History Series / MythBusters

** Doubly so in a number of myths (see FailsafeFailure above) where there are multiple failsafes in place to prevent exactly what the myth is about; requiring the [=MythBusters=] to deliberately disable them to replicate the myth (where the myth is that this happened by ''accident'').

** Poor Buster. Adam and Tory get their own bruises, usually their own fault.

* TechnicianPerformerTeamUp: Built this idea into the show through hosts Jaime and Adam. Jaime was working with a producer on the concept with him already owning a special effects studio and a long history of engineering and prototyping devices. But Jaime is also a [[FunnyCharacterBoringActor fairly reserved individual and felt himself not qualified to be the sole host]], so he recommended Adam, a model maker who he worked together on Battlebots and other projects beforehand. Adam is more of a self-described cartoon character much more confident in front of the camera, allowing a VitriolicBestBuds vibe which complimented the problem solving that went into testing the myths. A handful of myths explicitly take advantage of this by having each design their own version of a device and see the positives and negatives of their strategies.

* MetaphoricallyTrue: Sometimes, their determination of whether a myth is Confirmed or Busted really comes down to interpreting the exact wording of it. For example, their analysis of the SoftWater myth was specifically about whether "landing on water from a high enough distance is '''just as bad''' as landing on concrete." From a purely scientific standpoint, this was conclusively Busted, as the impact readings from the concrete landings were significantly higher than those of the water landings from all three heights. However, all but one of the six readings were Confirmed to be far above the threshold that the human body is capable of tolerating and surviving. Meaning what, while landing from water at a high altitude isn't "just as impactful" as landing on concrete, it is still ''metaphorically'' "just as bad" since you'll end up "just as dead" from it.

* AscendedMeme: A parody/homage of the show used a myth that if you interleave the pages of a pair of phone books, the raw friction would make them inseparable short of destroying the books or manually "unweaving" the pages, with the parody presenters coming to the conclusion that you could not do so. The [=MythBusters=] themselves decided to test this, ramping it up from a tug-of-war and two tire-burning rental cars to finally chaining them between two ''tanks''. [[spoiler: Myth busted, despite it ultimately requiring 8,000+ pounds of force - more than could be generated than if both rental cars had been simultaneously suspended from the phone books in mid-air - to pull them apart.]]

** Sometimes the trope is played straight when a particularly dubious myth is confirmed. Perfect example: ''any'' myth involving duct tape, but ESPECIALLY [[spoiler: the duct tape airplane myth]].
** Inverted with some myths where every single part of the myth is so completely busted it leaves not even a grain of truth left. For example: the myth of the giant rolling LEGO ball. [[spoiler: They could only get 1 million LEGO pieces after taking all the pieces from both Legoland California and the largest private collection; this is nowhere close to the five million predicted by the myth. They also only needed the 1 million pieces to make the giant ball anyway. Finally, the ball broke apart half way down the track.]]

** Can you mail a coconut without putting it in any packaging? [[spoiler: Yes, you can.]]

** The ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' special has one during Adam and Jamie's "[=MacGyver=] Challenge": [[spoiler: after they escape being tied up at the beginning of the challenge, Jamie takes the rope with him, and they use it as the tail for the kite they build as a signal at the end.]]

*** The editors had [[CensoredForComedy fun with that episode]]. When Adam tests out his [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vy6DZaJCok curse-proof tool]], listen carefully to the beeps. [[GeniusBonus If you know]] [[EveryoneKnowsMorse Morse Code]], there's a [[EasterEgg message]] in there. Again when Tory [[ClusterFBomb lets loose]]. [[spoiler: Respectively, HELLO and HURTS.]]

** Another same-channel crossover in the vein of the ''Storm Chasers'' meet up, the cast of ''Series/DeadliestCatch'' appeared in an episode that featured myths such as whether crab pots can be blown up, if taking short naps during 30-hour shifts improves a person's ability to perform their duties, and if it's possible to get pulled overboard and to the bottom of the ocean by getting caught in the rope of a crab pot. [[spoiler: All three were confirmed, though the crab pot did weather the first explosion surprisingly well.]]

** The guys from ''Series/SonsOfGuns'' were convinced that they really ''could'' ignite a propane tank with a single shot, even though the Build Team had already busted it. They were ''so'' convinced that they invited Kari and Tory to watch them try. [[spoiler: They failed.]]

* ExactWords: For the series finale, they advertised their biggest explosion ever on the show. [[spoiler: It was bigger than the show's previous record-holder by a single pound. They didn't say how much bigger!]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

With the help of their crack team of smart-ass builders (artist/sculptor Kari Byron, model builder/carpenter Tory Belleci, robotics engineer Grant Imahara, and formerly welder/metal worker Scottie Chapman and temporary replacement/metal worker Jessi Combs) from Seasons 2-9, as well as crack crash-test dummy Buster, Adam and Jamie meticulously take apart popular myths ranging from the legend of Archimedes' solar "DeathRay" to "free energy" to the most common Hollywood exaggerations such as [[EveryCarIsAPinto exploding cars]] and [[BlownAcrossTheRoom the knockback from a bullet]].

* CripplingOverspecialization: Became a problem in the "Swimming in Syrup" myth. They brought in an Olympic Gold Medalist Swimmer hoping that he would be able to provide consistent swim times. While his swim times were ''very'' consistent in water, once he got into the syrup, his technique was completely wrecked thanks to the fact that he spends hours every day training in normal water and was thus more sensitive to the difference. They had to throw out his times in favor of Adam's, who was a more casual swimmer and wasn't nearly as affected by the differences in viscosity.

* OffscreenTeleportation: Done in the 2012 Halloween special. At one point, a camera revolves around Adam Savage a of couple times as he wonders where Jamie is. As the camera {{doll|y}}ies around, Jamie is nowhere to be seen. Then, the camera {{pan}}s in the opposite direction, revealing Jamie right next to (and slightly behind) Adam.

* OffscreenTeleportation: Done in the 2012 Halloween special. At one point, a camera revolves around Adam Savage a couple times as he wonders where Jamie is. As the camera dollies around, Jamie is nowhere to be seen. Then, the camera pans in the opposite direction, revealing Jamie right next to (and slightly behind) Adam.

** The "Unarmed and Unharmed" myth about shooting a gun out of a person's hand. To test the myth for real, Adam and Jamie built a gun with two barrels as according to UsefulNotes/IsaacNewton's third law, the bullet fired would exert just as much energy on a persons hand as if said gun had been hit by a bullet. The only problem is that they completely ignored Newton's second law; while the energy generated would be the same, the amount of said energy that is actually transfered to the hand is affected by the medium it travels through. And since gas compresses and spreads energy much more evenly than a physical object, the energy recieved by the hand would be much lower by the fired bullet than if the gun had been hit by a bullet.

---> '''Adam:''' So, can you clearly communicate what clever canine conundrum you're currently concocting?\\

Adam and Jamie originally gained minor celebrity when their robot Blendo was a competitor on ''Series/RobotWars'' then later ''Series/BattleBots'' (and was so badass that it was forced to withdraw from the ''Robot Wars'' competition in exchange for co-championship because [[LudicrousGibs it was knocking chunks out of the competitors]] and sending them ''over'' the safety walls protecting the audience), and Grant was also a known competitor with his famed middleweight robot Deadblow.

** [[ExecutiveMeddling Discovery mandated]] Jamie and Adam host a new show, ''Series/UnchainedReaction'', which is based around this concept -- [[http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/mythbusters/projects/adam-savage-on-the-mythbusters-new-show-unchained-reaction-7406983 to their disdain]].

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Several of the cast members.
** ''Kari'' Byron, not "Kary" or "Carrie".
** ''Tory'' Belleci, not "Tori".
** ''Scottie'' Chapman.
** ''Jessi'' Combs.

...''"[[MemeticMutation Am I missing an eyebrow?]]"'' [[invoked]]

** During "Cannonball Chemistry", Tory, Grant, and Kari address the audience directly at the beginning of the episode, and again when they reach the "where did that cannonball just go?" point in the original filming. (See GoneHorriblyWrong below).

** Happened during the making of the "Cannonball Chemistry" episode, with near-disastrous consequences (see GoneHorriblyWrong below). And there ''were'' plenty of failsafes in place in this case, as there are any time the [=MythBusters=] deal with weaponry, but an unforeseen combination of circumstances thwarted them.

** Also see the entry for GoneHorriblyWrong.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: When the rest of the team (sans Jamie and Grant at that point) give Adam a powerful shock as a practical joke, the normally genial Adam's look of genuine shock and anger followed by his stomping out of the room clued them in that they messed up ''bad''.
** Adam later gave an interview where he revealed it wasn't the Build Team's idea, the producer made them do it, and it terrified and pissed him off to such an extent that ''the entire crew was mad for him,'' and when instructed to follow Adam, told the producer where he could shove that idea. In a show where they shamelessly recorded decapitation of dead animals, devices that can kill people, Kari undergoing Chinese Water Torture (she volunteered, but it reportedly bothered her for at least a few days until the bruises on her wrists faded), and Adam vomiting multiple times due to seasickness, even they decided it would be crossing the line to bother him after what went down. That producer is no longer with the show. Make of that what you will.
** Speaking of Kari's water torture, when Kari reaches the point where she says she doesn't want to do it anymore (at which point she's starting to cry), Tory (who is usually only a couple of ticks below Adam on the "silliness" scale,) ''immediately'' says they're to get her out, delivered in a rapid and deadly serious tone of voice. Concern for his fellow human being, coworker, and friend. And they do immediately release Kari from the rig, and decide against further testing.

** Another jarring incident from the show's early days that demonstrates similar unprofessionalism, as well as a lack of safety considerations, is when the other members of the team played a potentially very dangerous prank on Adam by shocking him with a battery left over from a prior episode. Adam was ''not'' happy about this incident, which can be clearly seen in the footage. It was yet another order from the producers in order to create "drama" on the show, which Adam and Jamie balked at, and from then on the show's production operated with a strict "no pranks" rule.

* DayHurtsDarkAdjustedEyes: Testing to see if smugglers can drive on a dark road at night without using any light and relying only on their eyes acclimated to the darkness, they discovred it was barely possible, but if any light passed by them, such as a car with its headlights on, they would immediately crash.