Episode Name:   Stinky Car

Original Air Date:   December 5, 2003

Myths:  Stinky Car, Raccoon Rocket

Stinky Car

The Myth: A really valuable car is on the market for a great price, but there is a catch. Someone died in the car and there is a residual odor. Even repeated cleanings can’t eliminate the stench.

The Experts:

Heather Joseph-Witham, folklorist, helps explain the myth. She says the myth states that a young man wants a really hot car, usually a sports car, but can’t afford it. The moral of the story is that a blue-collar guy will never be able to get something like this unless there is something wrong with it.

Neal Smither, Crime Scene Cleaners, specializes in biological cleanups. He shows Adam and Jamie the tricks of the trade, including a special enzyme cleaner. He says the myth is a fallacy.
 
Quotable Moments:

Adam at the beginning of the myth: "I’d go out right tonight and have, you know, some glazed ham."

Adam at the end of the myth: "I see myself as a vegetarian for at least the next couple weeks."

Jamie: "That pig’s gonna be one big bag of maggots."

Action/Results: The first step was to buy a really cool car. They find a 1987 Corvette. The second step is to acquire two dead pigs to mimic the dead body smell. They specifically wanted pigs that died of natural causes. Once the car and the pigs are acquired, the pigs are placed in the seats and the car is sealed. But there is a problem. Adam did not seal the car to Jamie’s satisfaction and Jamie had to reopen the car to reseal it. The car is then put into a shipping container for two months.

Meanwhile they take lessons on how to clean this type of mess. They get hands-on training with a coroner’s van and an enzyme cleaner.

After two months, the shipping container is opened. When the car is opened, it is raining inside and Jamie realizes that their suits are not waterproof. The pigs also have given off ammonia gas. Because of Jamie’s thorough sealing of the car, none of the gas escaped and he is almost overcome by the vapors. All of the "uncleanable" parts of the car are thrown away, including the carpet, seats and door panels. They come to the conclusion that the car is cleanable, but it is not practical to disassemble the car, clean every piece and then reassemble it. There is another problem: The car no longer starts.

It is time to sell the car. They place an Internet ad listing the good qualities of the car: It’s very shiny. Several buyers don’t want it because of the smell, but a junkyard offers $500. Adam and Jamie hold out for a better offer. They do manage to sell the car for $2,000 to someone who wants the engine and transmission. Myth Busted.

Myth: Raccoon Rocket:

The Myth: In 1998 in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, some good ol’ boys were hanging out drinking beer and notice a raccoon walk by. They open fire on it, but it escapes and takes refuge in a drainage pipe. One of the guys pours gasoline down the pipe and unsuccessfully tries to light the gasoline. He enters the pipe to better light the gasoline, which ignites and launches him out of the pipe, sending him over the house. He lands 200 feet away, apparently unharmed.

The Experts:

Heather Joseph-Witham, folklorist, helps explain this myth.
 
Action/Results: To test the myth, they buy a 20-foot long section of 3-foot diameter drainage pipe and a $25.98 toy stuffed raccoon. For safety reasons, Adam builds a remote-controlled lighter. Buster is elected to be the test subject. He is dressed in wool, which is fire resistant, and is doused in a flame retardant get so he doesn’t melt. They head out to a test area and using a back hoe set the pipe on a pile of dirt, partially burying it. They place Buster and the raccoon in the pipe and pour 5 gallons of gas down the pipe. When the gas is ignited, Adam compares the results to a small campfire, hardly capable of launching someone out the other end of the pipe.

Adam and Jamie decide to find out what it will take to launch someone out of a 3-foot diameter pipe. The solution is to make a sabot. In the weaponry world, a sabot is a collar that fits around a projectile that is too small for the barrel it is fired from. A sabot is fashioned for Buster using plywood and foam. With some assistance from John McLeod, a pyrotechnics expert, the sabot and Buster are placed into the drainage pipe along with 10 pounds of black powder. Without the sabot, the gasses would just pass Buster and not propel him. The bottom end of pipe is then sealed and buried. The black powder is ignited electronically and Buster is propelled out of the pipe about 100 feet. The conclusion is that no one could have survived that launch, much less one twice as far.  Myth Busted.
 

- episode description by ndgeoman & mrsgeekboy
Thanks, mrsgeekboy for letting him take over the TV!