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Blind Driving/Golf Galore Original Air Date: October 8, 2008
Episode # 105
Blind Driving/Golf Galore
Blind Driving
The Myth: A blind person can drive a car without running into anything, as in the movie “Scent of a Woman” as long as a sighted person is telling them where to go.
The Expert: Jerry Kuns – a blind person, who drives, while Jamie navigates.
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Jamie (while drunk): Thank you Jerry, you’re my best friend!
Jerry: You bet your sweet bippy!
The Action/Results:
The guys went out to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Emergency Vehicle Operation Center for the first part of this myth. Adam set up a driving course with cones, and Jamie put on the blindfold, letting Adam tell him where to go. A driving instructor was in the passenger side front seat, and the car did have a dual brake system, just in case anything went terribly wrong. However, aside from hitting multiple cones, nothing bad happened, and then it was Adam’s turn to drive, and Jamie’s turn to navigate. The same thing happened – Adam hit cones, and the driving instructor kept the guys safe from any serious danger. The guys both agreed that navigator and driver needed to be in synch if this were to work well. They also agreed that they needed to try this with a real blind person at the wheel, on real city streets.
Jerry Kuns is blind, and he agreed to drive while Jamie told him where to go. They took the test out to the abandoned military base that they used in the “Driving Angry” myth, and Jamie got in the back seat of the car, with Jerry and the driving instructor in the front. Jamie and Jerry started off slowly, and then increased the speed as they drove a pre-determined course, which included several turns and parking in a driveway. Jerry did an excellent job, and Jamie and the driving instructor applauded his efforts! Then Adam asked Jerry if he was willing to do the test again, with Jamie drunk. Jerry agreed, and Jamie sat down on the curb to begin drinking whiskey.
After Jamie had consumed a sufficient amount of whiskey, the police officers came by to check his blood alcohol level. He was officially under the influence, with a blood alcohol content level of .088. So, he got back in the car with Jerry and the driving instructor, and they set off to travel the course again. This time, Jamie’s instructions were less precise, causing the car to weave all over the road. The driving instructor had to intervene twice, and help steer the car to safety. Jerry still followed Jamie’s instructions, but the instructions were less accurate, because Jamie was less coherent. However, Jerry did manage to drive the course and end up parked in the driveway again. The guys did also manage to find a story about this really happening in Europe, when a drunken man asked his blind friend to drive him home. Given that, and Jerry’s performance in the car, this myth is declared CONFIRMED!
Golf Galore
The Myths:
1) Is it true that a tree is 90% air, and that you should just aim at the tree if your golf ball goes behind one accidentally? (90% Air)
2) Are you more likely to get struck by lightning if you wear metal cleats on your golf shoes, rather than plastic ones? (Lightning Cleats)
3) In the movie Caddyshack, a series of fiery explosions from C4 singe the course, and knock a ball into a hole. Is that possible? (Gopher Goner)
90% Air
The Expert: A pro golfer named Laird Small helped them to gauge the speed at which a golf ball leaves the club.
The Action/Results:
At first, this myth seemed simple. The plan was to go out to Pebble Beach, get some golf balls, stand behind a tree, and start swinging. However, Tory managed to hit only six out of his ten balls through the tree, while Kari and Grant couldn’t even get most of the golf balls to the tree. So, they went back to the shop and made a robot to shoot golf balls at the same speed and distance as a professional golfer. They shot one hundred golf balls at the course without a tree, and then one hundred golf balls with a tree in the way. Tory also hit one hundred golf balls at the tree, just for comparison. They found that Tory managed to get 27% of the balls through the tree, and the robot managed to get 24% through the tree. Neither one of these numbers is anywhere close to the 90% mentioned in the myth, so this myth is BUSTED.
Lightning Cleats
The Expert: David Eisenhauer is a PG&E spokesperson, and he reminded everyone that lightning is not something to fool around with, and that no one should ever try anything like this at home.
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Grant: This one involves thunderbolts and lightning, and is very, very frightening.
The Action/ Results:
Tory made a pair of ballistics gel dummies, and they took them out to the PG&E test facility in San Ramon. There, they set up a copper sheet, with some sod on top, to accurately replicate the attraction that lightning has to the ground. Then they put the ballistics gel dummies on top of that, and made sure that one was wearing golf shoes with metal cleats, while the other was wearing golf shoes with plastic cleats. Then they wet both pairs of shoes, and turned on the lightning generator. The dummy with the plastic cleats was struck six times, and the dummy with the metal cleats was struck four times. This means that neither one attracts more lightning than the other, so this myth is BUSTED.
Gopher Goner
The Expert:
Frank Doyle Jr. came to bring and set up the C4.
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Kari: I think this might be, actually, a very effective gopher extermination method!
Grant: This is an effective golf course extermination method!
The Action/Results:
The team drove out to Riversdale Ranch, where they had a large field with gopher holes in it. None of the gophers were still there, so they could do the experiment without hurting any animals. Frank Doyle put a large amount of C4 in each hole, while Kari, Tory, and Grant dug a hole for the cup to rest in, and perched a golf ball on the edge of the cup. Frank detonated the charge, and there were several large black plumes of smoke and dirt, but no fireballs like what is seen in the movie. The team checked the ball, and it hadn’t even moved. So, Frank reset, this time using gasoline as the fuel, and they blew that up. This time they saw the fireballs from the movie, but the resulting shockwave still wasn’t enough to drop the ball in the hole. This myth is BUSTED.
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Episode Descriptions 
