MythBusters Special 8: "JAWS Special"
Air Date: July 17, 2005
If a pressurized scuba tank is shot, it will explode.
busted
When the tank was punctured by a bullet it simply decompressed quickly, causing it to fly around like a compressed-air rocket. The team was only able to make the tank explode in the end by using explosives.
A Great White Shark can pull barrels underwater.
plausible
A shark’s maximum striking force is great enough to pull the barrels under.
A Great White Shark can pull barrels underwater and hold them there.
busted
The force a shark can generate in a continuous pull is insufficient to keep the barrels under water for a significant amount of time.
A Great White Shark can ram a dive cage with enough force to damage or destroy it.
confirmed
The "ShaRammer", a machine designed to simulate the force of a Great White Shark, penetrated the cage with enough force to rip a significant part of it loose and carry it away on its body. The cage was completely destroyed.
A Great White Shark can ram a boat with enough force to punch a hole in it.
plausible
A Great White has enough power to punch a hole in the side of a wooden boat under the right circumstances, but an example of this happening has never been documented.
A Great White Shark can pull a boat backwards with great enough speed that waves break over the rear end.
busted
The same reason why the shark cannot hold the barrels underwater continuously.
Punching a shark in the nose, eyes, or gills will cause it flee or at least back off briefly.
plausible
The sharks punched by both a specially modified Buster and Jamie were driven off briefly and were hesitant about making repeated approaches. Strikes to the gills were noted to be more effective than strikes to the nose.
Sharks can be caught using a special piano wire. (from a deleted scene in Jaws)
busted
Piano wire doesn’t have the tensile strength needed to be used as an adequate shark-catching lure.
The sequel to this episode has more shark myths: Mythbusters Shark Week.
for the pressureized scuba tank myth what if you use a tracer round ???
August 29, 2007 at 1:43 PMHow is a tracer round going to do anything? The air inside the scuba tank isn’t flammable.
November 9, 2007 at 8:06 AMcan you play this jaws special again i really enjoyed it
December 1, 2007 at 5:55 PMI would like to hear back from the mythbusters. This episode made me very angry. Is a shark not an animal? Is hurting an animal not animal cruelty?
December 5, 2007 at 1:24 PMwith the myth where you guys shot the scuba tank it might have been different if you appied a lot of jaw pressior to hold it in place it might explode when its shot it might collaps under the pressior of the jaws of the shark because the shark was holding it pritty tight in the movie. and imagine how much pressior it’s jaws could put out for a shark that big maby enough to cuase it to collapse when shot and release a huge amount of air pressior and blow up the shark’s head. it also could depend on the type of bullet used as well. anyway good work keep it up
January 11, 2008 at 6:13 AMBack to the topic, the shark would ram a dive cage with enough force make me interested. So, I would advise the divers to be careful and not hoping for the dive cage to protect you. A joke? When the Great White Shark attacked the ram cage, it will exhausted because it use most of its force. So the divers could walk away easily. Ha Ha Ha.
July 17, 2008 at 3:11 AMWhat about a scene in Jaws 2 where a person puts cyanide liquid into the hollow noses of his bullets. Would that actually do anything? Surely the act of firing the bullet will remove any poison put on the bullet. It wouldn’t deliver enough cyanide to cause any problems to the victim on top of being shot in the first place.
September 12, 2008 at 7:24 PMI’ve heard of other poisons put on bullets. The mafia used to rub some sort of deadly oil onto bullets years ago. I don’t know if it worked. Perhaps the mythbusters could try that myth, “Can you poison your bullets?”
I just thought you’d like to know that on the E. Coast of Florida this week we had two shark bites (attacks) 1 was a man the other was a dog! The owner of the dog had to punch the shark several times to get the shark to let go of the dog. The dog survived with injuries to it’s hind quarter and back legs. I just thought you’d be interested in the fact that a dog will and can be attacked by a shark. We Love Your Show Keep Up The Great Job! Thanks.
October 1, 2008 at 11:22 AM