MythBusters Episode 36: Killer Tissue Box
Air Date: August 5, 2005
A simple tissue box stored on the backboard of a car can move with sufficient force to kill a person during a crash.
busted
Sharp objects or objects with masses over 3 lb. (1.2 kg), like a bowling ball, can be deadly if they fly forward during a crash. Lighter objects like tissue boxes may cause injury but cannot kill.
A tissue box can stay intact during a crash.
confirmed
This was revealed when they crashed the real car and Adam pointed out that the box was intact.
It is possible to split an arrow perfectly down the middle with a second arrow like in the film The Adventures of Robin Hood.
partly busted
While it is certainly possible to rear-end an arrow with another, only a fiberglass arrow can be split down the middle (known as telescoping in archery circles). With a wooden arrow, even under the most ideal conditions, the best one can do is a partial split along the grain of the wood, and even that is improbable. They clearly showed that the film’s circumstances can be recreated using a hollow shaft, such as bamboo.
(This myth was revisited in episode 51 and it was re-busted.)
I think that the killer tissue box myth was not tested extensively enough. In the testing they used a tissue box made out of cardboard but there are fancier & much heavier ones that are made out of wood & decorated with metal.
August 5, 2007 at 7:44 AMI am an archer and I have Robin Hooded an arrow and I still have the proof. I used a compound bow at 30yds 70# draw weight.
August 29, 2007 at 6:40 PMI split an arrow myself, at a Summer camp archery range i crossed my shot with another kid’s shot, the result was a mid-air split, it split about 3/4 of the whole shaft. These were cheapo wood arrows with pointed silver cap tips (1970’s era) and cheapo fiber-glass bows.
Ironically, i was bragging how good of an archer i was just prior to the shot, it made quite a change of of everyone’s expression of doubt – even i was surprised! =)
August 30, 2007 at 2:02 PMI think an arrow can be split if your wood grain that runs parrell. Back then they used cane or bamboo, hollow inside and parrell wood grain.Unlike round woodlaved cut sticks with unequal parrell grain that can’t be split from the nut at the string end, to the head at the head or tip.Unlike straight wildcherry limbs or hollow cane. To make the nut on a cane arrow simply cut both sides at an angel to make a v an 1/4in back knot. split the tip about halfinch to 3/4in from the knot of the head to add razor tip.then wrap the back with rat intestons to add feathers and stop the bow string from splitting it by the force. Also the same for the razortip. Or use sewing thread with a fingernail polish coating.Just some backwoods boys wisdom from experience.They all call me Doorightt.Just try it and you should see results. and i am an inventer!!!
August 30, 2007 at 9:47 PMYeasterday 10/9/2007 I shot a Robin Hood shoting a carbon arrow into another carbon arrow at 20 yards with a compound bow at 65 lbs. The arrows are still intact,the total length of the two arrows is 54 1/2 inches with the second arrow 7 inches into the first arrow.
October 10, 2007 at 9:53 AMAli, that is why there is the disclaimer that sharp objects or objects over 3 lbs. can be deadly. Also, the tissue container that would most common in the average persons car would be a cardboard one.
October 25, 2007 at 1:36 AMWood grain arrows can be split like in the movie, it would take a one in a million shot to completely split on arrow with another end to end due to not hitting the trailing end dead on. The wood is chosen due to the straightness of the grain when you make them yourself, that would make it easy to split an arrow with another one.
November 5, 2007 at 3:19 PMhey i am an archer for the Wrarringa archers and i have shot an arrow into the rear of another enough to split it down the middle 3 times. twice with a carbon arrow and once with a wooden one.
December 10, 2007 at 4:16 AMthe bow i used was an compound bow set at 80pounds and was in a competition with my father in an 3 arrow shoot out and i also did it at my old house in Sydney twice. i think that this myth is proved.
December 10, 2007 at 4:20 AMand i still have a picture of the day when i did it and the club has one and i still have one.
December 10, 2007 at 4:22 AMMy 13 yr old shot a carbon arrow into another carbon arrow 15 inches, 3 days after receiving his first bow for christmas. 60lb draw at 15 yds. I think this myth is confirmed possible!
December 27, 2007 at 7:56 PMI’m an archer who has done this myself, now I probably couldn’t recreate it, however I know it happens. At the range that I shoot at there is a wall half full of arrows that have been split down the middle.
February 11, 2008 at 8:49 PMRemember, Robin Hood didnt have a compund bow. Just cheap arrows…
August 26, 2008 at 2:37 AMSome are bragging that they are able to split an arrow.
Why don’t you pay the MB team a visit and show them how its done.
December 26, 2008 at 1:59 PMI stuck a carbon fiber arrow 6 inches deep into another one it did not split it I couldnt believe it I kept it for proof
January 23, 2009 at 11:07 AMhttp://www.metacafe.com/watch/216725/1_in_a_million_moments/
i found this video, i think it was from funniest home videos, but it shows a guy not splitting the arrow but sticking one arrow in the back of another.
January 29, 2009 at 7:45 AMi think this show is the best becuase my friend thinkss it is possilbe to cut your toe off with steel toe boots and on episode 46 it was busted
February 9, 2009 at 12:56 PMModern, wooden arrows are made with a router. There were no routers in Robin Hood’s days. Arrows were made from green saplings or branches that were already straight. That means the grain would have been straight down the middle of the arrow. The myth wasn’t busted, because they never tested an authentic 14th century arrow, with an expert marksman.
May 12, 2009 at 9:50 PMArchey practice was compulsory on Sundays for all males in medieval England and arrows had to be made in huge quantities to accomodate this. By using “riven” wood (split along the grain), large amounts could made from any seasoned straight grained wood without the need to find a million perfect saplings. Riven wood was also much more likely to survive the huge stresses of being fired from a longbow drawing between 90 and 120 pounds and then hitting French armour.
June 5, 2009 at 12:36 AMihave to do this for a project at my school.
September 1, 2009 at 8:08 PMHello from Croatia.I’m archer and since I wached episod splitting an arrow I also tried but I just crashed nock of the arrow.
November 29, 2009 at 8:55 AMyou should see how long it takes to kill a shark wih a fork.
January 6, 2010 at 12:37 PM