All language subtitles for Mythbusters.S12E03.Down.and.Dirty.Earthquake.Survival.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-XEON_track3_[eng]

Do not try
any of the experiments

You are about to see
at home.

You heard him.
Don't do it.

On this groundbreaking
episode of "mythbusters"...

Oh, man.
Someone here didn't flush.

...Adam and jamie get
down and dirty...

Oh! Gross!

...As they tackle
two viewer tales about toilets.

First, there's hot air...

feel the power.

...As the guys try to solve
a classic hand-drying dilemma.

Oh, yeah!

I do this
in every airport I get to.

Then they flush out
which communal cubicle

Is the most contaminated.

Oh, this is nasty!

Meanwhile,
grant, kari, and tory...

That's an earthquake
coming.

...Drop, cover, and hold...

...As they find if,
during the shake of a quake...

- This is terrifying!
- Whoa!

...The best survival solution

Is to dive for the doorway.

Can the mythbusters
bring down the house,

Or can they bring down
the house?!

Who are the mythbusters?

Adam savage...
Whoa!

That's science.
...And jamie hyneman.

I'm ready!

Between them, more than 30 years
of special-effects experience.

Together with grant imahara...

Oh, it's burrowing!

...Kari byron...

It always makes me
feel dangerous.

...And tory belleci.

There's something you don't see
every day.

They don't just tell
the myths.

They put them to the test.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

First up,
it's time to get down and dirty.

Hey, man.
Sorry about that.

I won't ask
what kept you.

Yeah, the call of nature.
But get this.

While I was sitting there,
I was thinking

Of a couple of toilet stories
that we could test.

Seriously?
Yeah.

The first one involves
those blow-dryer jet dryers

In public restrooms

That are supposed to be
super-sanitary.

There's a myth going around
that they are, in fact,

Less sanitary
than a regular, old paper towel.

Huh.

The second one involves
testing

Which stall
in a public restroom

Is, in fact, the cleanest.

great. We get to
spend time in a public restroom.

Do you mind if we start
with a hand dryer first?

Not at all.

There are over 12 million
hand dryers in the u.S. Alone.

So can they really be
a hygiene horror show?

Well, the theory to this myth
is twofold.

First, dryers supposedly purge
fewer pathogens

Than their paper counterparts.

And second, they can also fan
a fog of micro miasma

That's
a contamination catastrophe.

But will this myth be hot air?

Aah!

This story doesn't make
any sense to me.

How so?

Well, if you're drying
your hands,

That implies
that you've washed them.

Absolutely.

And if you've washed
your hands,

You've removed
all the bacteria.

So whether a drying method
is cleaner than another

Is irrelevant.

Right.
I see your point.

But only some people use
the full soap and water

For washing
their hands.

Some people, they just get
their hands wet

Before drying them off.

Why don't we test
both of those

And see which is
the proper worst-case scenario

For testing hand towel
versus dryer?

Okay. That works.

So, how do people wash
their hands?

Well, to my way of thinking,

There are three things people do
in a restroom

Regarding washing their hands.

The first is...

...They pretend
to wash their hands.

The second thing people do
is get their hands wet

But use no soap.

The third thing people do --

And the thing we all know
you should do --

Is wash their hands with soap.

So, first thing's first.

Jamie and I are gonna wash
our hands

Using each of those techniques

And compare the bacterial loads

To see
if jamie is, in fact, right.

Does washing your hands
in soap and water

Leave them completely clean?

And first to go is adam...

... Who,
after each cleaning custom,

Hands over to the hyneman.

I'm swabbing adam's hands
with a soy-based growth medium,

So if there's any bacteria
on his hands, I'm gonna find it.

Once jamie's
also swabbed for science...

...It's time
for germ germination.

Okay.
adam first.

The process is pretty simple.

We've collected our samples.

We spread them evenly
across soy agar in a petri dish.

And we put them in an incubator.

We're gonna let them sit there
overnight.

We'll come in in the morning
and see what we've got.

And sure enough,
24 hours later...

Let's see what kind
of surprise we have.

all right.

Well, the soap wash...

Nada.

...Frickin' nothing.

Yep, the soap plate's great,

Which cannot be said
of the water wash.

How come your bacteria
are bigger than mine?

Sometimes that's just the way
it works.

And as for the no wash...

Whoa! Gross!

So, the whole reason
we were doing this test

Is because jamie suggested

If you wash your hands
with soap and water

And it eliminates
all the bacteria,

Who cares
about the drying method?

There's no bacteria
to be more or less clean with.

And it turns out he's right.
Look at that.

Washing our hands with soap
and water yielded no bacteria

That we could find
on this petri dish,

But when we only pretended
to wash our hands,

When we rinsed them in water
but used no soap,

Check out what we found.

Ugh!

So, this is the method
that we are going to use

To test the cleanliness of
air dryers versus paper towels.

And the first task for that test
is to rustle a restroom.

We're here to test
whether air-powered hand dryers

Spread germs around a bathroom
more than paper towels do.

And so, of course, to test that,
we need a bathroom.

One bathroom coming up.

It's all hands on deck

As the guys set up
an experimental setup.

We call this
"hiding the crime."

See, ugly seam...
Pretty seam.

It's just that easy.

...With a sink...

Perfect.

...And a room divider,
a blow-dryer...

Feel the power.

...And a towel dispenser...

It works.

...Their banged-up bathroom's
ready to lend this myth a hand.

oh, yeah.
That was the last paper towel.

And it looks like you're gonna
have to get some more.

Those hands look pretty wet.

I know
it's none of your business,

But that was
the last paper towel, yeah.

How you doing?

Next up...

A myth that's shaken,
not stirred.

Okay. So, I've got a myth
that's ready to rumble.

All right.
What is it?

The myth is that the best place
to be in an earthquake

When it hits your house
is in the doorway.

Yeah. That's what they've been
telling us since we were kids,

But, I mean,
isn't the new technique

To get under something
and hang on?

True.
That is the current advice,

But some fans still believe

The doorway's
the best place to be,

And that is what they want us
to put to the test.

All right. It sounds like
it's time to shake for science.

No. Not that kind
of shake.

Oh.

That's what
I'm talking about.

Hey.

What's the matter?
Earthquake!

There's no doubt
that earthquakes

Can literally rock your world.

Oh, my god.
We're having an earthquake.

Wait a minute.
Hold on, hold on.

But when the earth moves...

Should you really dive
for the doorway,

Or will this myth be at fault?

All right.
So, I love this story,

But I foresee
a couple of problems.

Okay. Like what?

Well, first of all,

Doesn't the answer depend
on the type of house you're in,

How it was constructed,
how old it is?

True.
So why don't we test this

On a couple
of different kinds of homes?

First, a newer,
sort of wooden-style house

And then maybe
an older masonry one.

Okay, fair enough.

But then there's
a second problem.

We can't just sit around waiting
for an earthquake to happen.

Well, what we could do

Is find one
of those giant shake tables

And see
if they'd let us borrow it.

You know what?
I know just the place.

Now, we are testing the
myth that during an earthquake,

It is best to stand
in a doorjamb in a building.

Now, ever since I was a kid
growing up in california,

That is what they told us,
but I don't know if that's true.

So we are here at the california
academy of sciences,

And they are gonna let us use
their earthquake shake table

So we can get
to the bottom of this myth.

Let's hope we don't break it.

Yeah. Breaking this museum
masterpiece would be bad news.

oh!

So, first, the guys go in
for a trial tremor.

All right. You guys ready
for an earthquake?

oh, my god!

Look at the lamp!

I want out of here!

This is terrifying!

Thanks to a battery
of air bladders,

The shake table can simulate

San francisco's
1906 nightmare --

The 15th most energetic
earthquake in u.S. History.

But given
its engineering excellence...

Save the bobbleheads!

...Are they really gonna let
the mythbusters meddle with it?

Holy moly!
We're all gonna die!

Well, since you already have
a shake table,

We were talking about making a
brick-and-mortar-style building,

As well
as a wood-structure building.

Do you think maybe
we could just use yours

And shake them
till they fall down?

Um, well, it sounds
like a great idea,

But this is actually
a working museum,

So maybe you'll have to
build your own or something.

Okay.

So, how does
your shake table

Imitate the forces
of an earthquake?

Well, we don't do the "z" plane,
which is up and down.

We actually do
the "x" and the "y" direction,

And we do that movement

Because that's the strongest
motion in an earthquake.

All right. Well, thank you very
much for all the information.

I think we got
a lot of building to do.

That's great.

So, we have visited the
california academy of sciences'

Earthquake table,

And it is awesome.

We're all gonna die!

And, basically,
we're gonna copy it

But make it
our own "mythbusters" style.

The first step with that
is to build a model,

And that is what
all of these cylinders

Are gonna
be pushing and pulling,

Just to see what we're getting
ourselves into.

With a build
as mind-boggling as this...

Look, I know it looks
like a mess right now,

But it's totally gonna
make sense in a minute.

...Grant's starting
with a proof of concept.

And if this
2x2 model shakes...

Perfect.
...Rattles...

...And rolls...

...The guys will cue
the heavy metal

As they attempt to build
its way bigger brother.

It's a fine
adjustment tool.

So, our earthquake shake table
concept model is complete.

Now, what this is,

Is a load-bearing platform
supported by castors.

It's got actuators in the "x"
and "y" direction to shake it.

What we're interested in

Is what happens to the house
after it's been collapsed

When subjected to
earthquake-magnitude forces --

Kind of like this.

Whew!
I'd call that about a 10.

There's no doubt

That their shrimp shaker's
the business,

But next,
it's time to build the beast.

Coming up next
on "mythbusters"...

Where is the safest place
to be in an earthquake?

Is it the doorway
or someplace else?

I'd say someplace else.

maybe arizona.

Can the humble hand dryer really
create a pathogen paradise,

Or is this myth
bathroom baloney?

Aah!

To find out,

The mythbusters have rustled up
the recipe.

I do this
in every airport I get to.

Oh, yeah!

And it's almost time
to get cooking.

The myth is that drying
your hands with an air blower

Is less sanitary
than using a paper towel.

In order to test this,

We'll be putting
a bacterial marker on the hands

Of each of our 16 volunteers

And then swabbing them both
before and after

They use each of these devices.

If the myth is true,

We should see far more bacteria
on their hands

After air drying

Than after using
the paper towel.

With the volunteers to hand,

Next, jamie's special brew
can be uncorked.

This is a culture
of e. Coli bacteria.

Now, e. Coli
can sometimes be harmful,

But this particular strain
was designed by a lab.

It's completely harmless.

Hands out.
All our participants

Will be immersing their hands
in this stuff,

And it'll create
a consistent bacterial load

For all our testing.

It's all hands to the pump...

Now flip them.

...As jamie applies
the same amount in the same way

To get the same bacterial load.
Excellent.

And with that, the mother of
all washing wipeouts can begin.

All right.
First person, please.

Volunteer one steps up
to get swabbed...

Thank you.

...Then washed...

One 1,000, two 1,000,
three 1,000.

...Then swabbed again.

Left hand again,
if you would, sir.

Next, he heads
for some towel traction...

...Which is followed
by one last swab.

Science.

Next.

And so,
the pattern repeats...

Thank you very much.

...As all 16 volunteers

Get sampled before washing...

Excellent.

...After washing...
Thank you.

...And after towel drying.
Excellent.

Thank you.
Thank you.

To say it's a little
repetitive is an understatement.

Thank you.
Excellent. Thank you.

But to really see
a pathogen pattern,

A solid sample is essential.

48 pieces of data down.

Nice work.
Thank you.

With 48 swabs, the guys
are exactly halfway through.

So it's onwards and upwards.

Here we go again.

With the bacteria load
reloaded...

...The entire swab mob hits
the washroom once more.

Very strange.

Our test-subject group seems to
have developed its own ritual.

Like last time...
Next.

...The volunteers swab,
wash, and swab

Before this time turning blue
with the hand dryer.

But will this different
drying device

Really let microbes make hay?

Number 16.
There it is.

Well, with the final test
finally done,

The guys have a hunch.

You know, I am noticing
something sort of interesting.

I'm wondering
if it's the same thing

That I've been noticing.

Well, I'm smelling
the odor of the growth medium

A lot more now

Because the air dryer is
aerosolizing the stuff, I think.

And I didn't smell it before
with the paper towels.

I'll tell you
what I've been noticing.

I noticed
a lot more wet hands.

See, it takes longer to dry
your hands with the air dryer,

But people aren't taking
that extra time.

Thus, they're coming
back here,

And their hands are wetter
than with the towels.

Both the smell
and the clammy hands

Suggest that the dryer
is not eliminating pathogens

From people's palms.

But what does the data say?

Here it is -- all of our data
gathered from 16 test subjects

On both the air dryer
and the paper towels --

96 pieces of data in all --

And this isn't everything
that we're gathering today.

Because we're not just concerned

About spreading bacteria
on people's hands.

We're also gonna test
the immediate environment

Around where they dry them
to see what, if any,

Bacterial spread there is there,
as well.

So, adam gets down and dirty

With one final
swabbing sequence...

I bet there's a lot
right here.

...As he collects 10 samples

From identical points
in each bathroom.

Well, let's get these
back to the shop

And start growing
some bacteria.

I've got my incubator warm
and ready to go.

That sounded creepy.
Let's go.

24 hours later,

With bacteria sprouting
like there's no tomorrow...

Agh! There's a lot.

...The guys count
every colony...

...59, 60, 61.
Blam.

...In every sample...

Here we go.

...Before
they're finally ready...

To wrap up the results.

All right. The great hand towel
versus air dryer debate --

The results are in.
Are you ready to hear them?

Sure.
Pretty stunning.

When we had our test subjects
dry their hands

With the air dryer,

They were able to reduce
the bacterial load

On their hands by 23%.

But when we had
the individuals dry their hands

With the hand towel,

They were able to reduce
the bacterial load

On their hands

By

71% --
almost three times as much.

That's amazing,
but that's for the individual.

What about
for the environment?

Well, when we swabbed
the area around the air dryer,

We found a total
of 41 colonies of bacteria.

When we swabbed
the area around the hand towel,

We found
three.

Which, yet again,
indicates that the air dryer

Is spreading more bacteria
than the hand towels.

Indeed they do.
This myth is totally confirmed.

The claims of the air dryers
just don't hold up.

It's just hot air.

Hah.

When an earthquake quivers,

Are you better off decamping
in the doorway?

The small scale is done.

Now it is time to move on
to the full-scale shake table.

Now, the construction of this is
gonna be a bit of a challenge.

Doing good.
Looking good.

The dimensions
will be 11x13 feet,

But we're gonna be using
square steel tube

With 1/2-inch-thick wall.

I think we're good.
Yow!

This stuff is strong.

It has to be strong

Because once we start building
buildings on top of it

And shaking them down,

This thing has to withstand
thousands of pounds of force.

Their steel
is clearly the real deal.

There's about 5,000 pounds
of steel here,

And according to
my back that's a lot.

And once
the top side's welded tight...

Cue the forklift fox-trot.

With the frame
finally flipped out,

The guys make short work
of a long job.

And yet still,
the build has barely just begun.

did you hear that?

That's an earthquake coming.

We've now completed
the heavy-duty steel structure,

Which is going to be the base
of our shake table.

Now we need to build
what shakes it.

For that,
we're building eight monuments.

These are pneumatic springs
or air springs.

Usually, they're used
in semitruck trailer beds

So that it can balance loads
or provide some extra spring.

For us, they're going to be
on the edges of our shake table,

And they're going to provide
10,000 pounds of force each.

With eight of them,
that's 80,000 pounds.

That ought to shake things up.

Now this one's finished.
We only got seven more to go.

These no-nonsense pneumatics

Will help shake the quake
back and forth.

And once they're secured
into place...

...And attached to the frame...

♪ oh, susanna
don't you cry for me ♪

...The guys have
one more trick up their sleeves.

Oh! These are the air castors.

This is the most exciting part.

Remember the shake table
at the museum.

Their shake table was able
to move on an "x"/"y" plane.

Ours is gonna be even better.

Our is gonna be able to move
on a "z" plane, as well.

How? With these.

These are aerogo air castors,

And they're able
to lift 8,000 pounds each.

Now, we're gonna have
six of them --

Four in each corner
and two in the middle.

These are gonna allow
our shake table

To not only move side to side,
forwards and backwards,

But also up and down.

So, let's face it.

If it's worth doing,
it's worth overdoing.

Indeed, and the one thing
that still needs overdoing...

I got to show them
who's boss.

...Is to put in place
the plumbing.

it's pretty manly work!

I'm putting the "man"
into "manifold."

By nightfall,
it's finally ready for a test.

After hours of designing
and days of heavy building,

The earthquake table
is finally done.

Now, behind me is a fleet
of air compressors.

Now, it's important
that we have a lot of air

For this table to work,
and I'll show you why.

Now, compressed air will
be moving through these hoses

Into this manifold,

Where it will be distributed
to six separate air castors.

Now, once those
air castors inflate,

The whole table will lift up,

And it will actually ride
on a cushion of air.

Our second source of air

Is going to come
through these hoses,

Through these pipes,
and to these air bladders.

They're gonna control
the shakin'

So the table starts a-quakin'.

All the valves that control
the air bladders

Are going
to this bank of relays,

Which is going
to this microcontroller

And this computer.

We can control
each of those valves separately

So that we can get exactly
the magnitude of earthquake

That we need.

Want to see it?

Fire up the compressors!

It's time
we put this sucker to work.

With the air on,
the guys are gonna kick off...

Charging
the air castors.

...With the up/down test.

Here we go --
in three, two, one...

it's working!

First impressions are good.

Second impressions...

It's like
an earthquake!

...Are even better.

it's working!

Dude, all right.
So, that's the up and down.

all right. Let's see
what the side to side can do.

Okay. You guys ready?
Do it!

Three, two, one!

We got an earthquake
going on!

It's a 6.0
on the awesome scale!

Ain't that the truth?

With the air castors controlling
the up and down

And the pneumatic cylinders
pumping iron back and forth,

The biggest build
in "mythbusters" history

Is ready to rock.

This is
an amazing success!

Now, all we need to do
is build a house.

And then see
if we can shake it down.

This is awesome.

Coming up next
on "mythbusters"...

Find out what it's gonna take
to shake the house down!

Okay! Enough!

And adam and jamie cut the crap.

Oh, man.
Someone here didn't flush.

That's gross.

There's no restroom respite

Because next up,

Is it all for one
and one for all?

Next up
in toilet trouble,

We have a myth
that in a bathroom --

A public restroom
of multiple stalls --

The stall closest to the door
is going to be the cleanest

And also
least-used stall.

Why would
that be the case?

I personally avoid
that stall

Because I'm assuming
everyone else has jumped in it

And it's probably
filthy.

Well, I'd imagine some people
also want more privacy,

So they'd go to the other end
of the bathroom.

In either case,
the myth is the same --

People for whatever reason

Are avoiding the stall
closest to the door,

And thus it unexpectedly
is a bastion of cleanliness

In a public restroom.

Well, I guess it's time
to get down and dirty.

Nice pun.

Restroom routines waver widely.

But is it true that we all tend
to steer clear of stall one,

Making it
the freshest faucet of all?

I'm gonna
go out on a limb

And say I think the plan here
is pretty straightforward.

Can you guess
what I'm thinking?

Find a public restroom,
stake it out,

Count how many people
use what stalls.

Yes, but we'd also use

Some of our bacteriological
testing knowledge

To measure how dirty
each of the stalls is

At the end of our test.

Sure, why not?
How hard could that be?

Over the years
we've been doing "mythbusters,"

We've been granted access
to props and locations

To do our experiments

That, well,
when we first started

Would've seemed
completely impossible.

We got a 747

That we were allowed
to get behind

And test the power
of hurricane-force winds.

Yeah!

We were even allowed
to sink a boat

In the protected
wildlife sanctuary

Of monterey bay

And then to raise it
back up again

With 30,000 ping-pong balls.

Yeah!

But finding a public restroom

With four stalls

That we could film and test in

Has proven to be one
of the biggest bears

We've ever had to tackle.

Luckily, we believe
we've found the bathroom,

And it's here
at the cal maritime academy.

Not only is it one
of the best maritime academies

In the country

But they've got a bathroom

That they're willing
to let us film in,

And I think
it's gonna be perfect.

It's not often
a public bathroom

Can be perfect,

But for this stall tall tale,

This restroom rules.

Now, please bear with us.

There's only so many
interesting ways

You can film a restroom,

But the basic myth is this --

That in a public restroom,
stall number one --

That is the one
closest to the door --

Is both the cleanest
and the least used

Because of two assumptions
people make

About human behavior.

The first is that people assume

Because of its proximity
to the door,

The first stall is the most used
and therefore the dirtiest,

And therefore they pick
another stall.

The second assumption
people make

Is that people will avoid
the first stall

And go all the way to the end

Because they want privacy --
auditory privacy.

Either way, the net result
is the same.

Is the first stall the least
used and therefore the cleanest?

That's what
we're gonna test.

And to do just that,

The guys need
two dollops of data

That they'll collect
over four days...

...Bathroom bacterial
and u-bend usage.

A mechanical door clicker

Is a simple solution
for logging toilet traffic.

Perfect.

And with all four installed
on the stalls,

Next, it's time
to cut the crap...

I win!

...As adam and jamie,

Along with some mean cleaners,

Give the bathroom
a bacteria blitz.

For us to record the amount
of bacteria in each stall,

We need to start
with a clean slate.

That's what
all this cleaning's about --

Eliminating traces of bacteria

So any colonies we find
at the end of the experiment

Have all grown
during the test and not before.

That's the theory,

And once the restroom
is a pathogen-free zone,

The experiment can begin.

That's it.
All the counters are zeroed.

Well, everything's been swabbed.
Let's get out of here.

So, let the crapping commence.

Okay. So, by now, you know
that we are testing the myth

That standing in the doorway
is the best place to be

During an earthquake.

Now, we learned from the
california academy of sciences

That the origin of this myth

Is possibly in unreinforced
masonry buildings.

Now, it's a common type
of building around the world,

As well as in historical
buildings in the United States.

So, we found ourselves
some skilled masons.

They're going to build
a structure on our shake table,

And once it's cured,

We're gonna try
to shake it down.

Yep. For test one,

The mythbusters don't need
to be movers or shakers.

Between the lines.

Because this house

Is being time-lapsed into place
by experts.

And once the concrete's left
to cure for three whole weeks...

...It's time to decorate.

voilà.

Wow. I really like what you did
with the place, grant.

You really made
this a home.

For the subsequent shakedown,

It's important that the inside
is as realistic as the outside,

And that means furniture,
knickknacks -- and mannequins?

I'm placing three
mannequins around the room --

One underneath the table,

One just standing in the room,

And one standing in the doorway.

Now, for this myth
to be confirmed, the

One in the doorway
is gonna fare the best

In the quake,

And to assess relative damage,

We have an accelerometer
in the head.

And I'm placing shock watches
around their bodies.

Very muscular -- rock-hard abs.

So, I'm no mason,

But I did observe how
this building was being built,

And it conforms to how
you would've built something

In pre-code olden days,

Which means that there are
strong points and weak points.

Now, these corners

Are one of the strongest parts
of the building.

There's rebar going
all the way up to the ceiling

With poured concrete.

Same thing for the door
all the way around the arch.

That's all solid.

So, by the end of this,
my personal opinion

Is that the only thing left
standing is gonna be this wall

With the front door.

So, grant's money
is on the myth,

But before the earth moves...

Excuse me.

...There's one final piece
of the puzzle...

...Some u.S. Geological
survey sensors

That will record
the magnitude of their tremor.

All right. We are set
to shake the building down!

Okay. Five...

Four...

Three...

Two...

One!

whoa.

Wow!

The chandelier
is going crazy.

Wow!

That is
a lot of power.

Right from the get-go,

Their quake is quivering
up, down, left, and right

With the same power
as san francisco's 1906 shock.

And yet this olden days-style
building is holding firm.

But not for long.

Above the window.
Above the window!

Window's coming out!

Oh, crap!

Oh, look at that!

After just 15 seconds,

The side wall
is already in pieces,

And mannequin one
is also down for the count.

Oh, my god!

Look, the back wall's going!

That is terrifying!

Moments later, the back wall...

And then the other side wall
follow suit.

Oh!
Whoa!

This is terrifying!

I think it's gonna go.

It's quake carnage everywhere,

Except, incredibly,
for the doorway.

All right, so far, though,
the doorway does seem to be

The safest place
to stand.

Yeah, I know.

I mean, given
all your other choices

In this situation,
I think the doorway's got it.

Even after a longer-than-typical
two minutes of quake and shake,

The doorway still holds firm.

Until...

Kill the air!
Kill the air!

...The machine itself
gives out.

And with that, the conclusions
are quick to follow.

Well, I think
it's pretty clear.

I mean, the only wall
still standing

Is the one
with the door,

And the only mannequin
that didn't sustain any injury

Is the one standing
in the doorway.

Yeah. He looks all right

Other than being whacked
by the door a few times.

I mean, I think
we can call this one plausible

For this kind of construction.

Yeah.
It's totally plausible.

So, this is
a pretty fantastic result.

As I expected,
this front wall with the doorway

Stayed intact.

Everybody inside the house --
totally devastated.

Guy in the doorway --
totally fine.

But there are two caveats.

The first one
is that this is only good

For a certain amount of time.

If your earthquake lasts
for several minutes,

That wall's gonna
come down, too.

The second thing --

There aren't many buildings
built like this these days.

Most of them have
modern seismic codes in mind.

In fact, you watching at home,

You're probably
in a modern building.

So that's what we got to do
next -- build a modern building.

Earthquakes make the earth move.

So do weddings.

But what happens
when those two worlds collide?

Well, in a magnitude 8.5,
this marriage is going...

- Ahh! Ahh!
- ...Going...

Oh!
...Gone.

Pretty good.

The things that you see
on this show are very dangerous!

Please don't try them
at home!

We have experts
to keep us safe!

Welcome back.

"mythbusters" has
been attempting to answer

The age-old conundrum
of which bathroom stall

In a public restroom
is the cleanest...

...Which is the dirtiest...

And which gets the most use?

In order to test this,

We have commandeered
the bathroom behind me

By cleaning it
within an inch of its life,

Adding clicker counters
on each of the four stall doors,

And we plan to come back
in a few days

To test how much bacteria

Built up over the time
the public was using it.

But now it's time
for people to come in

And just start using it
like they normally would.

So...

Come on, public!

Time to use the bathroom.

Although the toilet
is now open for business,

The users are a little reticent,
but they needn't worry.

Now, normally, we'd have a whole
bunch of cameras everywhere

To record the process
of our experiment.

But, well,
in this particular case,

It might not be
such a good idea.

And, anyway, why would you want
to watch what happens in here?

I certainly wouldn't.

Me, either.

So let's stick
with some cryptic close-ups...

A time-lapse montage...

And some inappropriate
interviews?

Here comes
another member of the public.

Howdy.
Uh, what's your name?

My name's brad.

Brad, uh, mind if I ask you
a personal question?

Uh, sure. Why not?

Okay, uh, did you use one
of the stalls in there

When you went in?

I did.

Okay.
Which one did you use?

Which one are you
normally inclined to use?

Number two.
Number two.

The second one.
Yes, sir.

All right.
Thank you very much, sir.

No problem.
Have a nice day.

Number two.

So, it's one point to stall two,

And there's more to come.

Did you, in fact, use one
of the stalls in there?

Uh, yeah.

Okay.
Which one did you use?

I like the one in the back,
the corner one.

In fact, throughout day one,
nobody used stall one at all.

I choose the third one.

Uh, the fourth one --
the big one.

Number three.

I used the one far on the left
as you walk in.

We are taking a break

From our regularly
scheduled programming

In the men's room

To visit the ladies' room,

Where we discovered
to our astonishment

Not one or two but three
freakin' couches in this joint.

Now I know why they always go
to the bathroom together.

And why they take
so long.

You can write to us
about this sexist talk later,

But first, I'm actually kind of
interested in the interviews

We did
outside the restroom.

Yeah.
It was a little creepy,

But they all seemed
to value their privacy

More than anything else.

Yeah, and seek out the farthest
stall from the door like I do.

Me, I don't care.

You're all just like

"hear me!"

Day two at the gents

And business is booming

As this myth gets flushed out
over 96 hours,

Which, with one final farewell,
come to a sticky end.

Well, are you ready?

I am.
It's been four days.

Let's reswab this joint.

Remember, there's two bits
of data they need to collect.

Oh, man.
Someone here didn't flush.

That's gross.

First is the bacterial load
of each stall.

this is nasty!

And second
is the door-clicker data,

Which is much easier on the eye.

What'd you get?

Well, I can tell you,
but I can't tell them.

They're gonna have to wait
till we get back to the shop.

See, even if I turned it around
and showed it to you,

It would still be blurred.

That's right.
It's television.

Let's go.

Well,
it's been three days

Since we started
our toilet experiment.

What do we got?

Wow, nice graphics.

We actually got
some great numbers.

Nobody messed
with our counters,

And starting with the stall
farthest from the door --

Stall number four --

We had a total of 24 users.

Stall number three --
34 users.

There's a few more
for stall number two at 38,

But stall number one had
a total of 23 users.

Well, that's the least number
of uses.

How does that correlate
with the bacterial count?

Here is where it actually gets
really interesting.

We counted the number of
colonies from all of our swabs.

Starting again at number four,
the number was 231.

Moving in closer,
a little more -- 290.

267.

Stall number one --
162.

It's not only
the least used

But it is by far the cleanest
of all four stalls.

Wow. That's definitive.

Yeah, this one
is completely confirmed.

Well, it looks
like in the future,

I'll be using
stall number one.

I'm still gonna stick
with stall number four.

In earthquake emergencies...

Oh, my god!

...The door just scored.
Aah!

So, as spectacular
as that result was,

Does it mean that diving
for the doorway

Is the best thing to do?

Well, not necessarily.

You see, simply, houses
just aren't built this way

In the u.S. Anymore.

I mean, they used to be,

Which may be
where the myth came from,

But with modern building codes,

Is the doorway still
the best place to be?

Time to build something
a little more up-to-date.

So, this is
our wood-frame house,

Built to modern building codes.

It's got studs every 16 inches.

It's lagged into the floor.

The roof tresses have
hurricane ties.

Now, one reason
why a wood-frame house

Might fare better
than a masonry house is,

When a brick wall flexes,

The mortar simply pops out,

And the wall crumbles and fails.

With a wood-frame house, it can
flex equally in both directions,

So it can absorb
some of that energy

And probably fare better.

Now, the door might be
the strongest part

Of a masonry house,

But my money
is on the wood-frame house

Being equally strong all around.

That's the theory, and once
the roof and walls are up...

...That just leaves
the finishing touches...

Hi, everybody!

Welcome to our house!

...The windows...

...And the all-important door.

Good night!

Next comes the furniture.

Ooh, be careful with that.

It's been in the family
for years.

Then in go the usgs sensors...

Whose owner is adamant
that this myth is at fault.

Okay, dave. So, what do
you think about the myth

That the doorway is the safest
place to stand in an earthquake?

I wouldn't do it.

The usgs advocates that
you drop, cover, and hold on,

Which means drop under
a sturdy table or desk

And hold onto it

So that you don't separate
from the table.

This is an 8.0-magnitude
earthquake

With a wooden-frame,
to-code house.

Start the sequence!

Three...

Two...

One...

Immediately,
the table roars into life.

Look -- look at
the chandelier!

The chandelier is swinging
around the room!

And it's not long
before the bookcase

Takes out mannequin one.

Oh, my god.
Everything is falling over!

While the inside
may be imploding...

The guy under the table
is injury-free,

Which cannot be said
of the doorman.

That dude got spanked!

Yeah, the door just smacked him
on the butt!

A full two minutes
of spanking later,

And the house stays
standing strong.

The construction's
way too good!

So, the guys decide
to come up for air.

Okay. Shut it down!
Shut it down!

So, we shook our house
at an 8.0,

And you can see
it's still standing.

It's built
to modern building codes,

Which have seismic concerns
in mind.

Now, inside of the house,
it's a different story.

There's stuff everywhere,

But the important thing
is that the guy under the table

Did just as well

As the guy standing
in the doorway

And in some ways,
actually better.

See, the table provided
shielding,

Whereas the guy
in the doorway --

He got smacked several times

With the door
as it swung around.

But we're not done yet.

We're gonna shake it
one more time.

So, unlike the masonry house,

This modern marvel is made
of sterner stuff,

Which means the duck, cover,
and hold technique

Is so far the safest.

But what will happen

When they crank the machine
to the max?

This is quake-zilla with a
to-code, wooden-structure house!

Three...Two...One!

With the air pressure
firing on all cylinders,

The earthquake hits a 9.5,

Making it the strongest quake
ever recorded.

What the heck's
going on?!

Yet the house still stands,

Which is more than can be said
for the doorman.

Whoa!

Whoa!

Unable to maintain stability,

He's hit the deck
and is out for the count.

That's not good!

Which means
the only merry mannequin

Is the crouching tiger.

I can't believe this!

But perhaps
the biggest surprise

Is that
the built-to-code building

Appears to be unbreakable.

So, as you can see,

The modern building codes
are that way for a reason.

This house, which
we built in a day and a half,

Stood up to a 9.5 earthquake --

Enough to bring down
an unreinforced masonry house.

It's a feat
of engineering for sure.

But with two different results
for their two different houses,

The guys head home
for the wrap-up.

Okay, so, how are we gonna
call this one?

Well, given that the myth
is that diving for the doorway

Is the best thing to do
in all cases,

I think we're gonna
have to call this one busted

'cause that's not
always the case.

Exactly.

I mean,
maybe if you're in

An old, unreinforced
masonry building,

Which are very rare
in the United States,

Getting to the doorway
is a good idea.

But a better idea is getting out
of the building altogether.

Exactly.

And as far as modern buildings
built to code,

They're probably not
gonna collapse anyway.

Which means
the current advice

Of drop, cover, and hold on
is your best bet.

That's what
I'll be doing.