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Seventy Six Trombones!
Mythbusters!
First up is the myth of a trombonist who put firecrackers inside the bell, stuck in the mute and and blew out the slide in the ensuing explosion, hitting the conductor. The fans say that sealing the mouthpiece off will make the difference and make the slide shoot out. I'm pretty sure I know every professional trombonist in the greater Dayton area, so I'll have to share the results with them....on the other hand, if it works, they may want to TRY it, and that would be a bad idea.
Using just a ballistics gel head was not enough to shoot out the slide. However the mute does hit their conductor dummy in the head. I love how every time they blow something up Adam cackles. It's almost as good as his reaction every time they drop Buster the dummy from a great height. Manic little boy glee.
Now they sauter the end of the trombone shut. Again with the fantastic cackle! And...OMG, the slide actually flew off the trombone...70 feet away!
Result...BUSTED. Yes, even though they were able to recreate the myth, it's not possible with a normal person behind the trombone the way the myth goes. You'd have to have welded it shut to do it.
***
Second is the cartoon fun where sticking a finger in a gun, plugging the barrel, makes the barrel split open like a banana peel. I'm amazed people think this one wasn't laid to rest. But apparently antique rifles had what is called a Damascus barrel, where the steel has a laminate to make the Damascus steel type pattern and weakens the steel. This would supposedly give them the banana peel effect. They rig a remote trigger system to an antique rifle and make a hand out of ballistics gel in order to plug the barrel. It even has bones inside. Believe it or not it actually almost sort of works. The barrel split open, instead of bulging like in the original myth. In order to up the ante, they weld a steel finger (yes, they took the time to carve it in the shape of a finger) to the end of the gun and try again. It shattered the end right off, and the finger was lost in action.
Result? Once again....BUSTED.
No, wait! Apparently if you put in a Boar sighter, and shoot with the boar sighter in place (you're supposed to take it out before shooting) you will get a banana peel effect. There are pictures and everything...not that the internet is letting me find them. But they couldn't get the same effect themselves.
***
Our third myth is the story of Gunnery Sgt. Halfcock who killed a Vietnamese sniper with a single shot though the other's scope, all the way through and into the sniper's eye. First time it ran, they were able to shoot the scope, but it wouldn't go all the way through. According to fans they needed to use a scope from the Vietnam war, the same kind that the Sgt. did. They get some period rifles, and find that it's easier said than done. The period scopes have less glass, but more steel. They manage to shoot all the way through the scope, but don't touch the dummy.
Being mythbusters, they move on to armor piercing rounds.
Perfect! Right through the scope, and with a wound in the ballistics gel. But they couldn't find the bullet and had to dismantle the dummy to find it. The bullet was 2 inches into the skull, far enough to be a kill.
Result?...Plausible! (Wait, even though there's a recorded event of this happening we're not calling it confirmed?)
***
Next! Exploding Hammers! The idea is that if you use one hammer to hit another hammer you can make them explode. The fans say that the hammers used were too soft, and the anvil was not a real anvil but a ASO (anvil shaped object). So off they go build a hammer swinging rig, get pre WWII hammers, and a real anvil. Their blacksmith expert has testimony of actual explosions....a chip being broken off and severing someone's artery....Yuck!
The blacksmith makes some hammers as hard as possible for them, prone to shattering and explosions. Instead they break the head right off. As far as modern hammers go...BUSTED. Time for the antique hammers. Old hammers were straight steel and had a higher carbon content. Someone actually went far enough to send them hammers that they didn't use anymore because they felt them to be 'too unsafe.'
Woo! They chipped! After many tries, they couldn't get it any better than that with hammer on hammer action. So now they have a real anvil. They break out their old sword rig (for testing the myth of a sword cutting another sword in half). And while it didn't shatter or explode, there is a big crack in the head of the hammer.
Leveling up the myth they hit it WAY harder than a human being cold. But again, no exploding hammer.
Results...Still BUSTED. Dangerous chipping may occur, but no big boom.
First up is the myth of a trombonist who put firecrackers inside the bell, stuck in the mute and and blew out the slide in the ensuing explosion, hitting the conductor. The fans say that sealing the mouthpiece off will make the difference and make the slide shoot out. I'm pretty sure I know every professional trombonist in the greater Dayton area, so I'll have to share the results with them....on the other hand, if it works, they may want to TRY it, and that would be a bad idea.
Using just a ballistics gel head was not enough to shoot out the slide. However the mute does hit their conductor dummy in the head. I love how every time they blow something up Adam cackles. It's almost as good as his reaction every time they drop Buster the dummy from a great height. Manic little boy glee.
Now they sauter the end of the trombone shut. Again with the fantastic cackle! And...OMG, the slide actually flew off the trombone...70 feet away!
Result...BUSTED. Yes, even though they were able to recreate the myth, it's not possible with a normal person behind the trombone the way the myth goes. You'd have to have welded it shut to do it.
***
Second is the cartoon fun where sticking a finger in a gun, plugging the barrel, makes the barrel split open like a banana peel. I'm amazed people think this one wasn't laid to rest. But apparently antique rifles had what is called a Damascus barrel, where the steel has a laminate to make the Damascus steel type pattern and weakens the steel. This would supposedly give them the banana peel effect. They rig a remote trigger system to an antique rifle and make a hand out of ballistics gel in order to plug the barrel. It even has bones inside. Believe it or not it actually almost sort of works. The barrel split open, instead of bulging like in the original myth. In order to up the ante, they weld a steel finger (yes, they took the time to carve it in the shape of a finger) to the end of the gun and try again. It shattered the end right off, and the finger was lost in action.
Result? Once again....BUSTED.
No, wait! Apparently if you put in a Boar sighter, and shoot with the boar sighter in place (you're supposed to take it out before shooting) you will get a banana peel effect. There are pictures and everything...not that the internet is letting me find them. But they couldn't get the same effect themselves.
***
Our third myth is the story of Gunnery Sgt. Halfcock who killed a Vietnamese sniper with a single shot though the other's scope, all the way through and into the sniper's eye. First time it ran, they were able to shoot the scope, but it wouldn't go all the way through. According to fans they needed to use a scope from the Vietnam war, the same kind that the Sgt. did. They get some period rifles, and find that it's easier said than done. The period scopes have less glass, but more steel. They manage to shoot all the way through the scope, but don't touch the dummy.
Being mythbusters, they move on to armor piercing rounds.
Perfect! Right through the scope, and with a wound in the ballistics gel. But they couldn't find the bullet and had to dismantle the dummy to find it. The bullet was 2 inches into the skull, far enough to be a kill.
Result?...Plausible! (Wait, even though there's a recorded event of this happening we're not calling it confirmed?)
***
Next! Exploding Hammers! The idea is that if you use one hammer to hit another hammer you can make them explode. The fans say that the hammers used were too soft, and the anvil was not a real anvil but a ASO (anvil shaped object). So off they go build a hammer swinging rig, get pre WWII hammers, and a real anvil. Their blacksmith expert has testimony of actual explosions....a chip being broken off and severing someone's artery....Yuck!
The blacksmith makes some hammers as hard as possible for them, prone to shattering and explosions. Instead they break the head right off. As far as modern hammers go...BUSTED. Time for the antique hammers. Old hammers were straight steel and had a higher carbon content. Someone actually went far enough to send them hammers that they didn't use anymore because they felt them to be 'too unsafe.'
Woo! They chipped! After many tries, they couldn't get it any better than that with hammer on hammer action. So now they have a real anvil. They break out their old sword rig (for testing the myth of a sword cutting another sword in half). And while it didn't shatter or explode, there is a big crack in the head of the hammer.
Leveling up the myth they hit it WAY harder than a human being cold. But again, no exploding hammer.
Results...Still BUSTED. Dangerous chipping may occur, but no big boom.
no subject
I love these guys. I love these guys so hard.
no subject
Like, there was a myth of 'exploding pants' a few weeks ago. They were able to recreate what probably actually happened...pants that burst into flames and incinerated in a matter of moments. But they decided that it wasn't really an 'explosion' so I think they filled the pants with gunpowder? Or something and blew them up just for the hell of it.