1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,000 Please, don't try anything you're about to see us do at home. Ever. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:38,000 A low-whip and some rapid fire. Then in a probing investigation, 3 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:43,000 Artreo finds out if there's any idea dumber than licking a frozen pole. 4 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,000 Look, it's starting to rip the flash. 5 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:52,000 And test if it's safer to drive on icy roads backwards. 6 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:57,000 Are you trying to do how many cones you can knock over? 7 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:03,000 Who are the Mythbusters? Adam Savage. 8 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:06,000 And Jamie Heineman. 9 00:01:06,000 --> 00:01:08,000 It's almost too exciting. 10 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:13,000 Between them more than 30 years of special effects experience. 11 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,000 Cue dramatic music. 12 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:18,000 Joining them, Carrie Byron. 13 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:20,000 Grant Imahara. 14 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:22,000 This is that baby fur. 15 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:23,000 And Tori Bellaci. 16 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,000 Paramedics are nowhere to be found. 17 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,000 They don't just tell the Myths. 18 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,000 They put them to the test. 19 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,000 Gather around the hot tub, folks. It's going to be glacial. 20 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:45,000 So what's the Myth? 21 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:51,000 Well, we are dressed for cold weather and that's good because we're going to test whether or not you can start an avalanche by yodeling. 22 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:53,000 So it's time to get those vocal cords ready. 23 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:54,000 You think I can yodel? 24 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:55,000 I know you can. 25 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:56,000 You think I'm gunning yodel? 26 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,000 No, I don't. 27 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,000 This alpine myth is as old as the hills. 28 00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:09,000 Can this beloved form of melodious mountain song set off a mighty avalanche? 29 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:14,000 The idea isn't as nonsensical as it sounds. 30 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:22,000 In previous audio experiments, the guys proved that sound waves from the human voice are powerful enough to shatter glass. 31 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,000 And even extinguish a flame. 32 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:36,000 Now, using the same notion in this ultimate auditory myth, we're going to try to bring a mountain to its knees. 33 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,000 You know, if we're doing Myths on avalanches, we need to go to the mountains. 34 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:44,000 I think you're right. I think we will. 35 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:48,000 But first, why don't we try some scale experiments here in the shop, see what we can learn about them before we go? 36 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:49,000 Sure, why not? 37 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:56,000 Before heading out, Adam makes a mountain by building a fiberboard tray and attaches it to a tiltable stand. 38 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:04,000 Instead of making a mountain shape, we've gone with a flat plane to eliminate the variables of the topography of the mountain. 39 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:07,000 They've got their mountain, now they need some winter weather. 40 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:13,000 The guys secure a wooden frame to the scissor lift and staple a sheet of fly screen to the base. 41 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:20,000 A couple of small pancake motors mounted on the corners will really get things shaking. 42 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:22,000 Oh, that's great. 43 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,000 Next, they spread a thick layer of flour over the mesh. 44 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:31,000 The screen is hopefully going to snow down our flour in a really nice, even fashion. 45 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,000 And then, let's see if we can't start an avalanche here in the shop in scale. 46 00:03:35,000 --> 00:03:36,000 Okay, here we go. 47 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:39,000 They raise their giant sifter to the sky. 48 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:41,000 We're going to have flour everywhere. 49 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:46,000 And let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. 50 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,000 You could use this for rolling out dough and stuff, you know. 51 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:50,000 Yeah. 52 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:57,000 In mountainous regions, the most common and destructive kind of avalanche is called a slab avalanche, 53 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:02,000 when a strong, cohesive layer of snow forms on top of weak snow. 54 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,000 All it needs is a trigger to break loose. 55 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:14,000 So it's crucial for Adam and Jamie to get their scale test poised at the most precarious point possible. 56 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,000 135, 36. 57 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:24,000 As the flour slowly builds up, they wait and watch for the exact point it all comes tumbling down. 58 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:26,000 316, 320. 59 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:28,000 So I'm going to kill it at 330. 60 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:29,000 Oh. 61 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,000 It went at exactly 320. 62 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:40,000 Now that they've got the trigger point timed right on the verge, Jamie grooms the run, they recote the slope. 63 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,000 316, 320. 64 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:43,000 Kill it. 65 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:45,000 Okay. 66 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:47,000 And are ready to make some noise. 67 00:04:47,000 --> 00:04:49,000 I think it's really hair trigger. 68 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:50,000 Okay. 69 00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:52,000 Okay, let me give you the decibel meter. 70 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:57,000 So start out at 60, and if I go higher than that, just start dialing it up. 71 00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:59,000 Adam may not be a professional yodeler. 72 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,000 I'm going to yodel at a soft volume and slowly build up. 73 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:08,000 But who doesn't know and love such movie classics as Heidi and the sound of music? 74 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:12,000 Yoli, yoli, yoli, yoli, yoli. 75 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,000 His strange warble wouldn't have startled a mountain goat. 76 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:17,000 That was 90. 77 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:20,000 YODEL! 78 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:23,000 That's giving me a headache. 79 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:24,000 Okay. 80 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:25,000 I can't imagine what it's doing to you. 81 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:28,000 Well, it definitely did nothing to the snow. 82 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,000 Yoli! 83 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,000 All right, well, that's about as loud as I can get. 84 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:34,000 I think it's time to go to the megaphone. 85 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:35,000 Okay. 86 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,000 A megaphone should take this scale test to the max. 87 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:47,000 YODEL! 88 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:49,000 Is it off the charts? 89 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:51,000 Yeah, that was maxing it out at 120. 90 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,000 120, that's like as loud as a jet engine, right? 91 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,000 Not quite. 92 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:57,000 Not quite. 93 00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:59,000 All right, let's try this again. 94 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:04,000 Aiming the megaphone toward a different part of the mountain might hit the right note. 95 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:06,000 YODEL! 96 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:10,000 YODEL! 97 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:14,000 That is a result. 98 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,000 That was a hair trigger and it went. 99 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:19,000 It went with sound from your voice. 100 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,000 YODEL! 101 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:25,000 This alpine tail may just be true. 102 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:32,000 So grab your polarized designer shades because the mythbusters are headed into Avalanche Country. 103 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:47,000 So we can't do the snow special without at least drawing the I double dog dare you to stick your tongue to that frozen flagpole myth. 104 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:48,000 I know that one. 105 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,000 That's the one where you stick your tongue to the pole and it gets frozen in place. 106 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,000 Who's going to do that? 107 00:06:54,000 --> 00:07:04,000 If you've ever heard of this human predilection for frosty flagpoles, once your tongue makes contact with a metal mast, you're stuck. 108 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:09,000 First they have to fill this mythbusters spit tube with real saliva. 109 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:11,000 Oh, I got it on the outside. 110 00:07:11,000 --> 00:07:14,000 Collecting enough is going to be a team effort. 111 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,000 So Carrie lays down some spit netiquette. 112 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:22,000 Okay guys, I'm going to set a few ground rules because this is a disgusting experiment as it is. 113 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:26,000 Please don't add your flim known as the Lugie. 114 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,000 I'm serious. 115 00:07:29,000 --> 00:07:36,000 Meanwhile, Grant is boiling up an idea to warm up their human tongue analog, a pigs. 116 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:46,000 My job is to reanimate the tongue and make it warm just like our tongues would be, hopefully to body temperature. 117 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:55,000 He connects a thin plastic tube to a small electric motor and places it inside a bucket that's filled with hot water. 118 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,000 Oh yeah, that's good. 119 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:02,000 Now for some poor sign surgery. 120 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:12,000 After cutting the tongue in half, Grant carefully cuts a U-shaped incision around it, fits the tubing into the groove, then sews it back up again. 121 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,000 No, I'm 11 now. 122 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:17,000 It's a good thing he never went into plastics. 123 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:23,000 Just like sewing on a button, except this button's tongue shaped and made out of meat. 124 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:27,000 Next, he takes a reading of his own tongue's temperature. 125 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:32,000 Okay, 90 on the nose. So that's my target. 126 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,000 And turns on the pump. 127 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,000 Okay, hot water flowing. 128 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,000 After 30 minutes, Frankentongue is awakened. 129 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:45,000 It's perfect, 8-8.5. That's close enough for our purposes. 130 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:50,000 I think the tongue is ready for some pole-licking action. 131 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:02,000 And in a mythbusters first, the guys head deep into snow country to coax a mountain to crumble. 132 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:15,000 The quirky trill of yodeling has been known to trigger headaches. 133 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:20,000 But how about avalanches? 134 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:30,000 In a small-scale test, Jamie and Adam found that sound waves from the human voice could trigger flower to fall down a chipboard slope. 135 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:34,000 But that was just kid stuff. 136 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:42,000 Now the guys are headed into the territory of what flies without wings, hits without hands, and sees without eyes. 137 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:47,000 The fearsome white dragon, also known as the avalanche. 138 00:09:53,000 --> 00:10:02,000 We have come to Colorado to the Telluride Ski Resort, where we're going to work with their avalanche team to start real avalanches and see what actually happens. 139 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:09,000 Here in this breathtaking yet harsh terrain, Jamie feels right at home. 140 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:13,000 I've spent weeks at a time out here in this kind of terrain by myself. 141 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:20,000 Living off the land up here, trudging around in snow, living in snow caves, digging food out of the ground. 142 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:27,000 I gotta say though, it's good to be back. It's quite lovely. 143 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:35,000 We're very lucky out here in the wild. We've seen a hinderman in his natural habitat. 144 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,000 Let's be quiet and they scare very easily. 145 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:47,000 To conduct our tests, the safety division of the Telluride Ski Patrol has determined a specific mountain site that's a real-life avalanche risk. 146 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,000 How do you know when these conditions are ripe for an avalanche? 147 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:52,000 Well, we go out and we dig snow pits. 148 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,000 And we actually stick our head in the snow and look at the structure of the snowpack. 149 00:10:55,000 --> 00:11:00,000 And then we also calculate out how much new stress has been added to the snowpack. 150 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:07,000 Because Craig knows all the signs of a mountain on the brink, we're shooting a safe distance from public ski areas. 151 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:13,000 Now to put the yodel myth to the test, Adam's amateur vocal acrobatics won't cut it. 152 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:14,000 So... 153 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,000 To help us, we've brought in a professional yodelist. Come on in. 154 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:19,000 Yodel lady! 155 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:20,000 Howdy! 156 00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:21,000 How are you? 157 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:22,000 Great! 158 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,000 Have you ever heard of yodeling being dangerous, like in an avalanche situation? 159 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:32,000 Well, sure. I used to ski in Vail and backcountry skiing. We were cautioned not to go yodeling in the mountains. 160 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:33,000 Really? 161 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:34,000 Sure! 162 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,000 And what is it about yodeling that you think will set off an avalanche? 163 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:44,000 It's a certain frequency. And if you can hit it just right and the conditions are perfect, you could start an avalanche. 164 00:11:44,000 --> 00:11:47,000 Liz has been known to shake things up before. 165 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:54,000 When I get a certain pitch and a certain volume, I can feel my crown in my tooth sort of rattle. 166 00:11:57,000 --> 00:11:59,000 It's quite a sensation. 167 00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:04,000 If anything does start to happen, we're all going to bolt in this direction. 168 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:05,000 Can we? 169 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:07,000 Yeah, we've been advised that the avalanche would come down in this way, so we can... 170 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,000 A couple hundred yards or so should make us safe. 171 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:10,000 All right. 172 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:24,000 Yodeling is a rapid undulation of vocal tones that moves from low chest tones to high falsetto. 173 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:33,000 But as Liz's song reverberates around the mountain, delightful as it is, it remains unmoved. 174 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,000 Well, that was lovely. And I don't see any avalanche. 175 00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,000 Well, not yet. 176 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,000 What do you think, Jamie? 177 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:41,000 No avalanche. 178 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:46,000 A bullhorn might magnify her vocal exertions enough to cause a reaction. 179 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,000 We've got a police bullhorn here, Liz, to help you out. 180 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:50,000 Oh, wow! 181 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:54,000 I'm going to set it on eleven. Hold onto the trigger when you're ready to go. 182 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:55,000 Mmm. 183 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:57,000 And give it all you've got. 184 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:58,000 Let's go. 185 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:02,000 Yodeling! 186 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:20,000 But her startling call of the wild stirs up nothing. 187 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:23,000 Something tells me some animal might want to come out of the woods and mate with us. 188 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,000 I'm not sure that we're starting an avalanche. 189 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:32,300 It was a tough crowd to play to, so it's not surprising. 190 00:13:32,300 --> 00:13:33,800 I think that one's busted. 191 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,800 Thank you so much for helping us out. 192 00:13:36,800 --> 00:13:38,200 I gave it my best. 193 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:39,200 Absolutely. 194 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:43,800 With the mountains still officially deemed to be in the Adeland zone, Adam russes up 195 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:45,400 another idea. 196 00:13:45,400 --> 00:13:48,160 I brought out my 11 foot bull whip. 197 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:50,960 This thing breaks the sound barrier. 198 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:56,800 When cracked, the thin flexible tips of whips move faster than the speed of sound, creating 199 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:57,800 a sonic boom. 200 00:13:57,800 --> 00:13:58,800 There we go. 201 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,840 That's the mountain I'm trying to bring down. 202 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:07,920 Sonic booms generate enormous amounts of sound energy, a lot like an explosion. 203 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:08,920 See anything? 204 00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:09,920 No avalanche. 205 00:14:09,920 --> 00:14:15,600 Adam whips it good, but the mountain doesn't flinch. 206 00:14:15,600 --> 00:14:17,840 I don't think I'm going to start an avalanche with this dude. 207 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:18,840 Nope. 208 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:19,840 Let's move on to the next thing. 209 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:20,840 Okay. 210 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:24,340 But strap on your rescue beacons. 211 00:14:24,340 --> 00:14:32,160 This mountain is ready to roll and we're going to have a blast. 212 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:38,120 Is it true that the best way to bond with a frozen pole is to lick it? 213 00:14:38,120 --> 00:14:44,360 To find out, Carrie's been in charge of collecting copious amounts of real saliva, but the job 214 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:49,560 is literally giving her the dry heat. 215 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:52,720 Before she loses her lunch, let's move on. 216 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:53,720 We stop here. 217 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:56,080 It's probably good there. 218 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:01,200 In this giant refrigeration truck, driver Ron has delivered us one metal pole, nicely 219 00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:05,000 chilled to 32 degrees Fahrenheit, the freezing point of water. 220 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,480 Are you guys just dying to stick your tongue to it right now? 221 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:09,480 Absolutely not. 222 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:10,480 It's freezing. 223 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,800 Time to set up Grant's pig tongue warming device. 224 00:15:13,800 --> 00:15:14,800 Sloppy tongue. 225 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:15,800 Sloppy tongue. 226 00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:16,800 My favorite. 227 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:20,240 First they secure the organ to a stand next to the pole. 228 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:21,840 Don't squeeze it too hard. 229 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:22,840 I know. 230 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:24,840 Man, that does look appetizing. 231 00:15:24,840 --> 00:15:25,840 All right. 232 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,080 It's at 85. 233 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:32,520 They slather the tongue with the drool. 234 00:15:32,520 --> 00:15:35,000 And it's time to lick that pole. 235 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,000 Do it. 236 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:39,000 It's sticking. 237 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,000 Stop, stop, stop. 238 00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:43,000 Okay, okay. 239 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:44,000 That's good. 240 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:46,400 So at 32 degrees, your tongue will stick to a frozen pole. 241 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:48,200 You look at starting to rip the flesh. 242 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:49,840 Oh, man. 243 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:51,880 Chunks of the tongue are staying on the pole. 244 00:15:51,880 --> 00:15:52,880 Ouch. 245 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,280 The instant the tongue hit the pole, it fixed to it like glue. 246 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:57,280 That was cool. 247 00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,000 It was like, fuck. 248 00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:03,000 But the team hasn't got this myth licked yet. 249 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:08,480 After the break, our sloppy tongue trio gets up close and personal with a metal mask. 250 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:09,480 Go for it. 251 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,400 And coming up on Mythbusters. 252 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,000 Is this enough firepower to start an avalanche? 253 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:27,440 Released into the wilds of Colorado, Jamie and Adam tried to extract an avalanche out 254 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:34,040 of a mountain with an alpine song and a sound lashing. 255 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:38,880 But to no avail. 256 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:39,880 So where do we go from here? 257 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:41,200 What do we do now? 258 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:42,200 Machine guns. 259 00:16:42,200 --> 00:16:44,200 Come on, really? 260 00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:48,320 Well, there are tons of reported cases of avalanches being set off by combat. 261 00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:53,360 Now, to be honest, we don't really know whether it was due to machine guns or mortar fire. 262 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:54,680 But we can find out. 263 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:55,960 Yeah, we need to check it out. 264 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:56,960 Excellent. 265 00:16:56,960 --> 00:16:57,960 I love this. 266 00:16:57,960 --> 00:17:00,960 Let's get out there with a machine gun and try this out. 267 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:02,240 OK. 268 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:06,080 This combat concept isn't hit or miss. 269 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:11,000 During World War I, avalanches were used as highly effective weapons. 270 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:16,920 In the Italian Alps, tens of thousands of soldiers were killed by avalanches, often deliberately 271 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:19,440 triggered by artillery. 272 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:27,240 The question is, could a machine gun alone mobilize such a massive mass of snow? 273 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:31,560 The theory is the sound waves created from the machine gun's firing, combined with the 274 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:36,960 physical impact of the bullets, is a double whammy of force that can break the snowpack 275 00:17:36,960 --> 00:17:40,720 apart. 276 00:17:40,720 --> 00:17:45,440 The Mythbusters target is a mountain that's been ascertained by a team of experts to be 277 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:49,360 poised on the threshold of an avalanche. 278 00:17:49,360 --> 00:17:54,160 It's not every day you get to witness one of these devastating natural occurrences first 279 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:55,160 hand. 280 00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:56,160 We'll see you under the mountain, buddy. 281 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:01,480 So, say hello and bye-bye to our buster stand-in. 282 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:06,880 His role is to help the guys uncover what would happen to a human swept up in an avalanche. 283 00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:12,040 So they haul him high up on the hill, smack in the middle of the predicted snow path. 284 00:18:12,040 --> 00:18:16,200 This tiny speck of dust up there is our buster stand-in. 285 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:20,000 He's hopefully going to help us figure out what happens to a person in an avalanche. 286 00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:24,480 Officer Dan Kovalt has brought MP5 submachine guns. 287 00:18:24,480 --> 00:18:31,440 Operating at a high velocity and rate of fire, triggering these might just trigger an avalanche. 288 00:18:31,440 --> 00:18:32,840 That's pretty clear to me. 289 00:18:32,840 --> 00:18:35,800 When you're comfortable, drop your charging handle, okay? 290 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:39,520 Both the guys are licensed and trained to use firearms. 291 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:40,960 Putting it on full auto. 292 00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:46,760 Adam takes aim. 293 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,040 But the mountain doesn't fall. 294 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:50,040 No avalanche. 295 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:51,600 Nope, no avalanche. 296 00:18:51,600 --> 00:18:54,400 So they double the firepower. 297 00:18:54,400 --> 00:19:03,720 Barring in three, two, one. 298 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:07,800 But even though the sound was louder than the yodeling and the whip, and there were 299 00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,080 projectiles striking the snow. 300 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:11,080 No avalanche. 301 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:12,480 No avalanche, man. 302 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:13,480 No avalanche. 303 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:15,880 Not even a hint of an avalanche. 304 00:19:15,880 --> 00:19:22,120 We fired off a whole bunch of rounds at this hillside. 305 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:26,480 What exactly the state of an avalanche is at any given moment, whether it's on a hair 306 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:32,840 trigger itself and about ready to go and whether one of these guns would set it off, it's hard 307 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:33,840 to say. 308 00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:38,960 Hey, want to see us fire an air cannon into a snow bank to cause an avalanche? 309 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,880 Log on to discovery.com slash MythBusters. 310 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:48,040 It's cool. 311 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:53,640 Carri-Torian Grant discovered that there aren't many ideas as dumb or dumber than licking 312 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:55,400 a frozen steel pole. 313 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,920 Chunks of the tongue are staying on the pole. 314 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:04,360 But to truly substantiate this sticky myth, someone in the team has to do it for real. 315 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:07,720 Dude, who's going to be crazy enough to stick their tongue in one of these frozen poles? 316 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:09,120 Obviously, it's Rochambeau. 317 00:20:09,120 --> 00:20:10,120 All right. 318 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:11,120 Ro, sham, foe. 319 00:20:11,120 --> 00:20:12,120 Have fun, buddy. 320 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:20,000 Rochambeau, it's off to Tahoe we go. 321 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:21,000 It's slippery. 322 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,800 With pristine snow covering the ground and a brisk wind blowing, the setting for this 323 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:28,320 showdown is ideal. 324 00:20:28,440 --> 00:20:36,840 Cory's adversary, the flagpole, looks like one cool contender. 325 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:40,680 He mentally prepares himself for his potentially painful task. 326 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:43,320 You know, I'm about to stick my tongue to a frozen pole. 327 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:48,560 The thing I need to remember is just to stay calm and not pull away. 328 00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:51,560 I actually heard one of the ways that you can't get your tongue off if you're stuck 329 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:55,440 and you're all alone and say you're out in the wild where there's a flagpole is that 330 00:20:55,440 --> 00:20:56,760 you can pee on it. 331 00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:57,760 Cool. 332 00:20:57,800 --> 00:20:58,800 I'm going to do that. 333 00:20:58,800 --> 00:20:59,800 I know you have to do it yourself. 334 00:20:59,800 --> 00:21:00,800 Oh, great. 335 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:06,520 Okay, go for it. 336 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:10,640 The pole grabs Tori's tongue straight away and holds on tight. 337 00:21:10,640 --> 00:21:11,640 Hey. 338 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:12,640 Hey. 339 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:13,640 Hey. 340 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:14,640 Hey. 341 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:15,640 Hey. 342 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:16,640 Hey. 343 00:21:16,640 --> 00:21:17,640 Hey. 344 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:18,640 Hey. 345 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:19,640 Hey. 346 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:20,640 Hey. 347 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:21,640 Hey. 348 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:22,640 Hey. 349 00:21:22,640 --> 00:21:23,640 Hey. 350 00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:24,640 Hey. 351 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:25,640 Hey. 352 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:26,640 Hey. 353 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:27,640 Hey. 354 00:21:27,740 --> 00:21:29,140 Hey. 355 00:21:29,140 --> 00:21:30,620 Hey. 356 00:21:30,620 --> 00:21:31,820 Hey. 357 00:21:31,820 --> 00:21:32,740 Hey. 358 00:21:32,740 --> 00:21:33,740 Hey. 359 00:21:33,740 --> 00:21:34,740 Hey. 360 00:21:34,740 --> 00:21:35,740 Hey. 361 00:21:35,740 --> 00:21:36,740 Hey. 362 00:21:36,740 --> 00:21:37,740 Hey. 363 00:21:37,740 --> 00:21:38,740 Okay. 364 00:21:38,740 --> 00:21:39,740 Hey. 365 00:21:39,740 --> 00:21:40,740 Okay. 366 00:21:40,740 --> 00:21:41,740 Hey. 367 00:21:41,740 --> 00:21:42,740 Hey. 368 00:21:42,740 --> 00:21:43,740 Hey. 369 00:21:43,740 --> 00:21:44,740 Hey. 370 00:21:44,740 --> 00:21:45,740 Hey. 371 00:21:47,740 --> 00:21:48,740 How are you doing? 372 00:21:48,740 --> 00:21:51,020 Pain associated with hopes of breathing andè‘—! 373 00:21:51,020 --> 00:21:53,020 Pe Augir to speed! 374 00:21:53,060 --> 00:21:54,100 And we can update Yannette. 375 00:21:54,100 --> 00:21:55,420 Nothing like this can happen. 376 00:21:55,420 --> 00:21:57,420 upload the proof online. 377 00:21:57,420 --> 00:21:59,420 at home. Ever. 378 00:22:27,420 --> 00:22:35,260 People have been going backwards and forwards about this wintry myth on the Mythbusters 379 00:22:35,260 --> 00:22:43,860 fan site. The debate is when traveling on slippery icy roads you'll get better grip 380 00:22:43,860 --> 00:22:49,820 driving in reverse. How are we going to test this? Well I think the whole idea behind this 381 00:22:49,820 --> 00:22:53,820 myth is that reverse gives you more traction so maybe what we should do is a scale test 382 00:22:53,820 --> 00:22:57,980 and we'll see which is better reverse or forward. Yeah we actually have a front wheel drive 383 00:22:57,980 --> 00:23:03,980 car here in the shop that we can use in our experiment. Cool. Tori puts the scale testing 384 00:23:03,980 --> 00:23:09,820 gear by welding together two troughs made of steel. The troughs will represent the wheel 385 00:23:09,820 --> 00:23:18,420 tracks of an icy road. Next he fills the containers with crushed ice. M7 is becoming a winter 386 00:23:18,420 --> 00:23:36,500 wonderland. They pack down the ice into solid blocks. Then Tori makes the surface extra 387 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:41,380 smooth and hazardous. Now what I'm doing is getting it wet and then I'm going to put the 388 00:23:41,380 --> 00:23:47,140 dry ice on top of that and that'll freeze it making just a solid block of ice. A car 389 00:23:47,180 --> 00:23:52,740 can only move if it can grip the ground and that grip is called traction. If it has more 390 00:23:52,740 --> 00:23:58,500 traction it can pull with more force. By chaining the car to a weight and attaching a force 391 00:23:58,500 --> 00:24:04,260 gauge the team is going to measure which direction forwards or backwards the car has the most 392 00:24:04,260 --> 00:24:11,180 grip on the ice. Mechanically all of the factors are the same. The same weight distribution, 393 00:24:11,180 --> 00:24:16,780 the wheels are the same. All you're doing is isolating the gear so the transmission. 394 00:24:16,780 --> 00:24:23,180 Exactly. Time to go for a spin. The car they're using is a front wheel drive the most popular 395 00:24:23,180 --> 00:24:28,340 choice in passenger vehicles. You know we're probably going to rip off the bumper. Oh well 396 00:24:28,340 --> 00:24:37,700 it's a company car. Take it away. Alright. Okay stop. That's interesting. What did we 397 00:24:37,740 --> 00:24:47,220 get? 2300 pounds. Okay. Alright. Great. Let's reset for driving in reverse. For the driving 398 00:24:47,220 --> 00:24:53,100 in reverse test the front of the car is chained to a forklift. And if this works if there's 399 00:24:53,100 --> 00:24:59,300 a difference in transmission we should see more than 2300 pounds before you start slipping. 400 00:24:59,900 --> 00:25:03,900 Ready? Okay. Alright let's see if this car is made. 401 00:25:09,900 --> 00:25:18,220 Okay good. What do we get? Oh. 3200 pounds almost 900 pounds more. Dude that's a great result so driving 402 00:25:18,220 --> 00:25:22,860 in reverse actually does give you more traction than driving forward. In reverse the car was 403 00:25:22,900 --> 00:25:29,860 pulling with nearly 40% more force than going forward. So the driving on ice backwards myth 404 00:25:29,860 --> 00:25:41,420 is rolling along nicely. Trying to set off an Adelant with a yodel, a whip crack and a machine gun 405 00:25:41,420 --> 00:25:49,380 Adam and Jamie couldn't shift a snowflake. What they need is a sure fire method. 5 pound 406 00:25:49,420 --> 00:25:56,340 cast booster and has a very high detonation velocity. So the Telluride snow safety team is 407 00:25:56,340 --> 00:26:01,780 going to give the mountain a gentle nudge. We've pre-placed a bunch of explosives up there this 408 00:26:01,780 --> 00:26:07,620 morning. There's over 100 pounds of explosives placed up there. 100 pounds. Over 100 pounds. And 409 00:26:07,620 --> 00:26:13,860 they're all set to go off at the same time. Hopefully with a little luck we can force it 410 00:26:13,860 --> 00:26:21,140 out of there with them. So much for yodeling. Yes so much for yodeling. Still waiting patiently 411 00:26:21,140 --> 00:26:28,940 on the windy peak our buster stand-in is getting mighty chilly. Time to warm him up. Three, two, 412 00:26:28,940 --> 00:26:42,820 one. Whoa! There it went. Wow! Yeah. Buster's moving. Get movement. He's right ahead of the 413 00:26:43,460 --> 00:26:48,740 snow. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see him. I can still see him. Oh, he's just gotten swallowed. He's still 414 00:26:48,740 --> 00:26:56,180 moving. He's still with it. Awesome. He's going to bake it over the cliff. Oh, look at that. Oh, poor 415 00:26:56,180 --> 00:27:03,620 buster. Wherever he is, he got trash going through that rock chute. Oh man. The guys finally got some 416 00:27:03,620 --> 00:27:09,700 Adelant's action. Wow. Yeah. The monster tidal wave of snow took out one of our mountain cams 417 00:27:09,780 --> 00:27:15,460 and our hapless dummy. We came for an avalanche and we got a really nice avalanche. We wanted to get 418 00:27:15,460 --> 00:27:20,100 buster caught up in that thing and we did. We watched him tumble halfway down the mountain. It was 419 00:27:20,100 --> 00:27:25,620 perfect. Jamie makes the trek all the way up the mountain to retrieve his broken buddy. 420 00:27:30,260 --> 00:27:36,420 Oh man. It looks like he went down ass first. I think he's got like avalanche up his butt. 421 00:27:37,140 --> 00:27:42,900 Studying buster and the terrain up close, he can see just how immense the impact of an avalanche 422 00:27:42,900 --> 00:27:50,580 would be. These pieces are like, you know, they're like rocks. They're like boulders and they're all 423 00:27:50,580 --> 00:27:56,340 more or less stuck together like a sea of concrete. You don't really get the feel for it until you're 424 00:27:56,980 --> 00:28:03,300 right up here in it. Wow. Yeah. Setting the slide in motion took some explosive power, 425 00:28:03,860 --> 00:28:12,340 but the guys have an even more dynamite idea to try. Go buster. Well, that saved me a lot of work, 426 00:28:12,340 --> 00:28:19,860 I think. Get ready for takeoff. Soon Adam and Jamie are taking their avalanche myths to whole new heights. 427 00:28:20,100 --> 00:28:36,260 An icy road can quickly turn a pleasant drive into a bumper car nightmare. 428 00:28:39,140 --> 00:28:43,540 Conducting a scale test in the workshop for the driving on ice backwards myth, 429 00:28:43,540 --> 00:28:49,780 team traction got some unexpected results. Okay, so it turns out a front wheel drive car 430 00:28:49,780 --> 00:28:54,660 does have more traction on ice when going in reverse. I know that was cool. What we need to do 431 00:28:54,660 --> 00:28:59,060 now though is take it up to full scale, but we're going to need a ton of ice and snow. You know, 432 00:28:59,060 --> 00:29:04,020 I heard of this place where the California Highway Patrol teaches their officers how to drive on 433 00:29:04,020 --> 00:29:11,540 ice. Bet the lettuce, use it. Perfect. All right, let's pack our bags and go. Sure enough, we were 434 00:29:11,540 --> 00:29:17,060 kindly granted permission to use the California Highway Patrol's driver training site. The team 435 00:29:17,060 --> 00:29:24,340 lays out traffic cones around the entire perimeter and they're set to put the driving on ice backwards 436 00:29:24,340 --> 00:29:29,940 myth to the real life test. Tracks all set up. We have all our cones down. This is a very real life 437 00:29:29,940 --> 00:29:34,980 situation. We have snow. We have slush. We have ice. I think we're ready to test it. So let's go over 438 00:29:34,980 --> 00:29:39,220 how we're going to do it. Well, you know, we did find out that we had more traction going in reverse 439 00:29:39,220 --> 00:29:43,060 with the front wheel drive car. So maybe what we should do is test that one first. We've got 15 miles 440 00:29:43,060 --> 00:29:47,780 an hour forward and then going backwards and see which one performs better overall. We've got a 441 00:29:47,780 --> 00:29:53,700 couple other types of cars, a rear wheel drive and a four wheel drive. So let's do the same set of 442 00:29:53,700 --> 00:29:57,620 tests forward and reverse. See if that makes a difference. I'll take front wheel drive. All right, 443 00:29:57,620 --> 00:30:04,340 I get the convertible. All right, I'll take the four wheel drive. Cool. 15 miles per hour is the set 444 00:30:04,340 --> 00:30:09,540 speed limit. Slow enough to be safe, but fast enough to give the wheels of the cars enough 445 00:30:09,540 --> 00:30:14,820 momentum to move through the slush. How many times have you driven on the snow? This is actually the 446 00:30:14,820 --> 00:30:24,020 first time I've ever driven on snow. Here we go. This is forward 15 miles an hour front wheel drive. 447 00:30:26,820 --> 00:30:36,500 Carrie hits the gas. You can start off slow. Okay, I'm at 15. But even driving at such a low speed 448 00:30:36,500 --> 00:30:44,740 quickly loses her grip. Keeping 15. I'm sliding a little bit here. 15 feels a little faster on 449 00:30:44,740 --> 00:30:50,500 this slush. It's not long before she takes out her first victims. Number two. 450 00:30:53,860 --> 00:30:59,540 And then she just can't seem to get back on track. You went off the track. Get back on the check. 451 00:30:59,540 --> 00:31:06,100 Go between the cones, Carrie. Oh my God. The turns are where things really get tricky. 452 00:31:06,820 --> 00:31:08,740 The last U-turn still at 15. 453 00:31:10,020 --> 00:31:14,260 How is she? Because I'm with a new 15 to the end and stop. 454 00:31:14,260 --> 00:31:18,260 Thankfully, she comes to a safe stop. Have you been drinking, Carrie? 455 00:31:20,260 --> 00:31:25,380 Now, to see if the front wheel drive has better traction in reverse, like it did in the scale 456 00:31:25,380 --> 00:31:31,380 test. You ready? Yeah. No. Yeah. Wear your seat belt. Yeah. Absolutely wear your seat belt. 457 00:31:31,380 --> 00:31:35,620 Grant bravely volunteers to monitor the speedometer for Carrie. 458 00:31:35,620 --> 00:31:40,020 You're already coming off the track. She hasn't even gone two feet. She's already coming off the 459 00:31:40,020 --> 00:31:45,460 track. This is not looking good. Here we go. Front wheel drive going in reverse. Hopefully staying 460 00:31:45,460 --> 00:31:49,780 at 15. I'm taking cues from you. So let me know if I need to go faster or slower. Okay. 461 00:31:51,620 --> 00:31:57,540 And she's off. Five miles an hour. Grant counts up her speed and she's looking surprisingly steady. 462 00:31:57,540 --> 00:32:03,140 Holding 15. Looking good, Carrie. This myth may have some traction. 463 00:32:03,860 --> 00:32:06,980 She's actually doing better in reverse. That's amazing. 464 00:32:09,620 --> 00:32:11,540 But as soon as she hits the tight curves, 465 00:32:13,780 --> 00:32:19,540 things spin out of control. Okay. You know what? Before you destroy the entire course, 466 00:32:19,540 --> 00:32:25,860 why don't we just take a breather? I think we've got a cone underneath us or something. 467 00:32:25,860 --> 00:32:31,460 Grant, can you hear me? Pull the key out of the ignition. Oblivious to Tori's pleas, 468 00:32:31,540 --> 00:32:36,180 Carrie's trip takes on all the twists and turns of Mr. Toad's wild ride. 469 00:32:46,820 --> 00:32:50,900 Why didn't you take control of the situation? She destroyed the whole course. 470 00:32:54,500 --> 00:33:00,340 You're crazy. So even though the scale test indicated you might have more grip, 471 00:33:01,700 --> 00:33:06,980 driving backwards in the front wheel drive was way more dangerous than going forwards. 472 00:33:06,980 --> 00:33:14,580 I think that the main faster here is that driving backwards at 15 miles an hour is very difficult 473 00:33:14,580 --> 00:33:21,380 as is. And the amount of traction that you might possibly gain from going in reverse 474 00:33:22,020 --> 00:33:26,660 will not compensate for the fact that it's just too wildly going backwards. 475 00:33:27,380 --> 00:33:33,300 On the cone count scoreboard, driving in reverse, Carrie wiped out a wildly total of 14. 476 00:33:44,340 --> 00:33:48,820 Testing the fan side requested myth, it's safer to drive on ice backwards 477 00:33:48,820 --> 00:33:55,620 in a front wheel drive. Carrie lost all control. Now to see if Tori can keep it together. 478 00:33:56,660 --> 00:34:01,940 So this will be rear wheel drive going forward. The power's off. 479 00:34:04,900 --> 00:34:11,540 Little squirrely. The sports car is squirrely for sure, but Tori relaxes and enjoys the slide. 480 00:34:13,700 --> 00:34:19,060 It's done pretty good. I don't see any down yet. Tori completes the circuit with no knock downs. 481 00:34:20,660 --> 00:34:26,500 All right, this is rad. It's just like drifting. We're gonna have fun, Carrie. Don't you worry. 482 00:34:27,220 --> 00:34:32,340 Now to see how rad reverse is. For this run, Carrie will be Tori's co-pilot. 483 00:34:36,660 --> 00:34:41,060 As soon as he gets to the first turn, the cone carnage begins. 484 00:34:42,020 --> 00:34:44,020 Oh, one. 485 00:34:53,620 --> 00:34:58,820 It's lucky one of our courageous camera operators shooting on the course is light on his feet. 486 00:35:00,020 --> 00:35:03,460 And Tori squeals, squeals, squeals all the way home. 487 00:35:11,220 --> 00:35:13,220 Wow. 488 00:35:14,980 --> 00:35:20,020 I would have to say it's pretty obvious going in reverse. Even though you might have more traction, 489 00:35:20,580 --> 00:35:22,420 you don't have any control of the vehicle. 490 00:35:24,260 --> 00:35:30,180 On the leaderboard now, Tori's reverse cone count is 12, just too less than Carrie. 491 00:35:31,060 --> 00:35:36,340 Now it's Grant's turn to take the wheel. His vehicle is a mighty four-wheel drive. 492 00:35:36,980 --> 00:35:42,180 This is four-wheel drive, 15 miles an hour, forward, around track. Here we go. 493 00:35:45,380 --> 00:35:49,220 And to turn one, little sliding, but not bad. 494 00:35:51,540 --> 00:35:57,060 I'm feeling in total control. Grant's drive around the course is like a walk in the park. 495 00:35:58,660 --> 00:36:01,220 Little sliding right there. Last turn. 496 00:36:02,180 --> 00:36:06,660 Whoa, little slide. That's still looking very good, very good. 497 00:36:07,860 --> 00:36:12,980 Grant didn't hit a single cone. Not bad. Look good. Flip it around. 498 00:36:14,180 --> 00:36:18,100 For his driving in reverse attempt, Tori will be Grant's speed monitor. 499 00:36:18,820 --> 00:36:24,340 I have full confidence in your driving capabilities. Good. That makes one of us. Hit it. 500 00:36:25,300 --> 00:36:31,380 You're at 10 miles an hour. Grant cruises up the straight and rounds the first bend riding high. 501 00:36:31,380 --> 00:36:38,100 Looking good, you're looking good. He's doing well. Wow. Suddenly the wow turns into... 502 00:36:38,260 --> 00:36:41,060 Oh, oh, oh, oh. 503 00:36:52,420 --> 00:36:57,620 It seems like Grant's teenage years spent playing Pac-Man have finally paid off. 504 00:36:58,180 --> 00:37:00,340 Are you trying to see how many cones you can knock over? 505 00:37:01,620 --> 00:37:03,380 You knocked over more than any of us. 506 00:37:04,340 --> 00:37:08,740 Sure enough, in reverse, the final cone count standings are 507 00:37:08,740 --> 00:37:12,900 Carrie 14, Tori 12, and Grant 20. 508 00:37:15,140 --> 00:37:20,260 You're the winner, bro. Nice work. Shut up. How many times did you go off the course? 509 00:37:20,260 --> 00:37:21,060 Was he on the course? 510 00:37:21,860 --> 00:37:27,300 So no matter what kind of car you drive, what have we learned in Mythbusters' drivers' ed today? 511 00:37:28,260 --> 00:37:34,180 Going in reverse is nuts. It is not going to give you more traction or more control, 512 00:37:34,180 --> 00:37:37,060 and I don't want to see people driving on the roads backwards. 513 00:37:37,060 --> 00:37:41,220 Rear wheel drive, front wheel drive, and four-wheel drive. Totally busted. 514 00:37:48,260 --> 00:37:53,220 Coming up, we see why you should never learn to drive with family or friends. 515 00:37:53,780 --> 00:38:00,420 Coming up on Mythbusters, we try and start at Lent just from a helicopter with explosives. 516 00:38:00,420 --> 00:38:01,220 How cool is that? 517 00:38:10,420 --> 00:38:15,860 Jamie and Adam learned that summoning up a mighty avalanche by happenstance isn't easy. 518 00:38:16,260 --> 00:38:23,220 Now that they're done testing the myths, it's time to hit the slopes just for fun. 519 00:38:30,500 --> 00:38:31,380 That's cool. 520 00:38:31,380 --> 00:38:36,500 Adam is going to take flight with an airborne snow safety team who leave nothing to chance. 521 00:38:39,060 --> 00:38:42,740 Avalanches are very deadly, and these guys go out with the explosives, 522 00:38:42,740 --> 00:38:47,620 and they cause avalanches on purpose so that they don't happen to people by accident. 523 00:38:48,260 --> 00:38:55,140 Adam's task is to assist Operations Director Aaron inside the helicopter, dropping live dynamite. 524 00:38:55,140 --> 00:39:00,100 And then I'm going to throw it out the window, okay, and I'm going to do that when the spotter, 525 00:39:00,100 --> 00:39:03,780 who is in the front seat, tells me to do it. That seems pretty straightforward. 526 00:39:03,780 --> 00:39:05,940 It's, yeah, considering you're throwing dynamite out the window. 527 00:39:06,500 --> 00:39:11,780 Now that we're all clear on that, we're ready for lift off. 528 00:39:25,860 --> 00:39:27,780 The view from up here is awesome. 529 00:39:28,180 --> 00:39:30,100 It's got to turn out to be a perfect morning, isn't it? 530 00:39:34,500 --> 00:39:35,780 Then let's get one happening. 531 00:39:38,340 --> 00:39:41,060 First, the team determines an avalanche prone area. 532 00:39:46,500 --> 00:39:47,780 Then go into action. 533 00:39:57,940 --> 00:39:58,740 Bye. 534 00:40:04,100 --> 00:40:07,860 Adam's role as Explosives Assistant is getting him all fired up. 535 00:40:11,220 --> 00:40:15,460 Tiny little cabin. My feet are underneath this duffel bag that weighs a couple of 536 00:40:15,460 --> 00:40:19,700 hundred pounds worth of explosives, and I'm grabbing them out. I'm cutting the fuse, 537 00:40:19,700 --> 00:40:23,860 popping on the igniter, handing them to Aaron. He's pulling them and igniting them 538 00:40:23,860 --> 00:40:27,460 inside the helicopter and then chucking them out the window. 539 00:40:29,620 --> 00:40:32,660 When the explosive hits the snow, that's ready to go. 540 00:40:44,660 --> 00:40:47,060 Adam loves the smell of dynamite in the morning. 541 00:40:47,700 --> 00:40:50,900 It's like water moving down, and it really seemed to move really slowly, 542 00:40:50,900 --> 00:40:54,180 also you can keep on your mind yourself at the scale that this thing is like 543 00:40:54,180 --> 00:40:57,300 10, 20 football fields long as it's moving down the mountain. 544 00:40:58,500 --> 00:41:00,660 Next, a cornice catches their eye. 545 00:41:05,300 --> 00:41:08,820 And sure enough, collapsing it causes their second slide. 546 00:41:10,820 --> 00:41:11,940 And for the finale... 547 00:41:11,940 --> 00:41:18,900 Oh, look at that. Oh, perfect. 548 00:41:20,580 --> 00:41:24,420 Their third and final avalanche of the day is a monster. 549 00:41:25,380 --> 00:41:29,140 We were out for well over an hour and a half. We got three avalanches. 550 00:41:30,260 --> 00:41:31,780 I'm super pleased with what we got. 551 00:41:35,940 --> 00:41:37,540 How are we going to call this one? 552 00:41:37,540 --> 00:41:40,660 Well, you know, all of our field tests said the same thing. 553 00:41:40,660 --> 00:41:44,900 As far as I'm concerned, that no yodeler in the world is truly in danger 554 00:41:44,900 --> 00:41:46,740 from an avalanche merely by yodeling. 555 00:41:46,740 --> 00:41:49,620 You know, I agree with you, but I have to put in a caveat. 556 00:41:49,620 --> 00:41:55,940 I mean, the variety of snow fields that are out there that would precipitate an avalanche 557 00:41:55,940 --> 00:42:00,500 is infinite almost, and I can't help but think that some of them are going to be 558 00:42:00,500 --> 00:42:02,660 more sensitive than the ones that we saw. 559 00:42:02,660 --> 00:42:06,420 Right. I appreciate your point, but the fact is that we're going to be scientific about it. 560 00:42:06,420 --> 00:42:10,500 We can only call a conclusion based on the data that we've set out to gather and gather. 561 00:42:10,740 --> 00:42:15,620 Yeah, we have to do that, but I have to make the point that there are cases like 562 00:42:15,620 --> 00:42:21,860 skiers, which are not hundreds of pounds of high explosives that have set off avalanches. 563 00:42:22,420 --> 00:42:24,340 In some cases, it doesn't take very much. 564 00:42:24,980 --> 00:42:26,820 Your editorial comment is so noted. 565 00:42:30,820 --> 00:42:32,980 Well, driving on ice sure was fun. 566 00:42:32,980 --> 00:42:34,580 Yeah, and Carrie, you're really good at it. 567 00:42:35,540 --> 00:42:40,420 Well, I thought the avalanche myth was awesome, and who knew Jamie lived in a snow cave for two weeks? 568 00:42:40,660 --> 00:42:42,740 Yeah, those were both really good stories. 569 00:42:42,740 --> 00:42:47,380 And if you have any ideas at home that you want us to test, log on to discovery.com 570 00:42:47,380 --> 00:42:48,980 slash mythbusters. 571 00:42:48,980 --> 00:42:54,820 This time, preferably stories that involve, I don't know, hot sandy beaches and drinks with umbrellas in them.