-Well, there is a myth that says that if you're on a ship when it's sinking,
it will suck you down with it
-You're telling me that this thing, when it goes down,
I'm going to go down with it because it's going to suck me down
-Yeah
-So, what are the prevealing theories behind the boat sucking me down?
-Well, apparently there are three and the first one is that air
that mixes in with the water as it rushes up from the boat
makes the water less dense so it's like you're going to fall
through the water quicker that way
Uh, the second theory is that the cavities in the ship will create an area for
the water ​to rush in and that'll pull you into the ship and then
the third one is that the ship moving through the water rapidly towards
the bottom will create a vortex above it kind of like drafting behind a truck when
it's on a highway
-You know, all these theories seem to me simple enough to actually test
on the shop. I think I could build a small water rig with a bubbler and some weights
some small boats and we could see all three these theories right by the shop
-Yeah, but, you know, I still think that we need a real boat.
People ain't going to get it unless we do it with a real boat
(music)
-Until they find a suitable boat, Adam sets out to test the vortex
and bubble density theories on a small scale
-Well, what I made is a miniature bubbling rig and we are trying to show whether
or not the ship produces a lot of bubbles and the bubbles lower the density of water
people sink whereas normally they'd float or whether it creates a vortex that
pulls things in after it.
This would be the Titanic, this is a lead weight, it's pretty darn heavy
and let's say that is our person right there
We are ready
Squat, nothing
-To make this work, Adam has to rethink his ratios of weight, density and buoyancy
(music)
-Adam is building a rig four feet square by ten feet high.
They'll then attach an electric winch and guided wires to hold a special box
that will simulate the action of a sinking boat
-So right now I'm actually just finishing up the PVC matrix that will be
our bubbler and hopefully it'll provide us with a really attractive stream of bubbles
Then I'm going to make a panel for the top of this box which has a hole on it
so that not only can we test what happens when you drop a weight in water but
when you drop a weight with an air gap in it we can see what happens
We are going to fill this with 25 pound barbell weights
-Encinal High School in Alameda agrees to host a Mythbusters midsize experiment
The school's diving pool at 12 feet deep is ideal for the new rig
-Oh, it's a beautiful story
-The plan is to see what specific forces are in play when a ship sinks
-At this point I really don't know what is gonna happen with this
You know, my impression is that if you're floating above a boat as it's going down,
it's not really going to pull you down
-Jamie's pessimistic about the vortex theory but he's open to the bubbles
creating lower density. -I don't know if it's going to blow you up
because of all the bubbles going up or whether the bubbles will make the water
in that area less dense will make you go down. It'll be interesting to see
This is lead shot
-Water densitity is the key so they've made a hydrometer, a simple
flotation device that measures the specific gravity or density of a liquid
-We'll see how much the density of the water changes by how far this goes up
and down when the water's aerated. That's perfect
-Experiment one: the bubble test -A compressor will supply air
to Adam's PVC bubble matrix. - Okay, I'm going.
-Alright, I'm going to watch it Oh, that looks cool from here
(laughter)
-It looks like it's going down, yes -Oh, way down
-Okay, is out of the... looks like someone is gonna have to get their swim trunks on
-And that's all the encouragement Adam needed on a warm California day
-Can we blur out the love handles? -No!
-Be nice to me alright -Happy with the bubble effect,
their first weight test should determine if volume makes it easier to be dragged
down
So to get a closer simulation of a sinking boat the box is positioned on
the surface and loaded with 200 pounds. They hope the inrush of water
to the empty box will drive the vortex effect
-Good, go!
-Wow
-I pulled it down -That was intense
I didn't realize the result would be so marked
When I'm in the water as the weight releases I can definitely feel it pushing
this cushion of water out around it as it's plummeting and I'll tell you
straight up based in what I see here you'll definitely get sucked down
and I think the bigger the object, the bigger the suck
-They increased the box weight to 300 pounds.
-Alright, hydrometer is ready -Okay, going
-Go
-Nice sound -Yeah!
-Where's the hydrometer? (laughter)
-There it is! (laughter)
-That pretty much says it -Wow! I mean it went all the way
to the bottom and hanged up there for a while
-Once again, the box filled rapidly, drop like a stone and pulled
the hydrometer down entirely
-Hold on, hold on -Now it's Adam's turn to ride the vortex
-Okay, auch first of all, second of all you can feel youself in the vortex
as you're going down, I mean I didn't separate from the box at all,
my buoyancy had no bearing on the matter I just sunk right with it until
I hit the bottom. That was intense!
-The pool testing is done and Adam's up for the real thing
(music)
Meanwhile the search for the ideal sinkable boat begins among
the Marina's of embarcadero cove in Oakland, California
This hunt won't be easy, the boat they need must sink effortlessly
Any vessel too buoyant will be a problem
-Boat was a piece of junk which doesn't make me feel too bad about sinking it
For a boat this size it's actually got a fair amount of volume
which it's what we need. It'd be a perfect boat for us except for the fact
it's wood and I don't think is going to go down too quick
because wood tipically floats. We are looking for the largest boat
that we can afford to sink quickly and that by my mind would have to be
a steel boat
-A heavy steel tugboat catches their eye but it quickly becomes obvious that this
old hulk is way beyond their needs. -I think this boat is so perfect for our
Titanic rig that it'd make me cry if we were able to get it
It does however look like quite a deal to make it go
-Two boats have already been rejected as unsuitable but after some
good detective work they find a very likely candidate.
Another old tug but at nine tons this one is more suitable
Adam won't be using a scuba so in case of emergency he has to learn to breath
from another diver's regulator. -I've been waiting half my life to see
what it feels like to breath underwater and that's like really cool so
I'm dying to be on that boat when it goes down like I'm psyched to done that
like I can't wait.
-It's test day and Adam is excited enough to be up before dawn.
-Good morning, good morning (laughts)
Well everyone else crapped out I think we're the only one who's taking
the journey across the bay to deliver our little tugboat right here.
It's really nice to be on the bay at dawn as the sun comes up, it's quite beautiful
uh, and our little tug, Mythtanic, it's handling the trip just fine
should be ready to sink
-Across the bay, the San Francisco drydock workers are preparing for this
unusual event.
Their skill will help sink the boat and recover it.
- All my life my dad used to tell me that
if a boat sinks you have to swim away as quick you can
because you'll be sucked down with it
-The tugboat captain, Greg Urban, knows this chilly mirky waters and the dangers
they hold
-I'm very interested in seen what happens
I'm glad it's you that's gonna be standing
on deck and not me so
I think you're gonna get suck down with it
-Despite the predictions, Jamie's still looking on the bright side.
-Well, you know it's a little brisk this morning but at least is warmer
in the water perhaps. (laughter)
-Somehow I don't think so
-With all his underwater expertise, Jamie knows this is risky.
He's enlisted a dive buddy, Shawn Willis, a professional with 13 years experience
-Tough to estimate what the visibility will be like, sometimes currents make it
better with the silty bottom often currents can stir up a little bit worse
so it makes things a little harder, a little bit more dangerous,
a little bit more complicated. (music)
-The tug toes the Mythtanic out to the end of the drydock.
To make salvage as easy as possible, it'll be sunk right under the shadow
of the big crane.
-Swing it out, swing it out.
Swing it out some more.
-The boat is going to sink, we are going to find it.
We are going to hook the cables up to it. We are going to bring it back up.
And we are going to do it again until we get too cold or too tired to do it.
-Hey Adam, just letting you know, we've got fivety feet underneath your boat
right now, fivety feet of water. Very cold water.
-The biggest fear that I've got is Adam's safety, you know?
We don't really know what is going to happen with this boat.
Water is murky, it's cold, it's deep. This is a dangerous stunt that we're doing
And I guess Adam's life is in my hands.
-Adam doesn't wait around as the sea instantly gushes in.
-You're only opening one valve, one valve.
-We've got fivety of water in here right now.
-The main job now is keeping the sinking ship in reach of the crane.
-We are now above of you guys so hold on.
-The tug gives the Mythtanic a gentle nudge into position.
-Two feet, two feet away. Alright you bump it.
Alright it's... it's going down bro, it's going down.
-Surprised by the sea's rapid inflow, Adam bails out early and misses his chance
Time to reflect and rethink the strategy.
(Music)
-Well, we pretty much know where it is.
(Laughter)
-The speed of the sunk was just like "woosh"
I mean, my job, I know, was to stay with the boat and feel the suction.
But I swear to God, standing on there, my body just goes "Move that way!".
(Laughs)
Not that way!
Survival kicked in a critical moment.
-Jamie and Shawn work fourty feet down, in the dark for thirty minutes to reattach
the salvage lines.
Question is: Are they gain for take two?
-Are you insinuating that I might not have the "cojones" to follow through...
-I know you got the "cojones" to do it. I'm only saying...
-Then what was the question? -Alright!
- I don't... I don't really want to, uh...
I don't think that we are going to see anything different that we already saw
with that boat. You know? For us to get in that sweet spot might take us
a half of a dozen tries and all that represents to me as a lot of work.
But if you want to do it again I just, you know, it was hard.
-Yeah.
-It's a difficult decision to scuttle the boat again.
But they need a result. They resolved to do it with the cables
in place, but slackened.
-We've seen what the boat does, it's nothing that scary, um...
I feel pretty good about lowering it on with the cables still attached this time,
because they're so heavy they're just go down into the water.
-Ok, hold on to that back there.
-This will be their last attempt to tackle the old Titanic myth.
Would someone in the water be pull down with the ship?
-You guys watch out for the cables. Don't get tangled up on the cable.
Be careful!
Stay with it, stay there, stay with it. There you go.
-Nope
-Did it suck you down in? (Laughter)
-I didn't see nobody get sucked in. (Laughs)
-No suction. -No suction at all, I mean.
I could not have been more central to the boat when it went down.
I sat on it, the entire boat just dropped underneath me and...
I hit the water, my neck hit the water and I never went any lower.
-And what did I say? -Heck, once again, Hyneman,
you were absolutely right about how the boat sank, so uh...
I say let's get this puppy back up and call it a day, I need a drink.
(Laughter)
-So, no vortex with the Mythtanic but how do they explain the drammatic test
in the swimming pool?
-In our test we used, like, three hundred pounds and it went down really quickly.
A boat is not build like that. It's a lot larger surface area.
It didn't go down that fast.
-We know Jamie, I'm going to go out on the limb here and say....
There is no effect, that myth is busted.
-Yeah, I agree, you know. I was right there too, I didn't feel it,
I didn't see it, uh, didn't happen. -You know and with all the rigging
and stuff that are on a normal ship, there are some very good reasons
to swim away from a boat that it's going down.
It could pull you down, you get caught in the rigging...
But none of them involve suction and I know our boat wasn't as big as one
of these but with a nine ton boat I think you would have felt something.
- I agree.
Busted
Goldfish memory
-This myth is a pretty laid back one, huh, Jamie?
-Yeah, the myth says that you can put a goldfish in a small bowl and
they are okay with it because they are so stupid that by the time
they make it around the bowl, in like about three seconds,
they just forgot where they were.
-So what we want to really test here is what is the memory span
of the averag​e goldfish.
-What I though we'd do is build a maze and the goldfish will have to be taugh
how to make it through the maze, and if they can remember that...
We'll know a little bit more of how smart they are.
-So what you are talking about is not a goldfish intelligence test
but a Mythbusters intelligence test as well.
-You can look at it that way.
-One that I think I will win.
-So, the guys want to train goldfish to swim through a maze.
-Have you heard of the myth that goldfish only have three seconds of memory?
-Yes, I have. Their brains are pretty small and it's about two percent
of their body weight so you can figure that...
they're not going to have much of a memory.
-Steve, the pet shop guy, has all the fish and all the accesories
that Mythbus​ters need. -I think this is definitely the one for me
Jamie, it's the deepsea diver with the shark.
-This is a thirty eight gallon.
I have the best food for godlfish.
You make sure you have a good water conditioner.
-Those are perfect. What do we need? Ten of those?
-Yeah, five. -Five in each tank?
-Yeah -Okay.
-It's the easiest sale Steve's ever made. Two tanks, ten fish and enough supplies
to feed a whale.
(Music)
Jamie and Adam have given themselves forty five days to train their fish and
bust the myth. They've each got a tank and each
will devise their own training method. The competition is heating up.
-I think that I shall be the best trainer. Purely because of the fact that uh...
training animals requires above all consistency.
Adam is not a very consistent person.
(Laughs)
-Turns out Jamie has another advange. He used to own a pet shop and he knows
his fish.
-In addition to his time in the special forces and being the international whisks
champion and even being a lion owner, Jamie's probably one of only handful
people in the world who's actually trained a goldfish to ring a bell.
I don't have anything like that kind of pedigree with goldfish training regiments.
Oh, look at that!
-I think I'm in fact just going to leave mine totally uncovered.
-Our win.
-I'm going to kick your goldfish ass.
(Laughs)
-Nearly six weeks since the goldfish challenge began.
Today all their hard work will be put to the test.
-Alright.
-Oh look, they see the orange thing. They want to go for it.
-Jamie appears to have science on his side.
Studies have shown that goldfish repeatedly respond to colour
for food rewards.
-Time is starting now. -They're off and racing.
-Hey guys! Here's your food.
-Come on boys, there you go.
(Music)
- Jamie's school has learned its lessons well.
(Music)
But Adam's guys... must have been playing hockey.
-I think it's quite obvious what's happening...
Or not happening.
They seem to be fascinated with their reflection on the other end of the tank.
(Laughs)
- Jamie's crew is halfway through and going swimmingly.
- You know you want it.
Look at them. They are frantic to go through there.
-Maybe I should give them a compass.
(Music)
-Oh -Who's to say that luck doesn't play
a part in these things. They're through the first barrier, but not for long.
-Oh, no no not back.
-There is no backtracking in Jamie's tank. The first fish is through.
-One minute.
-The rest of the gang isn't far behind, except one.
-Interesting to note there is one fish that is the stupidest one.
There is a little red head in back and, uh he is the skinniest.
(Laughs)
-Adam apparently has two skinny fish.
-I don't understand the total ignorance of this panel.
It's like this wall doesn't even exist for him.
-I would say that without a doubt, one minute to make it through the maze
is a lot quicker than random.
(Music)
-And for Adam's fish?
-Nine minutes.
-Day fourty three of the goldfish memory test and Adam's still behind.
-Listen, I don't have any work to do on this experiment.
These fish have a lot of work to do. (Laughs)
I'm just giving them the framework with which to prove themselves.
For all goldfish kind.
-Adam just got stupid fish. What are you going to do?
-Alright boys, are you ready?
(Adam whistles)
(Music)
-Meanwhile, Jamie's A students are lining up at the gate.
-They're looking perky this morning.
He's going for it.
-The starting gun has sounded.
Jamie's looking to go under sixty seconds.
-Oh, oh, oh yay. That was, let's see... twenty five seconds. It's a record!
They were like definitely "Boof". Way to go guys.
-Mine are eating their own poo. (Jamie laughs)
-Well, they seem healthy for all that.
-I know everybody's going to take me to tasks for wasting these fish's time.
Hey! They're both on the second chamber.
Oh! They go back!
(Laughter)
-Can they remember for three seconds? I'd bager you bet and a lot more.
-George Barlow, from the University of California Berkeley,
is a professor of integrated biology and a big fan of goldfish..
-I guess there's some debate about this. Does condition behavior actually quallify
as memory? -Sure. Any task that you can, in quotes,
teach to an animal and then retest later. You have a very objective way of
evaluating whether it remembered it.
From what you've told me I would say, yeah you have blown away the myth that
they can only remember for three seconds.
-And one of the purported reasons behind the myth is so that people
who keep godlfish in small bowls don't feel so bad,
Do you think that it's actually cruel to keep goldfish in a bowl like that?
-Well, we'll never know.
Adolf Hitler thought it was cruel to keep goldfish in a bowl because
there was no corner for them in which to hide and had a law made prohibiting
the use of bowls for goldfish.
But I think in general just an awful lot of fish kept in aquaria are bored.
(Music)
-Okay guys...
I got awake this morning.
-Jamie is confident his fish are drawing on all their memory cells.
It's the final day. Day fourty five.
Will they find their food faster?
-Okay, let's go. -Alright, timer's starting.
-There we go. We're going through one.
Now go back through.
(Music)
Oh, they're looking like they're going to do it...
-Twenty seconds. -Oh they've lost the record.
-Twenty five seconds.
-There we go. Almost.
-Thirty five seconds. Come on handsome.
There it comes.
-There we go.
-Not bad at all. Fourty seconds. -Fourty seconds.
I think that judging by what I'm seeing that that's probably the threshold,
plus or minus thirty seconds to get through.
And and thirty seconds is pretty good to make it through four holes.
It's clear that they have learned and it's clear that they do in fact have a memory
longer than three seconds.
-Absolutely. I...I mean, I'm impressed how fast that is you know my fish
on average sort of randomly take between like three and twenty minutes...
To get to their food. I mean, you guys definitely know
what's going on.
Myth busted.
(Laughter)
-Thanks Adam. (Adam laughs)
-Alright. Good night fish.
-See, is that kind of behavior that screwed him up.