 As excited as he is, Adam won't just dive into the tank. 679 00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:19,000 He'll hold onto a trapeze which Jamie can raise or lower. 680 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,000 Even so, it's risky. 681 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:24,000 If Adam loses his grip and gets swallowed, 682 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:28,000 the emergency air supply will give him just a handful of breaths. 683 00:39:29,000 --> 00:39:31,000 Alright, I'm going in. 684 00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:33,000 Alright, be careful. 685 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:41,000 Oh, that's...this, that's a bad... 686 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:46,000 Okay, I'm holding onto the trapeze 687 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:49,000 and I'm really nicely buoyant 688 00:39:49,000 --> 00:39:52,000 and I'm ready for the pump. 689 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:55,000 The water will be moving at the same speed 690 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:59,000 as the world's fastest natural whirlpool, over 14 knots. 691 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:03,000 Starting to form, Adam. 692 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,000 Oh, that is cool! 693 00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:08,000 The Fortex gathers strength. 694 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:11,000 Adam starts to feel suction, pulling him down. 695 00:40:11,000 --> 00:40:13,000 Back! 696 00:40:13,000 --> 00:40:14,000 Whoa! 697 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:17,000 Oh, wow, I can totally feel it in my feet. 698 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,000 That is cool! 699 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:21,000 Woo! 700 00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:22,000 Wow! 701 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:26,000 After less than a minute, Adam's whirlpool pirouette 702 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,000 is making him giddy. 703 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,000 Jamie cuts the pump before he can lose his grip. 704 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:37,000 Adam's body slowly stops spinning, but not his head. 705 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:39,000 Are you okay? 706 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:42,000 Have you ever really looked at the sky? 707 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:46,000 For my money, that was about as good as it gets 708 00:40:46,000 --> 00:40:48,000 in terms of a whirlpool. 709 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:51,000 Well, I would agree, actually, and I would say 710 00:40:51,000 --> 00:40:53,000 that if I hadn't been tethered, 711 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,000 I would definitely have been sucked down by that. 712 00:40:56,000 --> 00:41:00,000 But, so, I would say that we could conclude 713 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:04,000 a naturally occurring whirlpool could be lethal to a swimmer, 714 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:06,000 but not a boat. 715 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:08,000 We didn't really see it go all the way down 716 00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:10,000 because I was kind of keeping you up out of the water. 717 00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:12,000 Do you feel comfortable with letting yourself 718 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:15,000 be lowered a little further to where you're going 719 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,000 to get your head underwater? 720 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,000 Yeah, I don't feel that great. 721 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:21,000 I feel a little queasy, but I think I can handle 722 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:23,000 one more test. 723 00:41:23,000 --> 00:41:25,000 When Adam says he's feeling queasy, 724 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:29,000 they should know something's up or about to be up. 725 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,000 No sooner does Jamie lower the trapeze... 726 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:36,000 Stop it! 727 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:38,000 Stop it! 728 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,000 If the experiment reaches its predictable, 729 00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,000 some would say inevitable, conclusion. 730 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:49,000 Yo, Eve, oh, indeed! 731 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,000 Did you get that? 732 00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,000 Oh, yeah, we got it. 733 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:55,000 Well, that's great. 734 00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:57,000 Smells like pizza! 735 00:41:57,000 --> 00:41:59,000 Welcome aboard, Jess. 736 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:04,000 Yeah! 737 00:42:04,000 --> 00:42:06,000 The moment you gave me a little slack, 738 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:09,000 it was really, really clear that even at that slow speed, 739 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:11,000 the force was really powerful. 740 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,000 Yeah. 741 00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,000 I'm done with science for today. 742 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,000 You don't look so good, Adam. 743 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:20,000 No, if I hadn't been tethered to the trapeze, 744 00:42:20,000 --> 00:42:22,000 I would have totally gotten sucked down. 745 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:24,000 Absolutely. 746 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,000 The force was really shocking. 747 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:30,000 And to boot, I was booting. 748 00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:32,000 I mean, it made me really sick. 749 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,000 There's no way you'd be able to survive that. 750 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:36,000 If you were in scuba gear, 751 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:38,000 you'd be aspirating into your scuba gear. 752 00:42:38,000 --> 00:42:40,000 It's just... 753 00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:42,000 That is a deadly thing we made. 754 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,000 Well, as near as I can tell, 755 00:42:44,000 --> 00:42:46,000 that was around 14 knots. 756 00:42:46,000 --> 00:42:48,000 That's close to the record speed 757 00:42:48,000 --> 00:42:51,000 that's ever been recorded in Oceanic Whirlpool. 758 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:53,000 So where does that leave us for this myth? 759 00:42:53,000 --> 00:42:55,000 Busted, plausible or confirmed? 760 00:42:55,000 --> 00:42:57,000 Well, I would say that would be busted. 761 00:42:57,000 --> 00:42:59,000 I'd say for boats, it's busted. 762 00:42:59,000 --> 00:43:01,000 And for people, it's plausible. 763 00:43:01,000 --> 00:43:03,000 Don't go... Yeah. 764 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,000 ...on the water if you see a Whirlpool. 765 00:43:05,000 --> 00:43:06,000 You okay with that? 766 00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:08,000 Oh, yeah, definitely. 767 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:10,000 Go get warm, buddy.