MythBusters Episode 61: "Deadly Straw"
Air Date: September 6, 2006
A piece of straw can penetrate all the way through a palm tree if propelled by hurricane-force winds.
busted
Propelling a piece of straw at a palm tree at a distance of 50cm at 320mph (the world record for recorded wind speed at ground level), the straw only managed to penetrate the tree a quarter of an inch. Even firing at the tree while it was bent (to increase the size of the pores in the surface of the tree) at point blank range added no additional distance into the tree. A piece of reed was tested as the sturdiest organic object that might be mistaken for a piece of straw. At both ranges, the reed only managed to go about two inches into the tree. Additionally, Jamie tried a piece of piano wire, and at 50 cm, it flew not only through the tree but through a sheet of plywood on the wall behind it, partially embedding itself into the cement wall.
Wind alone can blow the feathers off of a chicken.
busted
Even wind speeds faster than those ever recorded could not remove any of the feathers of a tethered chicken. The whole bird would more likely be blown away completely.
Polygraph tests indicate that all living things share some form of interconnected consciousness.
busted
Tests were done by connecting plants to a polygraph’s galvanometer, and then employing actual and imagined harm upon the plants or upon others in the plant’s vicinity. The galvanometer showed some spurious readings (showing some kind of reaction about 1/3rd of the time), so a much more accurate EEG machine was used. When Grant and Tory used a machine that dropped eggs randomly into boiling water, the plant had no reaction. Additionally, Tory’s leukocytes had no reaction when Kari shocked him with a stungun.
1) I am not quite sure that EEG machine is the right device for this test. Brain activity generates electromagnetic field. But I think any living cell does not in general. Or even if any cell generates some EM field it is much smaller than that in brain.
July 12, 2007 at 12:40 PM2) to my mind the test with boiling eggs is not satisfactory. Are you sure eggs are live (if you bought them in any mall they might as well be dead). Then why would the plant “care” about eggs’ suffering? I would suggest to burn another plant (same kind) while the original plant is connected to a polygraph machine.
i can’t remember if the straw was wet or not, which makes a huge difference, also i don’t remember the tree being wet as well, again a major difference.
July 16, 2007 at 4:07 PMI would love to know the filter settings on the polygraph experiments. I suspect the low cut-off frequency was much lower than on the EEG device. If plants have emotional responses, I would wager that the frequency of that signal is in the less-than 1 Hertz range… Quite unlike EEG which is generally between 1 and 40 Hz.
Just a thought…
August 6, 2007 at 7:57 PMIn the aftermath of a tornado, I have seen some strange things, including a piece of newspaper embedded through a tree. While velocity of the object plays some part, moisture and ambient air pressure do as well.
My two cents worth, from tornado alley (SE Kansas).
Disclaimer: I have not seen this episode, so don’t fully know the parameters of the straw test.
September 5, 2007 at 4:13 PMThe problem with the way they tested the straw is that straw is just too weak. It is possible that the people who say the “straw” could actually have been hay which is much stronger. Some hay actually looks a lot like straw for color but isn’t. I have played with hay and straw quite a lot, the hay is much stronger and heavier then straw.
October 21, 2007 at 12:05 AMTrue story, in 1976 or 78 a tornado went through the kansas town of Galena and stuck a drinking straw about half way into a telephone pole. It stayed there until the pole was replaced in 1983
November 21, 2007 at 2:09 PMRe: Plant Stimuli Response. As a Philosophy of Science writer, I found it disturbing that the Myth-Busters were not more interested in testing their postulated cause of the 35% positive results. They merely changed the experiment until they got a busted myth. This myth is far from busted. See Paul Feyerabend’s article The Strange Case of Astrology, in Patrick Grim’s (1990) Philosophy of Science and the Occult. Plants respond to stimuli, it’s fact – but the cause depends on your interpretation based on theory dependence. What is needed is a theory-independent interpretation – see articles on theory-independent methodology.
November 21, 2007 at 9:47 PMThe eggs must be fertilized for this test. All eggs sold are unfertilized unless otherwise stated. The Myth-Busters are busted on this one.
November 21, 2007 at 9:55 PMIn the case of the palm tree I think both the palm three and the straw needed to be wet. During an actual huricane, there is plenty of water to soak any straws that might become projectiles and the palm as well.
January 16, 2008 at 9:22 PMI just saw the plant and the EEG device episode, (better late than never) I don’t agree with the results, you put the plant in a container to block out all electical activity and you honestly think being on the out side and sending thoughts could get through? Why not have Tori on the inside and do the same thing. Also the eggs were not alive so why would the plant care? I think if you were going to give this a real chance then all equipment has to be on the outside of the container and just people on the inside, that I think would be a true test.
January 18, 2008 at 5:03 PMI wounder what would happen if the straw hit a human torsoe, would go all the way through.
February 9, 2008 at 7:46 PMHello All, Re straw through a tree. On March 26 2006. Cyclone Larry Devasted a large part of North Queensland around Cairns. Government officials took Measurements and photographic evidence after the cyclone had passed in order to measure wind strength and to gather information for future construction. The link below will lead you to a report where amongst other things you will see on Page 37 a very large piece of timber that impaled and was stuck in and completely through a tree… Not a piece of straw but something far far bigger. Myth not busted.
May 15, 2008 at 2:23 AMwhat type of electronic valve was used to re;lease the compressed gas firing the Straw? Does anyone remember?
June 20, 2008 at 5:10 PMThe legends of straw and other seemingly weak material being imbedded in a tree from strong winds comes from the tornado belt. There are many reported examples of the “wind” blowing straw and sticking it into a tree after a tornado passes. A tornado is a point of extreme low pressure trying to equalize with high pressure. The point of equalization forms a tornado. Not unlike the whirlpool seen when the bathtub is drained.
July 29, 2008 at 4:35 PMThis low pressure is very significant. Houses are destroyed not only from the wind but also from the differential pressure of the high pressure in the inside of the house verses the low pressure outside the house when the tornado passes. ( you can see house just “blow up” when a tornado pass by on some tornado videos.)
What is really happening with the “straw in the tree” myth is that the extreme low pressure of the tornado is pulling or attempting to pull the bark off of trees. This leaves a gap in the bark where a piece of straw or other weak material gets lodged. Then when the tornado passed the bark collapse back around the tree with straw stuck in the gap. It looks like straw has blown into the tree but the straw was really caught by the bark when the bark was expanded by the low pressure pulling it away from the tree.
the show was outstanding i loved it you are the best and crazy really crazy i loved the eposode when you took a air tank through the wall.
September 9, 2008 at 9:57 AMsep 09,08 10:57 am
If they had tried a Sabal palmetto (common along the SE United States) which is what we deal with during a typical Atlantic hurricane, the outcome may have turned out differently. Since most of the US hurricanes are on the Atlantic coastline, that would have made sense.
February 1, 2009 at 2:50 PM>Polygraph tests indicate that all living things share some form of interconnected consciousness.
the things being tested, have to be living..the eggs…were already dead!
..and, the waves emitted are detectable by poly and not eeg -
February 1, 2009 at 2:56 PMThere is confusion on the straw thing, the force of the winds is not what cuases straw to go through trees. Hurricane winds are not the same as a tornado. Tornados have been known to produce results that can no be recreated in a lab.
March 26, 2009 at 4:13 PMIncorrect data! Although the myth is about a palm tree and straw in a tropical storm. They get the wind speed from Oklahoma City, hardly a tropical location. It is part of “Tornado Alley” in the Midwest. Tropical Hurricane wind speed is 75-150mph. Tornadoes can vary from 40-318+mph
Kansas Resident
June 7, 2009 at 6:14 PMThe piano wire test is interesting. Years ago, I had a blowgun, which was an aluminum tube, 4 feet long, with an inside diameter of .38″ It had a rubber mouth piece at one end. I ordered it from a magazine advertisement. The darts were made from steel rod, about the diameter of a regular pencil lead. To make a dart, you heated one end of the wire, and plunged it into a plastic bead, which was slightly smaller in diameter than the tube.
June 14, 2009 at 3:12 AMThis setup was powerful and accurate. After practicing regularly, I could hit a postage stamp at 25′ I could hit a human head sized target from about twice that distance. I once set up a heavy winter coat, pressed against a two panel sliding door. I fired a dart, and it penetrated the arm, both sides of the main jacket, the other arm, and both doors.
Sharpening the darts seemed to have no effect on their penetration. I wish I had been able to test the blowgun with a chronograph, as I have no real idea how fast the darts traveled.
My point in writing this is to suggest a segment to bust or confirm my claims. It would use a similar tube, and darts, fired with varying pressures of compressed air. With a chronograph, and high speed video, the tests would establish the base performance level, and maximum effective range and accuracy. And, of course, it could be “super-sized” into a truly MythBusters style weapon!