Episode #50 Bullets Fired up!

[sas]

I loved this episode!! Though, I have to confess, even with the pre-work I was a little tense about the testing in the desert. The disco-ducks can't come out and complain on this one. I think that they covered every angle on Bullets Fired Up.

Vodka myths was too! Grant, how nice of you to sacrifice your legs for science.

- sas

[n3yne]

looks like Kari's vodka likes are much like mine, expensive stuff is yuck, lol...  but i think the episode was cool, very thorough tests.  i wonder what the filtration actually did to the vodka to change the taste?  anyway, im out...

[BlackWidowNor]

n3yne... you're too young to be drinking!  Stop that right now!

Nor (who doesn't approve of underage alcohol consumption...)

[ninjapirate]

yes i agree this was definatly a very interesting episode. and on another note they were absolutly correct about the angle it being fired at. there was a homocide case were a man was firing a 9mm pistol in his backyard in city limits when a woman living next to him started yelling at him that he was going to hurt someone. out of frustration he shot into the air (the forensics lab and coroner estimated between 30 to 45 degrees on the bullet entry), and as irony would have it he hit and killed a woman a few blocks away.

[Nakor]

i saw that episode of csi too ninjapirate. alot of the so-called science on that show is dubious at best

[BlackWidowNor]

I got an email this morning from John the researcher (through Grant) - poor guy - with pictures of his rash... ok.. you've convinced me, I'll share -

Hi Grant,

Can you please forward this photo on to the MBFC, as a follow-up to Vodka Myths?  It shows how bad my poison oak rash had gotten just 3 days after exposure.

If you remember, Kari applied the poison oak on our second-to-last day of shooting last summer.  The rash began to show up on the following day, but didn’t really get bad until we were on hiatus the next week (I think the worst of it was around day 7 or 8 ).

I took this picture in my car the Sunday after we wrapped.  Although the rash is difficult to see in the show, this photo supports our findings exactly.  If you look closely, you can make out two white lines where the permanent marker ink dividing the patches protected my skin from exposure.  The area on the left was the vodka, in the middle was the control, and on the right was the commercial product.  You can see that while the commercial product made a significant difference, the vodka had little or no advantage over the control.

The most surprising finding to me was the effect that the marker had!  Maybe it calls for a revisit: covering one’s skin in permanent marker ink before going out in the woods?  I’ll be the last to volunteer for that one...

Cheers,
John

OF COURSE I'LL HOST!

Here they are

Here are the links -
 
http://www.mythbustersfanclub.com/PoisonOakLarge.jpg 831KB
http://www.mythbustersfanclub.com/PoisonOakSmall.jpg 173KB

one for broad band and one for dial up.  Ain't it sweet!  (ouch ouch it itches dammitol ouch ouch!)

Nor

[Lisa Nix]

Way to take one for the team, John! Looks like the vodka would've been better applied to your bloodstream.

[BlackWidowNor]

Anyone have the math Adam did to figure out the terminal velocity in FEET PER SECOND?

I'm arguing with my stepfather... lol

Nor

[sas]

I don't have that... but totally off topic...

Adam needs a hair cut! Though cute, the permenant bed-head has gotta go.

- sas

[oscardeuce]

I'm still confused about the bullet tumbling as it fell. At first, I though Adam's wind tunnel made turbulent airflow which caused the bullet to tumble. In WWI and WWII they dropped bullet shaped flechettes from aircraft. They were able to penetrate helmets and cause casualties. They were called lazy dog bombs.





The bullet holes they found looked relatively round to me more like they entered at a slight angle, not on their side. The 9mm may have been more prone to tumbling , but I'd bet the 30.06 round  being longer and more stable around the longitudinal axis ( the 30.06 and the lazy dogs are similar in shape) would not be as prone to tumbling.
Oscar will now spend the next week pondering the aerodynamics of bullets.

Oh, by the way shooting a rifle like the M-1 Garand (30.06) into the ground right were you are standing is a good way to hurt someone. That made me cringe! "Years of experience, which makes us safe" doesn't cut it when you do something that stupid.

The poison oak experiment went how I would predict, by the last experiments they were really grinding those leaves into the skin. The permanent marker did act as a barrier as seen by one of the crew.

Otherwise, a good and interesting show which I enjoyed. I really do seem to enjoy those show which provoke though. Does a bullet tumble in free fall, or does it assume the position of least aerodynamic resistance. Maybe the guys are not 100% right, but if they can get kids thinking critically/scientifically then they are making improvments to our society, not just entertaining them.

[BlackWidowNor]

Oscar... if that episode can stop one fool from firing in the air, I'm happy.

Regardless of the outcome, Here in Detroit there are tragedies almost every year from things like this.  Most disturbing was the death of a young girl sleeping in her own bed, caused by a bullet fired into the air on New Year's Eve.  What ever happened to banging pots and pans?

Nor

[sas]

What ever happened to banging pots and pans?

Towns / municipalities envoked db ordinances... less risky to fire within city limits.

[BlackWidowNor]

never seen anyone arrested for banging pots and pans together on New Year's Eve.

*sigh*  guess I haven't lived yet.  lol

Nor

[Wolfyhound]

The Unsung Hero of the episode.. Researcher John.  Poor guy, that looks hideously painful.
I loved the whole thing.  The vodka myths were cool, and the adhesive bandage was really funny, sorry Grant, but I endure enough of that often enough to be able to simply laugh when someone else has to go through it.  My tattoo artist is horrid about taping my patch on over my new ink.  It takes me forever to peel the tape, skin, hair and I think Nerve bundles off afterwards. 
I cringed to see Jamie firing the rifle into the ground too.  Sigh.  Bad enough with the pistol.  Not knowing what sort of ground that is, maybe it wasn't as bad, but still, I think of one tiny rock...
I thought the little plexi huts were really neat too.  And the thought of everyone listening for the bullets,  just a question.. did anyone else think of a metal detector as soon as they saw them looking across the dry lake bed? I sure did.  And I know they had one before.
Frustrating to hunt for a tiny hole, in a field of tiny holes..
Wolfy(guns + MB = happy Wolfy)

[kb7rky]

First off:

John, ol' boy...OUCH!

Makes you wonder if Sharpies will be considered good poison oak protection now...however, I have to agree with Lnix.

Subpart A:

Grant...OUCH! Although, putting any sort of liquid on a bangaid will make it come off anyway...even the so-called 'waterproof' ones. You just gotta let it soak a bit.

Second:

A FIRST FOR THE GUYS! A myth that qualified for all three criteria...



AND
 

It makes you think now about ALL the myths that have been tested thus far (including the revisits)...could some of them be considered "all of the above" now?

Doug