Air Date: October 27, 2004
A jawbreaker can explode when bitten after being heated in a microwave oven or standing out in the sunlight while still in the wrapper.
confirmed
Microwave heating of a jawbreaker can cause the different layers inside to heat at different rates, yielding an explosive spray of very hot candy when compressed. During one test, a jawbreaker did indeed explode, catching Christine on part of her face and neck, and Adam on part of an arm, as the "jaw rig" they had set up was not enclosed by safety screens. Both suffered light burns. In Florida, a young girl suffered severe burns to her face when one exploded. When heated in a toaster oven to replicate the conditions of being left out in the sun, the jawbreaker did not explode, but the insides were molten enough to be potentially harmful. Various explanations for why this could occur, including chemical tainting, all further strengthened the "confirmed" assessment.
A construction worker accidentally killed himself with static charge after sandblasting an 8 foot PVC pipe.
busted
No static charge built up on the pipe in initial testing. Even after they were converted into a Van de Graaff generator and a Leyden jar, the amount of static electricity produced was too small to actually kill a person. The original circumstances of the myth preclude any significant static buildup - resting the pipe on metal jack stands allows the pipe to discharge to the ground while sand in the air from the sandblasting can dissipate static charge the same way humidity can.
An ordinary playing card can actually kill a person if thrown with enough power.
busted
Adam was already fairly adept at throwing cards, his maximum speed being 25mph; this failed to cause any injury. After trying some designs for a card-throwing machine, Adam and Jamie settled on a design that could throw cards at 155mph. When this device was used on Jamie, it caused a small cut that only drew a small amount of blood.
Just heard that somewhere in south Florida at a bar, a fight broke out and somebody threw/flicked a playing card at one of the people he was attacking/defending getting him in the neck severing an artery. The poor guy is at a hospital right now. It happened last night August 7, 2007. So, I’m looking around for news of that story to come out.
And if true, then certainly Jamie and Adam will need to revise their “busted” conclusion that ordinary playing card cannot kill a person when thrown.
August 8, 2007 at 12:52 PMYes i heard of that story too, i think they’ll need to redo that myth
August 10, 2007 at 5:42 PMWow…yeah, looked up that story…I think that “small cut” means its plausible though. I mean, hit an artery or vein, and bam, they could easily bleed to death. This one needs to be revisited.
August 14, 2007 at 3:39 PMIf any of you watched the World Series of Poker from 2002 or 2003 there is a segment they included in one episode called “the nuts” which focuses on the odd and sometimes obscure parts of card playing. In one such section Chris “Jesus” Ferguson threw cards at various vegetables, slicing them all in half from a range of 6 to 10 feet. Being able to cut a carrot in half with a single stroke like that, although that may not be a lethal force on a human, would definitely break the skin. I think they should re-visit this with Ferguson as a guest and see just how deep his card throwing tactics can cut.
September 13, 2007 at 7:05 PMIn addition,magician Ricky Jay can penetrate the skin of a watermelon with a playing card(I didn’t see this episode-I thought they consulted w/him on it.)He does it on youtube.I would think he could get a card to go pretty deeply into skin. They definitely need to re-look at this and consult Jay.
October 17, 2007 at 2:35 PMIn the spring of 1993 I was working at Landmark Petroleum in Fruita, CO and was knocked to the ground with static electricity. The arc was approximately 2.5 to 3 feet in length and was observed by our safety manager. The shock entered through the tip of my left index finger and felt as though I was punched, very hard, in the shoulder. Silica sand was being pumped THROUGH the PVC pipe that was approximately the same diameter and length as the one used in this episode. I KNOW they should revisit this “myth”. You can even purchase “grounded” PVC because of this problem.
January 22, 2008 at 12:18 AMYou can build up a very large static charge on PVC pipe by useing it to place blown in paper fiber insulation. I had the experience of having a blinding flash and a loud report while doing this work in my attic. Fortunatly the charge went into a grounded electric box. If you have ever done this work you may have experienced feeling the hair on your arm stand up as chuncks of matterial pass through the rubber hose.
February 3, 2008 at 11:44 PMPVC pipe plus pulp fiber equals wicked static charge. At my old job, several people complained of shocks while cleaning pulp fibers out of a steam heat exchanger coils when vacuuming with PVC pipe wands.
June 9, 2008 at 12:43 PMI worked as a shotblaster for 3 years and a few times encountered pvc and can say that this myth may well be plausable.The working conditions involved an extractor so the environment stayed clear of dust, also the type of abrasive may be key to a succesful shock although not sure this is just the setup I worked in.I generally used aluminium oxide a larger grit is better to keep dust levels down.I personally have felt a very large shock the bolt was about an inch thick and made a very loud clap although it wasnt a tube i was blasting but a sheet it obviously didnt kill me but i would think that if the piece of pvc was a lot larger it may well do so.
June 20, 2008 at 12:22 AM