Mythbusters cannonball hits Dublin home and minivan

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Savage Dragon, Dec 7, 2011.

  1. Savage Dragon

    Savage Dragon Not really all that savage Moderator

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    I guess it was just a matter of time before they had a serious mishap. Luckily no one was hurt.

    The rest of the story can be found here.

    I wonder how much of the accident we'll get to see in the finished episode or if they'll even finish filming the segment.
     
  2. MANT!

    MANT! Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Mad Science can be dangerous...
    I'm glad no one was injured, but perhaps they may need to rethink about where they
    fire these things off...

    A more rural area may be better...
     
  3. Savage Dragon

    Savage Dragon Not really all that savage Moderator

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    Like where they blew up the cement truck perhaps?
     
  4. Alidar Jarok

    Alidar Jarok Everything in moderation but moderation Moderator

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    They take the normally reasonable precautions. It just seems that, every so often, flukes like this happen. The article says that people in the area have been affected by things even when myth busters isn't there. Still, their experiments tend to be on the volatile side, so perhaps there's more risk.

    Glad everyone is ok.
     
  5. Kirby

    Kirby Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    How weird would it be to live in that area and hear explosions going off at the bomb range? Of course how cool would it be to have someone ask you what that noise was and you can say 'oh, it's just the Mythbusters blowing stuff up'.
    I know they do their best to keep things extra safe, but with the amount of time they've been doing this I'm surprised that something like this hasn't happened before. I'm glad everyone is safe.
     
  6. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Given that this happened at a bomb range, I wouldn't say that the Mythbusters' experiments are likely to be substantially more dangerous than the normal operations of the facility. I'm surprised, frankly, that they'd put a bomb range so close to a residential area, or vice-versa.
     
  7. TheGodBen

    TheGodBen Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    My first thought was "What were the Mythbusters doing in Ireland?"

    My second thought was "Wait, they fired a cannonball near San Francisco and it landed in Ireland?!!"

    All thoughts following the second were disappointing.
     
  8. 23skidoo

    23skidoo Admiral Admiral

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    So bearing in mind many of us not familiar with greater San Francisco had no idea a Dublin existed in that region, did anyone for a moment think they launched the cannonball into orbit and it landed in Ireland? (Or, more realistically, that for some reason the guys went to Ireland to fire off a cannonball?) [EDIT: Obviously TheGodBen above was thinking along the same lines - we posted about the same time!]

    Anyway, I have no doubt they're air this. And it'll probably be the subject of a later retrospective special, like the recent one where they mentioned being banned from a small town after shattering windows during the "knock your socks off" experiment. If nothing else it'll be a vivid demonstration of their "don't try this at home" mantra.

    And Mythbusters/Discovery have a ton of insurance, so the people involved won't be wanting. Of course the most important thing is no one was hurt.

    But this clearly a fluke. It's not as if they just went out into some random neighbourhood or some field. They were in the controlled setting of an active bomb range under the supervision of the authorities. As the article itself says, being so close to active army bases, etc. carries risk. The house could have just as easily been hit by shrapnel from a bomb squad training exercise.

    I'm sure everything will work out OK (and Savage's no comment was clearly a case of lawyer instruction, which is standard procedure). I just hope this doesn't result in some knee-jerk decision (by authorities, municipalities, or the show itself) to stop doing these sorts of experiments. Maybe the only difference is they'll aim in the opposite direction from now on...

    Alex
     
  9. Lonemagpie

    Lonemagpie Writer Admiral

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    I'm glad it's not a British show - it'd be axed for that, even though, y'know, it's a bomb range, where dangerous shit is pretty much the expected norm...
     
  10. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    I'm a little surprised that they tested a cannon on the bomb range instead of the Alameda Navy Yards where they've tested cannons in the past. There's a lot more open space around there.

    Still, it does seem like an incredible fluke -- missed the target, broke through a cinderblock wall, bounced off a hillside.

    I wonder what myth they were testing.
     
  11. Savage Dragon

    Savage Dragon Not really all that savage Moderator

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    It almost sounds like a retest of the tree cannon myth. If it is and Jamie made another cannonball then at least he'll be able to find it this time!
     
  12. Spot's Meow

    Spot's Meow Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I heard on one news report that they were testing something having to do with how well a pool of water can absorb the impact of a cannonball. Who knows what the actual myth there is though.
     
  13. Savage Dragon

    Savage Dragon Not really all that savage Moderator

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    Similar to hiding under water when being shot at maybe?
     
  14. davejames

    davejames Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Man, feel really bad for Adam and Jaime. You know how saftety-conscious they normally are.
     
  15. B.J.

    B.J. Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    No more weird than where I live. My neighborhood is right next to Redstone Arsenal, and you can hear explosions going off all the time. Occasionally one is strong enough to knock pictures off the wall. It varies as to what the noise is, sometimes it's bombs, sometimes it's rocket engine tests, and who knows what else.
     
  16. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    That might explain the choice of venue, since they didn't intend the cannonball to travel any substantial distance.

    The question there is why they'd use a "homemade" (or rather shopmade) cannon for the test instead of something more conventional. But I do recall one cannon that the junior team built for one myth and then reused in a later myth, so maybe they brought that one out again.
     
  17. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I wonder if this family will sue.

    Assuming that Discovery/Mythbusters' OWN insurance takes care of all this (rather than the homeowner's insurance), that may be predicated on the condition that the family does not sue. I am obviously not a lawyer though so I don't know the legal issues involved in all of this. If the show's insurance makes good, could the family still sue anyway?

    I sincerely hope the family's own insurance isn't going to have to pay for this, since the family would have a hell of a time trying to explain it to them over the phone. And given how insurance companies tend to act, they might have even denied the claim and tried to blame the family for living near a bomb range. :sigh:

    That being said, I do have more questions:

    - Exactly what myth were they trying to bust?

    - How the hell does the cannonball manage to bounce UP A FLIGHT OF STAIRS and then exit the house so cleanly and with enough velocity?

    - The whole family was asleep...at 4:15 PM? :wtf:

    And I would be very surprised if this episode ever airs. At the very least I would expect them to just start the whole thing over again and not involve this family at all (although it would be nice if Adam and Jamie made an immediate on air apology).
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2011
  18. Savage Dragon

    Savage Dragon Not really all that savage Moderator

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    Sounds like a job for Mythbusters.



    What?
     
  19. RevDMV

    RevDMV Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    I live neat the area, kids have played baseball at the park down the street. The houses in the area area all very recent construction.

    Based on the layout of the range I'm surprised that they would fire in the direction it took for the projectile to hit a house. A more northerly shot would have to travel a long distance to get near anyone.
     
  20. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    They probably didn't. Remember, it bounced off a hillside, so that would've changed its trajectory.