All language subtitles for Mythbusters S01 E18

On this episode of Mythbusters, Adam and
Jamie attempt to make

the Earth move and bring down this
bridge when they test and build the

pocket -sized earthquake machine
designed by one of the greatest

all time.

Tesla is an unmitigated genius.

Plus, Grant, Tori, and Carrie
investigate the case of the exploding

Who are the Mythbusters?

Adam Savage.

Ants are all over my head, man.

And Jamie Heineman. Gets me all worked
up just looking at it.

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

That was heavy. Joining them, Grant
Imahara. Go get him, boy.

Tori Bellacci.

Somebody order some exploding pants?

And Carrie Byron. Oh, God.

They don't just tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

You think we should do it? I mean, there
are some who believe that a device this

small has the potential to bring this
entire bridge crashing down.

Yeah, sure. I'll hook it up.

Wait, wait, wait.

Give it back. Give it back.

We've got to do a little bit of science
before we get to the finale of the myth.

And what science it is.

Because Adam and Jamie will be testing a
mythical invention of the 19th century

scientific savant, Nikola Tesla.

With contributions to fields as diverse
as robotics, ballistics, electricity,

and magnetism, he's been described as
the man who invented the 20th century.

But his work has also fed speculation
about death rays, mind control, and this

harmless -looking handheld.

earthquake machine tesla's earthquake

machine i read about this when i was
like 19 years old he claimed that he had

built this device to make a mechanical
generator of some kind but that he had

bolted it as a test to a girder in his
building and tuned it up through the

frequencies until he had matched the
building's frequency and when he did all

hell broke loose the building began to
you know, shake around them. They all

outside to find pandemonium. They
thought there was a big earthquake. The

department was there, the police
department was there, and Tesla had to

hammer to his device to stop it from
doing its damage.

A crackpot genius, handheld earthquake
machine, and all hell breaking loose?

It's the stuff Mythbusters dream about.

And after a trip to the patent office to
source Tesla's original designs, Adam

and Jamie are all over it like white on
rice.

I'm totally on the same page as you
about this. With the plans before them,

plan of action is refreshingly simple.

Build their very own earthquake machine
and see if it works.

And after a few hours' research, the
guys have an understanding of the

mechanics.

Tesla's earthquake machine is actually
based on something he used in a whole

bunch of different inventions and
patents, and it's what he called the

mechanical oscillator generator, which,
thanks to the graphics department, looks

like this.

A pocket -sized system of pistons and an
air cushion work together,

reciprocating a central linear rod.

The speed of this vibration can be
adjusted or tuned to match the resonant

frequency of the target object.

And Tesla claimed the resulting positive
feedback could be harnessed to destroy

anything.

That device is all about resonance. It
reciprocates at the same frequency that

the object that it's attached to is
capable of responding to, and supposedly

whole thing is like this feedback thing
that just gets out of control and the

thing flies apart.

Jamie sounds dubious, and with good
reason.

The team have come up against resonance
before with mixed results.

Will earthquake machine be a repeat of
break -step bridge?

There's no danger they pose to the
bridge. I'd say the myth is totally

Or will they get results similar to
breaking glass?

I did it!

To harness the destructive power of
resonance, Adam wants to build Tesla's

oscillating earthquake machine from
scratch.

But ever the pragmatist, Jamie has found
a shortcut.

Okay, you ready for the oscillation?

That's what that is.

Tesla's device is actually very simple.

All it does is reciprocate. And, in
fact, there's a very common device that

everybody's familiar with called a
jackhammer that does nothing more than

You're right.

So, by modifying the jackhammer's motor,
they'll have an earthquake machine, in

line with Tesla's original design.

Hell, let's try it. We can knock this
out before lunch.

With the mechanical oscillation taken
care of, they simply have to control the

frequency of the vibration.

I'm tuning it by adjusting the amount of
back pressure and changing the

frequency.

And next, they replace the chisel from
the jackhammer with a small rod.

Then they machine the piston parts that
will house the air cushion.

And with just the air cushion to attach,
there's time for a quick test.

All right,

end segment.

This myth is a really recent one,
actually. It comes from 2004, where

a guy killed himself with a lava lamp.

Actually, I heard this one's true, but
for the life of me, I cannot figure out

how he did it. I mean, what was he
doing? It's like, was he impatient? He

want to wait for the light to heat up
the lamp, and then he stuck it on the

stove? Or he might have just been like
us, and he was just experimenting with a

lava lamp.

In 2004, a Washington State resident was
found dead at home.

Cause of death, a large piece of glass
shrapnel to the heart after a lava lamp

left on a stove exploded.

But how on earth did this groovy symbol
of the 60s turn lethal killer?

If anyone can get to the bottom of this,
it's our very own MSI unit.

Myth scene investigators Carrie, Tori,
and Grant are on the case.

Okay, well, sounds simple enough. What
is the plan?

Well, I'll go get some lava lamps.

I'd like to make a target.

I can maybe go get some real human ribs
to make a really good torso.

What do you want to do?

I'll do the math.

Math.

While Grant calculates what to do with
his day off, Harry and Tori get down to

business.

Our super sleuths have a two -stage
investigation.

First, if a lava lamp is left on a
stove, will it explode?

And if it does, could the resultant
shower of glass and goo lead to a lethal

piece of shrapnel to the heart?

So to recreate the scene, the first
thing they'll need is a rack of ribs.

That is so cool.

And here at the Bone Room, you can
satisfy all your skeletal needs.

But wait a minute. Doesn't Carrie have a
mortal fear of all things dead and not

buried? I really, really love skulls and
bones and all that. Right, but not the

fleshy, gooey part.

All that muddy meat just makes me ill.

Cute, a flashback.

I'm a vegetarian city girl from
California.

Oh, my God, it blew its teeth out.

Blew his teeth out. Can we find a story
where we don't work in dead animals? For

real. So traumatized right now?

This, this is really cool.

So you're pro -mummy, anti -zombie is
what you're saying?

Yeah, pretty much, yeah.

Okay, now we all know a little more
about Carrie and the skeletons in her

closet. What about the myth?

He actually had to get a shard of glass
exploding and going through the rib

cage, through whatever connective tissue
was here, and then into the heart. So

you're going to actually have to get it
through one of the holes and through all

that muscle, and depending on how fat
the person was, the fat and tissue, and

then into the organs.

This is some bad luck.

Bad luck our team will try to recreate
back at the shop.

And while Carrie gets her ribs to go...

Tori has seen the light.

Tori? Tori?

Lava lamp?

I just want to check this one out
because it's got sparkles and glitter.

Ah!

They get hot. The third -degree burns
help focus Tori's mind. And before long,

he's headed back to the shop with a good
selection.

where Grant has been looking for some
inside info on the prime suspect.

Well, for this myth, I've been trying to
find out exactly what's inside of a

lava lamp. Although the biggest
manufacturer of lava lamps in the U .S.

their recipe secret, with a little bit
of searching, we've been able to find

that lava lamps have inside them a lot
of things that are potentially

Mineral oils, wax, alcohol.

Meanwhile, Carrie is working on putting
some fake flesh on her real ribs.

I know it's not going to be a totally
accurate representation of the human

but... The way the lava lamp exploded is
a shard of glass went flying through

the air and pierced his heart through
his ribcage. I just want to see what

of chance glass has of getting that far
into the human body.

To do it, Carrie is casting a ballistics
gel bust around the human ribcage.

By suspending the ribs in position,
she'll have a close structural analog of

human torso.

Trying to figure out exactly where the
ribcage is going to end on this dude.

To confirm the story that glass shrapnel
from an exploded lava lamp can pierce

the heart, Carrie gives Barry the
Ballistic's bust a fake heart, which, if

punctured, will leak its fake blood and
simulate his death.

With his internal organ in place, he's
ready to put on some weight.

And after a night in the fridge chilling
out, Barry's all set for the great lava

lamp experiment.

Oh, that is beautiful.

God, that came out good.

Adam and Jamie are testing the myth that
Nikola Tesla built and successfully

tested a pocket -sized earthquake
machine.

And after studying the patents and
original photo of the device, Adam is

on Tesla's every word.

I was experimenting with vibrations.

I had one of my machines going, and I
wanted to see if I could get it in tune

with the vibration of the building. I
put it up notch after notch.

Suddenly, all the heavy machinery in the
place was flying around.

I grabbed a hammer and broke the
machine.

Outside in the street, there was
pandemonium. The police and ambulance

We told the police it must have been an
earthquake.

I told my assistants to say nothing.

To investigate these extravagant claims,
Adam and Jamie are building a mover and

shaker of their own. Based on Tesla's
original patent, they've come up with

this. We're about to fire up Tesla's
mechanical oscillator.

We promise that if this device works, we
will use our powers only for good.

You better watch out, man. That's going
to make this whole building fall apart.

That would be a problem if it did that,
obviously, but I'm not worried.

It's like two or three hertz.

We need to increase the speed a little
bit.

Adam thinks they haven't nailed the
spirit of the design, but Jamie just

to move on. It's not working the way
it's supposed to because all we've got

is a piston going back and forth. I
mean, the way it's described, one of the

aspects of it in...

Tesla's description is the air spring.
As far as I'm concerned, this is what

Tesla described.

You have minor variations. I don't think
this is the device.

You really have to separate out what
your opinion is from the facts of the

device. We haven't even come close here
in terms of the frequency that it's

moving at and that air cushioning thing.

But the problem is the air cushion that
Tesla described as frictionless is

causing friction and slowing the device
down.

This device isn't working.

We could waste a lot of time on making
something that works better than this

one, but it's still not an efficient way
of demonstrating the principle

involved.

The great and powerful Jamie Hanneman
has spoken.

It's a classic MythBuster standoff. Adam
wants due diligence and Jamie wants

efficiency. But like an old married
couple, they soon compromise.

I'm going to have another look at this
device and see if I can't.

tune it to get it as close to Tesla's
device as I possibly can.

So Jamie gets to replace the air cushion
with mechanical springs.

And Adam gets the increase in top speed
he wanted.

Ooh, nice!

Adam's happy and agrees that the switch
to mechanical springs is in line with

Tesla's idea.

He talks about the fact that the work
that is being done by the air spring

be done by mechanical springs. And the
only reason he prefers the air spring is

because it has no inclination to break.

You can feel that over here. Yeah. No,
it's a real deal. Which means they can

test it for real.

Jamie carries a couple of these uphill
every morning for two hours.

But what to test it on?

The reason we're going with a two -foot
bar is because...

That's exactly what Tesla said that he
busted apart the first time he tried

out. For a long time, nothing happened,
he said.

But at last, the great steel link began
to tremble and finally broke.

Crowbars could not have done it, but a
fuselage of taps, none of which would

have harmed a baby, did it.

That's the kind of response we're
looking for.

Spectrum analyzer coming through.

I am taping an accelerometer to this
bar. This is hooked up to a...

frequency analyzer, which actually
should tell me exactly what the

frequencies of the bar are, and it
should also tell me when I've got it

excited to the maximum degree.

This is it.

Tesla's earthquake machine will finally
be used in anger.

We're ready to go.

Adam is monitoring the feedback.

I think you can go up.

And Jamie, on regulator duty, is
adjusting the frequency of the

machine.

At 32 hertz, with the earthquake machine
running at top speed, there's no sign

of the steel bar resonating.

My inclination would be, let's turn it
up on full and leave it for half an

see if it actually, you know, does
anything to the bar. According to Tesla,

didn't happen instantaneously.

What did happen was a failure of the
prototype.

My guess is if I put it back together,
it'll run now.

for a little while.

Jamie resurrects it, but it's not long
before it dies again.

It's like my worst nightmare.

And again.

We can't even get a long enough test to
prove that it doesn't work.

I mean, I guess we have proved that it
doesn't work, but not in the way that we

intended.

It seems the mechanical springs Tesla
said would have an inclination to break

are... Breaking.

And after a long and frustrating day,
spirits, and quite possibly minds, are

following suit.

The build team are in MSI mode.

Myth scene investigators Carrie, Grant,
and Tori are hot on the trail of a

lethal lava lamp.

Ah!

They get hot.

Tori has successfully gotten a bunch of
lava lamps for us, and I finished my

human torso with a fake exploding heart.
So now the next logical step is to

actually recreate the scene.

Detectives Byron, Imahara, and Bileci
are staging a reconstruction to answer

questions. Will a lava lamp explode if
left on a stovetop?

And if so, will the blast be powerful
enough to send a lethal piece of glass

into a human heart?

I think most people sit and watch a lot
of lamps like this.

Yeah,

that's about the right position.

With Barry the ballistics bust assuming
the position, everything and everyone is

ready. Ready? Three, two, one, run.

Now they just have to wait for things to
warm up.

It's starting to bubble. There it goes.

It's starting to move.

And pass the time making a few
predictions.

Underneath that little hat is a metal,
like a bottle cap.

I think that's going to blow off first
before the glass ruptures.

I have a feeling this is going to work.

You've got a high -pressure situation
inside the bottle.

There's nowhere for that pressure to go
except out. It's going to turn that

bottle into a bomb.

Well, it didn't explode, but you were
right. The top popped off and the bottom

blew out. I call that an explosion.

Explosion or not, it looked pretty
dangerous.

There was hot oil and wax erupting in a
volcanic geyser.

But no glass shrapnel in Barry the
Ballistic Bust.

Yeah, he's clean.

Let's clear out the smoke finishes.

We didn't get any shards of glass in the
bust.

What happened was the cap gave way,
released all the pressure, released all

liquid inside. As soon as the liquid was
gone, the heat from the stove actually

shattered the bottom of the bottle. So
we didn't get that explosion that the

myth's talking about.

No explosion means there are still
plenty of loose ends in this story. But

is clear are the two reasons why you
shouldn't put a lava lamp on a stove.

The first is written into the safety
instructions.

Do not use any other means to heat up
the lamp other than the bulb provided.

the second is this.

Jamie and Adam are tackling Tesla and
his incredible earthquake machine.

Tesla is an unmitigated genius.

I mean, he is absolutely an amazing
brain. He invented alternating current,

late in his life, neglected by his
sponsors, not given his due, watching

invention spread across the world and
him not getting any piece of it. Also in

bitter patent battle about the invention
of the radio, which he eventually won

posthumously. I think he was trying to
drum up some press, and I think this

story was part of that.

With two failed prototypes, confidence
in the myth is low. So it's time for

B. My opinion is if we're going to do
this right, we have to come up with a

of visualizing, demonstrating visually
what we're talking about when we're

talking about resonance and resonant
frequencies.

Well, resonance can be kind of tricky.
Why don't we start with water?

You know, create a wave action that we
can see.

So the plan is to build a wave tank.

Rig a quick and dirty reciprocating
device, tune it in, and create a mini

tsunami.

Dude, that is so trippy.

What I love about this test is it really
illustrates Tesla's theoretical ideas

perfectly. When you push a kid on a
swing, each of your pushes doesn't make

go all the way up. It's the sum total of
them. You're adding energy each time.

Dude, look at that. You hit a sweet spot
again.

That's twice the sweet spot that you
were hitting before.

And that was a minute variation in
speed.

Like that was the difference on this
meter from 1 .5 to 1 .6. And at 1 .5, it

was almost a flat calm.

Right. At 1 .6, it's starting to almost
bounce out of the chamber.

In some states, when there is no
harmonic vibration between the

the ball and the way the water waves are
moving, the ball can move up and down

and the tank just stays totally level.

And then in other configurations, when
we hit a harmonic vibration, the ball is

moving up and down at just a minutely
different speed, but the waves are going

like this.

And that's just exactly what we're doing
or what we're trying to do in the

steel. Re -energized with all things
Tesla, Adam and Jamie decide it's time

get back to the earthquake machine. Our
first air -powered jackhammer did not

work. I mean, we just modified it so
much that it began failing in ways we

fix.

We looked at getting another one, and
Jamie has an air -powered auto -tool for

hammering. Hold it down.

That's pretty fast.

This is ten times better than that. It's
smaller.

It's not so much of an impact tool when
you don't have the tool in it. We can

back pressure it with the air cushion
that we were looking for from the

beginning, and it can fit in your
pocket.

I think it's exactly in the spirit of
what Tesla drew.

It's so close to Tesla's design, the
only modification required is a steel

so it can be attached to the target
object.

This is actually Jamie's personal
massager. He's all like, honey, I feel

sore. Would you work on me for a bit?
And his wife's like, and he's like, oh,

right there.

Lower. Oh, yeah.

That's how he has such big shoulders.

Adam and Jamie once again prepare to
disintegrate a solid steel bar with an

earthquake machine.

The accelerometer's in. The device is
clamped in.

I'm ready to go. They take it through
the air hammer's full range of

frequencies. But with no sign, the steel
bar is resonating.

I'm measuring the frequency that our
device is applying to the bar.

And it's right about 50, 52 hertz.

But Tesla said that it was a while
before destruction ensued. And if it's

enough for Tesla... Well, the lowest
natural frequency of the bar is in the

hundreds. Like four or five hundred.

We're not going to get that with any
device we've got here.

I'm looking forward to trying this on
some other types of steel.

View the steel bar alternative.

First,

a two -foot section of two -inch square
tubing.

And this time, they get a little action.

Yeah, isn't that cool?

Yeah.

That's the highest amplitude on that
primary 20 hertz pitch. And you can see

it's shaking around more than any other
time. So we're starting to see

potentially the kind of excitement
that's possible. It's just we need to

bar that's tuned to this device and this
device tuned to that bar.

It's low frequency. Then we should see
some real vibration.

And the best chance they have to do that
is test a bar with a lower resonant

frequency.

Like this 20 -footer, which has a
harmonic as low as 7 hertz.

But after hours of tweaking the system,
there's no sign of any action.

And in Jamie's mind, this myth has
already been consigned to the busted

Currently, my impression is that this
idea of putting this little tiny thing

some massive structure and by tuning it
just so, getting the whole thing to

resonate,

you know, a flea jumping up and down on
a girder, and if he does it at the right

frequency over and over again, that all
of a sudden, magically, the whole

structure goes down. I mean, that's what
Tesla's talking about with this

principle of, you know, this magical
resonance that he's creating.

Shall we pull it off?

Yes.

So far, MSI San Francisco have yet to
break the case of the lethal lava lamp.

Barry, the ballistic boss, took a
burning hot shower.

But without an explosion, he's free of
any deadly shrapnel wounds.

So far.

All right, this is test number two.
We're going with the lava lamp with the

bottle cap top instead of the safety
cap.

This kind of bottle cap will hopefully
be stronger.

It'll hold that pressure inside,
allowing it to explode. And that's what

looking for here in this myth.

But ten minutes in, and it looks like...
Oh, I hear something. I can see it

leaking. Torrey's theory has a few holes
in it.

But despite the leak, the cap holds, and
the pressure continues to build. Sweet.

Yeah! Yeah!

Fire! And the escaping flammable lava
makes things even more interesting.

That is looking a little out of control.

Oh, wow.

Yeah.

Look at that. It's just extinguishing
itself right now.

Whoa!

Okay, that was an explosion. That was
awesome.

Yeah! With the explosive potential of
the lava lamp confirmed,

Our team of forensic investigators check
out the scene, and more importantly,

Barry. The bottle has completely
disintegrated. Here's a small set of

How deep was it?

It was just surface.

Based on what I've just seen, I
absolutely believe that this could be

mean, the amount of energy that we got
out of one of these bottles, there's no

modifications whatsoever.

This is right off the shelf.

That's a lot of energy, and I think that
that could definitely...

blow a piece of glass right into your
heart.

And to prove it, all they have to do is
cook up some more explosion.

20 minutes, you start getting fires. 24
minutes, you start getting...

It was like right on view.

If this replay is anything to go by, the
ballistic bust will have been lucky to

escape without taking a hit.

But it seems like Cool Cat Barry has
nine lives.

I don't see any big pieces in him now,
but I have to say I'm pretty convinced

this explosion due to the fact that the
shards are much bigger than we've seen.

Yeah. Yeah. And they're all over the
place.

So how's this first scenario?

Guy puts the lava lamp on. It's taking
20 minutes.

Obviously, you know, you're going to get
bored.

sitting there watching it, he walks
away, all of a sudden smells the smoke,

hears all the spewing, comes in to turn
it to low, and then it explodes.

So he's leaning over.

Look at CSI carry.

Okay, but where to from here?

Keep exploding lava lamps until they get
a direct hit, or ramp things up a

little? So our next scenario that we're
going to try is the experimental one.

We're going to try to get that cap so
it's solid on top of the bottle and see

we can't get more of a...

compression and explosion and maybe get
a fracture from this bottle that would

have created the shards that killed him.
To improve the bomb -like qualities of

the lamp, Tori seals the cap, but not
very well.

With the lava lamp contents escaping,
they

decide to stage an intervention.

A squirt of cold water from a spray gun
should help things along.

The theory was the shock of the cold
water would cause a glass fracture.

No!

Look at your face. It was priceless.

All right, let's go see how he survived
or not.

Whoa!

Now that is a result. Don't touch it,
don't touch it, don't touch it. That's

crazy. That is a result.

You know, I think eventually...

Given the number of bottles that we had,
we probably would be able to get a

result like this without having secured
the bottle cap on there.

It seems to me that it's just luck of
the draw.

Every time, we had a lot of energy
behind the explosion. I think it's just

matter of time before we get one that's
mortal.

All right, so, exploding lava lamp,
what's the verdict?

I think we have it confirmed.

Yeah, we show that there's enough energy
in a lava lamp being heated up on the

stove to throw a shard of glass at
lethal velocity into the body.

And I think my scenario as to why the
stove was on low and why he was leaning

over it when it exploded is actually
really plausible.

So MSI San Francisco have confirmed the
details of this tragic story.

And if this isn't a warning to always
read the safety instructions, nothing

But the kitchen pyrotechnics ain't over
yet.

You know what? I don't think we can stop
right here.

One, we haven't had enough explosions.

Two, there are a lot of products that
people might be tempted to heat up on a

stovetop like a can of beans.

I can go with that.

What about like potted meat?

That's in a can. There you go.

Baby formula. I mean, there's a lot of
things we can keep testing.

You know, as a public service to our
viewers.

Exactly.

Jamie and Adam have been testing Tesla's
earthquake machine for days, and the

Richter scale is showing a big, fat
zero.

There have been a few good vibrations,
but certainly nothing like the

results Tesla boasted about in his
twilight years.

After a lifelong feud with Edison, and
in deep financial trouble, the Serbian

-born inventor made some outrageous
claims.

He was still producing great work, such
as the first principles for radar. But

he also suggested he could build a death
ray capable of destroying 10 ,000 enemy

airplanes.

And, of course, he famously claimed that
with a few well -timed explosions, he

could split the Earth in two, like an
apple.

But Tesla's claims and the results so
far are a world apart.

So we're a little bit stuck because the
designs that Tesla drew out, don't seem

to really work too well. I mean, we
might eventually get there, but I

Grant has advice that might speed things
up a little bit.

Okay, you ready?

Here we go.

That's it, Jamie.

That's what we wanted to build.

It's an electromagnetic linear motor,
and Tesla will be smiling in his grave.

This is precisely what Tesla's
describing in his patent. I mean, he

doesn't care exactly how you achieve
that movement, but that it's

you could potentially do it with a
magnetic coil, even though he suggested

cushion. I mean, this is it. This is it.

This is not dissimilar from Jamie's
morning workout routine.

Amazingly, Grant turns out to have in
his possession for an outside consulting

gig exactly the motor that we need. It's
driven by magnets, which Tesla posited

was possible and a reasonable way to do
this machine.

I cannot wait to get it.

Going on.

Grant's actuator is so perfect that with
a simple clamp to the 20 -foot bar,

it's ready to go.

Now we're getting something here. Yeah,
it's starting to rock.

With a computer -controlled accuracy of
one hundredth of a hertz, something

Tesla could only dream of.

Got something.

They're having much more success fine
-tuning Grant's almost frictionless

to the steel bar's natural frequency.

That's going to make it fall off.

It's losing energy when it's dropping.

Put your foot on it and stop it from
hopping up and down. Let's see if we can

build the energy.

I mean... Yeah, look at that.

Yeah, see? Oh, my God.

That's... Holy... Dude!

My box, let's stop it. Okay, stop it.
Stop it.

It's about tuning the amount of
vibrations per second precisely to what

needs. Every time the bar flexes, when
it comes back up, you're hitting it.

Boom! right at the top of that arc.

And again, it goes back down, it comes
back up, and bang, you're hitting it

right at the top of that arc. That
timing is absolutely critical to this.

saw that once you get that timing right
and you eliminate the ability of the bar

to move and bounce and lose its energy,
the deflection was just diabolical.

I can't, with all my weight standing in
the middle of this, deflect it as much

as it was being deflected by this
actuator, which only weighs, what, like

pounds.

Well, we got some results from our first
test, but we didn't get anything like

what Tesla described as far as this atom
-by -atom destruction.

And he said one thing he did was bolt it
to an iron bar, and the other thing he

did was bolt it to his building. And
maybe we're going to get a lot more

response out of this device if we bolt
it to a scale model of Tesla's actual

lab. Let's build a scale version of 48
East Houston Street where his lab was

try the device out on that.

So, scale testing it is.

And a quick research break ensures they
have accurate mini blueprints, not just

for size, but also structural integrity
and material strength.

Then, with judicious use of the fast
-forward button, Adam and Jamie have a

replica of Tesla's lab built in no time
at all.

I'm going to suffer for that tomorrow.
We have our 1 -6 scale version of

building. Now we have to have a 1 -6
scale of Tesla's resonator.

This microcassette recorder fits the
bill perfectly.

And once it's attached to one of the
scaled -down steel beams, they're ready

go.

We should match the oscillation of your
device to the sound of this thing

rocking back and forth, then we'll get
really close to the resonant frequency,

okay?

That's pretty darn good.

All right, then I think we should just
let it sit for a while. Tesla said

nothing happened at first.

Okay.

Now, this building is pretty much
exactly scaled to a large five -story

or iron -structured building in New York
City, around about the mid -1800s.

And from what we know from the
mechanical engineers we talked to, the

properties ought to scale along with the
material.

So this is a...

Terrific attempt to see if Tesla's
device could have any effect on a large,

-size building. But despite Adam's
confidence in the test parameters, the

and Mini Jamie are unmoved.

Let's give Grant a call.

Yeah, we need to go bigger.

Of course, if we use Grant's device,
scale has gone out the window. This

even remotely what you would consider
pocket -sized in scale in something like

car.

But even with the scale equivalent of an
oscillating car and hours of tuning and

tweaking, there's no evidence of
destruction.

And Adam and Jamie find much the same
when they look into the official

geological records.

Like any good myth, this one has a
couple of different versions. Tesla

variously that his earthquake machine
did its damage in either 1887 or in

Well, I looked through the USGS records,
and there was, in fact, an earthquake

in 1887 in New York State, but it wasn't
in New York City, so it couldn't have

been Tesla's. And, in fact, there was an
earthquake centered in New York City,

but it was 1884, a full year before he
moved into East Houston Street.

So the myth is on extremely shaky
ground.

But desperate to give Tesla his due,
Adam has one last test up his sleeve.

I think that it's the final.

Piece de resistance of this myth, we
take your linear actuator out to a big

steel structure like a bridge.

We try it on that.

Then we can call this one busted. You
get me the bridge, I'll be there.

Torrey, Grant, and Carey have solved the
exploding lava lamp mystery.

But MSI has case files on a number of
other stovetop myths.

Are there more products lurking in the
kitchen cupboards that can kill? And if

so, what are they?

The team won't rest until they find out.

This is the classic story of somebody
who has a tin of beans, he doesn't have

bowl, so he's going to decide, he's
going to heat it up straight on the

forgets to open up the lid, the pressure
builds, and it explodes.

I think you're right, babe.

Bean.

Not as exciting as the lava lamp, this
can of beans.

But where there's heat, beans, and
pressure, there's always an explosion.

Oh, dang it. That was disgusting.

Disgusting? But I bet you want to see it
again.

Oh, this is so gross. Look at that.

Oh, my God. It's in the shape of a can.

So the pop -top popped, and there was a
stinky eruption.

But it wasn't exactly lethal.

Next. Okay, so this time we're going to
use a bigger can of beans.

It's the kind of can that you actually
need a can opener to get into the beans.

So it doesn't have the pop -top with the
little tab.

So hopefully it's going to take a lot
more pressure to make this explode.

The heat's on, so all they've got to do
is sit tight.

wait for the boom, and avoid getting
arrested by the pun police.

Ah, Bean there.

Yeah, Grant likes Bean safe.

This is Bean the funniest day.

The unbearable likeness of Bean.

Bean warm.

Hey, Tori, what's Bean going on?

Half an hour into the experiment, and
the Bean can is yet to blow.

The Mythbusters, well, they're still
monkeying around.

Oh, my God. I

could taste beans in the air. Yeah.

Now you see it.

Now you don't.

I mean, this could potentially kill you.
Yeah. It's like a little cannonball of

beans.

Next, it's a pop gun of potted meat.

It's cooked. Let's eat.

What do we got next?

Well, the list says a mortar of milk.

It doesn't look too aggressive. It looks
like it's just slowly leaking out.

Oh!

Nice.

It was a milk rocket.

That was great. Oh, look, and there's a
huge shirt of glass going right into

the...

So that was not only a successful
explosion, but a potentially deadly

Which leaves just one item on the team's
to blow up list.

The mother of all lava lamps, Big
Bertha.

So quiet.

A little too quiet.

Barry the Ballistics Bust is having a
tough day.

Hot bean cannonballs, glass shrapnel,
and now because of the team's impatience

to get a big boom, A gas burner.

Oh, man, look at the dummy in the back.
He just sliced his shoulder. He's

slumping. He's heard the proverb, if you
can't stand the heat, get out of the

kitchen. I hope he doesn't fall into the
lamp. Oh, that would suck.

But without legs, getting out is not an
option.

No! Oh, no!

No!

Oh!

Oh! Oh!

Okay, it's still intact.

Dang!

We just have to wait until it's ready to
cool down. We can't shoot it with the

fire extinguisher.

It'll break it. It'll break it. It's
sabotaged by our own ballistic dummy.

There's a bubbling bomb of lava that
requires handling. And when there's

something strange in the neighborhood,
who else are you going to call?

Don't get blowed up.

Okay, I'll see you in a bit.

Of course, Torrey did wait until Big
Bertha had cooled, making it safe to

handle.

He may be renowned for his safety
-defying stunts.

But he ain't stupid.

It's looking pretty good.

It seems to be intact.

All in one piece.

But not for long.

It was almost in slow motion.

Wow, those are giant pieces.

Oh my God, that was so cool.

Wow. The pieces that came off that were
definitely like spears. They were huge.

All right, let's wrap up our day with a
result. What did we get for the lava

lamb? Lethal.

Lots of energy, lots of shrapnel.

Can of beans.

Well, depending on the size of the tin
that you're using, I would say it's

definitely lethal, especially to you,
possibly your neighbors.

Okay. How about the can of potted meat?

Probably not lethal, but very messy.

And finally, the milk in the jar. The
milk in the jar, I guess the only way it

could kill you is if you had your head
and you were looking directly down at

It could be lethal.

So I guess we've learned something here
today.

Don't put anything on the stove unless
you have a pressure relief.

Tesla's earthquake machine has proved to
be a test of Jamie and Adam's patience

and working relationship.

But Adam has insisted they try one last
experiment.

You get me the bridge, I'll be there.
And what a bridge.

We're on the Carquinas Bridge now.

This is obviously a huge steel
structure.

This was built circa 1927.

So as far as a resonant steel structure,
this is it.

What's the structure?

It is. It is an awesome structure.

But when Adam said, we promise that if
this device works, we will use our

only for good, he was lying.

It's time to use Tesla's device to bring
the bridge down.

This is intense.

So all they need to do is find a good
spot to attach their earthquake machine,

turn it on, and tune it in.

There she goes.

There it is.

The oscillating machine is oscillating.

Increase the amplitude.

And now to tune it to the resonant
frequency of the bridge. If they can do

this giant steel structure will be a
pile of rubble in no time at all.

Whoa!

No, I'm just kidding.

Keen -eyed observers will note the guys
are actually standing on the bridge

they're trying to destroy.

Confidence in Tesla's machine isn't
exactly sky high.

Now, neither Jamie nor I gives a high
percentage to anything occurring out

Nonetheless, I mean, MythBusters is
nothing if not a compendium of ways in

Jamie and I have been wrong.

Damien, come here. Feel this.

Come here.

I feel a vibration that is oscillating
here.

I'm going to freeze it and see whether
it stops. Okay.

That's kind of cool.

And... Totally stops here.

That's freaky.

All of a sudden, this myth is giving
Adam and Jamie a good vibe.

And it's not the traffic, because that's
on a completely separate bridge.

It totally feels like the whole
structure is ringing to that hurt.

Hold on, I'm going to go down the way
and see if I can feel it over here.

I can totally feel it over here!

Wait.

I can totally... Yep, there it goes.

But the best is yet to come. After some
more tuning, they find a sweet spot.

Hold the phone.

Oh, my God.

It feels like a big semi -trailer truck
is rolling right by us right now.

And that's only six pounds of weight
moving 25 times per second. It actually

makes me a little concerned, believe it
or not.

I'm totally startled to come out here
and find this thing.

vibrating at the correct frequency to be
felt hundreds of feet away from the

source. That is totally amazing.

Did not expect that.

We were ramping the same weight and the
same kind of amplitude of vibration

through the whole range of frequencies.

And, you know, yeah, there's a little
vibration, but then I hit that one spot,

and all of a sudden it's like, hold on.

You know, this is different. Something
different was going on with that exact

frequency. And, you know, as a result of
that specific

frequency, that specific tone that we're
getting, this entire bridge is

vibrating.

Yeah, you can see it.

That's over 100 feet away.

Dude, that's six pounds.

I know.

I mean, I'm a little spooked.

It's official. We have two spooked
MythBusters and some unexpected results

our hands.

This vibration from this device is
traveling significant distances in this

structure.

But it ain't no earthquake. We've had it
running for, I think, somewhere near an

hour at this point.

It's not doing anything but just making
the vibrations. The vibrations aren't

building. We've tuned it up and down to
find a really resonant frequency.

We've hit a real butter zone here, and
still this bridge is standing.

Do you know that some people think that
Tesla was sent back in time from the

future to give primitive man the gift of
electricity, and that he was an

inspiration for Mark Twain's story of
Connecticut, Yankee, and Singapore?

Well... He was definitely ahead of his
time, and, you know, he was on to

something with his resonance thing. It
was pretty cool.

Yeah, but I think we both know where
this is going.

Yeah. It ain't no earthquake.

It's no earthquake. It's totally busted.

Let's go home.

All right.

Hey, what do you think if we put a
couple hundred pounds on it?