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Episode: The Brown Note Original Air Date: February 16, 2005 Myths: The Brown Note, Blown Away, Chinese Water Torture
Myth #1 Blown Away
The Myth:
Does a bullet really have enough energy to knock you over backwards, as is shown in Hollywood gunfights?
The Experts:
Sgt. Alan Normandy is from the SFPD. He is an expert marksman and a Chief Firearms Instructor. He brings the guns, gives the safety lecture, and still has a sense of humor! He says that this myth is "complete hogwash"!
Mark Heron is a special effects expert who has worked on the Star Wars prequels. He tells Tory, as he is getting him set up in the "jerk suit", "It'll make you fly! It'll be just like Superman, except backwards!".
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Tory: Think Tom Cruise will hire me to be his stunt double?
Scottie's expression when she sees Tory accidentally punch himself in the face when he falls off the end of the hook!
The Action/Results:
Tory and Scottie build a "pig rig" to hold up a recently deceased pig, so that they can see if it moves when shot. Then the whole team, under the supervision of Sgt. Normandy, take turns shooting at the porker with various different guns, including "Dirty Harry's" famous 44 magnum. The pig barely even moves until they pull out a rifle, and fire a deer slug at the pig. Then the pig falls off the hook, but there is hardly any backward movement. They repeat the test with poor Buster, and find the same thing - he doesn't even budge until they pull out the biggest type of ammunition available and shoot it through a rifle.
But the guys want to make Tory look like he's been shot by Adam. So, they put Tory in a stunt rig called a "jerk suit". They tie a rope to the back of it, and then string the rope through a pulley. The rest of the team is on the other end of the rope. When the scene is set, they yank him backwards. Stunt accomplished - myth BUSTED!
Scientific Fact: Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there must be an equal and opposite reaction. Or, as Adam says, "So, if he was gonna go ten feet, the shooter would go ten feet in the opposite direction. That's a BIG gun!"
Myth #2 The Brown Note
The Myth:
Is there a subsonic frequency that can cause confusion and make you lose control of your bowels?
The Experts:
John Meyer is the president of Meyer Sound. His company makes top-of-the-line concert speakers.
Roger Schwenke is the acoustician for Meyer Sound, and helped to test the "Duck Quack" myth last season.
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Robert Lee (The Narrator): Will Adam's diaper become riper?
Adam: I was going to rob you, but now I'm going to rob you , then kill you!
The Action/Results:
First, Adam gets some "audio weapons" off the Internet, and he tests them out on the rest of the gang at M5I. No one seems to like them very much, but the one who shows the most response is Adam himself. After messing with them for about an hour, he says that he feels "crappy". He complains of being in a cold sweat, and feeling pressure in his head. But does that stop him? Of course not!
They set up the main phase of this experiment in a parking lot. Twenty-four speakers are set up in a semi circle. They are all aimed directly at Adam. His vital signs are monitored, and Christine gives him a puzzle to solve to test for cognitive ability, since the brown note is rumored to affect concentration as well as bodily functions. Finally, all is ready! They send a 5 Hertz tone through the speakers at 108 decibels, but there is no effect on Adam. They try 7 Hertz - nothing. At 9 Hertz, Adam is still in control of his bowels, and is doing the puzzle faster than he did when the test began. However, John Meyer reports feeling nauseous and dizzy, and Christine and Eric (a researcher) both feel an anxious type of feeling in the chest.
Roger Schwenke and John Meyer decide to raise the level of Hertz.
At 32 Hertz and 128 decibels, Jamie reports feeling some disorientation, but Adam is still doing just fine. His voice vibrates, and he says that he can feel his eyeballs vibrating as well, but there is no other reaction. They decide to go all out - pull the foam from the speakers and blast Adam with 154 decibels of sound. Roger sweeps the frequency from 20 to 100 Hertz. Adam can feel the air vibrating in his chest as he breathes, and when he shouts, he feels "drumming on his chest". But there is no other reaction, and all the diapers stay clean. Myth BUSTED!
Myth#3 Chinese Water Torture
The Myth:
Water repeatedly dripping on your head is an effective means of torture, and can drive you insane.
The Expert: Gerald Gray is a Torture Victim Counselor, and he says that this is not a myth, and that it has really happened.
Quotable/Memorable Moment:
Adam running for the bathroom!
The Action/Results:
There are two parts to this experiment. The first involves the setup that we have seen in movies - the rack, shackles, and a head restraint that holds the victimís head still. The second part of this experiment is just dripping water on an unrestrained person's head, to see if it is the water itself that is causing the problem, or the restraint.
Kari is the victim for the first part of the experiment. Tory makes the rack, and Kari is shackled to it. Her head is put in the restraint, and the dripping water is started. Sanjay (from the Myths Revisited episode) is keeping an eye on her vital signs. Scottie and Tory are also watching Kari, and they have a questionnaire that they are using to check her stress levels. After 15 minutes, Kari seems to be doing fine. But, after an hour, things are not good. She is upset, and has, as she says, "a moment of sheer terror and panic" in the middle of the questioner. She regains her composure, but after an hour and a half, Sanjay pulls the plug on the experiment. He says that he is sure that she could go on further, but he is worried about her shoulder (her arms have been above her head all this time), and the fact that she is getting twitchy.
Adam, meanwhile, is testing the water dripping part of the experiment. He is in a comfy chair, with no restraints, and water dripping on his head. He tries to go to sleep, but can't quite do it because of a pesky fly. However, he lasts for three and a half hours before making a desperate dash to the bathroom. In the end, the team decides that it is the restraint, not the water, that makes this an effective form of torture. Myth CONFIRMED! |
Episode Descriptions 
