# Time to Pit "Mythbusters". **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 8, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508 "2011-12-08T15:23:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/41 "2011-12-09T10:24:57Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > that’s the best you could come up with? Do you and yours often nap together at 4 in the afternoon? > > I find the claim dubious. Unless, of course, this is a trend that hasn’t caught on in my neck of the woods. > > And it was a Tuesday. Not even a weekend, where it could be possible, I suppose. > > So the kid isn’t in school, and the parents don’t work. Or they work all night and sleep during the day. > > ok. Or they telecommute, do shiftwork, both work parttime, have rostered days off that arent only weekend based, etc etc. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/42 "2011-12-09T11:05:34Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Bomb Disposal Range. > [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > AFAIK, it’s where the bomb squad does controlled detonations. Why would the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office need a place for bomb disposal or controlled detonations. Are there that many bombs being found in Alameda County? I used to work in law enforcement. In theory we might encounter bombs but as a practical matter it virtually never happened. If we had a situation where bombs might be involved we called in the military. They worked with explosives on a regular basis so they have people and equipment for handling bombs. It would have been foolish for us to have developed our own bomb handling capabilities when we’d probably go years without using them. I would expect the same situation would apply to Alameda County. I would think they might go for years without encountering a bomb on the job. And if they did, they’d called in the military experts to handle it. But apparently that’s not the case. Alameda County has its own bomb handling crew and its own bomb range. Does that mean the Alameda County law enforcement is working with bombs on a regular basis? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/43 "2011-12-09T11:08:09Z")
Perhaps the Alameda County Sherrif’s Department “inherited” the bomb range from the Navy when the latter closed some of its bases in said county? ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/44 "2011-12-09T14:41:23Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] Do police have any specific expertise when it comes to safely firing artillery? [/QUOTE] Haven’t got a clue, but these aren’t just regular police officers, they are explosives experts. I haven’t seen the episode, but assuming it was JD and Frank, both have high levels of expertise in that field. If they were given approval to use the bomb range in such a way then they would have had to have approval from whoever manages the range…which, presumably, means they would have had to submit even a cursory plan for what they were going to do, what safety precautions they were going to take and get approval. If the manager of the bomb range had questions or concerns then, again, they should have brought in specific experts at large fire arms. If they didn’t do any of the above then I’m sure it will come out in the law suit. Or if they brought up concerns and the Mythbusters hand waved or steam rolled over them then that will come out. I doubt both, however, but it’s possible. > [@](#): > > l can’t really think of why they would. Just the opposite…can’t really think why they wouldn’t (in their entire department), especially considering that they have helped out with several large scale fire arms myths in the past. And, again, these aren’t just regular police officers…they are explosives experts. Yeah, that doesn’t make you an expert on artillery, but the two things are closely related. > [@](#): > > I suspect “advisor” here was just the guy that ran the firing range, which I think is kind of worse then useless, as it gives the illusion of safety and expertize without any of the actual benefits. That’s true, if it’s the case (though I doubt that it was just a single ‘guy that ran the firing range’…it’s a bomb range, and they usually have several advisers, some on the show and some that aren’t). As conscious as they are of law suits (they are constantly talking about their lawyers giving them permission or denying them some action on the show) I seriously doubt that the Mythbusters were just winging this on the word of some guy that ran the bomb range and nothing else. YMMV, but that’s not the kind of vibe I’ve gotten from the show in the past. Rocket City Rednecks? Yeah, they are winging it. Mythbusters? I don’t think so. I could be wrong though, as I don’t have any personal knowledge, much as I’d like to have some personal knowledge of Kari… > [@](#): > > They should’ve got someone from the military, who no doubt have actual experience in firing artillery pieces, and ranges set up to do so. How do you know they didn’t? Or that they didn’t have some other advisers with specific expertise in period cannon? I’ve seen nothing but speculation so far that they were being reckless or casual in their approach to this myth…or that the folks they were listening to and who were advising them were not knowledgeable on the topics being addressed. -XT ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/45 "2011-12-09T15:36:04Z")
> [@R.P.McMurphy](#): > > Interesting. When Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg and spent 22 months in prison for it, (meanwhile Dick Cheney shot a hunting companion in the face and didn’t get charged), people said of Burress, “Yea, but what if someone else had been hit by the bullet.” Well, nobody was but still, 22 months in prison. Don’t be a dumbass, dumbass. Plaxico was sentenced for illegal possession of a handgun. Cheney’s having a shotgun was perfectly legal. Being an idiot isn’t a crime, usually. The two situations are not comparable. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/46 "2011-12-09T15:58:28Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > How do you know they didn’t? Or that they didn’t have some other advisers with specific expertise in period cannon? I’ve seen nothing but speculation so far that they were being reckless or casual in their approach to this myth…or that the folks they were listening to and who were advising them were not knowledgeable on the topics being addressed Well, speculation plus the fact that a cannonball went through someones house. Obviously something went wrong somewhere. I don’t think you can write it off as “shit happens”. The speculation is who screwed up how much, someone somewhere obviously did. I realize hindsight is 20-20, but it seems obvious that if your firing artillery, especially something like a cannonball which is notorious for bouncing around, you do so at a range where there’s nothing behind the target for some multiple of the maximum range of the cannon. Doing so where there’s an actual residential zone behind the target just seems idiotic. So my WAG is that its a case where everyone involved thought the other person knew what they were doing, and this cleared them of responsibility of thinking things through. The Mythbusters thought an explosive expert was basically the same as an artillery expert and so if he gave the OK things were peachy, and the explosive expert figured the Mythbusters owned the cannon and knew what they were doing and so he signed off on stuff. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/47 "2011-12-09T16:13:09Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] Well, speculation plus the fact that a cannonball went through someones house. Obviously something went wrong somewhere. I don’t think you can write it off as “shit happens”. The speculation is who screwed up how much, someone somewhere obviously did. [/QUOTE] Ok, so it’s speculation and conjecture, based on the false assumption that experts never do anything wrong or never fuck up. 😛 I think that the default position of ‘shit happens’ is still quite valid, until some hard evidence comes out showing negligence. > [@](#): > > I realize hindsight is 20-20, but it seems obvious that if your firing artillery, especially something like a cannonball which is notorious for bouncing around, you do so at a range where there’s nothing behind the target for some multiple of the maximum range of the cannon. Doing so where there’s an actual residential zone behind the target just seems idiotic. From what I’ve read they have done literally hundreds of live fire tests on that range without incident (according to an article I was reading last night the Mythbusters have done over 100 experiments there themselves). In hindsight, any accident COULD be avoided, obviously, since if you knew something was going to fuck up then you would have accounted for that. Again, I will await specific facts regarding negligence or failure to take proper safety precautions before I start blaming anyone for this. > [@](#): > > So my WAG is that its a case where everyone involved thought the other person knew what they were doing, and this cleared them of responsibility of thinking things through. The Mythbusters thought an explosive expert was basically the same as an artillery expert and so if he gave the OK things were peachy, and the explosive expert figured the Mythbusters owned the cannon and knew what they were doing and so he signed off on stuff. My own WAG is that they had competent people involved who did have knowledge of what they were doing, and a safety regiment in place and followed it, but that as in many real world events the safety regiment didn’t account for every single probable event, and so will now be revised and updated. Most tragedies that happen are due to unexpected events happening, which then triggers investigations, which then triggers new safety procedures. Rinse and repeat, because even people who are highly trained and experts in their fields can’t know or think of every single thing, or work through every permutation of possible events. Shit happens… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/48 "2011-12-09T16:28:08Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > Bada bing, bada bang, bada it’s [Beakman’s World](http://www.beakmansworldtv.com/)! :dubious: OK, so Beakman’s World is the gold standard that he was comparing Mythbusters to? My point was that **marshmallow** is full of shit about the “decline of edutaintment”. He hasn’t come back to prove otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/49 "2011-12-09T16:54:50Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > And the last bit is just utter crap: Mythbusters is one of the few shows actually doing science on TV now or ever. I’d struggle to think of any other. Most “science” shows just relate scientific findings, or at absolute best, replicate well known experiments. > > Yes, Mythbusters sometimes (too often in my view) just do stunts, weakly disguised as experiments. But Mythbusters also regularly do experiments that have never been done before. The outcome is sometimes surprising. Sure, even more often the outcome is obvious but, in case you haven’t noticed, testing the apparently obvious is precisely what scientists often do. > > Frankly, when a person thinks that what the Mythbusters do is not good science education I think they have failed a reasonable litmus test showing whether that person actually understands what science is. Damn fucking straight. I’ve never seen a real scientist trot out this tired criticism. Most of the scientists I know are big fans. The only people who say “Mythbusters aren’t scientific” are the moutherbreather wannabes who think they are “good at science” because they were good at memorizing shit in high school classes. Knowing shit isn’t science. Figuring out shit that you don’t already know by doing experiments? That is science. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/50 "2011-12-09T17:17:23Z")
I’ll start tuning in when they spend three or four seasons writing grant applications. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/51 "2011-12-09T17:25:30Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I’ll start tuning in when they spend three or four seasons writing grant applications. They already have a grant. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/52 "2011-12-09T17:28:28Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > They already have a grant. 😃 Suddenly, I dislike you slightly less. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/53 "2011-12-09T18:21:49Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > I’ll start tuning in when they spend three or four seasons writing grant applications. COMING UP ON MYTHBUSTERS! Adam and Jamie see if they get funded after caving to the demands of the third reviewer. And then, Torrie, Grant, and Kari try to figure out the mysterious “broader impact”! ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/54 "2011-12-09T19:44:33Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Suddenly, I dislike you slightly less. 😃 I thought exactly that! ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/55 "2011-12-10T02:26:20Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > I’m not that old so I might have missed them - what are some examples of great science television shows before the tragic decline of the last decade you speak of? The only one I remember is Bill Nye the Science Guy. Bill Nye and Wizard’s World were appropriate shows for elementary school kids, but I was thinking of the general decline of all the edutainment networks – the Discovery and History Channels being chief among them. I suppose MythBusters is better than American Chopper or Ice Road Truckers but that’s damning them with faint praise. > [@lazybratsche](#): > > The only people who say “Mythbusters aren’t scientific” are the moutherbreather wannabes who think they are “good at science” because they were good at memorizing shit in high school classes. So the mouth breathers are the ones who roll their eyes at a show consisting mostly of explosion porn being the go to science-y show on a network that used to put on shows on subjects from biology to cosmology. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/56 "2011-12-10T02:32:47Z")
I would disagree with the characterization of Mythbusters as being “mostly explosion porn.” Yeah, they have too many explosions, but as has already been pointed out, they do a lot of other interesting stuff as well. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/57 "2011-12-10T04:24:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Why exactly does that Alameda County Sheriff’s Office have a Bomb Range anyway? I know there’s some bad neighbourhoods in Oakland but are the police routinely calling for artillery support or air strikes? And right on cue, a relevant news story: [The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad responded to the scene and determined the bomb was authentic but inert. They took custody of the bomb.](http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/world-war-ii-ear-bomb-causes-tense-moments-san-lea/nFyL2/) ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/58 "2011-12-10T06:25:34Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > What exactly are you being skeptical of? [The child is 2](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/07/BAN31M9Q81.DTL), and it’s not unusual for a 2-year-old to take a nap in the afternoon (or any other time, really) with a family member. I’m not sure why the parents were home, but who cares? > [@Otara](#): > > Or they telecommute, do shiftwork, both work parttime, have rostered days off that arent only weekend based, etc etc. > > Otara Yeah, yeah… these are good points… I could see ONE parent, but not TWO. But whatever the case, it’s not relevant to the story. Which begs the question… Why is this board always so serious? It’s a story about a wayward Mythbusters cannonball, not starving children. I’ll try to remember to put 😃 after everything I type that I’m not expecting a lot of discussion on. I DO appreciate the effort, however. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/59 "2011-12-10T13:27:23Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Which begs the question… Why is this board always so serious? Do you want to know how the board got these scars ? ---
**Author:** ![Lilacs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Lilacs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lilacs)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2011, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508/60 "2011-12-10T15:25:18Z")
To me, Mythbusters takes some of the mystery out of science. I think that anytime someone can learn something and retain it, it’s a good thing. I’m not a scientist. You start telling me about chemical formulas and physics and I disengage my brain. I’ve actually learned something watching Mythbusters that I didn’t in school. And any time you can get kids interested in science, all the better. If the added entertainment of explosives bothers you, that’s your problem. From what I’ve seen, everyone involved with the show takes what happened with this cannon very seriously. Maybe the reaction is just for “show” or maybe not, but it certainly seems like no one has blown off what happened. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/time-to-pit-mythbusters/605508.md?page=4)