Episode:  Seasickness: Kill or Cure

Original Air Date: November 16, 2005

Myths:  Seasickness:  Kill or Cure

The Myth: You can deal with seasickness by using non-pharmaceutical alternatives - and you may not get sleepy, either!



The Experts: None



Memorable/Quotable Moments:

Tory (to Adam): You look a little green!

Adam (woozily): I feel a little green!

Grant (after several tests): Spin me, baby!



Science Info: You get seasick because your eyes tell your brain that all the things around you are staying still, but your inner ear insists that things are moving. The brain doesn't know what to make of conflicting information, and this can make you sick.



The Action/Results:

During the Jaws myths, Adam found out that he does suffer from seasickness.  They decide to test some non-pharmaceutical remedies because the pills often result in drowsiness, which is not a good thing when you are around machinery! Kari builds a chair to test motion sickness, and the whole team goes for a spin. Adam is, of course, affected, but neither Jamie, nor Kari, nor Tory has any problem at all with "going for a spin". It turns out, however, that Grant does get motion sick, and so the two test subjects are determined.

They tried several different non-pharmaceutical options, including a "homeopathic tongue tickler", wrist straps (reputed to be used by Barry Manilow), ginger pills, and electric stimulation wristbands. The tongue tickler, the wrist straps, and the electronic stimulation wristbands didn't work for either Adam or Grant. The ginger pills did work, but they weren't willing to stop with that result. Just to make sure that Adam and Grant weren't psyching themselves out during the test, Jamie gave them a placebo (vitamin B12). It didn't work for Adam at all - he got as sick as ever. But Grant didn't get sick at all - thus casting doubt on his previous results.

The last thing they tried was the medicinal approach.  It worked, but both Adam and Grant were very sleepy, and could barely keep their eyes open when Kari asked them about the results of this experiment.  In the end, they decided that ginger pills were PLAUSIBLE, and the rest of the non-pharmaceutical options were BUSTED.



Tailgate Up or Down?

The Myth: Driving with the tailgate of your pickup down actually uses less gas than if you leave it up.



The Experts: None



Science Info: There is a bubble of air in the back of a pickup truck with the tailgate up.  This bubble tends to deflect the rest of the air out of the back of the truck.  With the tailgate down, this bubble of air doesnít form, and the result is air hitting the bed of the truck and creating drag.

The Action/Results:

Jamie and Adam got identical pickup trucks, and Jamie left his tailgate up, while Adam put his down.  They drove 300 miles out to the desert, and then 300 miles back.  Adam ran out of gas first, and Jamie ran out 30 miles later.  This seemed counterintuitive to the guys, so they decided to test this idea with a scale model.  They built a "water tunnel" and put a scale pickup inside it, then tried to see this elusive "bubble". It wasn't very visible with food dye, but the oats that Adam added showed it very clearly. Myth BUSTED - driving with the tailgate down actually uses more gas than leaving it up.



Finger in a Barrel

The Myth: If someone is pointing a gun at you, can you stick your finger in the barrel and escape injury, cause the gun barrel to peel back like a banana, and injure or kill the would-be shooter?



The Expert: Alan Normandy (from the San Francisco Police Department) says that he doesn't think any kind of finger will keep you safe from being shot in this situation.



Memorable/Quotable Moments:

Jamie (seeing Kari and Grant with guns): Well, I see you guys have gotten into the gun cabinet again. Are you up to no good, or is this something to do with a myth?

Adam: It is a full-on, Bugs Bunny moment!



The Action/Results:

Kari molds a ballistics gel hand with a skeleton inside for support, while Tory and Grant go to the makeup store to get a cap to cover Grant's hair. Then they do a live cast of Grant, so that they can have a bust to stand in for the shooter in this myth.  When the bust is finished, Grant rigs up a remote-controlled firing rig for the gun, and they set the whole thing up.  The first thing they try is Kari's gel hand.  As Tory says, "Well, not only did it destroy the finger, it blew apart the hand!".  Then they try a wax hand. At first, it seems like this is a repeat of the results with the gel finger, but then Adam looks a bit closer, and discovers that the barrel was, indeed, ballooned out a bit by the blast. The team decides to go for something a bit more dramatic, and shoves eight inches of mud in the barrel.  The gun barrel splits a bit, but they are still looking for more of a "banana peel effect".  So, they weld a steel spike into the gun. Amazingly, it shoots right out! In a last ditch attempt to "banana peel" the barrel, they make a squib load, hammer it into the barrel of a different gun, and fire that. The gun falls off the stand, and it balloons out a bit, but still there is  no" banana peel effect".  The end result is that this myth is BUSTED.