# Doper's thoughts on Mythbusters... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 26, 2004, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137 "2004-01-26T11:38:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/41 "2004-01-29T17:35:30Z")
I like this show. Who doesn’t want to make a cannon to fire frozen chickens at an airplane windshield? (I have wanted to since I first heard that story.) Yes, the science can be shaky, and the contortions they got through to make things work can be extreme, but this show is more about finding a way to make an approximation, then about definitively proving anything. Too many people would look at one of these myths, and say that they have no idea what to do to prove/disprove it. To me, this show is all about teaching people to use their imaginations and their brains. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/42 "2004-01-29T19:14:17Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > Their finding on the “Better to walk or run in the rain” question were the opposite of Cecil’s. > > So, because Cecil isn’t “real” you’re going to completely ignore a report from \JAMA\ ( a respected medical journal ) cited by Jan Brunvand ( who is widely acknowledged as THE preeminent expert in Urban Legends ) in favor of a couple of TV yahoos and their 8th grade science project? How remarkabley…pigheaded, fanboy. How about you don’t words into my mouth their buddy. Where did I state that I completely disregard anything and/or everything he asserts? Well, I didn’t. I merely stated that I hold something that I’ve seen with my own two eyes with much more value than some group of writers who expect one to take everything they state at face value (which opposes this website’s motto). ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/43 "2004-01-29T19:14:20Z")
Just wanted to apologise for that last comment in my above post, it came out harsher than I intended, especially for this forum. I like the show too, but I am not going to be blinded to outside evidence from other sources just because I’m a fan of the show and those two couldn’t replicate the legend on the set. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/44 "2004-01-29T19:17:04Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > Just wanted to apologise for that last comment in my above post, it came out harsher than I intended, especially for this forum. I like the show too, but I am not going to be blinded to outside evidence from other sources just because I’m a fan of the show and those two couldn’t replicate the legend on the set. Fair enough, I didn’t mean anything offensive by my posts either; but it’s difficult to compose an opinion that finds a middle ground between asshole and wussy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/45 "2004-01-29T19:17:18Z")
> [@](#): > > cited by Jan Brunvand ( who is widely acknowledged as THE preeminent expert in Urban Legends ) I would be extremely hesitant to trust Brunvand. He’s much more concerned about how and why the stories spread than about their truth, and he often jumps to conclusions based on insufficient or nonexistant evidence. For instance, he dismisses the “Want a cookie” computer program story as clearly fictitious, since any computer scientist can tell you a dozen reasons why such a program is absolutely utterly impossible. Except that I’ve personally written one, as have many other programmers. And he considers it absolutely ludicrous that a college student might accidentally leave an important paper or folder on the roof of the car, on the way to class. Again, I’ve seen people leave things on the roof, including paperwork, when getting ready to drive some place. _JAMA_ may be reputable, but that reputability has nothing to do with Brunvand citing them. What gives me a kick was my dad complained earlier this week about how Mythbusters isn’t very scientific because they trust the experiment, instead of the “real” answer. After all, _everyone_ knows that microwaves heat food from the inside out, so that’s what they should have said. (his proof for this, by the way, was that he heated an egg in the microwave, and the outside of the egg got hot.) ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/46 "2004-01-29T19:17:37Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > How about you don’t words into my mouth their buddy. Where did I state that I completely disregard anything and/or everything he asserts? Well, I didn’t. I merely stated that I hold something that I’ve seen with my own two eyes with much more value than some group of writers who expect one to take everything they state at face value (which opposes this website’s motto). Hmm. Simalpost. In any event, it seems to me that in this case, Cecil isn’t asking you to take what he said “at face value”, he provided cites from legitimate sources that you seem to have chosen to ignore completely. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/47 "2004-01-29T19:20:52Z")
Anyways, all I’m saying is that their “8th grade science projects” are true to themselves and either prove or disprove the myth based on the methods their utilizing, at that point it’s up the viewer to determine whether that translates to them actually busting the myth or not. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/48 "2004-01-29T19:25:56Z")
> [@Weirddave](#): > > Hmm. Simalpost. In any event, it seems to me that in this case, Cecil isn’t asking you to take what he said “at face value”, he provided cites from legitimate sources that you seem to have chosen to ignore completely. Where does this “ignore” concept come into play? I don’t disregard anything he says, all I know is that various “sources’ aren’t always correct, and there’s no way for “Cecil” to know that. I respect MythBusters on the grounds that they do more than mere research, they try to prove or disprove a myth with methods that are clearly exhibited on television. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/49 "2004-01-29T20:06:25Z")
And, in an interesting coincidence, on the show’s [webpage](http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/about/about.html), they list The Straight Dope as a weblink under “our selection of myths to explore was inspired by a number of Web sites, including:” _waves_ Hi Adam! Hi Jamie! ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/50 "2004-01-29T20:06:42Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > Where does this “ignore” concept come into play? I don’t disregard anything he says, all I know is that various “sources’ aren’t always correct, and there’s no way for “Cecil” to know that. I respect MythBusters on the grounds that they do more than mere research, they try to prove or disprove a myth with methods that are clearly exhibited on television. Their methods are sometimes lacking. The source you choose to disregard in this case is a peer reviewed scientific journal. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/51 "2004-01-29T20:20:55Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > Their methods are sometimes lacking. The source you choose to disregard in this case is a peer reviewed scientific journal. Did you not read anything I said? I directly referenced your first statement in an earlier comment, that apparently you overlooked. Second, now you’re putting words into my mouth. I never said I “disregard the straight dope”. I’d appreciate it if you read my comments first before you wasted my time. As for Myth Busters being inspired by Straight Dope, so what? Currently I’m working on a website which was inspired by mediocre others (before you guys get the jump on putting words into my mouth, again, I am not referencing the Straight Dope in regards to the current comment), thus I have no idea your intentions when you decided to quote that. Anyways, I feel discussing thus matter any further will not yield any positive results and will merely result in reiterations of past avowal’s. I am now done responding in this topic. I hope you guys feel the same way. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/52 "2004-01-30T02:31:08Z")
> [@Seven](#): > > I thought their Alcatrez escape show was great. They built the raft and made it off the island onto the mainland in quick order. While it doesn’t bust the myth of the three prisoners, they did prove they in fact COULD have made it. I thought this was the single best one they did. The conventional wisdom really was that the prisoners probably drowned; I saw that repeated in almost every account of the escape. And then these guys proved it wasn’t even that hard. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2004, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/53 "2004-01-30T03:59:51Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > Did you not read anything I said? I directly referenced your first statement in an earlier comment, that apparently you overlooked. Second, now you’re putting words into my mouth. I never said I “disregard the straight dope”. I’d appreciate it if you read my comments first before you wasted my time. > > …Anyways, I feel discussing thus matter any further will not yield any positive results and will merely result in reiterations of past avowal’s. I am now done responding in this topic. I hope you guys feel the same way. I read your posts. I continue to disagree with them. Let me put it to you this way: Mythbusters did an experiment which they think proves that a person could not suffer injury from a vacuum toilet, and you agree with them. Cecil cites the Journal of the American Medical Association, which states that an elderly woman did in fact suffer an intestinal injury from a vacuum toilet. Furthermore, there are documented cases of people suffering similar injuries from pool drains. [Link](http://www.kirby-holt.com/Areas_of_Practice/rep_child.htm) [Link](http://www.lifesaving.com/issues/articles/17pool_spa_entrapment.html) While a pool drain is not the same as a vacuum toilet, they both involve a motorized pump. Therefore, if you continue to agree with Mythbusters, you are in fact disregarding a scientific journal, and similar documented cases. If I am “putting words in your mouth”, it is only because they are a logical consequence of your own statements. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/54 "2004-01-30T04:31:10Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > I read your posts. I continue to disagree with them. > > Let me put it to you this way: Mythbusters did an experiment which they think proves that a person could not suffer injury from a vacuum toilet, and you agree with them. Cecil cites the Journal of the American Medical Association, which states that an elderly woman did in fact suffer an intestinal injury from a vacuum toilet. Furthermore, there are documented cases of people suffering similar injuries from pool drains. [Link](http://www.kirby-holt.com/Areas_of_Practice/rep_child.htm) [Link](http://www.lifesaving.com/issues/articles/17pool_spa_entrapment.html) While a pool drain is not the same as a vacuum toilet, they both involve a motorized pump. Therefore, if you continue to agree with Mythbusters, you are in fact disregarding a scientific journal, and similar documented cases. If I am “putting words in your mouth”, it is only because they are a logical consequence of your own statements. You apparently didn’t read my posts hard enough :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2004, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/55 "2004-01-30T06:05:12Z")
> [@Duderdude2](#): > > You apparently didn’t read my posts hard enough :rolleyes: Maybe you should write harder. So Mythbusters shows us their experiments on TV. Great. I think some of their work is less conclusive then they, and you, appear to think it is. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2004, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/56 "2004-01-30T06:10:38Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > Maybe you should write harder. > > So Mythbusters shows us their experiments on TV. Great. I think some of their work is less conclusive then they, and you, appear to think it is. I did that that, thank you very much. I don’t see why you care do much about what I think of a TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Duderdude2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@Duderdude2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duderdude2)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2004, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137/57 "2004-01-30T06:11:46Z")
Bah, screw the typo, I’m done here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-thoughts-on-mythbusters/226137.md?page=2)