MythBusters (2009 season)

Thinking that the high viscosity of the syrup may have affected the results, Adam and Jamie replaced it with a mixture that was only slightly more viscous than water.

Based on the results for light and medium syrup, which they considered to be within the margin of error for their testing method, Adam and Jamie declared the myth plausible.

The Build Team was brought in to determine the terminal velocity, based on one specific type of skydiving suit and the diver's body position.

Next, the Build Team did some bungee jumping to find a way to accelerate the diver to terminal velocity without having to drop him from several hundred feet up.

The team set up the equipment at Mare Island Naval Shipyard, using the heavy-duty bungee cord and a pair of guide wires to make sure the diver dummy would hit the target accurately, and found that they could indeed reach 122 miles per hour.

For full-scale testing, Adam and Jamie started at a firing range and used a .45 caliber pistol to measure the distance a bullet would travel before hitting the ground.

Rupture discs calibrated to burst at 100 pounds per square inch (690 kPa) were set up at each distance as well, to evaluate the likelihood of a person's survival.

In a related test not aired in the actual episode but shown on the MythBusters website, Kari made an ice sculpture of a pig's head.

With accelerometers on his body to measure his speed changes, Buster was dropped from 20 feet (6 m) into the airbag and a dumpster full of foam rubber.

He and Jamie classified the myth as plausible but not recommended, since a person making the jump would have no way of knowing ahead of time whether the dumpster contents would safely break the fall.

After the suit was properly pressurized to 135 pounds per square inch (930 kPa) to match the water depth, they cut the air supply.

The pressure change caved in portions of the helmet and caused it to fill with flesh, blood, and organs from the body being crushed upward.

Adam and Jamie put a story of a prisoner's escape to the test, while the Build Team investigates a supposedly foolproof method for smugglers to avoid detection.

Realizing that the gas was probably leaking out around the plumbing pipes, they removed the fixtures and brought in the equivalent of 100,000 tablets' worth of solid and powdered antacid.

When the water was added, the resulting pressure—a peak of 4 pounds per square inch (28 kPa)—bent the door outward severely until the plastic lining burst at its lower edge.

In the end, Adam and Jamie agreed that while the method could perhaps be used to break open a prison cell, there was a fatal flaw; if the prisoner were inside the plastic, he or she would rapidly be overcome and suffocated by the amount of carbon dioxide released from the tablets, and if he or she were outside the plastic, the resulting pressure from the bag pressing on his or her body would cause compressive asphyxia and/or fatal internal injuries.

Finally, he put on a set of night vision goggles and attempted one more run, with Jessi chasing him on a go kart outfitted with a siren and flashing lights to simulate a police car.

Adam and Jamie test the Hollywood cowboy's ability to shoot a gun out of a villain's hand, while the Build Team tries to re-create a big-budget bus jump.

This rig did not work properly, so he removed the side barrel and attached a second grip upside down on top of the revolver frame, mounted on a swivel.

Owing to the difficulty of hitting the small target of the revolver, the high risk of shrapnel injuries, and the unpredictable reactions of the person holding the weapon, Adam and Jamie classified the myth as busted.

This time, the ranking (in descending order of average germ count) was sponge, money, keyboard, toilet seat, and light switch.

A notice appears after the end credits, honoring rocketry expert Erik Gates, who contributed materials and expertise for several segments.

[7] When the Build Team loaded the bamboo cannon with industrial powder and set it off, the resulting explosion destroyed the barrel and wrecked "Kirk", but the Gorn was undamaged.

Finally, they made a second cannon, reinforced its breech with plywood, and fired it with the same charge, injuring "Kirk" far worse than the Gorn and leading the team to declare the myth busted.