MythBusters (2003–…): Season 9, Episode 5 - Torpedo Tastic - full transcript

I know it looks like we have
fun on this show, but we spend

weeks and sometimes months planning
how to do our myths safely.

So, please, don't try this at home.

Narrator:
On this episode of "MythBusters"...

...Adam and Jamie launch
a prolonged assault...

That was awesome!

Narrator:
..on a devilishly difficult weaponry myth.

That is amazing!

That's what I'm talking about.

Narrator:
Finding out if 13th century Syrians...

She's hungry for some
boat! Aren't you girl?



...created the world's first
rocket-powered torpedo.

I don't know, maybe that was a little
too powerful. What do you think?

Narrator: Meanwhile, Kari, Grant and Tory
are feeling the pressure.

It's really strange having
a job doing things

your parents told you never to do.

Narrator:
As they pop the cork on a vino myth,

can a blaze in a wine bottle truck

really turn into a cork-firing machine gun?

This is why we can never
have anything nice.

Narrator:
Who are the MythBusters?

Adam Savage...

Here we go...

That's 100% wacky right there.

Narrator: ...and Jamie Hyneman.



Relax. This won't hurt a bit.

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

Narrator: Joining them, Tory Belleci, ...

This is real science!

Narrator: ...Kari Byron, ...

Let's do it.

Narrator: ...and Grant Imahara.

He's alive! Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Narrator: They don't just tell the myths,

they put them to the test.

MythBusters 9x05 - Torpedo Tastic
Original air date May 4, 2011

Dude, we have got an
historical weaponry myth

that is actually older than you.

Okay, check it out.

It turns out that the torpedo
might have been invented

in Syria in the 13th century.

Really?

Well, okay.

So today we think of a torpedo
that's something that launches

from under water and reaches
its target under water.

This, in fact, was a rocket-powered device

that skimmed across the top of the water,

delivering an incendiary to its target.

Did it work?

We have no actual record
of them actually using it.

We have modern speculations
as to its shape and its function.

Our job is to figure out

just how viable a weapon
of war it might have been.

Narrator: While modern speculation abounds,

the historical record is a little sketchy.

Supposedly, this torpedo
would travel over the water

and explode on impact.

But did it actually work?

The MythBusters are going to find out.

So I have scoured every
historical reference I can,

and while there's not a ton
of information, I think I know

where we should start.

Go on.

All the accounts generally
agree on the overall shape

of this torpedo, that it is
pear-shaped, with a narrow end

and a fat end, and it had two
fins extending from the rear

and that it's powered by
a black powder rocket

of about 20 pounds of black powder.

The question is what does
the underside look like,

how it met the water.

Nobody has a speculation about that.

That's kind of up to us.

Well, why don't we go down in the shop

and each take a stab at
it, and see what we get?

Exactly what I was thinking.

If you're thinking torpedoes,
you're probably thinking

about World War II
versions, that moved along

just under the surface of the water,

while this one was specified to
skip along the top of the water,

like a small motor boat.

So, if you're thinking about motor boats,
on the one hand you could pick

a deep "V" sort of a hull,
which has the advantage

of tracking straight and being
able to handle choppy water.

But, on the other hand, it actually
requires a lot of power to do that.

You could pick a flat-bottomed
sort of a hull, which moves along

very quickly on the surface of
the water, but if it goes too fast

it can get air under it and
actually flip and lose control,

which would be a bad thing.

Narrator: Right.

There are two possible hull choices...
the deep "V", or the flat bottom.

So to test which style
works best, the guys begin

by designing two torpedo
prototypes out of pliable copper.

Jamie is forging a
flatter-bottomed torpedo,

while Adam is hammering out the deep "V".

Two different hulls and two
different prototypes are soon

ready to take to the water in a
head-to-head accuracy launch.

We'll see what happens.

Well, that thing's looking pretty snappy.

I'm pretty psyched about it,
can't wait to try it.

How's yours?

Well, it's not quite as pretty
as yours is, but it ought to work.

Let's get them out there and try 'em.

- Yeap.
- All right.

Narrator: And for that, the MythBusters
have found the ideal location.

A lovely day to fire torpedoes.

Let's get to it.

I'm standing in one of our
favorite MythBusters locations,

on the island of "Treasure Island"
in the middle of San Francisco Bay,

at a fire training facility.

Now, we've filmed "Exploding Stun Gun"
and "Dumpster Diving" out here,

but we have never used this pool behind me.

We're gonna use it today for
testing some ancient torpedoes.

Narrator: And they'll be aiming those
torpedoes at a target 100 feet away.

But to get them there, first
they'll need some thrust.

Our rocket power today
will be supplied by this,

which provides 5.9 pounds
of thrust for 2.8 seconds.

Will that translate to my torpedo
making it from one end

of our 100-foot pool to the target?

Honestly, I don't think so, but that's OK,

'cause this is a relative test.

We're just trying to figure out the
best hull shape at this point.

Narrator: And first to launch is
Adam's deep "V" design.

[ Laughter ]

It's just sinking into me what we're doing.

Crazy!

In three, two, one...

There it goes.

Look at that.

[ Laughter ]

That was lovely.

That was pretty neat.

Narrator: Aside from curving a path
straight into the wall,

Adam's torpedo did make it
30 feet across the pool.

Well, I think my torpedo did pretty well.

I think it still was showing a lot
of resistance in the water,

didn't quite get up on a plane,

so I think I can actually take out
a bunch of the weight in these fins,

so they might get an improved performance.

Narrator: The torpedo was plowing
through the water,

rather than hydroplaning,
meaning it's slow and crooked,

but will an attitude adjustment
make the difference?

All right. There we go.

It loves that spot in this pool.

Narrator:
Sadly, taking the extra weight out

didn't help Adam's lethargic torpedo.

Seems to be holding up
pretty well, any suggestions?

You could strap two rockets
under that rocket mount,

'cause I think you're just not
getting up on top of the water.

It may be that you just
don't have enough power.

I'll give it a shot.

Narrator: The idea is that more thrust
will not only give more power,

but also get the torpedo up on top
of the water, allowing it to skim

fast and true to its target.

Adam torpedo test, two
rockets, in three, two, one.

And we are lit...

That was awesome!

[ Laughter ]

Narrator: Two rockets did push the
torpedo over 60 feet,

but it seems the "V"-shaped hull
is still plowing through the water,

slowing it down and pulling it off course.

That hull shape doesn't seem
like it's working very well.

The fact that it's spraying so
much water around says

- that it's wasting a lot of energy.
- Yeah.

Narrator: With the deep "V" design shelved,
it's sink or swim time

for Jamie's flat-bottomed hull.

All right, here we go.

Three, two, one...

Narrator: And sink is not the option
Jamie was looking for.

The only problem I saw in this
one was that it submarined.

So, I figure all I have to
do is bend these tail fins

with a slight downward pull to them,

and that ought to hold the front end up.

Narrator: Okay. Now, to see if
this minute modification

makes all the difference...

Yeah!

Where did it go?

It's just sitting right there
about the halfway mark,

a little bit more.

Narrator: Amazingly, the torpedo
skimmed the water,

hydroplaning 70 feet
straight along the pool,

proving that a flat bottom is
faster and more effective.

The slight adjustment to the
rear fins seemed to do the trick,

and I gotta say the flat bottom
and long narrow design

allowed it to track pretty
well over a great distance,

right on top of the water.

I think we're looking pretty good.

Narrator: Looking pretty good.

But just to be sure,
it's double or nothing.

This one's for the gold.

There you go.

Come on, baby.

Narrator: Despite veering slightly
off course, it's clear

that the flat bottom is
straight up the best design.

And that's good news for the myth.

I think we have our design.

It goes pretty quick, don't it?

It's head and shoulders above
the pear-shaped design,

I think this is what we should go with.

Okay.

Let's get out of here.

Narrator: After the break...

This could be my favorite way
to open up a bottle of wine.

Narrator: Kari, Tory and Grant pop
the cork on exploding wine.

So our next myth combines two things
that don't normally go together...

projectiles and wine.

Aw, you're talking about the
exploding wine truck myth.

Correct.

Supposedly a semi filled with wine
crashed on the freeway and caught fire.

Oh yeah, and the fire gets so hot,
that it causes the wine bottles

to violently fire out their corks.

How violently? Like, were they lethal?

Well, we don't know, because
no one was ever hit.

But, here is the mythical part.

Supposedly, the corks flew
100 feet, and when the bottles

went off, they sounded
just like machine gun fire.

Narrator: There is no doubt this blazing
bottle inferno actually happened.

But, were the reports of its
demise greatly exaggerated?

Did it really launch corks over 100 feet

with a machine gun like rattle?

Okay, the way I see it is we've got
two directions we can go here.

Either we just set a wine truck
on fire and see what happens,

or we can go to the shop
and do some bottle testing.

Yeah, I mean, personally,
I'm a little hesitant to set

a whole truck full of wine on fire,
unless we know what's gonna happen.

So, why don't we start out
with learning more about wine,

and the bottles and the corks, and
then move on to our small scale.

Ooh, research.

[ Popping ]

Since this myth is about corks firing
out of wine bottles like machine guns,

we thought what better place to go
than Domain Carneros winery,

to see what kind of circumstances
might have caused this to happen.

Was it the bottles?

Was it the liquids inside the bottles, or
was it the heat applied to the bottles?

Narrator: And to find the answers,
Kari's encountered an expert.

You've been making wine for 30 years.

What do you think of the idea
that if a wine truck caught on fire,

that wine corks could start shooting
out of it like a machine gun?

I believe it is conceivable.

I know that when wine bottles get
too warm, that sometimes the cork

will push out a little tiny bit.

I think that still wine bottles, under
extreme pressure of intense fire

could shoot corks or could explode.

Narrator:
And pressure is the name of this game.

As heat is applied, the wine
starts to evaporate,

which increases the pressure
in the bottle till... [ explosion ]

Narrator: But what else could affect
the power of the projectile?

Is there a possibility that
the shape of the bottle

might have any sort of
effect on the pressure?

I don't think so.

The shapes of the bottles are
determined by tradition and custom.

But I think, under extreme
temperature, all bets could be off.

Narrator:
So, bottle shape might be a factor.

And, on the champagne assembly
line, Grant found something

that definitely is carbonation.

Sorry.

It's my first day.

Sorry, everybody.

Narrator: With an internal pressure
of 80 psi, adding heat

to a champagne bottle may make
it more likely to shoot for the moon.

So, this machine is the corker.

Now, from this moment on, this
bottle becomes a pressure vessel,

potentially housing the kind of force
that could cause a wine bottle

to turn into a machine gun.

And that is what this myth is all about.

Narrator: Okay, and back at the shop, Kari
begins by sizing up her opponent.

Now, wine makers actually use different
shaped bottles for different wine.

You can tell that you have a Riesling,
because it has slender shoulders.

A Burgundy is a little bit
fatter at the bottom.

You have shoulders on a Bordeaux.

So, it's possible that the size
of the bottle, the type of wine

or even the shape of the bottle
might make a more explosive cork.

Narrator: And to find out, the team is
going to fire up a wine flambe...

I'm making my Zen garden.

Narrator: ...to see if any bottle can shoot
its cork the mythical 100 feet.

And here is how.

So, for our Bottle Olympics
we're gonna have a flame off.

We're gonna put each different type
of wine in this holder right here,

turn up the flame and compare the results.

Narrator: And first up is a room
temperature Bordeaux.

Here we go.

Narrator: With the team safely
behind the blast shields,

now the waiting begins.

Now, this could be my favorite
way to open up a bottle of wine.

Narrator: Remember, the corks in the
myth supposedly flew 100 feet.

Right now I call we are at 50 seconds.

Narrator:
But how far will the Bordeaux blow?

[ Pop ]

Oh!

That was it?

I was there, expecting blast
go, "Vjjjjj!", or a cork go "Pah!",

but it went, "Pip!".

Narrator: Pip is right.

After 2 minutes, with the temperature
at 160 degrees Fahrenheit,

the cork erupted at a
feeble 3 miles per hour

and barely made it to the sand.

After hearing this story, we got
prepared with blast shields,

an eye protection and ear protection
and we got two feet of distance.

Narrator:
But, being glass half full optimists,

the guys reset with a twist.

So this bottle looks the same
as the other one, and it is,

but there's one big difference:
it's been chilling for a while,

since we don't know whether
the wine was being refrigerated

when it was being was transported.

I'll throw this in, and we'll try it again.

Narrator:
But will the chill give a greater thrill?

- I think I see it swelling.
- Oh, yeah.

Yeah, it's starting to push out.

[ Pop ]

- Ha ha ha ha!
- Nice.

Narrator:
Although still way short of the myth...

Three feet, four inches.

...the cold Bordeaux did fly 50%
further than its warm counterpart.

And there are a few
reasons why a cold bottle

might actually be better for
this myth than a warm one.

To start out with, the cold bottle,
and the warm bottle, both have

the same pressure, but the more
drastic change in temperature

that a cold bottle experiences might
mean a more drastic change in pressure.

Narrator:
So from here on in, they are sticking

with cold bottles on high heat.

Next up, Burgundy, chilled.

Narrator: But neither the Burgundies...

Hey, 5'10".

Narrator: ...nor the Sauvignon Blancs...

It got caught.

Narrator:
...nor even the fortified Ports...

That was pathetic.

That was adorable.

Narrator: ...come anywhere near
the mythical 100 feet.

Looks like size doesn't matter.

Narrator:
And that just leaves the final wine.

Long slender bottle, high heat.

Narrator: The Riesling.

30 seconds on the clock.

Narrator:
All is quiet, until the temperature hits...

200 degrees.

Narrator: ...when suddenly...

Here we go!

[ Loud pop ]

- Oh!
- Oh, my gosh.

It went off the end of the scale.

That is incredible.

Narrator: Incredible is right.

Maybe because of its
pointed shape, the Riesling

shoots its cork over 30 feet
at 32 miles an hour.

Still not far enough for the
myth, but all is not lost.

Later, a semi sizzles for science.

Ooh!

Narrator: But next, it's the world's
first ancient torpedo launch.

Narrator:
Supposedly, the ancient Syrians created

the world's first rocket-powered
torpedo, but did it work?

In the small scale launch, Jamie's
flat-bottomed prototype

won on speed and accuracy.

So, now what?

I can't think of anything
to do now but go full scale.

Yep.

So, about that 20-pound
black powder rocket,

you think we need to build one?

Nah, those things are scary.

I think we should use a
modern rocket equivalent.

All right. Well, then I guess what's ahead

is to build a few full-size torpedoes,

and find a body of water to test them on.

Sounds good.

Narrator: And that means the guys
are ramping up the scale

for a full-blown torpedo attack.

The steel structure is my mold.

I'm gonna weld the sheet metal to it,

and that will hold it
stable while I beat on it

with a cannonball welded on
to the end of a jackhammer.

I... I have no idea if
it's gonna work or not.

I don't either, but it is cool.

Well, that may seem kind of elaborate.

But it's not really unlike what
would happen in ye olden days

with Syrians and muscular slaves
and so, on nicely rounded rock.

The difference is that they
would have taken days,

and I'm gonna do it in a couple of hours.

That looks great!

Narrator: That may be the plan,
but the cannonball has other ideas.

Aww.

Narrator: With Jamie's jackhammer beaten,
it's clear they'll have to find

another way to hammer out this myth.

That was it?

Narrator: So far, the MythBusters have
popped the cork on still wine.

But now, it's time to unleash the big guns.

It's time to bring out the bubbly.

Narrator: Already at a pressure of 80 psi,
even without any heat...

All right, so this is the control
test for the champagne!

[ Pop ]

Whoa!

Narrator:
...the champagne's cork can fly 25 feet.

That's no heating, no
agitation, just straight up.

Narrator:
So, will an inferno beat that benchmark?

Really strange having a job
where you spend all day

just doing things your parents
told you never to do.

The cork looks like it's pushing out.

- Here it goes!
- Oh my God, it's happening.

- It's about to pop!
- It's happening.

- Ooooh!
- Yeah!

I didn't even see where it went.

Narrator: Talk about a champagne moment.

After five minutes of flame,
the cork flies from the bottle

at an astonishing 60 miles an hour.

- But...
Narrator: - ...gets lodged in the ceiling.

Finally, we are getting some
results, and this is looking

very good for the myth.
With the champagne bottles,

our corks are actually going
so far, we are not able

to measure them on our scale,
they keep hitting the roof.

Narrator: Having hit the champagne
ceiling, they head outside,

where there's no limit to how
far they can pop their corks.

Lightin' it up.

But, will they get the
100 feet they're after?

I see some dripping. I see dripping.

Narrator: Well, not with test one.

[ Screaming ]

All right!

What is that? Like...?

- 40 feet.
- 40 feet.

Narrator: And not with test two.

Six minutes.

The bottle exploded.

Narrator: Test three, with some
extra agitation, does better.

Whoa!

Where'd it go?

Out there.

50 feet.

Narrator: But still not good enough.

So what does this mean for the myth?

What all the results have in
common is that none of them

is even close to the mythical
100 feet that we need.

But this is "MythBusters",

we're not just gonna stop here.

Narrator: Turning torpedoes full scale,

the MythBusters struck a problem.

Aww.

Narrator: But it's okay, 'cause...

Jamie Hyneman has been on the case.

Dude, that is amazing.

I've heard about this technique
called hydro-forming

where you use water pressure
to form sheet metal shells,

and I decided to give it a try.

All you do is you take a couple
of pieces of sheet metal

and you weld them together and
then you pump high pressure water

in between them and it inflates
like a balloon, at least in theory.

Whoa!

Oops.

You wanna see how I pulled it off?

Okay.

Narrator: Yep, with his extracurricular
determination, Jamie has come up

with an ingenious plan "B".

Take our piece of sheet metal and clamp
it between two massive plates of steel.

Cut out an almond-shaped
hole in the top plate,

and attach to our pressure-washer pump
to a small hole in the bottom plate.

Now, here is the fun part.

All we do is start the pump,
and the water pressure

pushes the sheet metal
out the almond-shaped hole,

inflating it just like a balloon.

Ha! It's perfect.

It's a long way from medieval
blacksmithing, but I can make

a torpedo shell in about a half an hour.

It's like magic.

Beats beating on it with a hammer.

Narrator: Each set of shells is
given a rocket casing,

and some foam flotation,
to ensure they don't sink

to the bottom of the lake while testing,

and finally, a set of laser precision
control fins to keep 'em in line.

That was a lot of work.

Man, they look fantastic.

I think our torpedo army
is ready for deployment.

Time for a road trip?

It is.

Narrator: And, I own quarry, where
the MythBusters have slid,

flipped, and blasted myths before...

Oh, yeah.

Narrator:
...is the perfect location for deployment.

Shall we get started?

Yeah, why not?

Let it drift...

Narrator:
First up, to create a familiar target.

Do you wanna save your old city?

[ Cheers ]

Narrator: At 800 feet from shore,
the boat is positioned

well out of reach of an ancient
archer, but will it be within reach

of their torpedo?

Well, there we go.

It was nice and pretty,

now it's really ugly.

You may remember earlier that
we did best with a flat-bottomed hull

on our torpedo, and this is actually
kind of rounded, but I figure it's okay

because of the way that I've placed
the rocket motor back here,

and this forms kind of
a straight, or flat, line,

which is what I'm looking for,

because when this gets
up and running, this is all

that's gonna be actually
contacting the water,

and that's what's important.

That's what's gonna allow it to
move real quick and real efficiently.

Narrator: Quick and efficiently, because to
test its success as an ancient weapon

they are zeroing in
on two crucial criteria,

its accuracy and its ability to
deliver its deadly payload.

And to test those they'll
need some rocket power.

In the sparse details we've been
able to uncover about this story,

the torpedo is said to
be powered by a rocket

composed of 20 pounds of black powder.

What does that equal in a modern
day repeatable equivalent?

Well, it turns out to be this puppy.

This is an M motor. It puts out
270 pounds of thrust

for approximately 14 seconds and it
will be our ye olde rocket engine.

Narrator: With the ye olde rocket
equivalent on board,

test one is about about accuracy,
getting their torpedo to hit its mark.

All right, it's hot. Let's do it.

Let's see what it does.

Narrator: And even though there are
not yet incendiaries on board,

the guys take cover
behind the blast shields.

All right, then. Count it down.

Okay, here we go with the full power rocket

in three, two, one, go!

Ooh!

- Well...
- I don't know, maybe that was

a little too powerful. What do you think?

It was fun though.

Let's do it again.

Everything started out okay.

And then everything seemed to go haywire.

It spiraled up into the sky,
and did this massive belly flop,

absolutely crushing the top of this.

Wow.

That is a lot of damage.

This is like a car accident's
worth of damage.

It bent the entire central
shaft of this thing on an arc.

It's fantastic.

Narrator:
Fantastic, but nowhere near accurate.

So for test two, they'll reduce
the speed and cut its thrust.

This nozzle's been drilled at
5/8 inch, which should lower

its pressure rating to between
150 and 180 pounds of thrust,

which should be the butter
zone that'll get our torpedo

all the way to the boat,
while staying in the water.

Narrator: Now, this is rocket
science, but that's still

the equivalent of the mythical
20 pounds of black powder,

just with a longer burn time.

Question is, will reducing its
speed help their torpedo

stay water-bound, and stay on target?

This is the Goldilocks Torpedo,

in three, two, one, fire!

Narrator: Despite its promising
start, frustratingly,

the torpedo still took flight.

[ Laughter ]

Still a little too much
power, but really nice.

I think that's fun by itself.

Why do we need to hit the boat?

Man, that one just wouldn't quit.

- It was like a porpoise.
- Yeah.

Kept going up, and then
down under water and up...

Narrator: And although the torpedo's
aerobatics are certainly entertaining,

annoyingly for our
MythBusters, it's a long way

off the direct hit of the myth.

It's not working too well.

We're gonna have to
figure something else out.

- Yeah. Well, let's get on it.
- Okay.

Please, do not try what we
do on this show at home!

We're what you call "experts".

It's safer that way.

Narrator: It's no myth that this semi
became a blazing vino inferno.

But, did its cargo really
explode as per the reports?

Okay, so there's two parts to this myth...

the distance the corks flew, and
the machine gun firing effect.

Well, as far as the distance
goes, it's looking a little dodgy.

I mean, even our best performer,
the champagne, chilled and agitated,

only went 50 feet, half
the required distance.

All right, well that just leaves
the machine gun fire effect.

I think it's time we take
this myth full scale.

I totally agree.

Let's fill a semi truck full of
wine, both our winning still,

which was the Riesling,
and a ton of champagne,

and see if we can get machine gun fire.

To the bomb range!

Narrator: Yeap, there's only one
destination for this bottle barbecue.

And it's B.Y.O. semi trailer.

- It's actually in pretty good condition.
- Let's burn it.

Narrator: And with the truck in position,
prepped, and the firewood stacked...

Nice job, MythBusters!

Narrator: ...now, to stock it with some
bottom of the line wine.

So, we have our truck.

Now we're gonna fill it with almost a
thousand bottles of champagne,

which is our obvious clear winner
from our bottle experiments.

We got 60 miles an hour and
50 feet from those corks.

Just for good measure, we're
gonna throw in a few bottles

of our still winner as well,
which is the long skinny bottle.

All right, here we go, we're light up!

- Okay.
- Three, two, one...

Whoo!

Let's go!

That's beautiful.

I mean, it's not like a machine gun
you would imagine, ta-ta-ta-ta-ta...

- It's more...
- Not yet! Hold your horses.

Experiment's not over yet.

Narrator: Kari's right, because
in their earlier tests

it sometimes took eight minutes
for the champagne to fire.

- Eight and a half minutes.
- Oh, man.

As the saying goes, good things
come to those who wait.

[ Popping ]

There's your machine gun!

Oh, my goodness!

[ Popping continues ]

It's like firecrackers.

Yeah. Really expensive firecrackers.

Whoa!

This is better than the 4th of July!

Narrator:
In fact, once the gunfire sounds start...

...there's no stopping them...

Wow.

- You see shrapnel flying out here?
- Yeah!

Narrator: ...as hundreds and hundreds of
bottles either pop their corks,

or explode in the fire.

I can't believe how well this is working.

After we set the trailer on
fire, those bottles started

popping just like a machine gun.

It sounds like 4th of July.

I have to tell you one thing.

If I were a fireman and I
heard what sounded like

automatic machine gun fire
coming out of that thing,

I wouldn't be approaching it.

Narrator: Absolutely.

Because with corks flying 50 feet
and glass shrapnel even further,

this is a wine tasting to steer clear of.

But with the semi reduced to ashes,
is the myth in any better shape?

Look. Look, there's one right there.

Wow!

What distance is that?

That's easily 50 feet.

You know what, it sounded
like a machine gun.

Yeah, but the myth said 100 feet.

That's not even near it, so...

I'm thinking this is busted overall.

Yeah. I say busted.

All right. Busted.

But what if we harness the
power inside these bottles?

Like what?

I don't know. Make it directional?

Make some kind of a gun?

A machine gun?

Maybe.

Are we going to MythBuster this up?

Yeah!

Narrator: Next...

That doesn't go at all like I expected.

Narrator: Is it a bird?

Is it a plane?

No, that's an ancient torpedo and
it's not supposed to be airborne.

So, our rocket's turned out
to be quite powerful,

and when they cause our torpedo
to take off into the sky,

that actually has a term in rocketry.

It's called skywriting.

We don't wanna be skywriting,

so we are going to add actually a tether,

a guide wire under the
water that will hopefully

guide our torpedo right to the boat.

Narrator: The skywriting is on the wall.

Accurately hitting the solo boat
is proving more difficult

than the more likely target of
a 13th century invading armada.

So for test three, accuracy
is out of the picture,

and they're jumping ship to
test the payload delivery.

All right, ladies and germs, we're
ready to head across the lake.

Oh, crap.

Uh-oh.

All right.

Let's go.

Narrator: With the tot tether
ready to keep it in line...

That's a lot of tension.

That's pretty good.

Narrator: ...torpedo number three is loaded
with the rocket equivalent

of 20 pounds of black powder
and its deadly payload.

These are my incendiary devices.

They're actually filled with gasoline
and a couple of other things.

We'll make it a secret recipe.

That right there, 10.5 pounds
of death and destruction,

to be delivered as soon as
possible to our enemies.

Narrator: Death and destruction...
as long as it explodes on impact.

For this to be a successful test, we've
gotta be able to launch our torpedo

from shore, have it skim across
the surface of the water

and crash into our target boat,
splashing incendiary liquid

all over it and creating a big fireball.

That's what we've got to do.

Narrator:
Yep, accuracy is beside the point.

This test is about whether the torpedo
delivers its destructive payload.

Tethered goldilocks,

let's hope this one works.

In three, two, one, fire!

Oh, shoot.

We were doing better without it tethered.

I'm sad.

Rockets don't like to be tethered.

No.

Nor torpedoes.

They just wanna be free.

Free-range torpedoes.

Narrator:
In contrast to yesterday's test, the tether

definitely kept the torpedo water-bound,

although a little too much so.

But that's a problem
they think they can fix.

In the interest of trying
everything we can think of,

we have moved the boat from its
original position of 800 feet from shore

to 200 feet from shore, and
we've moved the guide-wire

from under water to above water...

I really hope this works.

Narrator: Remember, the historical
record isn't clear

as to whether this was a
long or short-range weapon,

so they're closing in to
concentrate on payload delivery.

There we go.

Narrator: It's now or never for
their torpedo of doom.

Okay.

Incendiary torpedo in
three, two, one, fire!

Come on! Come on!

No!

Wow.

That didn't go at all like I expected.

Narrator: So close, but so far.

Oh!

Maybe we should just go home.

No!

We have to hurt this boat!

Darn it.

Narrator: Everything was going to plan,
but the tether snapped,

turning the torpedo into
a surface-to-air missile...

and getting the MythBusters
all bent out of shape.

I'm a sad monkey right now.

That's our enemy.

Look how close he is to shore.

We've got rockets, we've got incendiary,

but somehow we can't stop him.

It's bugging the hell out of me.

Narrator: Yep, it seems the torpedo is
less death and destruction

and more like a weapon of mass frustration.

And with only one remaining torpedo,

they've only got one more shot at the myth.

Captain Kirk never said this to Scotty,

but I think we've got too much power.

Tether is not working for us,

I think we've got to remove it.

Yeah, I think so.

I didn't know you watched "Star Trek".

Sure.

Wanna know why we did what we
did and didn't do what we didn't do?

Check out the after show.

We set a full-sized trailer,

filled with sparkling wine
and still wine, on fire...

and we got a machine gun-type effect.

[ Popping ]

There's your machine gun.

Yeah!

But... we didn't get the mythical 100 feet.

So, this one... is busted.

But we're not gonna stop there.

This is "MythBusters."

So the next step for us is to go
with the spirit of the myth,

and replicate the results, and that means

making our own wine bottle machine gun.

Narrator:
And, back at the shop, that's exactly

what the MythBusters are gunning for.

So after all of our testing, we've
decided to try to replicate the result

and get that machine gun
effect the myth talks about

by harnessing the power of the wine bottle.

We basically just cut up a bunch of pipes,

screwed on some bearings,
made it look like a gatling gun,

and we're gonna use
propane as a heat source.

This is it.

The ultimate "MythBusters"
wine machine gun.

We're using chilled champagne bottles,

shaken and set over an open flame.

Now it's time to fire this thing.

Narrator: It's certainly a red hot
piece of hardware...

that only needs a target.

And that's where Grant comes in.

There'll be potentially
shattering glass, boiling liquid.

So I have this.

It's a fire suit.

Hopefully, it's gonna keep me safe.

Let's do this.

Narrator: With Grant quite literally
staring down the barrel...

Here come the pain!

Narrator: ...it's go time.

I forgot to protect my nether regions.

Narrator:
As machine guns go, it's a low key start,

as the team has to wait 10 minutes

for the wine to reach optimum
pressure, but then...

[ Poof! ]
Ha!

Got him in the leg!

[ Poof! ]
Ooh!

Right in the ding-ding!

[ Poof! ]
Whoaaa!

[ Laughter ]

I don't know about
dangerous, but it's hilarious.

[ Poof! ]
Oooh ho ho!

You're actually hitting with some force.

[ Poof! ]
Ow! Wow!

Right in the gut.

Narrator:
It's a sparkling "MythBusters" moment...

Oh! Yeah!

...but with reloading too dangerous,

the conclusion is inevitable.

We got the wine bottles
to act like a machine gun,

and we got the corks to go in
the direction we wanted it.

I feel a little bad for Grant.

Ooh!

Oh, yeah!

...but I think he would
agree it was worth it...

at least for science.

Narrator: The MythBusters are at
the end of their tether.

Frustratingly, their ancient
torpedoes have missed the boat

on accuracy and payload delivery.

But, they had a Eureka moment.

Perhaps it's all down to
too much rocket power.

Well, sometimes less is more,

and I think this is one of those times.

We're gonna lose the tether, and
we're gonna go with a rocket motor

that puts out about half
the thrust of the ones

that we've been using heretofore.

Now, hopefully, that will allow
our torpedo to stay as a boat

and not a rocket and go crazy.

Narrator: If halving the thrust
doesn't get a direct hit,

then this myth is totally and utterly sunk.

With the boat fully prepped and
the torpedo armed to the teeth,

it takes its slow walk to the shore.

Don't drop it.

I will not.

Narrator:
But will it have the bite of the myth?

This part, when the explosives are live,
it's not the fun part of this job.

No.

Narrator:
The tension mounts, as their final torpedo

is readied for launch.

- It's live.
- Good.

Narrator: Then, the guys retreat
behind the shields,

and it's sink or swim time.

In three, two, one, fire!

This is starting to get me upset.

There it goes!

Come on, baby! C'mon!

Hit it!

Aaaaaaaaa!

Chest bump! Boom! Ha, ha, ha, ha!

Narrator:
Yep, that certainly was chest bump-worthy.

Yeah!

Narrator: Not only did their torpedo stay
on the surface of the water...

...but it delivered its deadly payload.

That sent fire up over the bow of the boat.

That was awesome.
[ Adam laughs ]

Holy Coppola!

Oh. There's a fire.

Luckily, I've got a 13th
century fire extinguisher.

I have saved your boat.

[ Laughter ]

Yeah, that was a perfect hit,

and, you know, you could
have used explosives,

you could have incendiaries,
anything you want

if it hit that hull like that.

I'd be telling my other boats to
turn around if one of those hit me.

That's what I'd be saying, "Turn around!"

"Get the hell out of here,
these peoples are crazy!"

That last launch was what
we've been looking for all week.

The engine caught fire,
started to push the torpedo,

it skipped beautifully on the surface,

maybe veering about a
foot or two to the right,

and slammed into the side
of the boat, embedding itself,

releasing its incendiary and catching
all on fire at the same moment,

and setting the boat on fire.

Pretty much every last
thing in one launch.

I... I still can't believe it,
I'm pinching myself.

Well, how do you wanna call this one?

Was this series mythical,
surface rocket-powered

incendiary-delivering torpedo
been an effective weapon of war?

Indeed it was, based on this test.

We have to call it plausible, don't we?

Absolutely. Barring a time
machine, it's plausible.

Let's get out of here.