Episode Name:  Lightning Strikes/Tongue Piercing

Original Air Date:   November 7, 2003

Myths:   Lightning Strikes/Tongue Piercing, Tree Cannon, Beat the Breathalizer

Myth:  Tongue Stud Lightning Rod
On August 2003, Matt Thomson got hit by lightning in Colorado. Did his metal stud attract lightning?

The Experts:
Joann Wyman - tattoo/body piercing, (gave Adam the tongue piercing)
Delta Star West - Provides the lightning machine for the experiment.

Quotable Moments: (Just after Adam got his tongue pierced) "Feels like I got a barbell stuck in my tongue, man."

Action/ Results:
Jamie and Adam set up two stands (both grounded) with heads made out of ballistic gel, one with a tongue stud, the other without one.  The lightning machine provides strikes at about a million volts.
On the first try, the lightning strikes the head without the stud. On the second try, they switch the heads and the lighting strikes the head with the stud but Jamie notices the strike goes through the head and does not hit the stud.  Successive tries show that the lightning goes through the head but does not hit the stud.  A bolt in the mouth shows the lightning takes a path to the bolt through the head.  They only get a direct hit when they stick a doorknob into the head.  Jamie and Adam find lightning to be very unpredictable " myth BUSTED.

Myth: Tree Cannon
Will a wooden cannon explode and destroy a village?

The Experts:
Heather Joseph Witham says that according to the legend, a medieval Hungarian tribe (the Pachish) built a wooden cannon overnight to defend their village. When they fired it the next morning, it exploded and killed part of the village.
John Morris - Cannon Expert: Train Jamie and Adam on the protocol of shooting a cannon.
Chris Neimer (The Crucible): blacksmith that makes and puts the steel bands for the cannon.
Jack Morocco - Pyrotechnician: makes the black powder for the cannon as it would have been made in medieval times
John Mcleoo - Pyrotechnician: provides more black powder for exploding the cannon.

Quotable Moments:
(As Jamie is doing all the lifting work for the tree trunk) Adam: "Jamie, you are doing such a good job!"
(As Jamie is drilling the hole for the cannon using the spoon drill) Jamie: "I need somebody with a whip and a drum."

Jamie: "Fire in the hole!"

Action/ Results:
The boys first take a lesson in cannon loading and firing from cannon expert John Morris. Jamie and Adam to build the cannon using tools that would have been available in medieval times.  After cutting it and striping the bark, they take the trunk to Chris Neimer’s shop to put on the steel bands as it would have been done in medieval times. Back to the shop, they start to drill the hole using the spoon drill and they find that it would not be possible to drill a hole through the length of the trunk overnight. That part of the myth they find busted.

To finish making the cannon, they switch to 20th century tools.  They enlist the help of Jack Morocco (pyrotechnician) to make the powder. First shot, they use 2, 3 oz cartridges of powder and a tennis ball.  Second shot, they use Jamie’s cannon ball with 6 oz of powder. They find that the wooden cannon works.

In MythBuster fashion, the boys decide it’s time to blow the cannon up.  They enlist the help of John Mcleoo (another pyrotechnician expert) who has 5 lbs. of powder and isn’t afraid to use it. They load up the powder and seal the front of the cannon with an aluminum pod. The cannon blows up in a spectacular manner and the only thing left behind in its place is a black spot on the ground. An exploding wooden cannon would definitely have killed people.

The boys’ word on the myth: parts of the myth have a grain of truth but in it’s entirety " BUSTED.

Myth: "You Can’t Beat the Breath Test"

The Experts:
Heather Joseph Witham - explains how these myths about beating the breath test arise as modifications of the "if it smells like a rose, it must be a rose" myth.

Officer Bruce Gendron - SFPD Crime Lab, lets the MythBusters use their breath test machine to test the myths.

Quotable Moments:

Jamie: "Adam, the police officer says you need to drink more."

Adam:  "My Doctor also says I don't get enough "tar", so that means I have to start smoking again"

Adam: "It’s definitely busted, you can’t beat the breath test."
Jamie: (hiccups)

Action/ Results:
To test this myth, Adam and Jamie must get their blood alcohol above the legal limit (for the state of California, above 0.08). Adam’s choice of drink "> Scotch.  Jamie’s choice of drink "> Vodka with cranberry juice. They both drink 13 drinks over a period of 3 hours. The boys take turns going through the list of things to beat the breath test: breath mints, biting into an onion, putting a battery in your mouth, putting pennies, denture cream and rinsing your mouth with mouth wash (among other things that weren’t shown because of time). All of them are failures.  The boys conclude this myth is BUSTED.
 

-episode synopsis written by seismic_cowgirl