Episode Name:  Exploding Toilet

Original Air Date:  September 23, 2003

Myths:  Ice Bullet, Exploding Toilets, Who Gets Wetter

Exploding Toilet

Myth: Exploding Toilet

A housewife dumps combustibles, such as bug spray or gasoline, down a toilet. Her husband then goes into the bathroom and sits on the toilet. While in the bathroom, he has a cigarette that he drops between his legs into the toilet when he’s finished. The combustibles then ignite, launching him off the toilet.

The Experts:

Heather Joseph-Witham, folklorist, helps explain the myth. She said it has been around since at least the 1930s and even appeared in news clippings
Dr. Robert Slay, physician and author. He first heard about the myth in the 1970s and decided to test it. He emptied a can of spray into the toilet and used a watermelon on the toilet. The resulting explosion merely singed the watermelon. He thinks that humorous stories like this help relieve stress in intense work situations

Quotable Moments:

Jamie: "One way or another we’re going to blow up that damn toilet."

Action/Results: Adam and Jamie first have to acquire a toilet and they are picky. They want a toilet with a deep bowl because they think that a deeper bowl will produce better results. They also build a Lexan blast chamber in which to conduct the experiment. Jamie works on blast-resistant armor, as he will be on the toilet. After realizing his armor may be flammable, Jamie decides against sitting on the toilet. Adam has the perfect solution: A Series II crash test dummy weighing 180 pounds that was retired in 1998. Jamie names him "Buster."

A remote-control hand is constructed for Buster to drop the cigarette into the toilet. They will use a high-speed camera to capture the action as the cigarette is dropped. The first combustible tested is hairspray, a lot of it. When a lit cigarette is dropped into the toilet, nothing happens. The next combustible tested was bug spray; the results were the same. The plan is modified to drop a lit match into the toilet. This time there is a little "poof." The next item on the list is butane. Again, the cigarette doesn’t produce any results. A lit match causes a flash, but hardly enough to launch a person off the toilet. The water in the toilet is replaced with gasoline; again the cigarette yields nothing. The match does produce a flash and a fire, but nothing that will launch a person off of the toilet. Finally, they place half of a can of black powder into the toilet. A lit match dropped in causes a large explosion, but Buster stays put. The blast did, however, blow Buster’s pants off.  Myth Busted.
 

Myth: Is it Worth Running in the Rain?

You will stay drier if you run in the rain rather than walk in the rain. Adam has a different theory: If you walk in the rain you will be in the rain longer, but only your head and shoulders will get wet. If you run in the rain, you will pick up rain on your entire front side.

The Experts:

Heather Joseph-Witham, folklorist, helps explain the myth. She says it is practical advice: You should run in the rain and you won’t get as wet as walking.
Richard Hunter, manager of Mr. S Leather, helps Adam and Jamie pick out some latex body suits.
Thomas Peterson and Trevor Wallis, National Climatic Data Center, tested the myth during a rainstorm. They measured out an approximately 100-meter course and waited until a rainy day to test the myth. They wanted to determine the relative difference between walking and running. After the test, they weighed their clothing. They determined that the runner was 40% less wet than the walker.

Action/Results: One of the most important aspects of this test is getting the right raindrop - the right size, the right velocity and an even spread. The test will consist of a 100-foot course with water falling a minimum of 60 feet. A raindrop will achieve a terminal velocity of 22 feet per second. The course will be built in an aircraft hangar.  Sprinklers are placed every 6 feet along a 150-foot run. A fire hydrant is used as the water source. The water is put into a holding tank and dyed red for visibility.

To measure the amount of rain that lands on the Mythbusters, they will wear cotton coveralls that weigh 757 grams each. Under the coveralls they will wear a latex body suit to ensure that their perspiration isn’t included in the final weight. The course is set up to produce 2 to 3 inches of rain per hour. Jamie and Adam each will go through the course 4 times, once walking, once running, once walking with fans used to simulate wind and finally once running with fans used to simulate wind.

When the coveralls are weighed, the ones worn when they walked turn out to be lighter than the coveralls that they ran in. It is better to walk in the rain than to run. Myth busted.

Myth: Magic Bullet

Is there really a bullet that will dissolve or melt inside of its target and disappear?

The Experts:

Dr. Roger McCarthy, CEO, Exponent. He says that an ice bullet won’t work. He has studied a bullet that was made out of hollow metal and filled with liquid. The liquid bullet will deliver all of its energy to the target and not leave an exit wound. He also talked about the 1978 assignation of a Bulgarian defector with an umbrella as the gun and a pellet covered with ricin poison.
Dan Keenan, South San Francisco Police Department, oversees the activities at the firing range.

Action/Results: They decide to make an ice bullet as in the movie "Most Wanted." They purchase a rifle and design a bullet during the 10-day waiting period. Several problems are encountered. Gunpowder will not ignite at a temperature below -22ºF. The plan to make an ice bullet is simple: 1) remove bullet from cartridge; 2) seal the powder from the water with wax; 3) mold the ice; and 4) fire. They have difficulty with step 3. The ice is too brittle to be removed from the mold and therefore too brittle to be fired from a rifle. Bullets made from gelatin and meat are substituted for the ice bullet. A victim made from ballistic gel is placed at the end of a firing range. The meat bullet explodes, showering the target with fragments of meat and unburned powder. The gelatin bullet reaches a velocity of 3 times the speed of sound and has a force of 2,000 pounds per inch. It merely penetrates an inch into the dummy. They then try a handgun at close range and the magic bullet works. They conclude that if it has to be at close range then the bullet would need to be fired from something that doesn’t look like a gun, like an umbrella. Jamie has the perfect solution and spends three days building an umbrella that fires with compressed air from scratch. Adam modifies a CO2 gun and attaches it to an umbrella. Both models work.  During the myth, Adam sent a letter to the CIA asking for details surrounding magic bullets. The reply stated that operational files of the CIA are exempt from publication under the Freedom of Information Act. Files that would contain the responsive records (should they exist) are not subject for search. The conclusion is that any substance that would melt inside of a human is too fragile to be fired from a high-powered gun.  Myth busted.