List of MythBusters special episodes

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List of MythBusters special episodes
No. of episodes13
Release
Original networkDiscovery Channel
Original releaseMarch 21, 2004 (2004-03-21) –
May 1, 2013 (2013-05-01)
List of episodes

The cast of the television series MythBusters perform experiments to verify or debunk urban legends, old wives' tales, and the like. This is a list of the various myths tested on the show as well as the results of the experiments (the myth is Busted, Plausible, or Confirmed).

Special episodes listed here were aired separately to the normal season episodes.

Episode overview[edit]

No. in series No. in season Title Original air date
BO1Special–1"Best Animal Myths"[1]March 21, 2004 (2004-03-21)

This is a "Best of" recut of previously tested animal-related myths from various episodes. The myths are:

BO2Special–2"Best Electric Myths"[2]May 6, 2004 (2004-05-06)

This is a "Best of" recut of previously tested electricity-related myths from various episodes. The myths are:

BO3Special–3"Best Explosions"[3]June 29, 2004 (2004-06-29)

This is a "Best of" recut of previously tested explosion-related myths from various episodes. The myths are:

SP11Special–4"Young Scientist Special"[4]April 26, 2008 (2008-04-26)

Myths tested:

  • Are electric cars slower than gas-powered ones?
  • Do greenhouse gases increase the amount of heat absorbed by air?
  • Do cows hurt the environment?
  • Can cow manure be used to help the environment?

Note: This episode aired on the Science Channel. Former MythBuster Scottie Chapman reappeared in this episode to assist in the testing, along with Discovery Channel's young scientist winners.

SP13Special–5"Car Conundrum"[5]June 23, 2010 (2010-06-23)

This is a recut of previously tested car-related myths from various episodes. The myths are

BC1Special–6"Buster's Cut: Alcohol Myths"[5]June 30, 2010 (2010-06-30)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Alcohol Myths", which originally aired October 22, 2008.
BC2Special–7"Buster's Cut: Duct Tape Hour 2"[5]July 7, 2010 (2010-07-07)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Duct Tape Hour 2", which originally aired May 12, 2010.
BC3Special–8"Buster's Cut: Knock Your Socks Off"[5]July 14, 2010 (2010-07-14)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Knock Your Socks Off", which originally aired October 7, 2009.
BC4Special–9"Buster's Cut: Viewer Special Threequel"[5]July 21, 2010 (2010-07-21)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Viewer Special Threequel", which originally aired November 19, 2008.
BC5Special–10"Buster's Cut: Bottle Bash"[5]July 28, 2010 (2010-07-28)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Bottle Bash", which originally aired April 14, 2010.
DD1Special–11"Demolition Derby: Hollywood Havoc"[5]January 5, 2011 (2011-01-05)
This is a recut of previously tested car and movie-related myths from various episodes.
DD2Special–12"Demolition Derby: Car Chaos"[5]January 12, 2011 (2011-01-12)
This is a recut of previously tested car-related myths from various episodes.
SP21Special–13"Blast From The Past"[5]May 1, 2013 (2013-05-01)
The first ever MythBusters episode, "Jet-Assisted Chevy", gets remastered with behind the scenes details and info.

Best of[edit]

In 2004, Discovery Channel aired three special episodes, which were a compilation of some of the best animal, electric, and explosion related myths.

Buster's Cut[edit]

During 2010, Discovery Channel aired a series of episodes that were titled "Buster's Cut". According to the episode introductions, these were edited reruns of earlier episodes featuring never before seen footage and behind the scenes information.

Episode SP11 – "Young Scientist Special"[edit]

A team of winners in Discovery's "Young Scientist Challenge" competitions tested environmental myths with the team. Former MythBuster Scottie Chapman returned to assist with a myth.

Myth statement Status Notes
Electric cars are more sluggish than gasoline-powered cars. Busted They first had Jamie drive Brandon (a Young Scientist Challenge winner) in both a gas and electric consumer grade car, and blindfolded Brandon and covered Jamie's ears to see if they could tell the difference. Brandon couldn't tell, but being an experienced driver, Jamie was able to immediately tell based on the electric car's acceleration. Then, Adam, Jamie, and Brandon built an electric go-kart using lithium iron phosphate batteries and tested it against a gas go-kart. Despite weighing twice as much as the gas go-kart, the electric go-kart performed about the same. Then they went to a professional track and watched the KillaCycle, an electric drag motorcycle race against a stock gas motorcycle. The gas motorcycle won by a slight margin. Then they had the X1 electric sports car race against a Ferrari F430, and while the Ferrari's top speed was faster, the electric car accelerated faster and beat it in a drag race. Finally, they had the electric car race against an FJR50 Formula 3 race car. While the Formula 3 car easily beat the electric car, the electric car is considered a "street car", not a race car, and it did well enough that they proclaimed electric cars to be anything but slow.

The Great Ice Debate[edit]

Myth statement Status Notes
Greenhouse gases increase the amount of heat absorbed by air. Confirmed Airtight containers with carbon dioxide or methane added got one degree Celsius (2 °F) hotter than regular when heated by a hot lamp.

Cattle Calamity[edit]

Myth statement Status Notes
Cows hurt the environment. Confirmed Cows emit methane—though not mostly from flatulence, but from belching — and their feces emit even more methane once they begin rotting. Since there are so many cows, the methane contributes significantly to global warming.
Cow manure can be used to help the environment. Confirmed Cow manure can be used to power things. The Young Scientists helped collect cow manure and extracted methane gas from it. Grant hooked up the methane gas and used it to power a hand lawnmower. They then saw that the farm where they had collected cow manure from received 90% of its electricity from its own manure-powered generator.

BBC Two re-edited shows[edit]

BBC Two's editions of MythBusters are narrated by Rufus Hound. The episodes only ran for 30 minutes.

Date broadcast Myths
July 27, 2006 Penny Drop, Who Gets Wetter?, Exploding Toilet
August 3, 2006 Exploding CDs?, Silicone Breasts, Cell Phone Destruction
September 7, 2006 Lightning Strikes Tongue Piercing, 101 Uses For Cola,[a] Hammer Bridge Drop
September 14, 2006 JATO Car, Pop Rocks[b]
September 21, 2006 Buried Alive, Beat the Breath Test
September 28, 2006 Explosive Decompression, Rear Axle, Frog Giggin'
October 5, 2006 The Mad Trombonist, Goldfish Memory, Sinking Titanic
October 12, 2006 Escape from Alcatraz, Stud Finders & Mind Control Chips, Does a Duck's Quack Echo?
October 19, 2006 Rowing Water Skier, Toothbrush Surprise, Breakstep Bridge
October 31, 2006 Buried in Concrete, Daddy Long-Legs, Jet Taxi
November 7, 2006 Lawn Chair Balloon, Poppy Seed Drug Test, Goldfinger
November 14, 2006 Chicken Gun, Killer Washing Machine
February 19, 2007 Stuck on You, Biscuit Bullet
Notes
  1. ^ Partial; cleaning blood, pennies and chrome, dissolving teeth and steaks
  2. ^ Called "Space Dust" in the British narration, as it is the more common name for Pop Rocks in the UK.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Best Animal Myths". BuddyTV. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "Best Electric Myths". BuddyTV. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  3. ^ "Best Explosions". BuddyTV. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  4. ^ "MythBusters Complete Episode List". Discovery Channel. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "MythBusters Listings". The Futon Critic. Futon Media. Retrieved January 24, 2016.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to MythBusters.
Wikiquote has quotations related to MythBusters.
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