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Episode:Paper Crossbow Original Airdate 1/11/06 Myths: Paper Crossbow, More Vodka Myths
The Myth: Could an inmate really make a crossbow out of newspaper, pieces of his food tray, and the elastic from his underwear?
The Experts:
Vernell Crittendon (Public Information Officer – San Quentin State Prison) shows Adam around the prison museum.
Tim Oviatt (owner – All American Boy) sells Jamie the underwear for the myth
Wayne Pearsall (owner – Archery Only) helps the guys test just what a real crossbow is able to do
Memorable/Quotable Moments:
Adam: Just thinking this one through from a mechanical standpoint, I’d be totally pleased with two inches of penetration!
Jamie: Generally, I prefer a little bit more!
The Action/Results:
Adam goes to San Quentin to see exactly what types of weapons prisoners have come up with in the past, and comes away totally impressed with the many different ways that prisoners have made weapons while behind bars. After a few anxious moments when Officer Crittendon seems reluctant to let him out of his cell, Adam leaves with ideas already brewing. Meanwhile, Jamie goes to All American Boy and does some shopping for underwear. He ends up buying the most basic type of undies they have, but seems to enjoy browsing through some more outlandish possibilities.
After they put together the supplies that they have, the guys realize that they need some glue. So they make four different homemade varieties (casein glue, flour and water glue, flour, water, and sugar glue, and glycerin and gelatin glue). Adam makes a testing rig for the glue, and finds out that the gelatin and glycerin glue is the strongest, taking 36 pounds of force before finally coming apart.
Once they have all the supplies together, they receive a video from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This video shows a prisoner making a weapon out of paper and plastic utensils. The guys try to replicate this weapon, and eventually do, but decide that it isn’t really the crossbow specified in the myth.
At Archery Only, they test different kinds of arrows, and find that they penetrate six to eight inches into a block of ballistic wax when fired. When they get back to the shop, Adam and Jamie start building. They set this up as a build-off, with each of them building his own crossbow and a projectile to go with it. After two days, both are ready to start shooting.
Jamie’s crossbow bolt travels 60 feet per second, and it glances right off the target’s head (the bust of Grant from Finger in the Barrel). Adam’s bolt travels up to 91 feet per second, and his best shot hits “inmate Imahara” right in the jugular vein. After a bit more discussion about the amount of force that it takes to shoot and kill various sizes of animals, it is decided that this myth is PLAUSIBLE, if you were to hit someone in exactly the right place.
Vodka Myths – Part 2
Vodka Smoke Remover
The Myth: Can vodka remove the smell of cigarettes from clothes?
The Experts: Kari, Tory, and Grant
Memorable/ Quotable Moments:
Tory and Grant taking a nap on top of the washing machines – priceless!
The Action/Results:
Kari makes an “automatic smoking machine” out of some pipe, some tube, and a bulb. She sets this thing up inside Tory’s airtight chamber from the revisit of “Explosive Decompression”. Then she lights the cigarettes and closes the door. The cigarettes smoke, Kari seals the leaks with tape, and, two days later, she has two sweatshirts that “smell like ashtrays”! Then it’s off to the Laundromat.
Kari sprays one of the sweatshirts with a mixture of one part vodka to three parts water. She tosses each sweatshirt into a separate washer with the soap, and then it’s time to wait. After the wash is done, it is time to test. Grant, once again, is called on to test how well this works. After a few sniffs of each, Grant’s proclamation is clear – the vodka sweatshirt is better smelling – not by a lot, but it does smell better than the other one. Myth PLAUSIBLE.
Vodka Bee Killer
The Myth: Does vodka kill bees?
The Experts: Lynn Archer (beekeeper)
Memorable/ Quotable Moments:
Tory: The bees are starting to roll around! That’s terrible – they’re drunk!
The Action/Results:
Tory makes two Plexiglass bee boxes, and they go off to get the bees. Lynn Archer gently sweeps some bees into the boxes. Back at the workshop, Tory sprays one box with vodka, and the other box with water, then waits for 15 minutes. At that time, the water-sprayed bees seem to be doing worse than the vodka-sprayed bees. Tory lets them dry out overnight, just to see what happens with time.
The next day, Grant and Tory perform “bee CPR” on the bees, and eventually manage to save all but two of the water-soaked creatures. The vodka-sprayed bees are doing just fine, and need no intervention. In the end, this myth is BUSTED. |
Episode Descriptions 
