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New Mythvusters tonight gang!
Mythbusters: Alaska Special
- Thread starter Trekker4747
- Start date
New Mythvusters tonight gang!
Isn't this thread a day late? It's being rebroadcast tonight (Thu), but it premiered last night (Wed).
Mostly, the results weren't too surprising. I didn't expect that a single stick of dynamite would do that much damage to such a thick layer of ice, and it didn't. The expectations about explosives in these tall tales always seem to be exaggerated based on cartoons and action movies. But the most interesting part to me is that a dog could retrieve a thrown stick in less than 20 seconds.
The moose results were pretty much as expected too, but it's cool the way they made their moose analog. I'm surprised that some researcher had already devised this test and put the plans on the web, but I suppose car-animal impacts are a serious ongoing issue in many places. I was also surprised that they really do have mooses... meese.... whatever wandering around the streets in Alaskan towns. But then, when dealing with an animal that size, the punchline "wherever it wants" springs to mind.
And the cabin fever result was unsurprising in terms of how Adam and Jamie reacted. It was funny that Jamie was just starting to get into it after a few days and wanted to go back, while of course Adam was practically climbing the walls. (Sometimes, though, I wonder if they deliberately play up their trademark personality traits somewhat to amplify the Odd Couple vibe.)
That toy Adam built out of the coathanger was amazing. That's a truly creative mind at work. I would've liked to see more time devoted to that gizmo and how he built it.
Mostly, the results weren't too surprising. I didn't expect that a single stick of dynamite would do that much damage to such a thick layer of ice, and it didn't. The expectations about explosives in these tall tales always seem to be exaggerated based on cartoons and action movies. But the most interesting part to me is that a dog could retrieve a thrown stick in less than 20 seconds.
The moose results were pretty much as expected too, but it's cool the way they made their moose analog. I'm surprised that some researcher had already devised this test and put the plans on the web, but I suppose car-animal impacts are a serious ongoing issue in many places. I was also surprised that they really do have mooses... meese.... whatever wandering around the streets in Alaskan towns. But then, when dealing with an animal that size, the punchline "wherever it wants" springs to mind.
And the cabin fever result was unsurprising in terms of how Adam and Jamie reacted. It was funny that Jamie was just starting to get into it after a few days and wanted to go back, while of course Adam was practically climbing the walls. (Sometimes, though, I wonder if they deliberately play up their trademark personality traits somewhat to amplify the Odd Couple vibe.)
That toy Adam built out of the coathanger was amazing. That's a truly creative mind at work. I would've liked to see more time devoted to that gizmo and how he built it.
Oh yeah, that thing was awesome! I'd love to have the instructions on how to do that.
Did it? Must've missed it, I've been mostly watching DVDs and not much (live) TV lately. So I've not seen any ads for it until I happened across one this afternoon and just thought it was new tonight.
Oh well.
Watched it. Interesting episode, the Cabin Fever one the most interesting and yeah that gizmo Adam made out of a coat-hanger was astonishing. Adam really is a very brillant man who's goofiness/ineptness is played up a lot on the show and then he does things like the origami cube in the Lead Balloon myth and the litte coat-hanger toy.
Man. I haven't seen a wire coat-hanger in years!
Man. I haven't seen a wire coat-hanger in years!
Saab puts their cars through a "moose test" as well as the regular crash-testing. Apparently there's more car vs. moose/elk collisions in Sweden than there are car vs. car.
The windshield surround is reinforced to prevent the moose from entering the passenger compartment, something that did happen to all the cars the Build Team tested (a few Ford Tauruses and a Honda Civic CRX, IIRC). Would have been interesting to see them do the test over to compare how the American & Japanese cars would fare against Swedish cars designed for such a scenario.
What, you never watched Northern Exposure?
What, you never watched Northern Exposure?
That was what I was referencing -- "they really do" in the sense that "it happens in reality as well as on that famous TV show." Actually I never did watch the show, but I was aware of that iconic image through pop-culture osmosis.
Maybe I don't grasp the scope of the problem, but I seem to think aware driving, slowing down, and evasive maneuvering/breaking are better ways to avoid moose-hits.
Just saying.
Just saying.
Certainly moose don't strike me as terribly fast creatures, compared to deer (where jumping out into the road in the blink of an eye is a problem; a few years ago, I nearly hit one in broad daylight). But you also have icy roads to contend with up in Alaska, so the kind of quick swerving we do down here may not be as smart an option.
Is it "dumber" than striking a 900lb animal at 45 miles an hour?
I guess it depends on what you're going to hit if you swerve to miss the 900lb animal. End up in a snowdrift? Yes. Plow into a tree? Maybe not so much.
People posting on the Mythbusters discussion boards also pointed out that a lot of folks up in Alaska drive pickups and SUVs, which because of their heavier weight and higher center of gravity would obviously handle a moose collision differently. So I think a re-test is definitely in order.
People posting on the Mythbusters discussion boards also pointed out that a lot of folks up in Alaska drive pickups and SUVs, which because of their heavier weight and higher center of gravity would obviously handle a moose collision differently. So I think a re-test is definitely in order.
I guess it depends on what you're going to hit if you swerve to miss the 900lb animal. End up in a snowdrift? Yes. Plow into a tree? Maybe not so much.
People posting on the Mythbusters discussion boards also pointed out that a lot of folks up in Alaska drive pickups and SUVs, which because of their heavier weight and higher center of gravity would obviously handle a moose collision differently. So I think a re-test is definitely in order.
Wow. A rare case of the people on the forums making sense and a good point.
But I don't think it'd make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. The moose is still going to flatten the roof of the vechile or crash into the passenger compartment.
That may be the case. If nothing else, it's a good excuse to watch more cars get wrecked.
That may be the case. If nothing else, it's a good excuse to watch more cars get wrecked.
By all means, they should test it, it's worth testing (and frankly, I'm not surprised they missed it. The Jr. Mythbusters tend to miss a lot of things when they get a little... exuberant in their myths. Jamie and Adam miss a lot too, but I'm fairly certain they would've thought to test trucks and SUVs.)
I just wouldn't expect different results.
Not to mention if there are other cars on the road with you, in which case there may be no safe way to swerve. Swerving around a stationary moose won't help you if you swerve into the path of an oncoming SUV.
Also, it's a question of reaction time. Consult the myth about driving in the wake of a semi truck for a discussion of how far a car travels in one or two seconds. If you come around a curve and the moose is right there, or if you're in the driving snow with poor visibility, you may not be aware the moose is in the road until you're nearly upon it. In which case it wouldn't be physically possible to slow down enough to avoid a deadly impact.
People posting on the Mythbusters discussion boards also pointed out that a lot of folks up in Alaska drive pickups and SUVs, which because of their heavier weight and higher center of gravity would obviously handle a moose collision differently. So I think a re-test is definitely in order.
That wouldn't make any difference, because the conceit of the myth is that the moose's body starts out at about roof level of the car, so if you drive fast enough, you'll sort of slip through underneath the moose's body before it falls far enough to crush your car (which as Kari said is based on an unrealistic assumption about how long it takes to start falling after its legs are knocked out). In a higher vehicle like an SUV, there's zero chance of that to begin with, so going faster would clearly just cause more damage. So I don't see that it's even worth testing.
Of course, if you're in the driving snow with poor visiblity, should you really be doing 45+ mph?
Of course, if you're in the driving snow with poor visiblity, should you really be doing 45+ mph?
If you're like the drivers around here, yes. Especailly if you're in an SUV.
"A moose once hit my car..."
The producers of this thread would like to inform you that the persons responsible for that comment, have been sacked.
I thought the Cabin Fever was one of the more interesting experiments that they've done in a while. Watching Adam slowly go bonkers was funny (although that toy he made from the coathanger....talented SOB) and poor Kari -- who was supposed to keep her from going nuts?
The producers of this thread would like to inform you that the persons responsible for that comment, have been sacked.
I thought the Cabin Fever was one of the more interesting experiments that they've done in a while. Watching Adam slowly go bonkers was funny (although that toy he made from the coathanger....talented SOB) and poor Kari -- who was supposed to keep her from going nuts?
The cabin fever one *was* great. Although it was a FAIL in several ways, not all related to them screwing up the saliva tests.
As for Kari. Kari at the very least was allowed external stimulation. She could go outside, she (presumably) had forms of entertainment (TV, radio, books) at her disposal and human contact (the producers.)
As for Kari. Kari at the very least was allowed external stimulation. She could go outside, she (presumably) had forms of entertainment (TV, radio, books) at her disposal and human contact (the producers.)
