Adam Savage is BACK and on the case with his six  co-hosts, and you're in for a double dose of fun with two hours of  MythBusters Jr on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 9p on SCIENCE

MythBusters Jr    Flatus Special

Flatus Power: How much effective power can you really harness from a human fart?

You may have never heard the word  before, but we’re all certainly familiar with that particular bodily function that starts with an "F" and rhymes with "art". Farts contain a number of gases — methane being one of the most commonly known — but how much effective power can you really harness from them?

The MBJr's will synthesize a bunch of these emissions and run them through a gauntlet of tests, gradually upping the ante to see if firing up a propane engine or powering a forklift can be done by a formation of farts!

Laser Flatus: Can a surgical laser ignite a fart?

You may have heard of this urban legend: during a laser surgery, a patient's intestinal gas was released at an inopportune moment and things went up in flames. But is that a fart fact or just flatulent fiction? Adam and the MBJr's are ready to put this myth to the test. Can the localized heat generated from a surgical laser be strong enough to ignite the requisite mix of human gas?

Try it out! 😲💨
Who cut the cheese? Was it you? Prank your friends with this fun digital whoopie cushion app!

Glitch is the friendly community where you'll build the app of your dreams. Glitch lets you instantly create, remix, edit, and host an app, bot or site, and you can invite collaborators or helpers to simultaneously edit code with you.

Episode 7: Countdown to Gas-tastrophe

Adam Savage is BACK and on the case with his six  co-hosts, and you're in for a double dose of fun with two hours of  MythBusters Jr on Wednesday, Jan 30 at 8p on SCIENCE

MythBusters Jr    Paper Shred Ka Boom!

Paper Shred Ka-Boom: Could a paper shredder explode if you use canned air to clean it while in operation?

Paper shredders are pretty common in most corporate offices, but are these handy machines ticking time bombs? Stories have been told of paper shredders blowing up when people have tried to clean out the blades of an operating shredder using canned air. It's up to Adam and the MBJr's to see if this is true!

Starting from small tests and scaling up, the team looks at whether propellants and sparking brushed motors can end up causing huge explosions.

Electric Mayo: Is it really impossible to make mayonnaise in a lightning storm?

As the old wives' tale goes, if you try and make mayo when there's a storm brewing, the electrical charge in the air will prevent egg yolk proteins from binding in an emulsion.

The team examines the creamy condiment at the molecular level, breaking down the emulsion process and using a Van de Graaff generator to test if this myth is plausible. Then, they devise an automated system to make perfect batches of mayo, concluding with get suited up in a grounded Faraday suit to subject the batches to the simulated lightning of a Tesla coil.

Try it out! ⚡
Get points by helping Mayo Man catch eggs while dodging lightning bolts!

Episode 6: Shredder Explosion

Adam Savage is BACK and on the case with his six  co-hosts, and you're in for a double dose of fun with two hours of  MythBusters Jr on Wednesday, Jan 23 at 9p on SCIENCE

MythBusters Jr    Gravity Busters

Gravity Busting Car: Can a 2000 pound car hanging from a crane defy gravity when it's dropped?

When a fully exteded Slinky is dropped from a height, it seems that the bottom of the Slinky momentarily lingers in mid-air before the entire thing falls to the ground.

Based on this gravity-defying "hover effect", Adam challenges the MBJrs to study this phenomenon with all kinds of elastic materials and objects, eventually working their way up to achieve the same effect with a 2000 pound car!

35 Mile / 45,000 Word Pencil: A standard no. 2 pencil can draw a 35 mile long line and write up to 45,000 words — write or wrong?

The pen may be mightier than the sword, but there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned pencil to get the lead out. (Technically, pencil lead is a combination of graphite and clay — that's a longstanding myth.)

But busting myths is what this show is all about, and another pencil-related parable is that a regular no. 2 pencil holds enough graphite to draw a line about 35 miles long (or to write roughly 45,000 words). Could this be true? Adam and the MBJrs are ready to find out!

Try it out! 📝
How many pencils do you need to draw a straight line between two famous U.S. landmarks? Find out with this app!

Episode 5: Gravity Busters

Adam Savage is BACK and on the case with his six  co-hosts, and you're in for a double dose of fun with two hours of  MythBusters Jr on Wednesday, Jan 23 at 8p on SCIENCE

MythBusters Jr    Demolition Dominoes

Car Crushing Dominoes: Could you crush a car with the force from falling dominoes?

Your typical store-bought dominoes are all the same size and weight. But let's say you created a set and series where each domino was approximately 1.5x the size and weight of the previous one — could the force generated and amplified from toppling a set of those dominoes be strong enough to crush a car?

Adam and the MBJr's study the math and science behind this scenario to come up with the best layout, technique, and materials necessary to create the devastating effect!

Extreme Jenga: Is it possible to move the last brick on the bottom of a Jenga tower without the entire structure collapsing?

It takes a steady hand, a deft eye, and a light touch to win at Jenga. Inevitably, the game always ends with a crash because it's impossible to move that last bottom block without knocking down the whole tower...?

The MBJr's are on the case as they examine the principles at play with a Jenga set, including tower construction and the importance of a stable, precisely leveled base (while also keeping in mind the all-important human factor). They'll eventually build their own massive Jenga set to test their theories!

Try it out! 🚗
Test out the "demolition dominoes" for yourself and see if using different materials effects how the experiment works!

Episode 4: Demolition Dominoes

Adam Savage is BACK and on the case with his six  co-hosts. You're in for a real treat when MythBusters Jr: Battery Blast  premieres Wednesday, Jan 16 at 9p on SCIENCE

MythBusters Jr    Battery Blast Trailer

Straight as an Arrow: Does an arrow really fly straight?

An arrow flies straight — right? Adam and the MBJr's get in touch with their inner Robin Hoods with longbows, crossbows, and compound bows to test exactly how straight an arrow's flight path is. The saying must come from some true origin...or does it?

Will the "Archer's Paradox" end up being true?

Lithium-Ion Battery Garbage Truck Blow Up: Could lithium-ion batteries thrown into household trash cause a garbage truck to explode?

Lithium ion batteries - those mini-marvels of power storage have been under fire lately – for literally – causing fires. Adam and the MBJr's examine the combustible forces at play with these tricky little devils, and discover what could happen if the wrong battery at the wrong time gets caught in the pinch point of a garbage truck’s hydraulically powered compactor.

Try it out! 🔋
No exploding garbage trucks here! Instead, we'll show you where you can responsibly dispose of your used lithium-ion batteries. Use the app below and find the closest recycling center near you. And a big thank you to Earth911.com and their nation-wide recycling search!

Here's a word from Mitch Ratcliffe, CEO and Managing Editor of Earth911.com:

Episode 3: Battery Blast

Adam Savage is BACK and on the case with his six  co-hosts. You're in for a real treat when MythBusters Jr: Dynamite Air  Freshener premieres Wednesday, Jan 9 at 9p on SCIENCE

MythBusters Jr    Dynamite Air Freshener Trailer

Air Freshener Car Blow Up: Can a single spark turn an aerosol air freshener into an explosive?

Urban legend has it that the ember from a cigarette reacted with a can of slow-leaking aerosol air freshener and caused a bit of a blow up. In another incident, an odiferous car pumped full of air freshener by an over-eager teenager exploded when the car light came on. Could these stories possibly be true? Adam and the MBJr's are on the case!

Soggy Dog Shake: How much water can a wet dog shake off?

Does a dog lose 70% of its weight on its first shake out of the water? Is the speed of a wet dog's shake in direct correlation to a dog's size? Adam and the MBJr's use a wide array of playful pups to test this myth. By examining the centifugal principles and forces at play, along with the speed of the dogs' oscillations and movements in relation to their size, Adam and the team will gain a lot of information on this soggy subject!

Try it out! 🎮
See how fast it takes you to shake out the water from the dog! 🐶💦

Episode 2: Dynamite Air Freshener

Are you ready? Six of the nation’s most talented kids are teaming up with the famous Adam Savage to tackle a variety of myths on the all-new series, Wednesdays at 9pm ET starting January 2nd on SCIENCE.

Let’s take a sneak peek at what to expect this season.

MythBusters Jr  Sneak Peek

On each episode, Adam and his co-hosts will perform a number of experiments to test the validity of a popular myth. For example, can you make a viable, life-saving parachute out of duct tape? Can a fire extinguisher propel you through zero gravity like a jetpack? Can chalk really keep a swarm of ants at bay? We’ll find out the answers to these mysteries and more on this season of MythBusters Jr.!

Glitch is teaming up with MythBusters Jr. to transform these scientific experiences into interactive apps. For each episode, we will create an app that corresponds to the myth in question, and viewers will have a chance to test the myths out for themselves. And because it’s Glitch, they’ll be able to take their experiments to the next level. Remix the MythBusters Jr. projects and learn how the code works, or even customize the projects to try out entirely new experiments.

And speaking of duct tape, let’s put that myth to the test with our egg drop app!

Check out our MythBusters Jr. page for the latest episodes and apps. We can’t wait to see what you create!

Glitch is the friendly community where you’ll build the app of your dreams. On Glitch, you can edit any project and have your own app running instantly. You can even invite friends or helpers to create apps with you.

Making Science Come Alive with MythBusters Jr. and Glitch

Adam Savage is BACK and on the case with his six  co-hosts. You're in for a real treat when MythBusters Jr: Duct Tape  Special premieres Wednesday, Jan 2, at 9p on SCIENCE

MythBusters   Duct Tape trailer

Ask any builder or handyman and they’ll tell you — duct tape is a miracle material — it seemingly can do anything. It’s no surprise that this versatile, “do-all” item has also been a MythBusters favorite over the years — using the humble adhesive tape to lift a 5000lb. car, build a bridge across a chasm, a functioning cannon, a sailboat and an outrigger canoe.

Well, the MythBusters duct tape tradition is alive and well.

Duct Tape Tire Car: Can you make a usable car tire out of duct tape? Can a car navigate an obstacle course riding on FOUR of them?

In a classic testing of a “viral” video, Adam and the MythBusters will employ a mind boggling amount of duct tape to see how well they can re-invent the “wheel”. Starting with a proof of concept with a bicycle tire, them moving up to a car’s spare — the MythBusters will eventually replace all four tires on a car with duct tape wheels and see how well they will hold up on running the turns on an obstacle course at high speed.

Duct Tape Parachute: Can you make a viable, life-saving parachute out of duct tape?

In a parallel build, the MBJr’s set out to see if they can construct a viable, life-saving parachute with this miracle adhesive material.

Small scale tests with Buster analogs such as Stretch Armstrong action figures and cinder blocks lead to a full-scale Buster drop — 1000 ft. out of a helicopter. Will the duct tape parachute slow down Buster’s fall to a survivable speed or will our faithful test dummy go splat? It’s a sticky question that only the MBJr’s a helicopter and boatload of duct tape can answer.

Try it out! 🎮
Can you build a parachute to help Eggy survive? If they drop too fast they might crack. 🍳

Choose the parachute material and see what happens!

Episode 1: Duct Tape Special

Six of the nation’s most talented kids team up with  Adam Savage. Together they’ll tackle a variety of myths and decide if  they’re… BUSTED, PLAUSIBLE, or CONFIRMED! Find out on the all new  series, MythBusters Jr.

The Big Stick: Can a bug glue-trap trap a human runner?

If you had a human-scaled bug trap, would you be able to run across it?

First up, Adam and the MBJr's demonstrate the properties of the sticky stuff in question, without hurting any innocent bugs (or Adams!) Next, the MBJr's split into teams and learn about adhesive and cohesive forces and how glues work. They come up with the strongest, safest formula they can, set up their human-scaled bug trap, and take a run at it!

Is spider silk really as strong as steel?

While a spider is not technically a “bug”, they’re definitely cousins. Bugs and spiders are both in the arthropod family and that’s good enough for us — these eight-legged silk spinners are just too cool to ignore.

It’s been said that the silk of the golden orb spider is twice as strong as Kevlar and five times as strong as steel. Is this really true? The MBJr's set out to stage multiple, precision one-to-one tensile strength tests to see how this miracle silk really stands up to the strongest materials humans have to offer.

A“maze”ing Ants: An ant won't walk across a line of chalk. True or False?

It’s a classic household remedy: you can stop ants from traipsing into unwanted areas by drawing a line of chalk across their path. Does this really work? Consultation with an entomologist quickly leads to the procurement of a few ant colonies housing the best species of ants available for this test.

The MBJr's study the ant's normal activity up close and personal with macro photography. Small-scale tests are conducted with condensed sugar water set at a distance from the ants to observe how they locate the sweet food source. Once the route to the sugary treat is established, the MBJr’s draw a line of chalk in the ant's path and chart the results!

Try it out! 🐜🐜
Draw lines of chalk to keep the ants at bay and away from your burgers!

"In space, no one can hear you scream." True or False?

Adam and the MBJr's set out to test this famous tagline from the 1979 sci-fi classic  — does sound transmit in the vacuum of space? With “vacuum” being the key here, the MBJr’s build a vacuum chamber that will be used throughout the episode.

With Adam’s guidance, they also build an analog “voice box”. They test sound results outside the chamber, but quickly realize that the device works by moving air, an interesting conundrum to be overcome in a vacuum. They then test the sound transmission in the vacuum chamber using microphones to record the results.

Can a fire extinguisher be used as a jetpack in space?

Sandra Bullock made this maneuver famous in the movie  when her character used a fire extinguisher to make a space jump from her capsule to a distant space station. Is this possible?

Adam and the MBJr's conduct a number of small scale experiments using CO cartridges in a vacuum chamber to observe results. Propulsion seems possible, but could you actually use a fire extinguisher to navigate between two points in the zero G vacuum of space?

They scale up the idea by constructing a hovercraft-type device to be used on an ice rink to achieve as frictionless a simulation as possible.

Try it out! 👩🏻‍🚀💨
Blast through the cosmos and avoid space junk to get to the escape pod! Can you make it in time before your fire extinguisher runs out?

 Magnet Caper: Is it possible to use a monster junkyard magnet to erase a room full of data on computer hard drives through a concrete wall?

It’s a famous scene from one of Adam’s favorite shows, . When potentially incriminating evidence on a computer hard drive is placed a police station’s evidence room, Walter White pulls up in a panel van and uses a powerful junkyard magnet to wipe the drives inside. In the process, it pulls over shelves, sending metal objects flying, and almost tips over the van itself.

Is that a real world possibility or just television fantasy?

The MBJr's will set out to test this myth to the very last detail! Along the way, they'll study the amazing power of magnets and even stage a spectacular collision between two extremely powerful neodymium magnets.

Furniture Barricade: Can you barricade a room by blocking an unlocked door with furniture? Or can the old “chair under the door knob” technique work too?

We’ve all seen it in cartoons, TV shows and the movies: our hero is on the run from a bad guy and tries to block the door with a chair jammed under the door knob or by using pieces of furniture. Can this really work?

It seems like common sense: the heavier the object blocking the door, the more effective it will be. But even lighter objects could work if they’re put in the proper configuration! The MBJr's test floor material and learn about friction, drag, and resistance as they test scenarios with a huge stunt man to obtain their results.

Try it out! 📄✂
Can you move the shredder to the documents in a room of magnetized furniture? Oh, it won't be as easy as you think!

MythBusters Jr.

Anil Dash is CEO of Glitch, and the host of Function, a podcast exploring how technology shapes culture and society. 

He also serves on the boards of Stack Overflow and the Data & Society Research Institute, and was formerly a contributing editor of WIRED. He’s been blogging since 1999 and won’t stop telling people about that one time he was on the Desus and Mero late-night show.

Maurice Cherry is Glitch's creative strategist.

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Function with Anil Dash

Open World is a fiction anthology podcast about how science and technology serve as a backdrop for imagining a better future, helping us envision the positive influence that science and tech can play in a real future. 

Open World is produced by Keisha "TK" Dutes and hosted by critically-acclaimed podcaster Rose Eveleth, for Glitch. By speaking to the pressing concerns of our times through love, friendship, community, compassion, and sustainability, the host will help listeners imagine new ways forward into a future that is less scary and more positive, and something we can start working on constructively.  

Open World launches weekly episodes in Spring 2020. Want to contact the show? Email youropenworld@glitch.com.

Open World

Shift Shift Forward is a podcast that showcases everything that makes Glitch the best place to create on the web. We’ll talk to some of our top creators, explore cool apps, and even hear from the people who work at Glitch!

Shift Shift Forward

Celebrating the makers, creators and coders who shine.

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