Mythbusters cannonball hits Dublin home and minivan
- Thread starter TheSeeker
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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.
Glad everyone is ok.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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).
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.
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?
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).
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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.
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.
They probably didn't. Remember, it bounced off a hillside, so that would've changed its trajectory.