''MythBusters'' is a science entertainment television program, developed by Peter Rees and produced by Australia's
Beyond Television Productions
Beyond International Limited is an international television and film production company with operations in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (), the company is involved in ...
. The series premiered on the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
on January 23, 2003. It was broadcast internationally by many television networks and other Discovery channels worldwide. The show's original hosts,
special effects
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
experts
Adam Savage
Adam Whitney Savage (born July 15, 1967) is an American special effects designer and fabricator, actor, educator, and television personality and producer, best known as the former co-host (with Jamie Hyneman) of the Discovery Channel televisi ...
and
Jamie Hyneman
James Franklin Hyneman (born September 25, 1956) is an American special effects expert who is best known as the former co-host of the television series ''MythBusters'' alongside Adam Savage, where he became known for his distinctive beret and wal ...
, used elements of the
scientific method
The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...
adage
An adage (; Latin: adagium) is a memorable and usually philosophical aphorism that communicates an important truth derived from experience, custom, or both, and that many people consider true and credible because of its longeval tradition, i.e. ...
s,
Internet video
Internet video (online video / cloud-based video) is the general field that deals with the transmission of digital video over the internet. Internet video exists in several formats, the most notable being MPEG-4i AVC, AVCHD, FLV, and MP3.
There ...
s, and news stories. The show was one of the most popular on Discovery Channel, being preceded only by ''
How It's Made
''How It's Made'' (''Comment c'est fait'' in French) is a Canadian documentary television series that premiered on January 6, 2001, on the Discovery Channel in Canada and the Science Channel in the United States. The program is produced in t ...
'' and ''
Daily Planet
The ''Daily Planet'' is a fictional newspaper appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Superman. The newspaper was first mentioned in ''Action Comics'' #23 (April 1940). The ''Daily Planet'' build ...
'', both in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Filmed in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and edited in
Artarmon, New South Wales
Artarmon is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 9 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Willoughby.
History
...
, ''MythBusters'' aired 282 total episodes before its cancellation at the end of the 2016 season in March. Planning and some experimentation took place at Hyneman's workshops in San Francisco; experiments requiring more space or special accommodations were filmed on location, typically around the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
and other locations in
northern California
Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
, going to other states or even countries on occasion when required.
During the second season, members of Savage's and Hyneman's behind-the-scenes team were organized into a second team of MythBusters ("The Build Team"). They generally tested myths separately from the main duo and operated from another workshop. This arrangement continued until August 2014, when it was announced at the end of " Plane Boarding" that
Tory Belleci
Salvatore "Tory" Paul Belleci (born October 30, 1970) is an American television personality and model maker, best known for his work on the Discovery Channel television program ''MythBusters''. He has also worked with Industrial Light and Magic on ...
,
Kari Byron
Kari Elizabeth Byron (born December 18, 1974) is an American television host, best known for her role on the ''MythBusters'' and ''White Rabbit Project'' series.
Early life
Byron was born in the Bay Area, California. She graduated from Los Gat ...
, and
Grant Imahara
Grant Masaru Imahara (October 23, 1970 – July 13, 2020) was an American electrical engineer, roboticist, and television host. He was best known for his work on the television series '' MythBusters'', on which he designed and built numero ...
would be leaving the show. Savage and Hyneman subsequently hosted the final two seasons alone. On October 21, 2015, it was announced that ''MythBusters'' would air its 14th and final season in 2016. The show aired its final episode with the original cast on March 6, 2016.
On November 15, 2017, sister network
Science Channel
Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...
revived the series with new hosts
Jon Lung
Jonathan Lung is an American television personality, industrial designer and graphic designer, known as a co-host on the Science Channel TV series ''MythBusters'', which premiered November 15, 2017, and is a revival of the 2003 – 2016 incarnation ...
and Brian Louden, who were selected via the competition spin-off '' MythBusters: The Search''. The revival was filmed in
Santa Clarita
Santa Clarita (; Spanish for "Little St. Clare") is a city in northwestern Los Angeles County in the U.S. state of California. With a 2020 census population of 228,673, it is the third-largest city by population in Los Angeles County, the 17t ...
and on location in other parts of
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, airing for two seasons that lasted until 2018. Savage would later return in ''
MythBusters Jr.
''MythBusters Jr.'' is a science entertainment television program created for the Science Channel and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series is a spin-off of the TV show ''MythBusters'' and follows its premise of exami ...
'', a spin-off featuring children.
The most recent iteration of the franchise, ''Motor Mythbusters'', was produced by Beyond Television and aired on
MotorTrend
''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 1998, when it was sold to ...
in 2021. Belleci returned for the series, and was joined by engineer
Bisi Ezerioha
Ndubisi "Bisi" Ezerioha (born January 6, 1972) is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American engineer, professional Auto racing, race car driver, entrepreneur and engine builder. He is the current CEO and Chief Engineer for Bisimoto Engineering. Ez ...
and mechanic Faye Hadley. The series focused on testing myths and urban legends about automobiles.
''MythBusters'' refers to both the name of the program and the
cast members
In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra (acting), extra for a particular role or part in a scr ...
who test the experiments.
History
The series concept was developed for the Discovery Channel as ''Tall Tales or True'' by
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
writer and producer Peter Rees of Beyond Productions in 2002. Discovery rejected the proposal initially because they had just commissioned a series on the same topic. Rees refined the pitch to focus on testing key elements of the stories rather than just retelling them. Discovery agreed to develop and co-produce a three-episode series
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
. Jamie Hyneman was one of a number of special-effects artists who were asked to prepare a casting video for network consideration. Rees had interviewed him previously for a segment of the popular science series '' Beyond 2000'' about the British–American
robot combat
Robot combat is a mode of robot competition in which custom-built machines fight using various methods to incapacitate each other. The machines have generally been remote-controlled vehicles rather than autonomous robots.
Robot combat compet ...
television series '' Robot Wars''. Adam Savage, who had worked with Hyneman in commercials and on the robot combat television series ''
BattleBots
''BattleBots'' (logo: Bꓭ)In season 10, the 2020-2021 TV season, the show introduced the "Bꓭ" logo is an American robot combat television series. The show was an adaptation of the British show '' Robot Wars'', in which competitors design and o ...
'', was asked by Hyneman to help co-host the show because, according to Savage, Hyneman thought himself too uninteresting to host the series on his own.
During July 2006, an edited 30-minute version of ''MythBusters'' began airing on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
in the UK. The episodes shown on the European Discovery Channel sometimes include extra scenes not shown in the United States version (some of these scenes are included eventually in "specials", such as " MythBusters Outtakes").
The 14th season, which premiered in January 2016, was the final season for the series with Savage and Hyneman.
Adam Savage returned to TV with the show ''
MythBusters Jr.
''MythBusters Jr.'' is a science entertainment television program created for the Science Channel and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series is a spin-off of the TV show ''MythBusters'' and follows its premise of exami ...
'', without his original co-host Jamie Hyneman, but with a cast of teenagers, hence the name. The show debuted on the
Science Channel
Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...
on January 2, 2019 with rebroadcasts every Saturday morning on Discovery, as well as international broadcasts.
Cast
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are the original MythBusters, and initially explored all the myths of the series using their combined experience with
special effects
Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
. The two worked at Hyneman's effects workshop,
M5 Industries
M5 Industries (M5) is a special effects company located in San Francisco, California, best known as the working lab of the TV series ''MythBusters''. Founded in 1997 by Jamie Hyneman, it specialized in producing props for movies and television. ...
; they made use of his staff, who often worked off-screen, with Hyneman and Savage usually shown doing most of the work at the shop. The show is narrated by Robert Lee, though in some regions, his voice is replaced by a local narrator.
As the series progressed, members of Hyneman's staff were introduced and began to appear regularly in episodes. Three such members, artist Kari Byron, builder Tory Belleci, and metal-worker
Scottie Chapman
This is a list of cast members of the television series '' MythBusters'' on the Discovery Channel. In addition to the core cast members, the ''MythBusters'' team includes several honorary MythBusters, and some recurring guests.
Cast
Curre ...
, were organized as a second team of MythBusters during the second season, dubbed the "Build Team". After Chapman left the show during the third season, Grant Imahara, a colleague of Hyneman's, was hired to provide the team with his electrical and
robotics
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
experience. Byron went on maternity leave in mid-2009, with her position on the Build Team temporarily filled by
Jessi Combs
Jessica Combs (July 27, 1980 – August 27, 2019) was an American professional racer, television personality, and metal fabricator. She set a women's land speed class record (four wheels) in 2013 and broke her own record in 2016. She was kno ...
Xtreme 4x4
PowerNation is an American automotive how-to enthusiast television program that began originally as ''PowerBlock''. The programming is produced by Gray Television, which purchased the assets of PowerNation's former owner Raycom Media in 2019. Po ...
''. Byron returned in the third episode of 2010 season. The Build Team worked at its own workshop, called M7, investigating separate myths from the original duo. Each episode typically alternated between the two teams covering different myths. During the Build Team's tenure, Belleci was the only member to appear in every myth that the team tested. At the end of the 2014 season finale " Plane Boarding", Savage and Hyneman announced that Byron, Belleci, and Imahara would not be returning in the 2015 season. This was reportedly over salary negotiations due to the rising cost of five hosts. Hyneman and Savage returned to being the sole hosts. Byron, Belleci, and Imahara went on to host
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
's ''
White Rabbit Project
White Rabbit is the name of a collaborative project including CERN, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research and other partners from universities and industry to develop a fully deterministic Ethernet-based network for general purpose data tra ...
folklorist
Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...
Heather Joseph-Witham, who explained the origins of certain myths, and other people who had first-hand experience with the myths being tested, but those elements were phased out early in the series. The MythBusters commonly consulted experts for myths or topics for which they needed assistance. These topics included firearms, for which they mostly consulted Lt. Al Normandy of the South San Francisco Police Department, and
explosives
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
, for which they consulted retired FBI explosives expert Frank Doyle and Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. The MythBusters often asked other people, such as those supplying the equipment being tested, what they knew about the myth under investigation. When guests were on the show, the MythBusters generally consulted them or included them in the experiments.
Episodes
No consistent system was used for organizing MythBusters episodes into
seasons
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...
. The program has never followed a typical calendar of on- and off-air periods. The official ''MythBusters'' website lists episodes by year. However, Discovery sells DVD sets for "seasons", which sometimes follow the calendar year and sometimes do not. In addition, Discovery and retail stores also sell "collections" which divide up the episodes in a different way; each collection has about 10 or 12 episodes from various seasons.
The following table is organized according to year of first broadcast.
Format
Each ''MythBusters'' episode focuses typically on two or more popular beliefs, Internet rumors, or other
myth
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...
s. Many of the myths are on mechanical effects as portrayed in live-action films and television of fictional incidents. The list of myths tested by the series is compiled from many sources, including the personal experiences of cast and crew, as well as fan suggestions, such as those posted on the Discovery Channel online MythBusters forums. Occasionally, episodes are produced in which some or all of the myths are related by theme, such as pirates or sharks, and occasionally these are dubbed as "
heme
Heme, or haem (pronounced / hi:m/ ), is a precursor to hemoglobin, which is necessary to bind oxygen in the bloodstream. Heme is biosynthesized in both the bone marrow and the liver.
In biochemical terms, heme is a coordination complex "consisti ...
Special" episodes. As of May 2009, four myths have required such extensive preparation and testing that they had entire episodes devoted solely to them, and four specials have been double-length. Several episodes (including the 2006 Holiday Special) have included the building of
Rube Goldberg machine
A Rube Goldberg machine, named after American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, is a chain reaction-type machine or contraption intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and (impractically) overly complicated way. Usually, these machi ...
s. Before a myth is introduced by the hosts, a myth-related drawing is made on a blueprint. After the hosts introduce the myth, a comical video explaining the myth is usually shown.
Experiment approach
The MythBusters typically test myths in a two-step process. In early episodes, the steps were described as "replicate the circumstances, then duplicate the results" by Savage. This means that first the team attempts to recreate the circumstances that the myth alleges, to determine whether the alleged result occurs; if that fails, they attempt to expand the circumstances to the point that will cause the described result, which often reveals that the claims of the myth are objectively ridiculous or impossible to achieve without specialized training or equipment. Occasionally, the team (usually Savage and Hyneman) holds a friendly competition between themselves to see which of them can devise a more successful solution to recreating the results. This is most common with myths involving building an object that can accomplish a goal (for example, rapidly cooling a
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
, or finding a needle in a haystack).
While the team obeys no specific formula in terms of physical procedure, most myths involve construction of various objects to help test the myth. They use their functional workshops to construct whatever is needed, often including mechanical devices and sets to simulate the circumstances of the myth. Human actions are often simulated by mechanical means to increase safety, and to achieve consistency in repeated actions. Methods for testing myths are usually planned and executed in a manner to produce visually dramatic results,This is self-acknowledged in season two's bathtub electrocution myth: nnouncer:"...but it wouldn't be ''MythBusters'' without pyrotechnics, so Adam's rigged up a flashpot to ignite when lethal electrocution occurs" Tory also dubs this "the MythBuster way," which generally involves explosions, fires, or vehicle crashes. Thus, myths or tests involving
explosives
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...
,
firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
s and
vehicle
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...
collisions
In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great f ...
are relatively common.
Tests are sometimes confined to the workshop, but often require the teams to be outside. Much of the outdoor testing during early seasons took place in the parking lot of M5, and occasionally M6 and M7. A
cargo container
An intermodal container, often called a shipping container, is a large standardized shipping container, designed and built for intermodal freight transport, meaning these containers can be used across different modes of transport – from ship ...
in the M7 parking lot commonly serves as an isolation room for dangerous myths, with the experiment being triggered from outside. However, budget increases have permitted more frequent travel to other locations in San Francisco and around the
Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
Naval Air Station Alameda
Naval Air Station Alameda (NAS Alameda) was a United States Navy Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, on San Francisco Bay.
NAS Alameda had two runways: 13–31 measuring and 07-25 measuring . Two helicopter pads and a control tower were ...
,
Naval Air Station Moffett Field
Moffett Federal Airfield , also known as Moffett Field, is a joint civil-military airport located in an unincorporated part of Santa Clara County, California, United States, between northern Mountain View and northern Sunnyvale. On November 10, ...
,
Concord Naval Weapons Station
Concord Naval Weapons Station was a military base established in 1942 north of the city of Concord, California at the shore of the Sacramento River where it widens into Suisun Bay. The station functioned as a World War II armament storage depot ...
,
Naval Station Treasure Island
Naval Station Treasure Island is a former United States Navy facility that operated on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay from 1942 to 1997.
History
During World War II, Treasure Island became part of the Treasure Island Naval Base, and serve ...
,
Marin Headlands
The Marin Headlands is a hilly peninsula at the southernmost end of Marin County, California, United States, located just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge, which connects the two counties and peninsulas. The entire area is pa ...
,
Hunters Point Naval Shipyard
The Hunters Point Naval Shipyard was a United States Navy shipyard in San Francisco, California, located on of waterfront at Hunters Point in the southeast corner of the city.
Originally, Hunters Point was a commercial shipyard established i ...
,
Mare Island Naval Shipyard
The Mare Island Naval Shipyard (MINSY) was the first United States Navy base established on the Pacific Ocean. It is located northeast of San Francisco in Vallejo, California. The Napa River goes through the Mare Island Strait and separates th ...
, and
Hamilton Air Force Base Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
Marina, California
Marina is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,359, up from 19,718 in 2010. The city is located along the central coast of California, west of Salinas and northeast of Monterey. It ...
's former
Fort Ord
Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay of the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, m ...
), and the
Alameda County
Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...
Sheriff's facility in
Dublin, California
Dublin (formerly, Dougherty, Alameda County, California, Amador and Dougherty's Station) is a suburban city of the East Bay in California. It is located within the Amador Valley of Alameda County, California, Alameda County's Tri-Valley region. ...
, especially the firing range, emergency-vehicles operation course, and bomb range. Occasionally, mainly for special episodes, production is out of state, or even out of the country.
Results are measured in a manner scientifically appropriate for the given experiment. Sometimes, results can be measured by simple numerical measurement using standard tools, such as
multimeter
A multimeter is a measuring instrument that can measure multiple electrical properties. A typical multimeter can measure voltage, resistance, and current, in which case it is also known as a volt-ohm-milliammeter (VOM), as the unit is equipped w ...
s for electrical measurements, or various types of
thermometer
A thermometer is a device that temperature measurement, measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a merc ...
s to measure temperature. To gauge results that do not yield numerical quantities, the teams commonly make use of several types of equipment that can provide other forms of observable effects. When testing physical consequences to a human body, which would be too dangerous to test on a living person, the MythBusters commonly use analogues. Initially, they mainly used crash-test dummies (usually, whatever form and function it possessed, it would be named Buster) for observing
blunt trauma
Blunt trauma, also known as blunt force trauma or non-penetrating trauma, is physical traumas, and particularly in the elderly who fall. It is contrasted with penetrating trauma which occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue ...
injury, and
ballistic gelatin
Ballistic gelatin is a testing medium designed to simulate the effects of bullet wounds in animal muscle tissue. It was developed and improved by Martin Fackler and others in the field of wound ballistics. It is calibrated to match porcine muscl ...
for testing
penetrating trauma
Penetrating trauma is an open wound injury that occurs when an object pierces the skin and enters a tissue of the body, creating a deep but relatively narrow entry wound. In contrast, a blunt or ''non-penetrating'' trauma may have some deep dama ...
. They have since progressed to using pig carcasses when an experiment requires a more accurate simulation of human flesh, bone, and organs. They have also occasionally molded real or simulated bones within ballistics gel for simulations of specific body parts. They have also used synthetic cadavers (or SynDavers) such as in the "Car Cushion" myth.
Both for the purposes of visual observation to determine a result and simply as a unique visual for the program,
high-speed camera
A high-speed camera is a device capable of capturing moving images with exposures of less than 1/1,000 second or frame rates in excess of 250 frames per second, fps. It is used for recording fast-moving objects as photographic images onto a storag ...
s are used during experiments and have become a trademark of the series. Very fast footage of moving objects in front of a measured scale is commonly used to determine the speed of the object.
Testing is often edited due to time constraints of a televised episode. It can often seem as if the teams draw results from fewer repetitions and a smaller
data
In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpreted ...
set than they actually have. During the "Outtakes Special", they specifically stated that while they are, in fact, very thorough in testing myths and repeat experiments many times in many different configurations, it is simply impossible to display the entire process during a program. Beginning in the fifth season, episodes typically contain a prompt for the viewer to visit the show's homepage to view outtake footage of either additional testing or other facets of the myths being tested. However, Savage himself has acknowledged that they do not purport always to achieve a satisfactorily large enough set of results to overcome definitively all
bias
Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...
. In response to criticisms they receive about their methods and results in previous episodes, the staff produced several "Myths Revisited" episodes in which the teams retest myths to see if the complaints have merit. These episodes have sometimes resulted in overturning results of several myths, as well as upholding some results for reasons different from the original.
Occasionally, the MythBusters take the opportunity to test "mini-myths" during the course of one of the episode's main myths, usually in the name of satisfying personal curiosity. These can either be planned in advance to take advantage of the testing location—for instance, in the "Peeing on the Third Rail" myth Adam got permission to find out if placing coins on a train track was sufficient to derail a train (he found that the test locomotive was not affected at all)—or can simply take place without prior planning.
MythBusters refuse to test some myths.
Paranormal
Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Nota ...
concepts, such as
aliens
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...
or
ghosts
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
, are not addressed because they cannot be tested by
scientific method
The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...
s, although one exception,
pyramid power
Pyramid power refers to the belief that the ancient Egyptian pyramids and objects of similar shape can confer a variety of benefits. Among these assumed properties are the ability to preserve foods,Bovis, Antoine. (Nice: Bovis, c. 1935). Transl ...
, prompted Adam to comment, "No more 'oogie-boogie' myths, please" and state at a tour show in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
in 2012 that it was a mistake. Another myth related to the paranormal was the "Haunted Hum" myth, which involved testing if a particular, inaudible sound frequency can lead people to believe that an area is haunted. The program generally avoids experiments harmful to live animals, though in one episode, they bombarded
cockroach
Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...
es and other laboratory insects with lethal doses of
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
; the cast addressed this, saying that the insects were specifically bred for experiments and would have likely died anyway. However, animal carcasses (including those of pigs and chickens) are often used, but the MythBusters have repeatedly emphasized that the animals have died of natural causes.
The book ''MythBusters: The Explosive Truth Behind 30 of the Most Perplexing Urban Legends of All Time'' () also gives a list of a dozen myths that are unlikely to be explored (although four were eventually tested). Savage has commented that testing myths that require them to disprove general claims is difficult because of the inherent difficulty in disproving a negative. As a result, when they do pursue such myths, they typically go about disproving specific methods that claim to achieve results.
Additionally, certain myths are not tested due to various objections by Discovery Channel or their advertisers, most notably myths pertaining to
radio-frequency identification
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...
vulnerability. Through nine seasons, a total of 2,391 experiments were performed and 12 tons of explosives were used to test 769 myths. The team has also expressed reluctance to test conspiracy theory myths such as the
JFK assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
By the end of each episode, the myths are rated "busted", "plausible", or "confirmed".
Busted
Myths are rated as "busted" when the myth's results cannot be replicated under either the described parameters or reasonably exaggerated ones. Often, when a myth is declared busted, the team will attempt to see what would be required to replicate the result of the myth through scientific means, discarding the original parameters of the myth itself. Going to absolute limits of what is physically possible to replicate the results is the origin of what is unofficially titled the ''Mythbusters'' motto, "If it's worth doing, it's worth ''over''doing." This is also commonly referred to in the series as "the MythBusters way", and often reveals that the circumstances required to accurately recreate a 'busted' myth are physically impossible or highly unlikely to occur with the scientific facts presented, or the equipment used in the myth used to gain the results is neither available to the general public, nor capable of producing the results. For example, when trying to see if diamonds can be made with a microwave, and the myth is busted, the team arranges with an expert to have diamonds created with a large quantity of explosives.
Some of these myths are retested if the viewers are dissatisfied with the results, and are declared "rebusted" if the results of this second attempt result in the same conclusions as the original attempts. On rare occasions, retested myths result in a conclusion different from the first attempt, usually going from "busted" the first time, to "plausible" or even "confirmed" on the retest.
Plausible
Plausible is given under a few circumstances:
*The myth's results can only be replicated by expanding some parameters of the myth by a realistic and reasonable margin. This may have been because of the myth having been altered slightly over time by it being told and retold by the time it was tested by the MythBusters. Also, certain materials may have had to be substituted for others in some cases as a matter of necessity during the course of the myth being tested, but the new materials are almost always very similar to the materials specified and usually are readily available, so as to prevent it from being prohibitively costly or impractical.
*Plausible is given if no documentation of the myth occurred at the time of the episode's production, yet the MythBusters were still able to duplicate it very closely as to how the myth was described (such as the myth that pirates wore eye patches to keep their night vision, or an untrained pilot was talked through landing an airplane).
*If the myth's results are achieved using the method described, but the underlying reason is different from the one described in the myth (such as in the myth of throwing a fire extinguisher into a fire to make it explode and extinguish the fire)
*If it requires a highly improbable set of circumstances, yet is shown to be possible under similar yet artificial circumstances, plausible is used. For example, in the myth of " Can two colliding bullets fuse together?", two bullets were shown to fuse together, but would be exceedingly difficult to actually get two period guns with period ammunition to collide in the correct way to cause the result. The results can be created in a similar laboratory setting, but the chances of the myth actually happening as described are remote.
*If the results stated in the myth are attainable, but in such a way as to make the process either highly dangerous or less efficient than more common methods of achieving the same result, it is used. For example, in " Car vs. Rain", the MythBusters declared the myth "plausible (but not recommended)", due to the danger in driving a car at high speeds on a wet road, though the myth was completely true.
*Plausible is used if a positive result is attained using surrogates for living creatures, but the procedure would result in injury or death if an actual creature was tested. For example, in " Holiday Special", two ballistics-gel replicas of pet dogs were used to test the myth that a falling frozen turkey would crush a household pet; both replicas sustained serious injuries, as determined by a veterinarian, and the myth was dubbed "plausible", as the Build Team was unwilling to test the myth on actual pets.
*Occasionally, a myth is labelled plausible if the described scenario produces a result similar to, but of less intensity than, the one described in the myth.
Confirmed
The term "true" was used instead of "confirmed" in the first season.
* The MythBusters are able to recreate or closely recreate the myth's purported outcome with the described circumstances. A "confirmed" myth is usually corroborated with documented evidence of actual occurrences.
* If the myth lacks any specific scenarios, the MythBusters test every reasonable scenario, and just one scenario is enough for them to confirm the myth. For example, when testing to see whether
shooting fish in a barrel {{Short pages monitor
Hyneman, Savage, and others from the ''MythBusters'' crew have appeared at
The Amaz!ng Meeting
The Amazing Meeting (TAM), stylized as The Amaz!ng Meeting, was an annual conference that focused on science, skepticism, and critical thinking; it was held for twelve years. The conference started in 2003 and was sponsored by the James Randi Educ ...
, and subsequently were interviewed by
Steven Novella
Steven Paul Novella (born July 29, 1964) is an American clinical neurologist and associate professor at Yale University School of Medicine. Novella is best known for his involvement in the skeptical movement as a host of ''The Skeptics' Guide t ...
and the "skeptical rogues" for the podcast
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe
''The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe'' (''SGU'') is an American weekly skeptical podcast hosted by Steven Novella, MD, along with a panel of contributors. The official podcast of the New England Skeptical Society, it was named to evoke ''Th ...
. On April 16, 2010, Hyneman and Savage received the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism from the Harvard Humanist Chaplaincy.
On October 18, 2010, President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, as part of the
White House Science Fair
The USA Science & Engineering Festival is a bi-annual science festival held in Washington, D.C. Founded in 2010 by Larry Bock, the festival is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in the U ...
, announced he had taped a segment of ''MythBusters'' and would appear on December 8, 2010. Obama's segment covered the
Archimedes
Archimedes of Syracuse (;; ) was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists ...
solar ray myth.
Both men appeared at the
Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear
The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was a gathering that took place on October 30, 2010, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The rally was led by Jon Stewart, host of the satirical news program ''The Daily Show'', and Stephen Colbert ...
on October 30, 2010, in Washington, DC. They had an experiment with the crowd involving the wave. They had the audience make various noises (e.g. popping their cheeks or laughing) all at the same time. They also had everyone in the crowd jump up at the same time to see if it would register on a
seismograph
A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The output ...
.
Hyneman and Savage received
honorary doctorates
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
from the
University of Twente
The University of Twente (Dutch: ''Universiteit Twente''; , abbr. ) is a public technical university located in Enschede, Netherlands.
The university has been placed in the top 170 universities in the world by multiple central ranking tables. ...
in the Netherlands for their role in popularizing science, on the occasion of the university's 50th anniversary, on November 25, 2011.
As of November 2011, all five MythBusters have also appeared in new shows, segments or specials for Discovery's
Science Channel
Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...
, including '' Head Rush'' (Byron, 2010–present); ''
Punkin Chunkin
Punkin chunkin, or as it is sometimes called pumpkin chucking, is the sport of hurling a pumpkin solely by mechanical means for distance. The devices used include slingshots, catapults, centrifugals, trebuchets, and pneumatic (air) cannons.
...
2010'' (Hyneman and Savage); ''Flying Anvils 2011'' (Belleci); ''Road to Punkin Chunkin 2011'' and ''Punkin Chunkin 2011'' (Belleci, Byron and Imahara); ''Large Dangerous Rocket Ships 2010 and Large Dangerous Rocket Ships 2011'' (Byron); "Killer Robots: RoboGames 2010" (Imahara); ''
Curiosity
Curiosity (from Latin '' cūriōsitās'', from ''cūriōsus'' "careful, diligent, curious", akin to ''cura'' "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans ...
'' (Savage); ''Punkin Chunkin 2012'' (Belleci, Byron and Imahara). Savage and Hyneman are judges on the game show '' Unchained Reaction'' which premiered in March 2012. Belleci and Byron are also hosts of the 2015 Science Channel show ''Thrill Factor''.
Aired on February 12, 2012, Hyneman and Savage lent their voices to ''
The Simpsons
''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' episode "
The Daughter Also Rises
"The Daughter Also Rises" is the thirteenth episode of the twenty-third season of the American animated television series ''The Simpsons''. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on February 12, 2012. The episode parodies the ...
" to be featured on a show similar to ''MythBusters ''called ''Mythcrackers'' in which Hyneman and Savage take on the classic myth that a cat always lands on its feet. In the episode, they do not want to harm a real cat, so they took a
Build A Bear
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is an American retailer headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals and characters. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice ...
carcass, stuffed it with ballistics gel, shot it with a 20-foot barrel steam cannon, then made a scatter plot of the remains. By the end of the experiment, Hyneman asked, "What was it we were trying to prove again?", to which Savage replied, "Don't know, don't care." Clips from this show appeared in the ''MythBusters ''Simpsons'' Special that first aired in 2015.
On October 3, 2012, Byron and Belleci made a guest appearance on the Discovery series ''
Sons of Guns
''Sons of Guns'' is a reality television series that aired on the Discovery Channel between 2011 and 2014. The series centers on Red Jacket Firearms LLC, a Louisiana-based business that manufactures and sells custom firearms to law enforcement, se ...
''. They test-fired some of the weapons in the Red Jacket shop, then watched as the staff retested a myth busted by the Build Team in 2008, that a
propane
Propane () is a three-carbon alkane with the molecular formula . It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure, but compressible to a transportable liquid. A by-product of natural gas processing and petroleum refining, it is commonly used a ...
tank could explode when hit with a bullet.
In 2015, Hyneman and Savage appeared in a series of Australian television commercials for
Dulux
Dulux is an internationally available brand of architectural paint originated from the United Kingdom. The brand name Dulux has been used by both Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) and DuPont since 1931 and was one of the first alkyd-based pa ...
paint, depicting them testing the maker's claims of durability.
In 2016, a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' study of the 50 television shows with the most
Facebook like
The like button on the social networking website Facebook was first enabled on February 9, 2009. The like button enables users to easily interact with status updates, comments, photos and videos, links shared by friends, and advertisements. Onc ...
s found that ''MythBusters'' "has the second-highest share of 'likes' from men of any show in the data, after ''
Fast N' Loud
''Fast N' Loud'' was a reality-styled Discovery Channel TV show featuring Richard Rawlings and his crew from the Dallas, Texas-based Gas Monkey Garage as they search for tired and run-down cars, and restore them for profit.
The show was success ...
''."
Tours and exhibits
A traveling museum exhibit called "MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition" was developed over the course of about five years, premiering at the
Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago
The Museum of Science and Industry (MSI) is a science museum located in Chicago, Illinois, in Jackson Park (Chicago), Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood between Lake Michigan and The University of Chicago. It is house ...
, in March 2012.
In 2011, Savage and Hyneman created a live stage show called the ''MythBusters Behind the Myths'' Tour, in which they conduct experiments on-stage and discuss some background details of the show.
In March 2014, they announced that the tour would be coming to Australia and New Zealand.
The show and one particular episode (involving the myth of a cigarette being able to cause a fire when thrown into a pool of gasoline) was credited with helping to free a man from prison.
International broadcasts
''MythBusters'' is broadcast in several countries, primarily by each country's version of the Discovery Channel. In some countries, the English speech is either subtitled in the relevant language, or the narration voice-over is replaced, or the entire show (narration and hosts' voices) is dubbed. The
United States customary units
United States customary units form a system of measurement units commonly used in the United States and U.S. territories since being standardized and adopted in 1832. The United States customary system (USCS or USC) developed from English units ...
, used by the hosts throughout the show, are converted to
metric
Metric or metrical may refer to:
* Metric system, an internationally adopted decimal system of measurement
* An adjective indicating relation to measurement in general, or a noun describing a specific type of measurement
Mathematics
In mathema ...
in the process. In the UK since 2011, the use of US customary units in the show has often been retained, rather than being replaced with metric units. Sometimes, the part where the myth is explained in sketches is completely redrawn in that language. Excerpts of the show were also shown as part of the Beyond Television–produced '' Beyond Tomorrow''. It also shows in Hong Kong's
ViuTVsix
ViuTVsix is a free-to-air English language general entertainment television channel in Hong Kong operated by HK Television Entertainment (HKTVE), whose parent company, PCCW, also operates IPTV platform Now TV and media streaming service Viu.
Th ...
.
Revival and spin-offs
In late March 2016, ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' revealed that Discovery's sister network Science Channel was planning to produce a revival of ''MythBusters'' with a new cast, and that its hosts would be determined by a
reality competition
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
spin-off, ''Search for the Next MythBusters'' (later renamed '' MythBusters: The Search''), which was hosted by Nerdist's Kyle Hill. The revival, hosted by Brian Louden and
Jon Lung
Jonathan Lung is an American television personality, industrial designer and graphic designer, known as a co-host on the Science Channel TV series ''MythBusters'', which premiered November 15, 2017, and is a revival of the 2003 – 2016 incarnation ...
, would premiere its first, 14-episode season on November 15, 2017.
In September 2016, Beyond announced it was producing a new original series for
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, ''
White Rabbit Project
White Rabbit is the name of a collaborative project including CERN, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research and other partners from universities and industry to develop a fully deterministic Ethernet-based network for general purpose data tra ...
'', starring Byron, Belleci, and Imahara. It ran for one season of 10 episodes.
In April 2018, Adam Savage was announced to be returning to the franchise to host and executive produce a new spin-off, ''
MythBusters Jr.
''MythBusters Jr.'' is a science entertainment television program created for the Science Channel and produced by Australia's Beyond Television Productions. The series is a spin-off of the TV show ''MythBusters'' and follows its premise of exami ...
'', with a 10-episode first season, which premiered in December 2018 with a sneak-peek episode, and the series officially starting January 2, 2019. The series features Savage working with a group of six young scientists. Savage stated that his goal for the series was to "start passing on everything to the next generation" as he grows older.
In 2021, an automotive-focused spin-off was produced called ''Motor MythBusters'', with original Build Team member Tory Belleci being joined by Faye Hadley of the ''All Girls Garage'' series and professional race car driver
Bisi Ezerioha
Ndubisi "Bisi" Ezerioha (born January 6, 1972) is a Nigerian Americans, Nigerian-American engineer, professional Auto racing, race car driver, entrepreneur and engine builder. He is the current CEO and Chief Engineer for Bisimoto Engineering. Ez ...
. Robert Lee once again provided some voice over work for this series. The 13-episode series, which premiered on August 4, 2021, was initially only available on the
Motor Trend
''MotorTrend'' is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, and designated the first Car of the Year, also in 1949.
Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles published ''MotorTrend'' until 19 ...
app in the United States, before being released through
Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...
, and having its premiere on Motor Trend's TV channel on January 18, 2022. In 2021 Beyond also repackaged segments from the original series grouped into themed episodes to create a spin-off called ''MythBusters: There's Your Problem!''.
Savage has stated that he is unlikely to work with Hyneman on any future projects, stating that although they worked well together as a classic example of a
double act
A double act (also known as a comedy duo) is a form of comedy originating in the British music hall tradition, and American vaudeville, in which two comedians perform together as a single act. Pairings are typically long-term, in some cases f ...
(with Hyneman as the
straight man
The straight man is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically, the straight man is expected to maintain composure. The direct contribution to the ...
), their personalities clashed off-screen and on-screen. Savage suspected that both he and Hyneman were enjoying spending time apart from each other.
Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger
''Bigger, Better, Faster, Stronger'' was a New Zealand science-based reality television series broadcast on TV3. Each episode saw the two hosts, James Coleman and Greg Page, work to produce a "new and improved" version of a household appliance or ...
''
* ''
The Boffin, the Builder and the Bombardier
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
Food Detectives
''Food Detectives'' was a food science show hosted by Ted Allen that aired in North America on Food Network from July to September 2008. Ted Allen, backed by research conducted by ''Popular Science'' magazine, investigated food-related beliefs, s ...
''
* ''
It's Effin' Science
''It's Effin' Science'' was an American television show on G4 (U.S. TV channel), G4. It was hosted by Angie Greenup, Marc Horowitz and Chad Zdenek and produced by Renegade Productions. Filming was based in Los Angeles, California and 10 episodes ...
''
* ''Man vs. Cartoon''
* ''
Mega Builders
''Mega Builders'' is a documentary television series appearing on the Discovery Channel and Science Channel. Each episode takes a look into the people and the machines involved into the construction of many huge engineering projects.
Episode lis ...
''
* ''
Prototype This!
''Prototype This!'' is an American television with the stated goal to "look into the viability of gadgets and technology seen in science-fiction movies". The series premiered on October 15, 2008, on The Discovery Channel. It was filmed on Treasure ...
''
* ''
Proving Ground
A proving ground (US) is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. ...
Scrapheap Challenge
''Scrapheap Challenge'' is a British television show where teams of contestants build a working machine that can perform a specific task, using materials available in a scrapyard. The series features teams of four or five members who are given ...
''
* ''
Smash Lab
''Smash Lab'' is a reality television series that premiered on December 26, 2007, on the Discovery Channel. The idea of the show is to take everyday technology and test it in "extraordinary ways".
The show started broadcasting in the UK on 3 Marc ...
''
* ''
Time Warp
Time travel is a common theme in fiction, mainly since the late 19th century, and has been depicted in a variety of media, such as literature, television, film, and advertisements.
The concept of time travel by mechanical means was popularize ...
Urban Legends
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
''
* ''
White Rabbit Project
White Rabbit is the name of a collaborative project including CERN, GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research and other partners from universities and industry to develop a fully deterministic Ethernet-based network for general purpose data tra ...
''
General
*
List of common misconceptions
Each entry on this list of common misconceptions is worded as a correction; the misconceptions themselves are implied rather than stated. These entries are concise summaries of the main subject articles, which can be consulted for more detail.
...
* ''
The Skeptic's Dictionary
''The Skeptic's Dictionary'' is a collection of cross-referenced skeptical essays by Robert Todd Carroll, published on his website skepdic.com and in a printed book. The skepdic.com site was launched in 1994 and the book was published in 2003 wi ...
The Straight Dope
"The Straight Dope" was a question-and-answer newspaper column written under the pseudonym Cecil Adams. Contributions were made by multiple authors, and it was illustrated (also pseudonymously) by Slug Signorino. It was first published in 1973 in ...
*
Urban legend
An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{authority control
2003 American television series debuts2003 Australian television series debuts2016 American television series endings2016 Australian television series endings
2017 American television series debuts
2017 Australian television series debuts
2018 American television series endings
2018 Australian television series endings
American educational television series
Australian educational television series
Discovery Channel original programming
Science Channel original programming
English-language television shows
American non-fiction television series
Australian non-fiction television series
Scientific skepticism mass media
Television series about urban legends
Television shows set in San Francisco
Television series by Beyond Television Productions
Television in the San Francisco Bay Area
American television series revived after cancellation
Australian television series revived after cancellation
Television shows set in Los Angeles County, California
Shorty Award winners