Mini Myth Mayhem

[Wolfyhound]

On a Monday...

Post episode discussion here.  This was pretty fast paced to me, with some really DISgusting bits(Yay!!!) and some sciencey bits(Yay!!).

[Cybermortis]

Errm, Wolfy I started a thread for this episode last week.

[Cybermortis]

This has to be one of the best episodes of the show to date.

Fast paced - possibly one of the problems of the usual episodes is that they can drag things out longer than they need to be on occasion - while maintaining the science and fun factor. A perfect blend here, and unlike other episodes where they cover several myths it all fitted together without any of the segments feeling tacked on, cut short or just being out of place.

The only comments I can think of apart from this are;

They really should have re-iterated the 'don't try this at home' line after they put their hands in the molten lead. I was, in fact, astonished that they failed to do this.

They didn't note that the first cannons known - those from China - were bamboo tubes firing arrows.

They never told us what they were using in place of diamonds in the cannon.

They seemed to have ignored that blackpowder has had different burning rates, and therefore different explosive force, through out history. They should have tried a lower strength (ie older mixture) before using the modern powder. However I can understand that such powders might not be easy to obtain, and that they didn't really have the time to go into great detail about this.

[BlackWidowNor]

Cybermortis, they were using quartz for the diamonds.

Nor

[Mapper]

They really should have re-iterated the 'don't try this at home' line after they put their hands in the molten lead. I was, in fact, astonished that they failed to do this.

Wasn't once enough? I didn't think the American public were that stupid.

[toga_dan]

A couple weeks ago History channel televised a bamboo cannon. It was perhaps 2 inch diameter by 2 feet long. It was bound in twine along it's entire length. It worked quite nicely with a round stone.

I was a bit concerned about Mythbusters ramming rocks and powder tight. Rocks sometimes make sparks. Could quartz crystals spark by peizoelectric voltage? But maybe they werent smacking them hard. It seems like the sort of thing Grant would think of.

The thing I really want to see tested is Captain Kirk using a scrap of his pants to ignite the cannon. That has always bugged me. They can put a man on Alpha Centauri, but they can't make space PANTS that don't BURN !!!

[Antigone68104]

On "Gorn Cannon", got a question for any blackpowder fans here.  Making "Ye Olde Gunpowder" to impress the locals shows up a lot in tabletop RPGs dealing with time travel.  I happened to have one of my sourcebooks out the other day, and noticed that according to their recipe, Kirk missed a step.  Once the powder is mixed, you're supposed to wet it, form it into granules (they suggest a sieve), and let it dry.  Is this correct?

If so, then according to the book Kirk would never have gotten the cannon to fire.  Unless, of course, he snuck some extra work in during the commercial break .

[Cybermortis]

I'd suspect that the dropped that part of the mixing from the episode. Either the Great Bird didn't know about it (which is possible, as far as I'm aware GR had no reason to know exactly how to make gun-powder), or they decided to skip a step so kiddies at home didn't get tempted to try and make gunpowder at home.

Of course the first series of Trek was known to have ran into problems with the time it was taking to write the scripts. There is an account of how one of the producers took to walking into Gene's office while filming was waiting for the next act to be written. He would then get onto the desk and literally stand over Gene until he'd finished writing.
In this context it is hardly surprising that errors were made in the scripts...in fact it is astonishing that there were not more of them.

[toga_dan]

Once the powder is mixed, you're supposed to wet it, form it into granules (they suggest a sieve), and let it dry.  Is this correct?

Yes, at least that is what I have read. This might be why the team got smoke and no boom.

As far as Star Trek goes, missing a detail like that was kind of beside the point. The point is that Kirk does CPR on the Gorn, his "enemy", that's why he's one of the good guys.
edit> I love the CPR bit. That wasn't in the original Star Trek, was it?

[Mycroft]

I agree with Toga_Dan on this one.  A fun myth to test but from the perspective of the original Star Trek episode it wasn't germane to the story, just dramatic element to show compassion towards one's enemies.  I'd leave it at that.  Personally, I enjoyed the romping good fun the build team had in camping it up as real Trekkies.  I laughed so hard at Grant sporting pointy ears and really bad ones at that!  Definitely worth watching.

[firearrow31]

A couple weeks ago History channel televised a bamboo cannon. It was perhaps 2 inch diameter by 2 feet long. It was bound in twine along it's entire length. It worked quite nicely with a round stone.

Was that the special on ancient Chinese weapons that detailed the use of aquatic mines?

[toga_dan]

I only caught the end of the program. So I don't know. I tried finding out about it online, but the only reference I found was mishabear referring to it a few years ago on mbfc.

[lauren]

I loved this episode! Laughed so hard at the earwax candle! Ewww.

I was also amazed at the molten metal one - I'd never heard that myth before but I wouldn't have believed it.

[Cardolan]

Yes, I loved this one also.  As for the gunpowder, the Build Team made 'serpantine'---a dry mixture.  A problem with the dry mixture is the specific gravities of the three components are different and in a few minutes you get a 'layered' effect.   With reduced propulsion.  That is why you wet it and grind to suit later.  The Turks used serpantine and it worked pretty well in their bombards.  They would mix it shortly before useing and use wooden plugs to seal the mixture a special combustion chamber.

[fwilkins]

I guess I'll be the dissenter here...

I thought it was one of their worst episodes ever.

Wet hand in molten lead:  Did they miss that episode of Time Warp?  The MIT physicist even explained why it worked and it looked better on their high speed cameras.

Hand in bowl of water: Test subject #1 refused to fall asleep.  Subject #2 fell asleep on his hands.  #3 tipped the bowl over.  And they call that a busted myth?

Earwax candle: More testing of cartoon physics.

Light a match with a bullet:  Impressive.  But it would have been even more impressive if it was a person holding the gun and not a jig.  "Badlands" Bill Oglesby kept hitting the match head and shattering it.  He couldn't adjust his aim by microns.

The Gorn cannon:  I knew they would fail as soon as they showed their ingredients.  I know from my personal experience, and what I have researched, but you do not want to use "activated charcoal" for your home made black powder.  Activated charcoal causes the mixture to burn, not explode.  Switching to real charcoal (go watch the Dirty Jobs episode where charcoal was made) will provide explosive results.  Some people even recommend making your own charcoal from willow trees for a better mix.