List of MythBusters special episodes

MythBusters (special episodes)
Country of origin	Australia United States
No. of episodes	10 specials
Release
Original network	Discovery Channel
Original release	March 24, 2004 (2004-03-24) – July 28, 2010 (2010-07-28)

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).

Special episodes listed here were aired separately to the normal season episodes and special episodes.

Episode overview

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Original air date
BO1	Special 1	"Best Animal Myths"	March 24, 2004 (2004-03-24)
This was a "Best of" recut of previously tested animal-related myths from different episodes. The myths are... Chicken Gun from the episode "Chicken Gun", which originally aired January 18, 2004 Goldfish Memory from the episode "Sinking Titanic", which originally aired February 22, 2004 Does a Duck's Quack Echo? from the episode "Alcatraz Escape", which originally aired December 12, 2003
BO2	Special 2	"Best Electric Myths"	May 6, 2004 (2004-05-06)
This was a "Best of" recut of previously tested electricity-related myths from different episodes. The myths are... Peeing on the Third Rail from the episode "Barrel of Bricks", which originally aired October 10, 2003 Lightning Strikes Tongue Piercing from the episode "Lightning Strikes/Tongue Piercings", which originally aired November 11, 2003 Microwave Madness from the episode "Penny Drop", which originally aired October 17, 2003
BO3	Special 3	"Best Explosions"	May 9, 2004 (2004-05-09)
This was a "Best of" recut of previously tested explosion-related myths from different episodes. The myths are... Cell Phone Destruction from the episode "Cell Phone Destroys Gas Station", which originally aired October 3, 2003 Raccoon Rocket from the episode "Stinky Car", which originally aired December 5, 2003 Tree Cannon from the episode "Lightning Strikes/Tongue Piercings", which originally aired November 11, 2003 Exploding Toilet from the episode "Exploding Toilet", which originally aired September 23, 2003
SP11	Special 4	"Young Scientist Special"	April 26, 2008 (2008-04-26)
Myths tested: Are electric cars slower than gas-powered ones? Do greenhouse gases increase the amount of heat absorbed by air? Do cows hurt the environment? Can cow manure be used to help the environment? Note: This episode aired on the Science Channel. Former MythBuster Scottie Chapman reappeared in this episode to assist in the testing, along with Discovery Channel's young scientist winners.
SP13	Special 5	"Car Conundrum"	June 23, 2010 (2010-06-23)
This was a recut of previously tested car-related myths from different episodes. The myths are... Underwater Car from the episode "Underwater Car", which originally aired January 24, 2007 Hollywood Crash Test from the episode "Demolition Derby Special, which originally aired April 8, 2009 Car Remote Capers from the episode "Viewers' Special", which originally aired August 15, 2007
BC1	Special 6	"Alcohol Myths"	June 30, 2010 (2010-06-30)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Alcohol Myths", which originally aired October 22, 2008.
BC2	Special 7	"Duct Tape Hour 2"	July 7, 2010 (2010-07-07)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Duct Tape Hour 2", which originally aired May 12, 2010.
BC3	Special 8	"Knock Your Socks Off"	July 14, 2010 (2010-07-14)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Knock Your Socks Off", which originally aired October 7, 2009.
BC4	Special 9	"Viewer Special Threequel"	July 21, 2010 (2010-07-21)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Viewer Special Threequel", which originally aired November 19, 2008.
BC5	Special 10	"Bottle Bash"	July 28, 2010 (2010-07-28)
This is a "Buster's Cut" of the episode "Bottle Bash", which originally aired April 14, 2010.

Best of

In 2004, Discovery Channel aired three special episodes, which were a compilation of some of the best animal, electric, and explosion related myths.

Buster's Cut

During 2010, Discovery Channel aired a series of episodes that were titled "Buster's Cut". According to the episode introductions, these were edited reruns of earlier episodes featuring never before seen footage and behind the scenes information.

Episode SP11 – "Young Scientist Special"

• Original air date: April 26, 2008

This episode aired first on Science Channel, as opposed to the show's regular home of Discovery Channel. A team of winners in Discovery's "Young Scientist Challenge" competitions tested environmental myths with the team. Former MythBuster Scottie Chapman returned to assist with a myth.

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Electric cars are more sluggish than gasoline-powered cars.	Busted	They first had Jamie drive Brandon (a Young Scientist Challenge winner) in both a gas and electric consumer grade car, and blindfolded Brandon and covered Jamie's ears to see if they could tell the difference. Brandon couldn't tell, but being an experienced driver, Jamie was able to immediately tell based on the electric car's acceleration. Then, Adam, Jamie, and Brandon built an electric go-kart using lithium iron phosphate batteries and tested it against a gas go-kart. Despite weighing twice as much as the gas go-kart, the electric go-kart performed about the same. Then they went to a professional track and watched the KillaCycle, an electric drag motorcycle race against a stock gas motorcycle. The gas motorcycle won by a slight margin. Then they had the X1 electric sports car race against a Ferrari F430, and while the Ferrari's top speed was faster, the electric car accelerated faster and beat it in a drag race. Finally, they had the electric car race against an FJR50 Formula 3 race car. While the Formula 3 car easily beat the electric car, the electric car is considered a "street car", not a race car, and it did well enough that they proclaimed electric cars to be anything but slow.

The Great Ice Debate

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Greenhouse gases increase the amount of heat absorbed by air.	Confirmed	Airtight containers with carbon dioxide or methane added got one degree Celsius (2 °F) hotter than regular when heated by a hot lamp.

Cattle Calamity

Myth statement	Status	Notes
Cows hurt the environment.	Confirmed	Cows emit methane—though not mostly from flatulence, but from belching — and their feces emit even more methane once they begin rotting. Since there are so many cows, the methane contributes significantly to global warming.
Cow manure can be used to help the environment.	Confirmed	Cow manure can be used to power things. The Young Scientists helped collect cow manure and extracted methane gas from it. Grant hooked up the methane gas and used it to power a hand lawnmower. They then saw that the farm where they had collected cow manure from received 90% of its electricity from its own manure-powered generator.

Mini myths

Mini myths are myths that are too small to be part of an episode, or cannot be included in an episode due to time constraints or being inappropriate for younger viewers. There are numerous mini myths, with some of them available on the Discovery Channel website, as well as during the commercials in between MythBusters episodes. Others were screened during live appearances by the MythBusters. Some eventually aired in other clip-show episodes and/or were included on a DVD. Examples include Facts About Flatulence, Shark Mini Myths, and the Breakstep Bridge revisit. Others were aired in other countries, but not the US. This includes The MythBusters Teeth Challenge and Dog Bowl Ignition. The following mini myth never aired anywhere in the world or never were shown in later clip-show episodes, and cannot be associated with a specific episode.

Egg-uinox

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 equinox.	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.

BBC Two re-edited shows

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

BBC Two's editions of MythBusters are narrated by Rufus Hound in an energetic and irreverent style. The episodes only ran for 30 minutes.

Date broadcast	Myths
July 27, 2006	Penny Drop, Who Gets Wetter?, Exploding Toilet
August 3, 2006	Exploding CDs?, Silicone Breasts, Cell Phone Destruction
September 7, 2006	Lightning Strikes Tongue Piercing, 101 Uses For Cola, Hammer Bridge Drop
September 14, 2006	JATO Car, Pop Rocks
September 21, 2006	Buried Alive, Beat the Breath Test
September 28, 2006	Explosive Decompression, Rear Axle, Frog Giggin'
October 5, 2006	The Mad Trombonist, Goldfish Memory, Sinking Titanic
October 12, 2006	Escape from Alcatraz, Stud Finders & Mind Control Chips, Does a Duck's Quack Echo?
October 19, 2006	Rowing Water Skier, Toothbrush Surprise, Breakstep Bridge
October 31, 2006	Buried in Concrete, Daddy Long-Legs, Jet Taxi
November 7, 2006	Lawn Chair Balloon, Poppy Seed Drug Test, Goldfinger
November 14, 2006	Chicken Gun, Killer Washing Machine
February 19, 2007	Stuck on You, Biscuit Bullet

Notes

External links

• MythBusters Official site
• MythBusters at IMDb