MythBusters Episode 51: "Myths Reopened"
Air Date: April 26, 2006
SPINOFF: A hybrid rocket can be propelled with salami. (From episode 40)
confirmed
Salami, like the paraffin used in the first test, was able to propel the rocket, although it tended to explode instead of providing even thrust.
REVISITED: An wooden arrow can be split in half through a direct hit in the tail by another arrow. (From episode 36)
re-busted
Even after multiple direct hits on a solid wood arrow with the bone nock removed, a tail-to-tip split could not be achieved. It took an arrow made of hollow bamboo to create the splitting effect seen in the movie. Because with a normal arrow, the second arrow will follow the grain, which will lead to the side before it makes it to the end. Also their tests revealed that an arrow fired from a traditional bow wobbles in the air enough that it won’t hit the end of the arrow straight.
SPINOFF: A modern firearm can be fired if completely submerged in water. (From episode 34)
confirmed
All of the firearms (a 9mm, a .357, a 12-gauge shotgun, and a .30-06) were able to discharge underwater, however the bullets lose velocity rapidly and are rendered less than lethal beyond a meter. (The entire gun had to be completely submerged in water - all pockets of air must be removed - in order to prevent a possible explosion when fired.) Furthermore, the break-barrel shotgun (albeit a relatively old and un-modern design) destroyed itself when fired underwater. Finally, the water pressure might cause the spent cartridge to fail to leave the chamber and, hence, effectively reduce the gun to a one-shot deal. A revolver would not have this problem as they do not eject their spent cartridges after each shot.
Newer: Episode 52: "Mind Control"
Re the split arrow myth, i’m wondering if the arrows were made from copiced wood (that is where a tree is cut leaving a stump so that many new shoots grow from it.this was used for making fences, arrows etc) whether they would split with the desired effect similar to the bamboo. obviousely the myth is still busted due to the accuracy required still worth a thought if you have to go there again at any point.
June 25, 2007 at 6:19 AMYou guys should see the attached video of Korean archery team. The second arrow hits the end of the first arrow and straightly makes it to the end.
July 5, 2007 at 8:30 AMhttp://play.pullbbang.com/player_pum.swf?vid=536016
I’ve personally seen an arrow which went directly through the arrow of another arrow, so I’m not sure how they could find it to be busted. I would like to know which archers were doing this, since one I know of has completed this before.
July 5, 2007 at 8:08 PMThe results from the arrow-splitting myth are based on traditional wooden arrows depicted in the movie “The Adventures of Robin Hood”. The MythBusters admitted that this feat is certainly possible with modern arrows and bows. (See Epsiode 36)
July 8, 2007 at 6:08 AMthe arrow that was fired into in the korean video was hollow, you can see the tube opening in the video. still an amazing feat.
July 16, 2007 at 5:04 PMhmm. yeah. the korean team shot their arrow into a hollow arrow tube with the nock removed. Basically, the hollow arrow tube is made of aluminium, thick enough for the second arrow (shot from the bow, which is a carbon arrow) to drop through if you remove the nock and point. however, there isn’t much of a clearance..like just about 0.1mm, so it is definitely quite an amazing feat. a twitch one degree up down or to the left or right would leave you missing that arrow totally.
I’ve seen many arrows being split from the back, however, the piercing arrow did not pierce through more than 4 inches of the arrow already on the board. Though for carbon arrows, it is possible for the arrow to pierce exactly through, since the carbon may split at the grain. however, this would require almost exact accuraccy, where you shoot the arrow down the exact same trajectory as the previous arrow.
August 3, 2007 at 9:52 AMRe: splitting an arrow. The tips they were using were standard target point. I would like to see them use a traditional point. Also, the arrow material and distance would make a difference. Were their arrows splined to match the bow and how far does that arrow wobble when shot down range. Finally, they should call in Byron Ferguson, probably the best longbow archer in the country, if not the world, to do the shooting. Check out this site for an amazing demo on accuracy: http://www.byronferguson.com/
August 13, 2007 at 12:00 AMI’ve seen his stuff on utube as well.
You can split two carbon arrow in halve. I found out when i was shooting and the my one arrow split the other
August 31, 2007 at 3:45 PMhey i just did the same thing today with carbon arrows, at 25 yards and can get pics. Arrows are still stuck together.
September 6, 2007 at 7:48 PMOne thing I noticed about the episode is they tried everything except what Robin Hood would have used. Arrows in those days were made from split ash, not hammered cedar. Ash is a very straight grained wood and was used in the construction of spear shafts, bows (Laminated with horn as in Hun bow.), and anything that needed a straight shaft.
November 24, 2007 at 12:41 PMThe only reason the wooden arrows didn’t split from end to end is that they are modern ones made by machines. In ancient times Cedar or Ash was split along the grain (from very large trees) to create perfecly straight grained 8 sided shafts, which were then hand sanded round. These will ALWAYS SPLIT FROM TIP to TIP, as long as the grain runs tip to tip. No mystery here, just poor science by the Myth Busters, and even poorer history research. You can split a truely straight grained shaft of any wood species from tip to tip with an arrow head, an axe or a pocket knief, as where ever the cutting device separates the grain fibers, it will follow to the end. They just weren’t using the kind of shafts that would have been hand made from straight grain wood in the middle ages. DUH!!
December 30, 2007 at 5:09 PMFurther to Myth Busters reasoning why it failed, that of an arrow woble making it impossible to hit the target straight. Arrow wobble is a simple matter of matching the spine of the shaft to the strength of the bow. If the Strength of the bow is too much for the stiffness of the shaft, it will wobble on its flight. If the shaft spine is thick and straight grained and the bow doesn’t overpower the stiffness, the arrow flies without wobbling. Please add comon sense to the experiments. You can make a long steel shaft wobble with enough force if you want to, but this has no bearing on the ability to hit a 3/8″ target with an arrow head, it’s just poor matching of the arrows to the bow. Besides all wobble stops if given enough distance to allow the shock forces on the shaft to dissipate.
December 30, 2007 at 5:30 PMI have personally seen many robin hoods happen in my archery club. In fact I have personally seen a Double robin hood done by Pierre Berthelon. Every time he comes to the club he robin hoods. Check out the site http://www.sfaa-nj.com/double_robin_hood_by_pierre.htm
He did this finger shooting from a compound bow.
February 24, 2008 at 5:57 PMAnd another think I noticed, was that they tried to shoot the arrow straight in the middle of the other arrow.
What if the arrow comes from above at a slight angle, and the arrow “wings” slice the arrow from above?
April 14, 2008 at 2:03 PMI know the busters were trying to replicate the traditional arrow split, but has anyone heard of the story about the blind woman who managed to split a modern arrow?
May 5, 2008 at 9:49 AMI just saw a program on another network about marksmanship, it featured a man who shoots traditional wooden arrows with a traditional longbow and he split an arrow tail to tip.
June 3, 2008 at 12:30 AMThe history channel aired a show called extreme marksmen. It showed Byron Ferguson do a robin hood. He was using a longbow not a compound bow.
July 2, 2008 at 8:26 PMas for the episode 36 one were an arrow can not be cut in half with another arrow i just saw it on the history channel some guy shot an arrow into another arrow… it went about 1/5th of the way in but i still think its possible for them to shoot it all the way down
July 12, 2008 at 11:31 PMKeith, I saw the same show. The arrow didn’t split, it drove the first arrow into the target. For sure an impressive shot. I think with the proper arrows like thoes mentioned by Merv, Bryon could split one.
November 4, 2008 at 10:13 PM