MythBusters Episode 71: "Pirate Special"
Air Date: January 17, 2007
Wooden shrapnel from a cannonball impact to pirate ship causes more damage than the cannonball impact itself.
busted
Using a simple air cannon and four pig corpses, the Mythbusters proved that a cannonball could penetrate at least four pigs with a single shot. However, when fired at a wooden wall, the splinters did not have enough power to pierce any of the pigs. In order to fully confirm or bust the myth, the Mythbusters used an authentic Civil War era cannon. Though preliminary tested, they proved that the Civil War cannon was significantly more powerful than the air cannon. However, when fired at the wooden wall, none of the splinters managed to penetrate the pigs with enough force to be lethal. Therefore, the Mythbusters concluded that getting hit with a cannonball was more deadly than the splinters it creates.
Pirates wore eyepatches to preserve night vision in one eye.
plausible
This myth works under the assumption that the eye covered with the eyepatch is already accustomed to low light conditions, while the other eye must take time to accustom. The Mythbusters were sent into a dark room with light-accustomed eyes and were told to complete certain objectives. Their movements were hampered by the darkness and it took them five minutes to finish. When they went into a rearranged but equally dark room with an eye that was covered for thirty minutes, the Mythbusters were able to complete the test in a fraction of the time. As a control test, the Mythbusters then went back into the same exact room with light-accustomed eyes and ran into the same difficulty as the first test. The myth was deemed plausible because there is no recorded historical precedent for this myth.
You can slow a fall by using a knife to cut a sail.
busted
Through various small scale tests, the Mythbusters found that sails were not made in one piece, but in fact had a number of seams where the sail was folded over into several layers, making them harder to cut. Also, the sharpness of the knife plays a major role in the myth. If the knife is too sharp, the pirate falls too fast. If the knife is too dull, it would be unable to cut through the seams. In the full scale test, Tory attempted the myth himself by using a moderately sharp knife on a full-size sail. However, every time he attempted the myth, his knife would hit the seam and pop out of the sail. In the end, the Mythbusters concluded that there is no possible way that a pirate’s knife would be able to be at the perfect balance between dullness and sharpness to safely cut through a sail.
Rum is a better clothes cleaner than detergent.
busted
Using rum, modern detergent, period soap, and even urine, the Mythbusters tested to see if rum could be used to clean up blood and tar stains on fabric. However, after the tests, the results were the modern detergent and urine doing fairly well, but almost no effect from the period soap and rum. Also, Jamie jokingly points out that pirates would more likely drink the rum rather than use it to clean their clothes.
Newer: Episode 72: "Underwater Car"
Apparently to make rum clean your clothes better you have to drink the rum and then pee on the clothes.
June 23, 2007 at 2:00 AMThe one issue I had with the knife/sail tests was that the sail in the original film clip was like most every sail at sea billowed out which would give far different fall profile than a straight vertical drop, If the sail were either convex or concave there would be more frictional forces at play and per haps the knife need only be used to provide some additional anchor points.
Everyone knows that a dull knife is more hassle than it is worth, so if the test had bee structured to take into account the practical working shape of the sail and a sharp knife only for anchor then you might obtain different results.
How different is a matter for science to determine nes pas?
June 29, 2007 at 2:21 PMThe cannon segment was interesting, while I don’t disagree with the phrasing (though I found your choice of cannon suspect, I understand that resources are limited) I think that it missed the point of the chaos and collateral damage that can ensue when a room fills with splinters.
Carronade while used in the 1770’s to 1860’s had much larger ammunition and were intended for close range combat of the sort. The lower velocity and much larger rounds (12 to 64 pounds were common) would cause many more splinters than your small field gun in similar circumstances.
While being struck by a cannon ball will result in death or for the very fortunate dismemberment, the chances of being stuck were low in any given volley. A fifth rate ship with 30-40 guns at 30-40+ pounds each dealt quite a bit of damage per volley, Carrying 200 some odd crew, most would avoid the volley, but many would be wounded by the shrapnel. Wounded are an impediment to combat for the survivors, while the dead are not.
June 29, 2007 at 2:35 PMYou can slow a fall by using a knife to cut a sail.
July 11, 2007 at 8:58 PMWhen the pirates sail around its windy and that has to effect the results somehow. It should be able to slow down the pirate to the required speed needed to survive. But the knife has to be relatively sharp to cut through the sail all the way. The wind will blow the sailor against the sail slowing him down.
you guys are all wrong in the knife/sail myth. the problem was that the sail on a real ship would have been tied down, but the test one was not so tory’s weight tilted the sail and made the knife slip off
July 13, 2007 at 8:33 PMrum is good it would be a waste to clean with it
July 18, 2007 at 4:02 PMQuestion: would pirates really want to be cutting big holes in their own sails? They would be doing an awful lot of damage.
July 19, 2007 at 12:18 AMAny amateur astronomer will tell you that an eye patch is great way to preserve night vision.
I, for instance, have travelled to two total solar eclipses- one in Zimbabwe and one in Turkey. For the Turkey elipse used an eye patch in order to preserve my night vision for the grand moment of totality. During totality light levels are more akin to moonlight than sunlight and the brilliant light of the sun, even moments before, can “bleach” one’s vision, making the faintest details of the solar corona invisible. By doing wearing a patch, and removing it at the moment of total eclipse, I was able to see fainter details in the solar corona than were visible to those who did not wear an eye patch beforehand. Moreover, the view seemed better than it did for the previous eclipse where I did not wear the patch.
August 24, 2007 at 12:22 PMadoro o vosso programa… deviam ter um horario mais flexivel para que mais gente pudesse ver pois axo que muita gente iria aprender muita coisa com voçes e deixar de dizer muitas asneiras. fica entao nota maxima para o vosso programa que é muito fixe. akele abraço deste fã MAXIMUSHOST lol lol lol :P
October 4, 2007 at 8:31 PMRE: “Splinters kill more sailors/pirates than cannonballs”. Your hypothesis was flawed from the outset. Variables: (1) velocity achieved by air gun; (2) velocity achieved by small bore/small weight cannon/cannon ball; (3) single cannonball used for test of hypothesis; (4) type of cannonball used (round); (5) thickness and type of wood used for this static demonstration; (6) thickness of pig skin (vs. human skin); (7) one-ship-on-one-ship tactical engagement scenario.
October 6, 2007 at 1:39 PMGuns commonly named by their bore and/or Weight of cannon balls. Common weights of cannon balls used by Western navies during this historical time period: 42-pounders, 32-pounders, 24-pounders, 18-pounders, 12-pounders, 9-pounders, 8-pounders, 6-pounders, and various smaller calibers. Larger ships carried more and larger, heavier cannon; might be limited in distance, but could shoot larger cannon balls.
Different kinds of shot used for different purposes: Round shot (what is usually thought of as a “cannon ball”), Chain shot, Canister shot, shrapnel (spherical case shot), Shell, Grape shot, Carcass (crude gas shot), Heated shot, and Spider (chain) shot, almost all of which would create splinters through wood sides of ships.
French navy sought to disable opponent’s ship, while British navy sought to kill or disable as many seaman of the opposing force as possible. How? French typically fired as ship was on upward swell of a wave, aiming for the rigging or masts of other ships. British waited to fire into the body of the ship on the downward side of a wave.
Another common tactic during period of sailing ships in 18th & 19th century: ship-of-the-line broadsides. Massive cannonades into sides of other ships. Usually, larger force with more firepower able to overcome opponent because BROADSIDES of cannonades caused significantly greater splintering than a single shot. It wasn’t one shot that caused the killing effect of the splintering, it was the cumulative effect of multiple cannon broadsides (ergo multiple cannon balls of different weights and types) over time that broke down the integrity of the wooden sides of the ships. Myth wasn’t busted; hypothesis and tests were flawed, leaving viewers with a mistaken impression because of the theatrics involved. It would be great if this information could be passed on to your viewers; I know it won’t be.
The one thing I don’t get with the knife/sail one is that couldn’t a pirate turn the knife sideways as he approached the bottom of the sail?
December 17, 2007 at 4:57 AMwith the knife/sail myth what would be the effect if the sail was full of air, couldn’t the pirate just slide down it like a theme park ride?
December 17, 2007 at 6:01 AMi wonder y pirates say “RRRRRRRRRRRR”
January 6, 2008 at 4:27 PMI loved how Adam spoke like a pirate. I was laughing my head off.
January 8, 2008 at 6:18 PMhiiiiiiii fueyiuyriufyjutduytytyutuytuytuytuyfrt8765e8u7ft475e87rtj3yfd67teufjxeuyxkugkuwyiucyiuegcjheiucyeiuhxksdhcoiefyci8gxkjwskuxh8dcyi7dtgxkusgwkuxgwdi7utcejygxkjsgxkuydc7itwdyjxfgshgxkjsghkucxwydciutwdugxjshgxkusytiuctdwuytwxjhgsxkuwtdsci7dw5tiugskjxgskuxgducguydtcjuydwgxjhwdgcjytduyct biiiiiiii
January 28, 2008 at 9:06 PMI was somewhat disturbed by the cannon ball episode. It is a matter of historical fact that people were killed by splinters (check out http://www.historynet.com/historical_conflicts/3036286.html?showAll=y&c=y) for examples. The mythbusters failed to demonstrate a condition under which they could produce any splinters at all. As Curt pointed out, there are a whole group of variables which did not get tested.
January 31, 2008 at 4:26 PMthis is a really cool website it gave me a lot of ideas for a science fair project.
February 7, 2008 at 9:29 AMthanks,
Cheyenne.
=]]
The cannons used were not representative, sorry. Check here for info on common armament (Victory had quite a variety).
April 2, 2008 at 9:06 PMNext time, use serious cannon and proper shot. Don’t extrapolate, you can afford large bore Schedule 80 pipe…
I just finished watching the part were you were cleaning with the rum and “wee-wee” and got to thinking when you rinsed the cloth with your cleaning supply on it did you use freash water or sea water? The reason I ask is that i would think if you are at sea you would’t use freash water for cleaning due to the limit supply of water on the ship.
April 13, 2008 at 5:15 PMthe sail would also be filled with wind so it would e stiffer. man they really screwed up on this one.
June 24, 2008 at 9:46 AMAs Curt and others mentioned, your cannon test was flawed.
Hundreds of years of empirical evidence to be found in logs, journals, and memoirs has documented the fact that splinters were a major cause of wounding and death aboard wooden warships.
Guns under 10 pounds were considered suitable only for harrassment and salutes.
To have consideration for a true ship of war, the guns would be 12-32 pounds. 42′a were a rare beast.
Also of note, the hull in a war ship of the napoleanic era averaged 12-18 inches thick, not 3. The 6 ships built in the 1795 construction act (Constitution, et al.) had 21 inch thick hulls. 3 inches is more than likely a misplaced figure: 3-5 inches is an average deck plank thickness. Consider that the larger guns ran 2000-3000 pounds.
Another point is that your experiment did not account for large shot hitting the near the relatively unsupported areas near the gunports, rails, masts, etc.
Trust me. A round from a long 18 pounder blows through 12 inches of oak like a hot nail through butter and does create massive splinters.
Your example hull side was constructed of what appeared to be a 3 inch slab of kiln dried cathedral sawn white oak. Try that with 12 inches of air dried quarter sawn. that’s been subjected to salt water for a couple years. The results vary quite a bit from your testing.
August 19, 2008 at 2:35 PMI browse and saw you website and I found it very interesting.Thank you for the good work, greetings
September 3, 2008 at 4:16 AMYou guys do a wonderful job! Keep up the good work!!!l
September 4, 2008 at 3:13 AMThe sail would not always be full. If the wind was down, so would be the sail.
Plus, a full sail would be cut more easily. When you cut a string, which is easier, cutting a taught, tight string or cutting one with slack in it.
Even if it did slow you down, it wouldn;t be enough to make a difference.
Also, the wind would need to blow very hard to move a human boduy, even one suspended on a sail.
If it did, it would stand to reason it might puch you enough to dislodge the knife.
Remember, they are testing what was shown in the movies, not a scene in a gail force wind.
October 12, 2008 at 7:16 PMFascinating site and well worth the visit. I will be backw
November 1, 2008 at 3:56 AMFor video of ship damage typical of 1812 with twelve 24 and 32 pound cannon balls as well as grape and canister shot, and the resulting splinters.
November 16, 2008 at 4:22 PMhttp://www.brigniagara.org/Fightingsaildeck.htm
Greetings!..
November 26, 2008 at 6:57 AMThis episode was good
December 3, 2008 at 10:39 PM