MythBusters Episode 91: "Shooting Fish in a Barrel"
Air Date: November 21, 2007
A person can easily shoot a fish in a barrel.
confirmed
Because they didn’t want to use a live fish to test this myth, the Mythbusters obtained a dead fish and inserted a motor inside of it to simulate swimming. They then placed the fish in a wooden barrel filled with water and fired at the fish with a 9 mm pistol. However, their first attempt failed, so Adam painted the interior of the barrel white and added transparent windows to improve visibility. With these improvements, both Adam and Jamie were easily able to hit the fish. They then decided to use a multitude of smaller fish and upgraded their weapon to a shotgun. The buckshot managed to hit some of the fish, but only three out of the total of thirty fish. To put the myth to bed, the Mythbusters obtained a M134 minigun that could fire 50 bullets a second. They then set up a water filled barrel and placed a dead 3-foot (0.91 m) sea bass in it. They then fired the minigun at the barrel, tearing it to pieces along with the fish. Because of the vagueness of the conditions of the myth, the Mythbusters declared that shooting fish in a barrel is easy.
The pressure shockwave from a bullet being fired into a barrel is enough to kill a fish.
confirmed
The Mythbusters calculated that the lethal amount of force required to kill a fish is 8.15 pounds per square inch. However, the instrument that measured PSI was not fast enough to register the impact of the bullet, so the Mythbusters instead opted to use special stickers that measure G force. After firing a single 9 mm bullet into the barrel, the Mythbusters found that the shockwave from the bullet was enough to trip even their highest pressure sensor. This means that the shooter does not necessarily have to hit the fish in order to kill it.
Pain from eating hot peppers can be cured by milk.
confirmed
The milk was used as a control, because it is already proven to reduce discomfort due to the fats it contains. Grant and Tory used the milk as a measuring stick for the rest of the supposed cures.
Pain from eating hot peppers can be cured by water.
busted
The water did not perform as well as the milk; the discomfort immediately returned once the water left the mouth.
Pain from eating hot peppers can be cured by beer.
busted
The beer helped slightly but was not effective enough to be called a cure.
Pain from eating hot peppers can be cured by tequila.
busted
The tequila initially intensified the discomfort, then the numbness induced by it slightly lessened the pain. However, it was not effective enough to be called a cure.
Pain from eating hot peppers can be cured by toothpaste.
busted
The toothpaste had no effect at all.
Pain from eating hot peppers can be cured by petroleum jelly.
busted
The petroleum failed to work, and also disgusted the Mythbusters who had to put it in their mouths.
Pain from eating hot peppers can be cured by wasabi.
busted
Grant reacted violently to the wasabi, stating that it only made his discomfort worse, but Tory stated that he actually felt some relief. Regardless, it wasn’t effective as milk.
Elephants are scared of mice.
plausible
The Mythbusters traveled to a wildlife preserve in Africa to find wild elephants to test the myth on. They hid a mouse under a ball of elephant dung, planning to flip the dung over and reveal the mouse when the elephants approach it. When they flipped the dung and revealed the mouse, the approaching elephant was startled and quickly moved away from the mouse. The Mythbusters then flipped dung without the mouse under it, but the elephants did not react at all. They then retried their first experiment to confirm their results, and the elephant noticed the mouse and actively avoided it. Even though the elephants didn’t panic at the sight of the mouse, the fact that they acted cautiously around it was enough to label this myth plausible.
Yeah I think plausible is good enough, it’s certainly interesting.
January 30, 2008 at 8:39 AMFor such a difficult to test myth, you really managed it well. Hey, if humans can be terrified of bees and spiders, why not elephants of mice?
February 3, 2008 at 4:23 PMThey tested just flipping the poo. The elephant ignored it.
That was my first reaction. “Woah, what the heck! My poo jumped! Everything I know is wrong!”
February 9, 2008 at 12:52 AMI think it was so cool when you fired that M134 gun. I was shocked to see only the head of the fish was left. Another shocking thing was when the gun vaporized the barrel.
February 9, 2008 at 5:44 PMI always thought that “Shooting fish in a barrel” meant you through the fish in, like in a fish cleaning company
February 10, 2008 at 10:11 PMPain from eating hot peppers can be cured by You forgot to try Honey and Icecream (both milk based and soy based).
February 11, 2008 at 12:18 AMAny type of sweetness will kill the heat … I usually use a teaspoon of sugar or a combination of sweet and milk (chocolate milk) and just swirl it around in my mouth.
February 15, 2008 at 12:00 PMI have just got into the habit of shooting fish at the hatchery were I study. I am using a 780 fps pellet gun with flat target type pellets. It does the trick. I will have a video up on YouTube withen a couple days.
March 2, 2008 at 2:13 AMI’ve heard that it’s commonplace to find lemon wedges on the dinner table in Mexico to deal with spicy food. Not sure if you suck on it or squirt the juice on the food. But, it’s supposed to mute the hotness.
March 19, 2008 at 8:26 PMActually they should have used a bow and arrow to shoot the fish. It is common to shoot fish with arrows..doesnt disturb the water with pressure. With fish in a barrel, they cannot move away from the break of water like when in a pond.
March 30, 2008 at 2:10 PMTo counteract the pain of spicy food either don’t eat the stuff or eat a banana. That will negate even the hottest chile.
April 5, 2008 at 6:43 PMI think it would have been nice with another “control” experiment with regard to the fear of elephants for mice. Like testing other animal insetad of the mouse. Would the elephant be as scared/cautios when a spider, for instance, would appear when flipping the poop?
April 13, 2008 at 2:56 PMAbout the elephant and mice.
April 13, 2008 at 2:57 PMI´dont belive that the elephant is terrified by mice. I just think that it didn´t wanted to step on it and perhaps kill it. And that´s why she moved away and went another way
Hi,
This is about the hot peppers.
I always thought that if you drink something it washes the burning further down into your body. I eat bread or a dinner roll, to absorb what’s burning so it keeps from touching my mouth…
May 11, 2008 at 9:29 PMdid anyone notice that the mouse they used in the myth was WHITE? i think they should have tried using a brown or grey mouse cause i think something white would stand out more than a grey or brown mouse…think about it if you were walking in the woods you would see a white mouse easier than a brown or grey one…hence they should use a grey or brown mouse
May 11, 2008 at 10:00 PMThe wasahi they used is not the proper jap wassabi they used the store export wasabi which is not as hot as the origanal……
June 6, 2008 at 11:58 PMRegarding the peppers.
June 29, 2008 at 1:40 AMI have found that lemonade cures it…dont know why, maybe the acid dissolves the capsaisin
Did they test celery? They always serve celery with hot wings…
July 3, 2008 at 5:29 AMI find it interesting that they claim the fat in milk is what dulls the pain from the hot peppers. Did they try using skim milk? When I eat hot and spicy foods, I always have a glass of skim milk on hand, and it works just as well as a glass of low-fat.
July 27, 2008 at 9:02 AMI hope this reaches the desk of someone at Mythbusters.
The “Pain from eating hot peppers can be cured by …” tests DIDN’T INCLUDE two very important things!
Firstly, one major suggestion (one I have heard more often than any other) is that SUGAR tones down spice. The things which generally work well (milk, lemons, lemonade, fruit juices - which they also didn’t try) are all things which are high in sugars.
Also, it’s quite clear that Mythbusters didn’t consult anyone in the Asian food community. I worked for 3 years at P.F. Changs (I know - American Chinese - but none-the-less), and on every table we included a bottle of white vinegar … to cut spice! It works quite well. Now, I’ve never tried eating any amount of straight peppers and swishing a tablespoonful of vinegar immediately afterwards, but I do suspect it would work rather well. I have tried it on a spicy dish, and it worked rather nicely. I was COMPLETELY shocked that it wasn’t included.
So, to Mythbusters in general: if you want to re-open this case - check for sugars and vinegar against the milk control experiment. I would be very interested.
July 30, 2008 at 9:43 PMRegarding HOT PEPPERS/JALAPENO:
A spoon full of sugar is the best cure!
Just keep it in your mouth for a while, the pain WILL go away.
Regarding Elephants being scared of mice:
The reason elephants are scared of mice is that they fear that a mouse will climbed up
INSIDE their trunk, when this happens the elephant will DIE for sure.
I’ve learned that from my grandfather, who had a snake/croc farm in Indonesia, let’s say he was the “Steve Irwin” of the 1930’s.
The fact that i am an EurAsian makes that i know a thing or two about hot & spicy food.
It’s just a pitty i don’t live in the USA , otherwise i would’ve invited you guys for a spicy dinner……but…one nevers knows……..
GB,
August 13, 2008 at 1:19 PMCharley dC
The show about shooting fish in a barrel–I live in a small town in Maryland, by the Chesapeake Bay. [Fishing village] your comment about storing fish in a barrel, you were so close to the answer.
August 17, 2008 at 5:31 PMWhen fishermen went net fishing they usually caught lots of fish. In order to remove the fish from the net they would squeeze it from the net. This –as slang was called “shooting fish” now shooting fish in a barrel was just that, removing fish or shooting fish, into a barrel - to salt and store. I am aware that this explanation isn’t as good as your show of “SHOOTING” fish, but that’s where the saying came from. Sorry to take all of the fun from your version, but you always look for the real myth, or sayings.
Thanks, hope Adam or Jamie get to read this.
Phil –email, yarmouth0213@verizon.net
Mouse vs. Elephant
August 17, 2008 at 5:51 PMThe mouse used was white in color. I believe that two more tests are necessary.
1) Try using a brown mouse.
2) Try using a white piece of paper the size of the mouse.
For the pepper test they just needed two things:
Bread or rice. Both absorb the firey oils in the mouth and provide relief.
August 17, 2008 at 7:54 PMI live in west Texas. Here there are Mexican food resteraunts on almost every street. When you pay your bill, there is always a bowl of coffee beans. They all say it’s the best thing for the heat.
September 4, 2008 at 4:31 PMA cure that works for hot chilli is Green Tea. It surprised the hell out of me, but it worked.
September 6, 2008 at 5:16 AMThe elephants and mice thing is a well recorded set of elephant behaviors: Elephants will do their best to avoid stepping on other animals.
September 19, 2008 at 12:49 AMI think the spicy food could be right although another common cure is warm water
September 29, 2008 at 3:01 AMhave you tried fruits (like sweet fruits such as mango, banana, etc.) to cure the pain from eating hot peppers?
October 12, 2008 at 1:09 AMtry it..