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On this episode of Myth Busters, we lock and load.

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Get lost.

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Behold the Heinemann in its natural habitat.

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And let loose.

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First up, Adam and Jamie look into the age-old anomaly that while blindfolded,

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I feel like I'm doing pretty good, it's supposedly impossible to travel in a straight line.

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Control us into the middle of the field then.

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Somebody order a car?

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Carrie Grant and Tori find out if a fender bender

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could detonate a trunk full of special effects explosives.

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This is our target car.

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Stand by for a rocket-propelled car crash.

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Who are the Myth Busters?

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Adam Savage.

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I am the master of the science.

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And Jamie Heinemann.

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Between then more than 30 years of special effects experience,

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together with Brad Imahara,

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Carrie Byron,

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and Tori Belachie,

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they don't just tell the Myths,

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they put them to the test.

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Watch out, because Adam and Jamie are about to walk, swim, and drive blindfolded.

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What's with the blindfold?

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Well, you ever work on something and it's not going the way you want it to

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and you feel like you're just going around in circles?

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I know exactly what you mean.

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Excellent, because that is what this story is all about.

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The myth is that a human, when blindfolded, cannot travel in a straight line.

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Really?

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It turns out that not only can't we walk in a straight line,

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but that left-door on devices we will actually walk in circles

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and that this might be one of the reasons we might get lost in the woods.

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I thought with all your survival training you'd love this story.

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Hello, Jamie?

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Oh, he's gone.

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It's a deceptively simple concept that has puzzled serious scientists for a hundred years.

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Supposedly, when blindfolded, it's impossible for humans to travel,

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whether on foot, in water, or by road, in a straight line.

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It's a challenge Adam and Jamie just can't resist.

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Come on, come on, back in here.

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Did you even hear a word that I said?

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Yeah, humans can't move in a straight line while blindfolded.

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That's the story. How do you want to test it?

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Well, when I think about moving in a straight line, I think about walking.

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I think you might be right. Is that where you want to begin?

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Yeah, all we need is a couple of blindfolds and a big, wide-open field.

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Let's do it.

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A big field, you say? How about this one?

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Our testing here is pretty straightforward.

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We've got a field in which we can walk 3,000 feet in any direction that we choose.

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We've got a blindfold. This one here is from my personal collection.

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And headphones to remove any other stimulus.

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And we're just going to try and walk in a straight line and see what happens.

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Sure, we'll see what happens, but Jamie likes to be more...sciencey.

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We've got three ways of telling how good we are at walking in a straight line while blindfolded.

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First is by using the global positioning system, or GPS.

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This little thing will be plotting a map for us that we can look at afterwards.

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Secondly, we've got these lovely little orange flags that we can place.

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Are you ready to go?

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What?

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And lastly, we'll know if we hit the target,

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because we will have had to have walked in more or less a straight line to get there.

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How do I think I'm going to do?

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I don't think I'm going to be able to maintain an incredibly straight line,

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but I don't think I'm going to be that far off.

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I think I may veer to the left or to the right,

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but I think I'll end up pretty close to my goal, that cluster of trees over there.

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Or is it there?

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Okay, in three, two, one, go.

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All he has to do is walk in a straight line with his eyes closed.

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How hard can it be?

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It is a very weird thing to be walking without any visual or auditory stimulus.

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What's really weird is, apparently, how surprisingly difficult it is.

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You're holding a picture of it in your head, and in your mind's eye,

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you're walking a nice straight trajectory across that landscape.

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I mean, tickling at the back of your mind, you're thinking something might be wrong,

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but tries you might.

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You feel like you're walking straight.

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Whoa!

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You started it out pretty nice, but after about 300 feet or so,

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you started to turn to the left, and you just kept doing that

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until you ended up right back in the fence.

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I swear I thought I was walking a perfectly straight line.

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Nothing told me that I was possibly walking in a 200-foot diameter circle.

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I am totally amazed by that result.

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A result nailed by the GPS trail.

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The astonishing disparity between Adam's perception and his actual route

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is there for all to see.

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That is hilarious.

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It's a result that begs several questions, the first of which is,

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will Jamie do any better?

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Jamie's blind man walking in three, two, one, go!

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With all the confidence and certainty you'd expect from the Heidelman,

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he strides off towards the target tree,

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before veering off course like he's got a short right leg.

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And any doubt that subtle topographical features,

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with the reason Adam went left,

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are dispelled as Jamie leans so far to the right,

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he turns back on himself in a corkscrew pattern.

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I ended up right back in the road, just like you did.

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Time to delve deeper.

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Now the question we have is,

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is that leaning that we each had to one direction or the other consistent?

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Walking blind, test number two.

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Is it something that could be corrected for?

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Well that's what we're just about to find out.

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He's doing a little better this time.

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Adam's start is certainly straighter,

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but it's not long before the test literally takes a turn for the worse.

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Test two? I didn't walk straight,

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and I didn't even walk straight in the same way I didn't walk straight the first time.

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I went in a circle in the other direction.

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Yep, two things are clear from Adam's second test.

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His route is far from straight,

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and there's no discernible pattern to his meanderings.

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Bye. Bye.

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A theory compounded on Jamie's second test,

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because once again, he immediately heads off in the wrong direction.

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I'm lost.

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Trying to walk in a straight line while being blindfolded is an exercise in futility,

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because without any cues like vision or sounds and so on,

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you're relying on purely mechanical means of determining your direction.

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I feel like he's done Kehode and I'm following him around.

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But you're fluid, you're not like a machine.

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You can kind of meander and wander,

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and in fact, that's kind of what these GPS paths are showing,

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is this looks like a meandering stream.

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And that meandering, corkscrewing, leads Jamie and Adam straight to a firm conclusion.

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We came here to look at the myth that a person who is blindfolded cannot walk in a straight line,

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and we have definitely proven that with the data we've gathered.

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But the myth specifically says,

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travel and not just walk.

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So to complete the data set and nail the science,

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Adam and Jamie will be hitting the highways and waterways,

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attempting alternative forms of blindfold locomotion.

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What's next?

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Swimming blindfolded.

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Well, we can't do that here.

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No.

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Let's go someplace else.

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Alright.

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You're going to love this one.

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This myth is about a binary explosive that is used in Hollywood effects films.

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A guy is transporting it in the trunk of his car.

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He gets rear-ended and the car explodes.

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Now here's the thing, under normal conditions,

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until you mix the two parts together,

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the explosive is completely stable.

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But once they're mixed, you can set it off by shooting it with a bullet.

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Okay, so the myth here is that the impact from a car crash has enough energy

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to actually set off this supposedly stable explosive.

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Exactly.

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Guns, car crashes, explosions.

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I mean, it doesn't get any better than this.

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It's the rear-end fender-bender from Hollywood that was never meant to end up on screen.

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Considering it usually requires the impact of a gunshot to set it off,

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can a trunk full of special effects binary explosive really go bluey in a car crash?

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This is the first time we've actually used this particular explosive.

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So I think we might have to do a little research.

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Yeah, let's go to the bomb range and we'll ask ourselves four questions.

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One, what is it?

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Two, how does it work?

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Three, will a car collision set it off?

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And then four, will a bigger amount give us a bigger explosion?

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Explosions at the bomb range?

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That's my favorite kind of research.

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With those four questions and no small amount of mayhem in mind...

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Ah, guns and explosives, what could be better?

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The Mythbusters rock up to the bomb range,

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where it's time for our little shoot and tell.

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This is the Hollywood binary explosive of the myth.

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You've got an oxidizer and a catalyst.

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The beauty of this, on their own, they're virtually inert.

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But if you mix them together and shoot them with a high-powered rifle,

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you get a super-fast-chain reaction that gives you a really nice explosion.

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This is the first time we've used it on our show,

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but it shares many similarities with other high explosives that we have used on our show.

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Namely, it requires a shock wave in order to set it off.

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A hammer won't do it.

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A small handgun fire won't do it.

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Even automatic small caliber fire won't do it.

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You need a high-powered rifle, and that's what we're going to use.

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And this is the gun.

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It's a .308 sniper rifle.

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This thing has a muzzle velocity of 2,500 feet per second.

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That's plenty of power to set off our binary explosive.

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Okay, here we go. Firey.

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Now, the plan is we're going to fire into our catalyst.

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Okay, catalysts are low.

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No explosion.

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And then we're going to fire into our oxidizer.

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No explosion.

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Time to mix them.

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Then we're going to mix the two components together,

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fire into that, and see if it explodes.

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Now, if it explodes, that tells us a very important thing about this myth.

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The chemicals were mixed in the back of this guy's trunk,

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which means that guy was crazy.

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Alright, this is the mix of binary explosive. You guys ready?

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Ready.

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Did you mix it good?

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Oh, I did.

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Wow!

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That was a good pop!

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So we've come out to the bomb range to find out exactly what we're dealing with.

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Turns out we're dealing with something pretty awesome.

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You mix it together, you add a little energy from a high-powered rifle,

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and you get a chemical reaction that results in a cloud of rapidly expanding gases,

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or as we like to call it, an explosion.

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Now the question is, what's next?

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Does more equal more?

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If we ramp up to a trunk full of this stuff, how much bigger will the explosion be?

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That's right, it's bigger boom time.

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Next on MythBusters,

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the walrus is back in is not so natural habitat.

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And later,

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Carrie Grant and Tori ramp it up with rockets.

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Our myth-busting pedestrians have already established that blindfolds and straight lines don't mix.

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Whoa!

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But how about other types of travel?

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I can't believe we didn't get pulled over.

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We've already established that when blindfolded, we were unable to walk in a straight line.

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Now, it's time to find out if we're able to swim in a straight line while blindfolded.

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Each of us will take a turn putting on a pair of blacked-out swimming goggles.

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Then we'll see if we can swim a straight line from here to the reflector across the lake.

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The GPS will tell us how we did.

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You know what I like about tests when I get to our wetsuit?

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Tight material tends to hold me in a little bit, make me look a little less tubby.

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It's not working, is it?

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Oh, crap.

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Speaking of body shape,

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GPS me is the wonky walking of the previous test all about that particular method of movement.

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Woof! Woof!

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Oh, it's cold!

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Will the biomechanics of swimming keep our out-of-shape swim team on the straight and narrow?

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Well, a mere 30 feet into the test, it's clear that the blindfold,

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by blocking out any visual landmarks, makes the answer a drifting, dizzying, no.

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He's swimming around and around in a corkscrew.

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Once again, the really compelling detail is not how far off course Adam is straying.

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I must be close!

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But that he thinks he's going straight.

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I feel like I'm doing pretty good.

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Can I met the landscape?

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The target's still right there.

246
00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,000
No, no Adam, it isn't.

247
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:34,000
Let's see if the walrus can do any better.

248
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:35,000
I'm ready.

249
00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,000
Well, Adam didn't do so well.

250
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:39,000
Will I be able to do any better?

251
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,000
Without any kind of reference, I don't see why I would.

252
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:47,000
Aiming blindfolded for a target straight across the lake, two things are clear.

253
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:53,000
For a marine mammal, he is clearly not at home in the water.

254
00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,000
And his pretest prediction was right.

255
00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:00,000
As well as the occasional left, followed by a right.

256
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:05,000
Some more right, and well, you get the picture.

257
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:09,000
But Jamie didn't fare any better than I did in attempting to swim in a straight line.

258
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,000
In fact, he fared far worse.

259
00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,000
He did have the intuition in the middle that things were going horribly awry.

260
00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:17,000
I get the feeling I'm swimming in a circle.

261
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,000
Whereas I thought I was heading straight for the target.

262
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,000
Verding's time.

263
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000
Is it possible to swim in a straight line while blindfolded?

264
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:25,000
No.

265
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:26,000
So what's next?

266
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:27,000
Driving.

267
00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,000
I love it.

268
00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:39,000
Can the impact energy of a fender bender set off a trunk load of binary explosive

269
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,000
and blow a cart of smithereens?

270
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:47,000
Carrie Grant and Tori are at the bomb range aiming to find out.

271
00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:49,000
Wow!

272
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:50,000
That's a good pop.

273
00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:55,000
So we know if we're working with explosives like Ampho, when you use more of it, you get a bigger boom.

274
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:57,000
It seems pretty obvious.

275
00:14:57,000 --> 00:14:59,000
But that might not actually be the case here.

276
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,000
In special effects, they use really small quantities.

277
00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,000
One load is only half a pound.

278
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:06,000
And in fact, when it's mixed, it's really, really stable.

279
00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:11,000
So what we need to know is if a single bullet will actually detonate the entire batch

280
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,000
when you're using a very large quantity.

281
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:17,000
Alright, this is Hollywood binary explosive double load.

282
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,000
Send it.

283
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:30,000
Now as you can see from the destroyed box,

284
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,000
doubling the material gave us at least double the explosion, if not more.

285
00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:37,000
But now what we want to see is if you had multiple cans mixed up,

286
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,000
would hitting one of them set off a chain reaction,

287
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,000
or would the one that got hit by a bullet just explode?

288
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,000
So we're going to mix up five jars of this stuff,

289
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,000
line them up, take a shot at one and see if it sets off the rest.

290
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,000
Alright, here we go.

291
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,000
One.

292
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,000
Wow!

293
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,000
That was awesome!

294
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,000
We got a chain reaction, they all went off.

295
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,000
Totally.

296
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,000
I like combining guns and explosives.

297
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,000
Yeah!

298
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:07,000
When we first started the story, we had four questions.

299
00:16:07,000 --> 00:16:08,000
What is this explosive?

300
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,000
How does it work?

301
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:13,000
Does more equal a bigger boom and can a car crash set it off?

302
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,000
Well, we have answers to the first three.

303
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,000
You know what it is, you know how it works,

304
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:23,000
and we know that one small canister will detonate a chain reaction in a much larger batch.

305
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:27,000
So the big question is, will a high energy impact,

306
00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:31,000
other than a high velocity round be enough to set off our binary explosives?

307
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:36,000
That's right, we are about to see if we can create an explosion from a car crash.

308
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:40,000
Coming up next on MythBusters, where to leave my car?

309
00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,000
In the myth of the exploding fender bender,

310
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:58,000
Carrie Grant and Tori are having fun playing with guns and blabble.

311
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,000
Alright, so we know that our Hollywood binary explosive needs to be mixed to go off.

312
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:10,000
We also know that it takes a high velocity round to make it explode,

313
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:15,000
and that it can go off in a chain reaction, even if it's in several different little containers.

314
00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:21,000
So now we want to see if an impact will set off this binary explosive,

315
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,000
just like in a car crash.

316
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,000
Take a big haul, you need a big shovel.

317
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:29,000
So to replicate the exact conditions of the mythical scenario,

318
00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:32,000
the team is setting up for an actual car crash.

319
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,000
Somebody order a car?

320
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,000
In a controlled environment.

321
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,000
Now you'll notice we're not on a road or on a runway.

322
00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:44,000
Turns out it's really hard to find a place that'll let you crash a car with explosives.

323
00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:46,000
So this is our answer.

324
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:50,000
We're going to bury a car halfway deep, so that just the trunk is sticking out.

325
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,000
Recreate the crash by dropping another car at 150 feet,

326
00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:59,000
so that it hits at three-way speed, with 50 pounds of binary explosive in the truck.

327
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:05,000
Alright, so now that we have our hull dug, it's time to put our car nose down into the hull.

328
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:13,000
This way the car won't move at all when we drop the other car from 150 feet from the crane into the trunk.

329
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,000
Looks like we got a big one.

330
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:20,000
With 50 pounds of premixed binary explosive in the trunk,

331
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:23,000
20 times more than this,

332
00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,000
it could well be the end of the road for our flame-covered friend.

333
00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,000
Alright, car's loaded, let's drop a car on it.

334
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:36,000
We're almost doubling the speed, and the collision will create 880,000 joules of kinetic energy.

335
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:37,000
Yeah.

336
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,000
I still don't think it's going to explode.

337
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,000
Well, there's only one way to find out.

338
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,000
Dropping a car from 150 feet at 60 miles an hour,

339
00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:49,000
and crashing it into another car that's standing on end,

340
00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,000
half buried in the ground, with a trunk full of explosives.

341
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000
Just another day at the office.

342
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,000
Alright, this is freeway speed.

343
00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:01,000
100 loads of binary explosive in the trunk, rear-end collision.

344
00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:04,000
In three, two, one.

345
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:12,000
Correct hit.

346
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,000
That was a great hit.

347
00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:16,000
No explosion.

348
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:24,000
No explosion, and with the circumstances of the myth recreated exactly,

349
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,000
albeit at 90 degrees,

350
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:30,000
the damning conclusion is quick to follow.

351
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:33,000
We wanted to create a crash at freeway speed.

352
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,000
I think we did one better.

353
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,000
Why? Because that car's buried into the ground.

354
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,000
It had nowhere to go. That means it absorbed all the energy of the collision.

355
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:42,000
Still, no explosion.

356
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:43,000
This myth is busted.

357
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,000
Under normal circumstances, the myth is busted.

358
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,000
But can the impact from a fender bender ever initiate an explosion

359
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:52,000
under any circumstances?

360
00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:56,000
To find out, this story is getting super-sized.

361
00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:58,000
I think we need more speed.

362
00:19:58,000 --> 00:20:00,000
Some extreme speed.

363
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:02,000
Well, we could make a rocket-powered car.

364
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,000
I mean, that would give us a lot of speed.

365
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:06,000
Alright, road trip.

366
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,000
I hope this works.

367
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:16,000
Having walked wonky, oh, and swum squiggly,

368
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,000
the myth that it's impossible to stay on the straight and narrow

369
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:22,000
while blindfolded is looking good.

370
00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:26,000
But our dynamic duo are covering all of their bases

371
00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:29,000
and taking human locomotion out of the equation.

372
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,000
Even with the aid of a machine,

373
00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:35,000
can you travel a straight line while sight-deprived?

374
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:38,000
It's a blindfolded driving. Should we get to it?

375
00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,000
I think so.

376
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:42,000
This test is really simple.

377
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,000
Once again, we're going to use blinders and hearing suppression.

378
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:48,000
And all we're going to do is try and drive a straight line

379
00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:51,000
right towards the city of San Francisco.

380
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:54,000
So that we can tell where we've been,

381
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:58,000
we're going to attach this sports chalker to the back of our golf cart,

382
00:20:58,000 --> 00:21:00,000
and that line's going to tell the whole story.

383
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:05,000
They'll also be using their trusty GPS unit to plot their course electronically.

384
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,000
And in this most straightforward of tests,

385
00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:13,000
Adam thinks he's about to bust the myth by doing just that, going straight.

386
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,000
I do have a prediction for this test.

387
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,000
I don't think it's going to be very hard to drive in a straight line.

388
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:24,000
I think all I need to do is align the wheels and not move my hands.

389
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,000
I'm holding my hands steady,

390
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,000
but I can't shake the feeling that I'm drifting to the right.

391
00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,000
Interesting.

392
00:21:31,000 --> 00:21:35,000
Once again, Adam rejects straight line reality

393
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,000
in favor of his own internal vision.

394
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,000
Okay, you're going to have to stop.

395
00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,000
Well, you can open your eyes.

396
00:21:47,000 --> 00:21:49,000
I was drifting to the left?

397
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,000
Yeah. Want to try again?

398
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,000
Absolutely.

399
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:58,000
But two further tests only confirm the fact that driving in a straight line

400
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:01,000
is not as simple as holding the steering wheel steady.

401
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,000
Oh, I feel a terrain change.

402
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:07,000
I think I'm in trouble.

403
00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:12,000
Any number of small adjustments and corrections have to be made to stay the course.

404
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:17,000
You know, I think the wind is like giving me a false feeling of turning.

405
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:18,000
I could be.

406
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:23,000
Adjustments that are impossible to make for Adam at least without a visual reference.

407
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,000
Ha ha ha ha!

408
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:27,000
Whoa!

409
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,000
It drove us into the middle of a field.

410
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:33,000
And GPS data illustrates that perfectly.

411
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:38,000
The question is, can Jamie do any better on his three test drives?

412
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:39,000
Go!

413
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:47,000
Basically, I'm trying to focus on my internal sense of orientation.

414
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:50,000
And I have to say, it doesn't feel like it's very accurate.

415
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,000
That doesn't feel right.

416
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:57,000
That leaves me with only a very rough sense of what I'm doing based on the wind

417
00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,000
and the roughness of the road, which isn't a whole heck of a lot.

418
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:04,000
Honey, I could be going around in circles for a while, I think.

419
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:08,000
So this doesn't really work too well, I don't think.

420
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,000
Despite making it further down the runway than Adam,

421
00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:16,000
Jamie has only given this myth another kick in the confirmed direction.

422
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,000
So far, we've walked, we've swum, and now we've driven.

423
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,000
I'll admit, I thought we weren't going to get anything out of the driving test

424
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,000
in terms of results.

425
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:27,000
But I mean, supposedly, during this machine, where all you need to do

426
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:31,000
is hold tight to the steering wheel and it'll carry you on a straight line.

427
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:34,000
The only thing that's very steady is the strong wind.

428
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:38,000
But even in that machine, the kinesthetic feedback we're getting from the world

429
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,000
forced both Jamie and I to make corrections.

430
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:44,000
These corrections were based on a map of our landscape we had in our head,

431
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:48,000
which wasn't correct, and thus our corrections were incorrect,

432
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,000
and sent us careening all over the runway, even driving,

433
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,000
and we could not make a straight line.

434
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:57,000
It's an interesting anomaly, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason

435
00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,000
as to why we can't do it.

436
00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:04,000
There's no correlation between left and right handedness or body asymmetry.

437
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,000
It simply appears that deprived of our eyesight,

438
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:14,000
we are physically incapable of maintaining the unnatural construct of a straight line.

439
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:18,000
So the myth is confirmed, but Adam and Jamie want to take it further

440
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:22,000
and explore the real world implications.

441
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:34,000
OK, so a 60 mile an hour crash is not going to set it off, but we can't stop there.

442
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:36,000
All right, how about this?

443
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:41,000
How about instead of a regular fender bender, it was like a super car crashing into the back

444
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,000
of another car, it's a couple hundred miles an hour?

445
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:47,000
I love it, and I know exactly where we're going to go to test this. Road trip?

446
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,000
Yeah, but just in case, let's not put the explosive in the trunk.

447
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:51,000
Good idea.

448
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:57,000
When ramping it up is on the menu, there's one location that's guaranteed to find the dial marked.

449
00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:02,000
Awesome, turn it up to 11, rip it off, and run away laughing.

450
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,000
Perfect day for science.

451
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:09,000
So we are back at New Mexico Tech, one of the most incredible test facilities in the world.

452
00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:13,000
Why are we here? Because of their rocket sled.

453
00:25:13,000 --> 00:25:17,000
Last time we were here, we split a car in half.

454
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:22,000
With this track, our rocket sled should be able to accelerate with 63,000 pounds of thrust

455
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:30,000
over a quarter second upwards of 300 miles an hour to create what we hope is going to be the world's fastest car crash.

456
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,000
And this is our target car.

457
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:43,000
It's completely isolated if we're stopped on the freeway with 200 loads of mixed binary explosive in the trunk.

458
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:48,000
When that rocket sled car comes crashing into the back end, we will find out once and for all

459
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:53,000
if a collision has enough energy to create a detonation and give us a massive explosion.

460
00:25:53,000 --> 00:26:00,000
But before the team launches a rocket-propelled fender bender, a control is required.

461
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:04,000
You know it's going to be a good experiment when the control test is a massive explosion.

462
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,000
Knowing just what kind of havoc the rocket sled can wreak,

463
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:15,000
detecting whether the binary explosive has actually detonated amongst the carnage,

464
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,000
what an impossibly large force.

465
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,000
may be difficult.

466
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,000
Mythbusters version of cocktail.

467
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:23,000
Shaking off dirt.

468
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:28,000
So to be sure, the team will set off the same amount of binary explosive,

469
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:34,000
200 loads in the trunk of this car and establish a devastation benchmark.

470
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,000
This is the biggest bomb range at New Mexico Tech.

471
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,000
New Mexico Tech, where you can get a PhD and blow in **** up.

472
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:42,000
In fact, it's also the most robust bunker.

473
00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:46,000
It is built to withstand 20,000 pounds of TNT.

474
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,000
Our explosion is not quite that big, but it's within the spirit of the myth,

475
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,000
a trunk full of binary explosive.

476
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:57,000
Okay, so because this is potentially so dangerous, we need to be very far away and underground.

477
00:26:57,000 --> 00:26:58,000
Oh, sweet home.

478
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,000
So we're going to do it the old fashioned way.

479
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:01,000
We used to detonate it.

480
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:07,000
All right, this is binary car control filled with 200 loads of binary explosive.

481
00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:11,000
In five, four, three, two, one.

482
00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:17,000
Wow, that was a massive explosion.

483
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,000
That was an incredible explosion.

484
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:29,000
I mean, I had no idea this binary explosive had this much destructive power,

485
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:34,000
but we know that they took a blast cap in order to set this off.

486
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:41,000
The real question now is, will a car crash have enough energy to set this off

487
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:42,000
and do the same amount of damage?

488
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,000
Well, at least now we have a benchmark.

489
00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,000
In the ramped up rocket sled crash, they'll be looking for a shock wave,

490
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:54,000
followed by a fireball and the car roof being blown 200 feet in the air.

491
00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:57,000
And those are just the control benchmarks.

492
00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:03,000
With that, it's time to hit the track and set up for the fender bender to end all fender benders.

493
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:09,000
I know this engine doesn't look like much, but it's going to be putting out a million horsepower today.

494
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:13,000
This is the first time New Mexico Tech has actually put a car on the rocket sled.

495
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:14,000
There's a lot of jeopardy here.

496
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:20,000
Aerodynamically, if that car starts to lift off the track, it's going to pull that rocket sled off of the track,

497
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,000
crash the experiment and the track.

498
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:26,000
Hence the concerted team effort preparing the impact vehicle.

499
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,000
A truck with rockets as standard.

500
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:31,000
This is the first time they are flying a vehicle down the track.

501
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,000
Anything can happen.

502
00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,000
But there's one thing Tori thinks won't happen.

503
00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:39,000
Now we know a high powered rifle will set off the binary explosive.

504
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:44,000
Nat is traveling at 2,000 feet per second, which is 1,400 miles an hour.

505
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:45,000
Wouldn't be a truck without one of these.

506
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:51,000
Now our car is only going to be traveling at 300 miles an hour.

507
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:56,000
So I have a hard time believing that that crash is going to be enough to detonate the explosive.

508
00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:00,000
But we have done everything we can scientifically to cover our bases.

509
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:02,000
Let's see what happens.

510
00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:06,000
With a trunk full of pre-mix binary explosives in the target car.

511
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,000
200 loads.

512
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:14,000
All that's left to do is winch the truck back to the start of the track and add the rockets.

513
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,000
These are 5 inch HVAR rockets.

514
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,000
There's going to be 10 of them on our sled.

515
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:22,000
Now they were made in the 1950s, but believe me, they still pack a punch.

516
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:26,000
They're going to give us 65,000 pounds of thrust in a quarter of a second.

517
00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,000
That causes sled to experience 17 Gs of acceleration.

518
00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,000
That should be more than enough to get our truck going.

519
00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:36,000
Next, it's Myth Buster vs. Wild.

520
00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:40,000
Will you really walk in circles in the woods?

521
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:42,000
Oh crap.

522
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:55,000
So, the blindfold cleanly removed our ability to walk, swim, or even drive in anything remotely approaching a straight line.

523
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,000
Well that pretty much means the myth is confirmed, doesn't it?

524
00:29:57,000 --> 00:30:00,000
Yeah, but there's something that's still bugging me about this story.

525
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:01,000
What's that?

526
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:06,000
Well, under no circumstances do humans ever actually try and perambulate while blindfolded.

527
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,000
Where's the real world application?

528
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:09,000
What do you have in mind?

529
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:15,000
I'm thinking that if humans are supposed to get lost in the woods and that they supposedly walk in circles,

530
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:20,000
let's you and me head out to the woods and see if we can get lost and end up walking in circles.

531
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:21,000
It's a plan.

532
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:22,000
Excellent.

533
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:29,000
It's widely reported that unprepared walkers lost in the woods unwittingly wander in circles,

534
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:33,000
with no clear view of their destination or established landmarks.

535
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:37,000
It's as if they were blindfolded.

536
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:43,000
It's a potential life-saving story Adam and Jamie can't resist tackling.

537
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:48,000
Behold the Heinemann in his natural habitat.

538
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:53,000
On a clear day in unknown territory, unable to see their direction for the trees,

539
00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:56,000
can they stick to a pre-selected bearing?

540
00:30:56,000 --> 00:31:06,000
Jamie and I are each going to choose a specific trajectory and try and walk a straight line on that trajectory while being tracked by a GPS.

541
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:10,000
In three, two, one, here we go.

542
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:15,000
After 30 minutes, we're going to come back home and see exactly how we did.

543
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,000
Now I'm not talking walking a straight line like a ruler.

544
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:24,000
I'm talking I have some place I need to get to and I want to go there directly.

545
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:28,000
I'm going to be doing several things to keep me walking in a straight line.

546
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:31,000
I'm going to try and take sightings off of trees or other landmarks,

547
00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,000
and I'm going to note my position relative to the sun.

548
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:38,000
Right now the sun is directly overhead and off to my left.

549
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:42,000
And so if I want to use that to orient myself as I'm walking through the forest,

550
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:46,000
all I have to do is keep it in approximately that position.

551
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:49,000
Of course, as time passes, it's going to move through the sky,

552
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:54,000
but I can still keep it kind of on that one side fairly easily to compensate for it,

553
00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:57,000
and that'll make sure I don't walk in circles.

554
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,000
Oh, that's the time. Time to go home.

555
00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:08,000
Using their trusty GPS units, they head back to position one where the results are in.

556
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:12,000
Despite terrain obstacles and obscured long-range visibility,

557
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:17,000
Jamie, using a range of techniques, maintained a very accurate trajectory.

558
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,000
And even Adam generally headed in the right direction.

559
00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:26,000
Using the sun to get his bearings, he clearly avoided the corkscrewing the myth implies.

560
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,000
While I might not have the survival training that Jamie has,

561
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,000
my techniques actually worked pretty good with the help of a gorgeous day in the sun.

562
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,000
I was able to maintain a reasonably straight trajectory.

563
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:42,000
But for the next test, they're going to make things tougher and turn off the sun.

564
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:46,000
We have to replicate a situation that is less than optimal as far as navigating.

565
00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:51,000
Maybe it's a snowstorm, or maybe it's at night, and all you've got is a flashlight.

566
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:56,000
One way or another, you can only see in the immediate vicinity right next to you.

567
00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:02,000
Now, I tried a number of different things back at the shop to see if I could recreate that kind of situation.

568
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,000
Definitely not.

569
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:13,000
And it turns out the perfect artificial snowstorm used by experts to train for wide-out conditions,

570
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:18,000
where your vision is restricted to a radius of just a few feet, is the bucket head.

571
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,000
Okay, here we go.

572
00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:25,000
As before, Adam and Jamie have a pre-selected bearing.

573
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:29,000
They can see their feet at a limited distance in front of them.

574
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:34,000
But crucially, they can't see the sun or use long-range sight markers.

575
00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:38,000
But our expert outdoorsman has his technique down pat.

576
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:43,000
By methodically pacing at right angles around direct obstacles...

577
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:45,000
They're forward.

578
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,000
...he maintains his straight-line trajectory.

579
00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:51,000
And go forward again.

580
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:59,000
While Jamie robotically paces towards his goal, the extreme conditions get the better of untrained Adam.

581
00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,000
Something tells me that things have gone horribly wrong.

582
00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:06,000
...until he's simply wandering in the woods with a bucket on his head.

583
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:17,000
With the test complete, the GPS results show that Erwinite Adam beautifully illustrated just how important survival training is in extreme conditions.

584
00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:21,000
Look at that! I almost drew an ampersand in the woods.

585
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:27,000
In contrast, Jamie's route was indicative of his practical approach and technique.

586
00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,000
I think we've learned an important lesson here.

587
00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:31,000
You don't have to obliterate someone's vision.

588
00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:35,000
You can just merely restrict it, and all of a sudden they might start walking in circles.

589
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:40,000
Right. But with proper training, you can still walk into the straight line and to safety.

590
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,000
Thanks, Jamie.

591
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:47,000
Yep, while lost in the woods, as long as you can see the sun, anyone can walk in a straight line.

592
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:52,000
However, with limited visibility, you'll need training and a disciplined approach.

593
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:55,000
But is there another option for a successful escape?

594
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:57,000
What about teamwork?

595
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,000
Let's get out of here.

596
00:34:58,000 --> 00:34:59,000
I'll navigate.

597
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:00,000
Alright.

598
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:03,000
Coming up, there's a blast-off...

599
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:05,000
...and a dance-off.

600
00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:07,000
Watch, I can make Jimmy dance.

601
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:20,000
One way or another, it seems that humans are not inclined to walk in a straight line if they can't see very well.

602
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:25,000
It makes me wonder, though, if there's not some kind of mechanical solution.

603
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,000
This I've got to see.

604
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:34,000
All episode long, Adam and I have been trying to travel in a straight line.

605
00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,000
I'm holding my hands firm and steady. What's wrong with me?

606
00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,000
Without very much success, I must say.

607
00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:42,000
He's swimming around and around in a corkscrew.

608
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:46,000
But now we've had an idea that may just be the solution to our problem.

609
00:35:46,000 --> 00:35:50,000
And we're not exactly sure, but the problem seems to be that, lacking any stimulus,

610
00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,000
the human mind creates a landscape for itself.

611
00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,000
Can't shake the feeling that I'm drifting to the right.

612
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:57,000
That's not exactly correct.

613
00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:02,000
And then makes corrections based on that landscape that lead it very far astray, very, very quickly.

614
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:07,000
So we thought, what if a device could be created that would allow two people working in tandem

615
00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:11,000
to directly, physically feel when they were being led off of a straight line?

616
00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,000
That's when we came up with this.

617
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:18,000
By securing themselves into each end of a rigid straight line tether,

618
00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:24,000
the theory is physical feedback from the hip harnesses will alert them if they wander off the straight and narrow.

619
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:28,000
Hey, watch, I can make Jimmy dance.

620
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:34,000
The fatal flaw for our blindfoldees could be the high degree of teamwork required.

621
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:36,000
That's enough of that.

622
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:41,000
With their simple A to arrow course set up, it's time to turn out the lights.

623
00:36:41,000 --> 00:36:43,000
I got my goggles. Here we go.

624
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:47,000
In three, two, one, let's go.

625
00:36:47,000 --> 00:36:50,000
They're off, and the early signs are encouraging.

626
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,000
I feel like walking in a nice straight line.

627
00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:54,000
Okay.

628
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:58,000
Unlike Jamie's solo efforts, when he veered off course very early,

629
00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:02,000
our pair of parameters look like they've got this conundrum cracked.

630
00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:05,000
Now I know what it really is like to have a monkey in your back.

631
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,000
Ha ha ha!

632
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:13,000
But it's not long before their internal reality conflicts with the real one, and they steer off course.

633
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:17,000
In my mental landscape, we're traveling slightly to the right of the arrow.

634
00:37:17,000 --> 00:37:20,000
Feels like we're doing okay. I feel like you're leaning a little to the right.

635
00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:25,000
Our device's whole point was to try and add a kinesthetic sense to the human body

636
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:28,000
that it was moving off of a straight line.

637
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:33,000
And I honestly felt like we were maybe slightly veering off course,

638
00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:40,000
but we walked a complete horseshoe, and not once did I have the sense that we were making a tight turn.

639
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:41,000
Just didn't work.

640
00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,000
Ha ha ha ha ha!

641
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:46,000
We're basically where we started!

642
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,000
That's amazing.

643
00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:50,000
The arrow's way over there!

644
00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:53,000
Ha ha ha ha!

645
00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:55,000
This didn't work at all!

646
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,000
Well, what are you going to do? That's science.

647
00:37:57,000 --> 00:38:01,000
You come up with a theory, you test it, either it works or it doesn't.

648
00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,000
And in this case, it didn't.

649
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,000
Are we ready?

650
00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:08,000
Yes, we're ready.

651
00:38:08,000 --> 00:38:09,000
Right.

652
00:38:09,000 --> 00:38:13,000
Well, it would seem that all of our tests have definitively shown

653
00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:17,000
that human beings tend to lack the ability to walk in a straight line.

654
00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:22,000
Now, what we haven't attempted to figure out is the why of that phenomenon.

655
00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:26,000
But I think it's safe to say that it's confirmed.

656
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:30,000
Are you there?

657
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,000
I'm right here. It's totally confirmed. I agree.

658
00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:49,000
That's what the detonation of a trunk full of Hollywood binary explosive looks like.

659
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:52,000
Love a good explosion in the morning.

660
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:57,000
Question is, can the impact from a fender bender initiate that explosion?

661
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,000
All right, ready? Launch!

662
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:05,000
If a rocket-propelled truck can't do it, no conceivable car crash ever could.

663
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:12,000
Because at 300 miles an hour, we're exceeding the speed of the fastest supercar on the road.

664
00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:15,000
This is binary explosive versus the rocket sled.

665
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:17,000
It's this myth's final chance.

666
00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:18,000
Here we go.

667
00:39:18,000 --> 00:39:20,000
And final countdown.

668
00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:28,000
In five, four, three, two, one.

669
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:35,000
Oh my god, what just happened?

670
00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:36,000
I don't know!

671
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:47,000
What just happened was an old beat-up pickup truck powered by 10-H bar rockets

672
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:55,000
pumping out 65,000 pounds in front of a full 17 Gs

673
00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:58,000
and got up to almost 300 miles an hour.

674
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,000
Oh my god, that was awesome.

675
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,000
Wow!

676
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:10,000
As fender benders go, that was at the end of the scale marked insane.

677
00:40:10,000 --> 00:40:16,000
But to find out whether the binary explosive in the trunk of the target car was detonated,

678
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:21,000
the team needs to get a closer look and compare it to the control blast.

679
00:40:21,000 --> 00:40:26,000
We watched 200 loads of binary explosive detonate so that we could compare it to what we just witnessed.

680
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:30,000
We saw a rocket sled come down the track at almost 300 miles an hour

681
00:40:30,000 --> 00:40:35,000
and crash into the back end of a car with the same amount of explosives.

682
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:40,000
Now, though a spectacular sight, it was not a detonation.

683
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:44,000
What we saw with our explosion was a flash of fire.

684
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:47,000
What we saw here was a disintegration.

685
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:51,000
Did anybody get the license plate on that car?

686
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:56,000
Now we know that our binary explosive can be set off by a high-power rifle round.

687
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:02,000
But this myth is about a collision, specifically a vehicle collision.

688
00:41:02,000 --> 00:41:10,000
We continue to ramp car speeds all the way up to nearly 300 miles per hour and still no detonation.

689
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:16,000
As incredible as it seems, the energy that could cause this type of damage was still not enough

690
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:19,000
to initiate the explosion.

691
00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:22,000
And that's the beauty of binary explosives.

692
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:29,000
Safety-conscious Hollywood Special Effects teams can rely on a very specific detonation fingerprint

693
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:35,000
and know that any incidental impact will not have disastrous consequences.

694
00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,000
Which leaves just one conclusion.

695
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:42,000
Wow, that was incredible.

696
00:41:42,000 --> 00:41:45,000
I don't think this myth can be any more busted.

697
00:41:45,000 --> 00:41:47,000
Now that was a high-speed crash.

698
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:49,000
And you know what, you're not going to see a crash like that on the road.

699
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,000
And even if you did, there'd be no explosion.

700
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:53,000
Definitely not a detonation.

701
00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:59,000
Alright, so a collision from a car is never going to set off a trunkful of binary explosives.

702
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:00,000
This one is busted.

703
00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:01,000
Busted.

704
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:02,000
Busted.

705
00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:03,000
That was awesome.