Mythbusters on Discovery Channel!

What's a MythBuster?
They are looking forward to hearing new ideas, but in the meantime, selection of myths to explore was inspired by a number of Web sites, like: Urban Legends Reference Pages, The Straight Dope, or About.com: Urban Legends and Folklore. So. You're minding your own business, filling up your gas tank, when your cell phone rings. Hmmm. Should you answer it? Because you've heard you shouldn't use cell phones near gas stations since they can produce small sparks that can ignite big fires. But wait. Could that actually be true? it sounds like a job for MythBusters! It's a tough job separating truth from urban legend, but the MythBusters are here to serve. Each week special-effects experts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman take on three myths and use modern day science to show you what's real and what's fiction. That's right, they do more than explain how something may or may not be scientifically possible. Through trial and error they actually demonstrate it. They even are open to new ideas. To suggest an urban legend for the MythBusters to explore, just post it in thyer discussion board.
Who are they?


Adam Savage
makes stuff. He's constructed everything from spaceships to Buddhas, from puppets to rifles, from sculptures to toys ... and just about anything else imaginable. Adam's fascination with creating things started when he began building his own toys at age 5, and he hasn't stopped since. He's served as an animator, graphic designer, stage and interior designer, carpenter, welder and scenic painter, and he's worked in everything from metal to glass, plastics to injection molding, and pneumatics to animatronics. But for the past eight years, Adam has concentrated on the special-effects industry, honing his skills through more than 100 television commercials and 12 feature films, including Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Galaxy Quest, Terminator 3, A.I. and the Matrix sequels. He's also designed props and sets for Coca-Cola, Hershey's, Lexus and a host of New York and San Francisco theater companies. His skills don't end there. Not only has he worked in the research and diagnostic division for several toy companies, but he's also acted in several films and commercials — including a Charmin ad, in which he played Mr. Whipples' stock boy. And now, in addition to co-hosting Discovery Channel's MythBusters, Adam also teaches advanced model making, most recently in the industrial design department at the San Francisco Academy of Art. And somehow, he also finds time to devote to his own art; his sculptures have been showcased in over 40 shows in San Francisco, New York and Charleston, W.V

Jamie Hyneman
Co-HostHailing from Indiana farm country, is a multifaceted man: wilderness survival expert, boat captain, diver, linguist, animal wrangler, machinist and chef, to name a few. His career has been equally diverse: Jamie earned a degree in Russian languages and literature and ran a sailing/diving charter business in the Caribbean for several years before he moved over to the visual-effects industry.Once he had joined that field and had worked for several production companies, Jamie found his way to Colossal Pictures' model shop, where he managed the production of models and special effects for hundreds of commercials and movies. Then, eight years ago, Jamie took over the shop and created M5 Industries Inc.Today, the top U.S. production companies seek out M5 Industries when unusual or problematic props need to be fabricated, especially if they involve animatronics or robotics. Jamie has worked on the Matrix sequels for Eon Productions, as well as Star Wars: Episodes I and II for Industrial Light and Magic, among others.Jamie has also worked on commercials for major automobile manufacturers, soft-drink companies (including 7-UP) and athletic shoe companies (including Nike). And in the midst of all this activity, Jamie has diversified his company into toy prototyping as well.The holder of several patents and the winner of numerous industry awards Jamie is also a long-standing Screen Actors Guild member.

Kari Byron
She has trained to be a MythBuster since she was a kid. By the age of 5 she was setting up experiments to test on her sister and using dolls as crash test dummies. Luckily for her parents, they always caught her right before little sister took a ride down a laundry chute or was the subject of an "around-the-world" attempt on the playground swings. After graduating from San Francisco State and traveling the world, Kari began her career as an artist, working in sculpture and painting and holding successful exhibitions at some of San Francisco's leading galleries. "Artist" was only one of many hats she wore while searching for her place in the world. Her sculpting skills and love for odd jobs soon led her into the field of model-making and toy-prototyping, which led to a job with Jamie Hyneman at M5 Industries. It was at M5 that Kari got her first big break with the MythBusters team. During the "vacuum toilet" segment of one of the first episodes (which examined whether a person could get sucked into an airplane toilet), Jamie needed a 3-D scan of a person's backside, and Kari had the right ... well, you know. Basically, she was in the right place at the right time. The rest is history, although we'd be remiss if we overlooked Kari's former job experience as a secret martini shopper, rose delivery driver and store mannequin to foil shoplifters — just to name a few. Who knew that a degree in film and sculpture would actually be applicable to a real-life career one day? Now Kari works with the MythBusters team, using science and Yankee ingenuity to solve the mysteries of today's most compelling urban legends.

Grant Imahara
Electronics and radio-control specialist Grant Imahara is a former animatronics engineer and model maker for George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic, where he worked on such movies as The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence and The Matrix Reloaded. In addition to operating R2-D2 (one of only a handful of official operators), Grant has another claim to beloved-character fame: developing a custom circuit to cycle the Energizer Bunny's arm beats and ears at a constant rate. In fact, he's responsible for all the electronics installation and radio programming on the current generation of bunnies, even serving as the bunny's driver and crew supervisor on numerous commercials.
While he earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, Grant actually picked up many of his mechanical skills from the machinists at the ILM model shop, many of whom date back to 1986's Howard the Duck. He's also the author of the book, Kickin' Bot: An Illustrated Guide to Building Combat Robots. His own machine, Deadblow, is a BattleBots champion that continues to strike terror into the hearts of fellow competitors.

Tory Belleci
Quickly learned all he could and moved up the ranks. Three years later he landed a job with George Lucas' special-effects division, Industrial Light and Magic; one of his biggest projects there was building models for the most recent Star Wars trilogy. The Federation battleships and podracers you see in The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones are some of Tory's finest pieces of work.
Tory's other special-effects work can be seen in the Matrix trilogy, Van Helsing, Peter Pan, Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest and Bicentennial Man. When he's not busting myths, Tory's busy dreaming up his own ideas for films and TV shows. One of his short films has already appeared in the Slamdance film festival and on the Sci-Fi Channel. Tory was born and bred in Monterey, Calif., right near the famous Pebble Beach golf course. He once shot a blistering 15 over par round of 87 there ... then decided special effects was more his game.

Scottie Chapman
A former horse trainer, video-game tester and graveyard-plot telemarketer, she's the MythBusters mistress of metal. Trained in welding, machining and metal fabrication she has built, burnt and bashed everything from bridges and amusement-park rides to seaplanes and race cars. In the course of her career Scottie's worked in set-building, carpentry, model-making and architectural restoration; she's also taught high-school metal-fabrication and studied special-effects makeup. Her building talents have been used by San Francisco's famous industrial performance-art collective, Survival Research Laboratories.
A passionate snow boarder, Scottie loves gardening and tending her prized pet koi. She's also raised three orphaned baby squirrels, who come to visit her back yard each morning for breakfast. In addition, Scottie has played bass guitar for several underground punk/noise bands including the Wizards of Ozzie, a group that performed "lounge" covers of Black Sabbath songs. Plus, she can belly dance and fire dance — often at the same time. Beyond all that, Scottie really loves getting behind the wheel of her 1973 Lincoln Mark IV race car and competing in full-contact auto races. Scottie was born in Virginia Beach, Va., and grew up in rural Maryland.

Christine Chamberlain
Born in Washington, D.C., Christine Chamberlain spent her formative years in Northern Virginia. Shunning a traditional teenage "career" in the fast-food industry, she worked in a stained-glass studio, where she learned how a studio/shop runs and operates. She then started college in Richmond, Va., as a fine arts undergraduate and continued her studies at Western Washington University, focusing on printmaking. After college, Christine landed a job as a graphic artist and producer for a Fox affiliate. She also bought an etching press (a machine for etching, or engraving with acid, on metal) to continue her printmaking, which she ships each time she moves (and she moves a lot). In fact, Christine has lived in Saudi Arabia, where she developed a deep appreciation for the desert and Middle Eastern cultures. From there she relocated to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and then back to the United States, where she worked at Capital Television Network as head of the graphics department. For two and a half years, Christine also worked as an auditor for a communication company, traveling across the country with bolt cutters in order to gain access to the sites she was evaluating. Finally, Christine is a collector of vintage skirts, including decorative skirts from South America and Victorian underskirts.

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