I remember a time in my life that I had lost interest in most of my everyday tasks.  I was somewhat a social reject, as the only people that I had any regular communication with were either family, or somehow work related. 

After bouncing from job to job, trying to find something worth my interest, I found an open position at one of the local dive bars.  Granted, it wasn’t glamorous, and it barely paid enough to get us by, but it was something new.  It was there, by a lucky stroke of chance, that I was exposed to something new… MythBusters, the TV show...

This discovery of mine happened to be on a relatively slow day in the bar, so other than my cleaning chores, there wasn’t much more to do.  As I flipped through the channels, I came across the Discovery Channel.  It had been several years since I had access to a channel that I was completely interested in. With another streak of luck, I arrived on the channel during the opening credits for MythBusters.  I was intrigued, setting my remote control down on the bar.

I was hooked.  That is the simplest way to describe what I felt.  One of my few customers that day described the show as “Mr. Wizard with explosions.” I laughed, turning my attention back to the screen. To this day, I have yet to identify any single aspect of the show that drew me in. The whole experience, the cast, the builds, the testing, the science content, everything involved had come together to make something more intoxicating than the products I was selling.

Over the next few weeks, I spent my spare time researching the show.  The cast, the episode’s, the history.  I found myself anxiously anticipating the next episode to air, even if it was one that I had already seen.  I began to notice a change in my customers as well.  Though we were a small, out of the way bar, we had our regular customers, as any bar would.  I was amazed to find that my customers were getting just as interested in the show as I was, even in their inebriated state. Technical discussions broke out, mock wagers on the outcome, and the inevitable ranting of “they did it wrong” became common occurrence.

I was amazed.  There I was, serving alcohol to truck drivers, watching a show that was both entertaining and educational. And no one was complaining.  No one was asking for the sports channels, or the local news. Deep, insightful conversations sparked from the tests being shown. I was connecting with people on a level that had escaped me for many years.

For a full year, this pattern continued. Eventually, I had grown to anticipate the half-drunken discussions that were started while watching. Not only was I inspired, but a large portion of my clientele had become hooked as well. It still astounds me to this day, a few years later, on just how much impact one show could have on a little bar room that everyone else seemed to have forgotten.

This was mid 2006. Three years later, I am still interested in the show.  I have become a member of a community of like minded individuals.  I can honestly say that MythBusters has inspired me, and in some senses given me a bit of direction.  

Jmenning