Here comes my nerdy side…………
#6 Mythbusters
“Denver Museum of Nature and Science.” Mythbusters: The Explosive Exhibition. Discovery Channel. Web. 04 Oct. 2013.
I’m pretty sure most people have at least heard of Mythbusters. It’s that Discovery Channel show where the hosts tend to blow things up in the name of science. Well, to be specific, they research tons of different myths, anywhere from slipping on banana peels to dropping coins off the empire state building and even rolling giant LEGO balls found on popular internet videos, then they test them to see if they would be confirmed or busted. Then, one of my personal favorite parts of the show, if they bust a myth, they go back and try to edit the procedure and materials in their own ways to try to replicate the result they were looking for.
This is another long-running TV show that I’ve grown up with. It started back in 2003 and had its 10-year anniversary episode earlier this year. As a little kid, I never quite understood all of the scientific aspects of the show, and I honestly don’t understand them all now either! I remember episodes where Adam and Jamie, two of the hosts, did things like trying to break the surface of the water with a hammer before someone plummeted into it to decrease the force of impact. They’d explain what they predicted, how they made those predictions, and why. A lot of scientific jargon for a little kid. However, the show always had, and still has, a humorous touch in it that kept me from getting too bored or confused. Silly animations and the funny interactions between Adam and Jamie, and themed episodes like the Christmas and pirates specials, were all always entertaining to me. So, as I got older and the scientific information started making more sense, I really began to appreciate and engage in the show more.
Nowadays, with more experience in science and design, I’m able to enjoy the show so much more. I’m always so interested in what the end result will turn out to be in the experiments and I better understand the process they use to research and design their tests. Plus, it’s always really entertaining to see the hosts get really involved in the myths and competitions between each other!
I know there’s a brand new zombie special with a character from The Walking Dead in it in case any of you are fans of that show!
Have you ever seen Mythbusters or can think of a myth they should test out on their show?
I used to watch this show all the time! I absolutely loved it. We used to watch it in science class all the time. The pirate episodes were always the best and Jamie’s humor always cracks me up. Although I don’t watch this show on a regular basis, I am so glad it made your top ten.
*) dropped an ellipse after Tyson
Long after my science classes had seen the entirety of the “Bill Nye the Science Guy” VHS tapes, we occasionally moved on to Mythbusters, for special occasions. To be honest I think we just watched them when the teacher was tired of us! One episode I remember in particular was when they tested the myth that jumping just before impact in a falling elevator can save you life, which amounted to dropping a dummy in a falling elevator over and over… that one was busted.
I’m trying to remember who said this (it may have been Neil DeGrasse Tyson, but there was a quote from a famous scientists who said Mythbusters was the purest form of science. After all, creating a hypothesis, testing it, an altering it while still being enthusiastic and having fun– what’s more to do with science than that?