For 14 seasons, fans tuned into Mythbusters on the Discovery Channel for both the fascinating science experiments and the fascinating people who conducted them. The lovable cast of the show tested the validity of all kinds of theories and myths, but there was actually one experiment they did that was so controversial that they immediately destroyed all of the evidence. Plus this wasn't the only experiment in the show's history that they probably don't want to talk about. In addition, they have all led quite interesting lives outside of the show, so let's take a look at the untold truth of Mythbusters.
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00:00The original Mythbusters ran for a whopping 14 seasons, and during that time, the public
00:05fell in love with both the Busting and the Busters.
00:08Because of that widespread love and popularity, you might think you know all the secrets behind
00:12the making of this explosively entertaining show.
00:14But there are a few secrets the cast kept to themselves after the cameras stopped rolling,
00:18just waiting for the right fans to discover.
00:21The whole premise
00:22Originally, Mythbusters was going to be quite literal, exploring well-known urban legends
00:27and actual myths.
00:28Over time, though, they dropped that idea, becoming more focused on what their viewers
00:31would like to see.
00:32Hence, some of the fan-favorite episodes explore whether certain movie scenes could realistically
00:36happen or whether MacGyver could actually escape certain death time and time again.
00:41While these are definitely sillier concepts than the original premise of the show, in
00:44a world dominated by improbable blockbuster movies and amazing, potentially fake, YouTube
00:48clips, the Mythbusters had plenty of material to work with.
00:51And if they ever come back, they'll still have plenty to work with, because we're just
00:55as confused now as we were then.
00:57"...the labor involved in building this ball was intense."
01:01Destroyed evidence
01:03The Mythbusters were never strangers to destroying things.
01:06Invariably, testing various myths turned into an excuse to blow something up.
01:10However, there was one time where they used their destructive power to hide something
01:13from the fans, instead of sharing it with them.
01:15At the Silicon Valley Comic-Con in 2016, Adam Savage talked about their investigation of
01:20an easily available material and its supposed explosive properties.
01:23The discovery?
01:24"...it was so explosive that we destroyed the footage and agreed never to say what we
01:29learned.
01:30Seriously."
01:31Apparently, the tech-savvy team determined that destroying the footage was the only way
01:36to ensure it didn't pop up on YouTube a few years down the line, causing amateurs everywhere
01:40to go and blow themselves to bits.
01:42"...it was absolutely terrifying."
01:44Savage on Sesame Street
01:46Over the years, Adam Savage has become a brand in and of himself, known the world over for
01:51his madcap personality and penchant for destructive myth-busting.
01:54Appropriately enough for the zany host, Savage made his television debut as a cartoon character
01:59on Sesame Street.
02:00Savage's father was behind many of the 30-second animated bits that ran in between other Sesame
02:04Street programming way back in the day.
02:06This led to a job where Savage's father had to produce ten animations about children who
02:10were interested in figuring out how things work.
02:12Fittingly enough for a future myth-buster, young Savage was tapped to be the voice of
02:16one of the two children featured in these spots.
02:18"...I'll show you how a faucet works, Sheila."
02:21Belleci Pipe Bomb
02:23For most of the Mythbusters crew, mastering the art of crazy explosions was mostly a matter
02:28of keeping fans happy.
02:29After all, most of them had backgrounds in modeling, engineering, and robotics for the
02:32movie industry.
02:33But the team had a secret weapon in the form of Tori Belleci.
02:36When he was giving a speech to the Davidson County Community College, Belleci let slip
02:40that, at the tender age of 11, he was not only learning how to make his own Super 8
02:44films, but making his own flamethrower and even pipe bombs.
02:47While these are the kinds of skills that would probably get most modern children put on a
02:50governmental watch list, they served as valuable experience for the young man figuring out
02:54how to use the resources around him to achieve explosive entertainment.
02:58"...You wonder why you always see him getting hurt."
03:02Cannonball
03:03Normally, the Mythbusters are paragons of safety.
03:05Not only do they give that firm do-not-try-this-at-home warning to their viewers, but they operate
03:09in conjunction with local law enforcement and emergency services to make sure their
03:13myth-busting doesn't do any real damage.
03:15But one screw-up was a doozy, involving the team nearly destroying somebody's home.
03:19The team was testing myths related to homemade cannons, and had set up water vats that were
03:23supposed to safely catch the cannonballs, so nothing dangerous happened.
03:27Unfortunately, a cannonball blew through the cinderblock wall on the set of the show.
03:31It ended up going on a rather amazing journey, in which it flew through somebody's front
03:34door, up their stairs, through their bedroom, and out of their house before jumping a thoroughfare,
03:39hitting the top of another home, and coming to a final rest by slamming into a minivan.
03:43Fortunately, only the minivan was hurt.
03:46"...well, it radically altered our entire safety procedure."
03:49Social media backlash
03:51Because their show is supposed to be based around rigorous scientific testing, the public
03:55is likely to assign a certain weight to endorsements the Busters make.
03:58So, most of the Mythbusters team have shied away from any kind of corporate involvement
04:02or sponsorship.
04:03All of this serves to partially explain why Grant Imahara received a lot of online criticism
04:08for his appearance in advertisements involving McDonald's products.
04:11The ad campaign featured Imahara myth-busting McDonald's myths, saying that chicken nuggets
04:15aren't made from pink slime, and that contrary to bizarre rumors, McRibs don't contain eyeballs
04:20or lips.
04:21"...are there lips and eyeballs in there, Jimmy?"
04:23However, the ads were weirdly specific.
04:26People who had never heard bizarre myths about eyeballs in their food were now, well, eyeballing
04:29their food choices more carefully.
04:31And the media had a field day, criticizing Imahara for selling out in the wake of being
04:35fired from Mythbusters.
04:37"...there's no mystery.
04:38I've seen it with my own eyes.
04:40I've been there."
04:42Regular fighting
04:43In 2014, the Mythbusters were making headlines in a much more negative way than usual.
04:48Rumors swirled that the two main busters, Adam Savage and Jamie Heinemann, always such
04:51a successful team on-screen, actually hated each other off-screen.
04:55Savage clarified that the two consider themselves as professionals who share a highly specific
04:59job, and they managed to get over any differences that they may have in the name of accomplishing
05:03this goal.
05:04As Savage put it,
05:05"...we disagree about the small details every single day, on almost every single detail.
05:09But we don't really disagree about the big stuff."
05:12It's interesting to imagine, then, that some of the playful insults they toss each other's
05:15way on the show may actually have a real bite to them.
05:18"...what, you gonna let me show you up on television?"
05:20"...you wanna get whacked in the head with a phone book?"