Which myths have become safe to try at home since they first aired?

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Its-From-Japan@reddit

Isn't there a whole episode for safe at home experiments?

Plus the Diet Coke/Mentos is probably fine but messy

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Yes indeed! But I am not looking for myths that were always already safe to try at home. But instead, I an curious about myths that have somehow become safe to try at home nowadays, as opposed to back when the show was airing.

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Attempt_Gold@reddit

There was this Mythbusters book of various myths with fun do-it-at-home experiments related to it. For example, the Killer Quicksand had a do-it-at-home project where you can mix corn starch and water to create a non-newtonian fluid; that is a fluid that pours and acts like a liquid but becomes almost like a solid when you slap it and such. If that sounds familiar, that's because it was used on the Ninja Special when Adam and Jamie made a whole tub of it as bonus to the "Running On Water" segment

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Its-From-Japan@reddit

Gotcha. Misunderstood the assignment

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Funwithfun14@reddit

On his YT channel, Adam mentioned that high speed cameras on phones opens up a world of at home experiments.

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KaijuDirectorOO7@reddit

Maybe the ninja run?

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Novel_Willingness721@reddit

I can’t think of any, because most of them involve explosions or falling from great heights or deadly weapons.

If they say you can do it at home then it’s safe. One that springs to mind because I just saw it in the two phone books interleaved together are impossible to separate. Otherwise the “don’t try this at home” mantra remains.

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btbmfhitdp@reddit

I don't know if you can try that at home, when was the last time you saw a phone book, let alone tow of them?

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FedStarDefense@reddit

I have several propping up the platform under my desk because I didn't want to bother fixing the hardware. They've been there a very long time.

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BuffaloRedshark@reddit

even spring unsolicited on my front porch. It's much thinner than it used to be, not even sure what's in it or what company is doing it as I immediately toss it in the recycling bin, but they still hand them out.

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Historical_Story2201@reddit

Actually got one this year.. its so thin! Like barely 100 pages thick. It was so funny..

I heard you can do the trick with notes however, the once you can rip off? Interlacing one note-paper into another..

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Novel_Willingness721@reddit

Point taken.

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Joates87@reddit

If you have a big enough hill and a quarry lake you could probably do the water slide.

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scowdich@reddit

Quarry lakes aren't very safe. Bad chemicals in 'em, there could be hidden hazards just under the surface, etc.

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egv78@reddit

Pretty certain Adam mentioned on his YouTube channel that this was actually pretty dangerous. Land wrong on that one and it could be game over, man!

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Joates87@reddit

And he also noted he fully supported the staffs decision to use the slide against the insurance companies wishes, did he not?

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LuxTenebraeque@reddit

Same danger as high board jumping, but minus the controlled environment the latter offers. Leaving that to others...

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scowdich@reddit

You can do basically whatever you want with a cell phone at a gas station.

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01051893@reddit

Not in my mom’s world. If she’s going for gas she switches off her phone entirely because of the fumes.

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therewulf@reddit

I had to get onto a family member who left the car running when she pumped gas. Like, dude, seriously?

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CooperSTL@reddit

There is not one single incident of leaving a car running while pumping gas creating any explosion/fire. Nothing.

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scuricide@reddit

Thousands of people do it everyday. Especially trucks. Ever heard of it causing a problem? Me neither. I don't even know what the problem would be.

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FrumundaThunder@reddit

It can set EVAP codes.

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radarksu@reddit

Yep. I'm a mechanical engineer, I don't design cars but I've got a pretty good idea what's going on.

Catalytic converter is still hot even after the car is off. There's not enough fumes to be ignited by some sort of short under the hood or something. You might get a check engine light due to evap capture or emissions systems error, but not dangerous.

What exactly is the concern? Someone explain it to me.

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human743@reddit

There are valid concerns but it becomes irrelevant as soon as you realize that other cars are pulling in and out around you so it's not like one extra would increase the danger much.

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jcalvinmarks@reddit

What valid concerns, though?

I have still never heard an explanation of what is supposed to be so dangerous about engine-on refueling that wasn't just ignorance-powered neurosis.

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human743@reddit

I have seen sparks from running vehicles come out the exhaust and also flames. There have been cases where running vehicles have ignited vapors (race car pitstops are a good place to see this) A running vehicle is constantly producing fire. Usually it is controlled, but it is possible to get out and has happened. Backfires, manifold leaks, etc. I agree it is super rare and I leave my vehicle running too, but it in the realm of possibility. But like I said, because we are not fueling one at a time, there are other cars coming in and out during fueling activities that are running anyway.

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jcalvinmarks@reddit

Sparks and flames from the exhaust are virtually always the result of modifications, and race cars are being run extremely hard and extremely hot. For any normal road car being driven in anything like normal conditions, these aren't actual risk factors.

As for manifold leaks and backfires, when those occur they are already happening right next to the high-pressure fuel rail or carburetor, where there is already fuel present. Also generally not anywhere near the fuel door. So there's no elevated risk there either.

Any strong opposition to engine-on refueling necessarily stems from a failure to assess risk rationally.

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human743@reddit

Some people drive older unmodified cars and trucks where this is possible.

A properly working car will have no raw fuel in the engine compartment even if you have a blown exhaust manifold gasket and the fumes from the gas pump are present unless you have a vapor recovery system on the pumps.

I don't have any opposition to it (strong or otherwise) because I am ok with very small risks. But that doesn't mean there is zero risk.

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jcalvinmarks@reddit

There's not zero risk anywhere. If one's risk appetite is zero, they have no business anywhere near a gas station or any kind of automobile.

Engine-on refueling isn't even close to the riskiest thing you would have done to get to the gas station in the first place.

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human743@reddit

Did you miss the part where I agreed with you?

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joe-clark@reddit

The only thing I can find online is that it has to do with the catalytic converter still being really hot but as you said I don't see how turning off the engine would make all that much difference. I could easily have gas flowing into the tank within 30 seconds of shutting off the engine provided the pump doesn't have one of those mega shitty laggy computers and I don't think that's enough time for it to cool off significantly.

It could be some old rule that made more sense back in the day but doesn't anymore but since there is some slight but non zero level of added danger it's still enforced. Either way I don't think it's anywhere near as dangerous as most people seem to think and I think most people have zero idea why it's even a rule at all. One time me and a friend were going somewhere and the starter on my car was going out so sometimes it wouldn't start without tapping on the starter first. We pulled in to get some gas late at night and I didn't want to turn the engine off because of the sketchy starter and my friend was convinced there was a really good chance the car would explode from doing that but couldn't explain why he thought that would happen.

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slightlyinsayhane@reddit

Hahaha I love old people logic

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chaoss402@reddit

So you say. I tried to use my phone as a trigger for a pressure cooker bomb and the cops told me that I had to keep it at least 300 feet away from the gas station.

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He3nry@reddit

To expand on u/EightofFortyThree 's idea, many of the driving myths could now be tested using a high-end driving-simulator rig, which some people do have in their homes. I remember one myth about a blind person being able to drive under the guidance of a sighted person, and a similar myth about a person giving driving directions in real time while drunk. Also a test of how driving angry affects gas mileage. Basically, most of the tests in which they drove normal, unmodified cars but had to do so in a controlled environment (closed tracks, or that disused suburban housing development).

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EightofFortyThree@reddit

Gas mileage with windows up or down. I was disappointed about their first round, but the revisit addressed it.

Reaction times while drunk or tired can be done using driving simulators.

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madgoat@reddit

Cement truck explosion is definitely safe to do in your backyard these days.

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Secret-Ad-7909@reddit

I mean. You can just walk into a store and buy tannerite. I know it’s not nearly the same level but still.

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Frenchitwist@reddit

No never absolutely horrible idea

Front yard

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