Мифбастерлер: Аңыз бен шындықты анықтау эксперименттері

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).

Myth statement Status Notes A rowing eight can pull a water skier at sufficient speed for the skier to stay upright. Confirmed After several tries, Jamie was able to stay upright for over 40 seconds, with only a few hours experience in waterskiing.

Myth statement Status Notes Fecal coliform bacteria can travel from a toilet to a toothbrush and grow in its bristles. Confirmed After confirming that a toilet flush does emit an aerosol spray, Adam built a rack to hold 44 toothbrushes at various distances from the toilet in the shop, as well as two controls kept in the office. Each day, Adam and Jamie exposed the brushes to toothpaste and rinsed them with distilled water, with brushing with a pair kept right above the toilet bowl. Fecal coliforms were indeed found on all the test brushes, including the control ones, but none at a level high enough to be dangerous. A microbiologist from UCSF confirmed that such coliforms were impossible to completely avoid, and that there was no significant difference in the number of bacteria based on where the toothbrushes were placed in respect to the toilet bowl. This surprising result prompts the narrator to proclaim, "Some myths are best left unanswered!"

This myth is so widely passed around that it even made it into Time magazine's "numbers" section at one point. Myth statement Status Notes A goldfish's memory lasts only three seconds. Busted Jamie trained his goldfish to recognize color patterns and complete an obstacle course under water. They remembered what Jamie had taught them over a month later and easily completed the same course without his prompting. However, Adam's fish suffered from a filter malfunction and they were not getting enough food.

Myth statement Status Notes A trombonist had put a firecracker into the mute and, at the final note of the 1812 Overture, launched the mute, striking the conductor and knocking him back into the audience. In addition, the bell of the trombone was blown wide open and the slide was launched. Busted Using a firecracker, the mute hit the conductor (Buster) but did not knock him over. When the equivalent of six model rocket engines was used, he fell forward after being hit. When even more were used, the trombone was practically destroyed, but the bell still did not peel back, nor did the slide launch. Since not even the first part of the myth could be duplicated, the rest could not have followed. This myth was later tested on "Myths Redux".

The Egg uinox myth was perhaps too short to air in any episode, as it was easily and conclusively busted. Myth statement Status Notes An egg can be balanced on its ends only during the spring and fall equinoxes. Busted This is a Chinese folk belief, sometimes called Li Chun egg balancing after the first day of spring in the Chinese calendar. There is nothing special about the spring and fall equinoxes that allows an egg to balance on end. A person with enough dexterity can do it on any day of the year. Hard boiled eggs balance better than raw eggs, however.