MythBusters Season 4, Episode 17: Earthquake Machine

Paper Crossbow

Is it possible to make a deadly weapon out of nothing more dangerous than newspaper and underwear? Grant, Kari and Tory unscrew the cap on some more vodka myths.

60 min

Shredded Plane

Is the photo of a light plane, with precise, clean tears on the side, genuine? Was it the work of the jilted lover, who took to her ex's plane with a chainsaw and a taste for vengeance?

Archimedes Death Ray Revisited

Challenged from fan mailbags to retest the "Archimedes Death Ray," Adam and Jamie accept. In turn, fans and a M.I.T. team were invited to perform this challenge.

Helium Football

This time around, Adam and Jamie test a myth that footballs filled with helium will fly farther and hang longer than ones filled with regulation air. Are teeth strong enough to withstand the force of a bullet?

Franklin's Kite

The build team attempts to discover electricity by flying a kite in a thunderstorm. Do innocuous legumes really increase gas? Is it possible to break wind so much that you can suffocate to death?

Cell Phones on Planes

If you fill a normal raft with helium can you fly? Tory and Kari tackle a conspiracy theory familiar to many frequent flyers. Can your cell phone interfere with a plane's instruments?

Bullets Fired Up

Can celebratory gunfire kill when the bullets fall back to Earth? Grant, Tory and Kari quench their thirst with another round of "Vodka Myths."

Myths Re-Opened

The team revisits myths explored from "Split Arrow," "Confederate Rocket," and "Bulletproof Water."

Mind Control

Adam and Jamie do a little painting and detonating when they try to blow open a home-improvement myth. Grant, Tory and Kari explore if it is possible to manipulate someone's mind remotely.

Exploding Pants

Tory, Kari and Grant investigate the spontaneous trouser combustion. Do gas companies and car manufacturers deliberately conspire to make gas-guzzling cars so that they can split the cash?

Crimes and Myth-Demeanors (1)

Are Hollywood break-ins complete hocus pocus? The team tries to tiptoe their way around a laser system before facing the mother of all safes.

Steam Cannon

Did Archimedes build the world's first "supergun," a cannon powered by steam? Adam's mom thinks a typical modern breakfast cereal has less nutritional value than the box it comes in. Is Mom right?

Whirlpool/Snowplow

Somewhere on Earth is there a massive whirlpool sucking whole ships and their hapless crews to a watery grave? Can a passing wintery road sweeper displace so much air that it flips an oncoming car?

Mentos and Soda

Adam and Jamie try to figure out the theory behind the chaos when diet cola and Mentos mix. Can posting a postage stamp on the rotor blades send a helicopter into a tailspin?

Shattering Subwoofer

The guys find out if the bass from a car stereo can destroy an automobile. Also, Grant, Kari and Tory hit the road to take on two tall tales from our mates down under.

Crimes and Myth-Demeanors (2)

It's "lights, camera, action!" time again for the MythBusters, as they test more Hollywood heists. This time, our cat burglars Adam and Jamie go cold as they try to beat a heat-detecting alarm sensor.

Deadly Straw

Can the wind in a tropical hurricane get so strong that it can blow a piece of straw through a palm-tree trunk? Can a hurricane blow the feathers off a chicken?

Mega Movie Myths

Can you use awnings to cushion your fall? Is there really such a thing as a car ejector seat? Can you chop a sword with another sword Is it possible to shoot through a door lock?

Killer Cable Snaps

If a cable at high tension snaps, can it slice a person clean in two? Does ancient pottery contain sounds from the past that can be played back and listened to today, just like a record?

Air Cylinder Rocket

Can a ruptured cylinder -- carefully aimed --really cause the massive damage some people claim? Meanwhile, Tory, Grant and Kari go back in time to test some prototypes from the past.

More Myths Revisited

"Myths Revisited" offers Jamie and Adam the chance to clear their names. Watch as they repeat past experiments to see if their original answer was genuine or bogus.

Exploding Lighter

Jamie and Adam find out if a small, disposable butane lighter can suddenly ignite with the force of several sticks of dynamite. The "Magnificent Three" try and shoot down some popular gunslinger myths.

Concrete Glider

Adam and Jamie test the old engineering challenge that you can't make a concrete glider fly. Kari, Grant and Tory find out just how dangerous it is to stand too close to the edge of a train platform.

Firearms Folklore

Could a criminal's bullet have hit and jammed the empty chamber of a policeman's revolver? Could two bullets colliding mid-air fuse together? Is a hammer more dangerous than you think?

Anti-Gravity Device

Could leaving Christmas lights on your tree overnight cause it to burst into flames? Is Anti-gravity science or science fiction? Can vodka cure the pain of a jellyfish sting?

Holiday Special

Can six reindeer run fast enough to launch an ultralite glider? Does one burn more calories jogging Naked in the snow or by putting on an Airtight jogging suit and running in a hot desert?

42 min

22,000-Foot Fall

Is it possible to survive a 22,000 foot fall using the blast from a 1,000 pound bomb to break the fall? Is electricity saved by switching off the lights when leaving a room?