Mythbusters Crew Accidentally Fire Cannonball Through Suburban Neighborhood... Quickly Start Deleting Tweets Of The Evidence
from the careful-what-you-tweet dept
Well, well. Slashdot points us to this bizarre and slightly scary story about how everyone's favorite TV show, MythBusters, had an experiment that went really, really wrong yesterday. Apparently, it fired a home-made cannon at the Alameda County Sheriff's Department bomb disposal range. The idea was to shoot the cannonball into huge water containers.But they missed.
Instead, the cannonball went hurtling through the suburban northern California town of Dublin, at 4:15, just as kids were getting home from school. According to the SF Chronicle report on this:
The cantaloupe-sized cannonball missed the water, tore through a cinder-block wall, skipped off a hillside and flew some 700 yards east, right into the Tassajara Creek neighborhood, where children were returning home from school at 4:15 p.m., authorities said.Wow. Amazingly (and thankfully) no one got hurt in all of this. CBS has some astounding video of the carnage, including showing how the cannoball bounced around that house on Cassata Place putting holes in a bunch of places:
There, the 6-inch projectile bounced in front of a home on quiet Cassata Place, ripped through the front door, raced up the stairs and blasted through a bedroom, where a man, woman and child slept through it all - only awakening because of plaster dust.
The ball wasn't done bouncing.
It exited the house, leaving a perfectly round hole in the stucco, crossed six-lane Tassajara Road, took out several tiles from the roof of a home on Bellevue Circle and finally slammed into the Gill family's beige Toyota Sienna minivan in a driveway on Springvale Drive.
"Heavy Artillery"
"Canon Envy"
Tory and his Canon
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Filed Under: accidents, cannonballs, cannons, coverups, mythbusters
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I stand corrected.
I must have listened to too much J. Geils in my youth and got lost. I don't have to write that on the chalkboard a 100 times, do I?
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:breathe:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
It's funny because no one got hurt.
I'm assuming their cannon didn't have any rifling. I guess they learned old cannons aren't very accurate.
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Perhaps mythbusters should have done some basic research on what a cannon ball is capable of when fired through a cannon, and how much gun powder one should use when firing a cannon ball.
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They've fired cannons and cannonballs on at least 5 previous episodes.
They were firing the cannon at a bomb range.
Why the hell do people live close enough to a bomb range for this to happen?
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The article mentioned something about "muzzle lift" which presumably was the reason the cannon ball shot over the momentum-reducing targets.
The mistake, it appears, was in setting the direction of the cannon. From this map, they would of save themselves some amount of trouble by pointing it in a different direction.
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I think it was Adam who at a public forum somewhere was talking to the audience describing the hilarity of how the show got shut down.
Their bosses perp-walked him out the very next day to completely retract what he said because, you know, you can't show people just how insecure the new system is...
So, for ethics and standards I wouldn't expect too much.
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The Last HOPE, NYC http://www.thelasthope.org/talks.html
full talk by adam savage
http://www.thelasthope.org/media/audio/64kbps/Featured_Speaker_-_Adam_Savage.mp3
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Re: Re: Re: Re:
Abolish broadcasting and cableco monopolies.
IP extremists argue that their new proposed legislation won't result in censorship. But look around you. Look at most of the communication channels outside the Internet. Censorship is a reality and our laws are the very reason. The FCC et al promised that broadcasting license requirements/monopolies won't result in censorship and that turned out to be false. The end result is censorship. and SOPA et al are no different. What we need to do is abolish the existing laws that result in censorship (ie: broadcasting and cableco monopolies) instead of enacting more laws that will intentionally result in more censorship.
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I Love MythBusters
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Re: I Love MythBusters
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In what way was she disappointing?
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Where did you see her? Maybe she didn't have any makeup on.
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Re: I Love MythBusters
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Major booming fun!
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Way back when
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Living on the edge
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Re: Living on the edge
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Re: Re: Living on the edge
I think "bomb disposal" is a pretty different from "smooth bore cannon firing range," so I expect people weren't too worried about cannonballs plunging into homes. Ultimately, I'd think that the Alameda county bomb squad bears a bit of responsibility for this for allowing a cannon to be fired. The crew of Mythbusters would have been using them as a consultants on what they could and could do out there.
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Re: Living on the edge
Just like they do around airports and paper mills.
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Damage in the name of Entertainment
Then it doesn't quite do what we expected.
It rips through our public spaces, bouncing off hills and roads.
It enters our homes, racing up our stairs.
It blasts through our bedrooms.
It takes out a van.
Now you can expect calls to stop this. It isn't worth the risk to our property, to our homes, to our very bedrooms, to allow this all in the name of Entertainment.
You likely see where I am going now....
... but in the name of Entertainment we are willing to fire off SOPA and PROTECT IP. It has a great chance of ripping through the Internet in just the same fashion. Exposing us to risk in our public dealings, and in our private dealings. But here we believe the risk is acceptable.
Because the blast of SOPA through our bedrooms destroying our privacy and security is all digital.
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Re: Damage in the name of Entertainment
Bravo!
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Re: Damage in the name of Entertainment
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Actually, it was probably the East India Trading Company who used cannons the most. Coincidentally, it was also to preserve their trade monopoly.
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Everyone knows that capsules are best, and having to buy a whole bag of sub-standard x (or 'e' for those on the east coast) just seems dishonest.
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All while Liz, Mk 1 was bankrolling him.
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Re: Damage in the name of Entertainment
> to our very bedrooms, to allow this all in the name of
> Entertainment.
> ... but in the name of Entertainment we are willing
> to fire off SOPA and PROTECT IP.
Ah, but you miss one critical difference.
The property destruction in your first example, no matter how large, is inflicted upon people who go to "low court".
In the case of SOPA and PROTECT-IP, the alleged, claimed, unproven, and sometimes even disproved damage is done to people who go to "high court". Therefore, they should get their wish, regardless of how much damage is inflicted on everyone else.
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Mythbusters ballistics
I always thought their weakest area were their ballistics tests, which always seemed to have one or two major flaws with the test, such as firing dead on at a target when testing a myth involving a glancing shot. Then, they would run the test two or three times and declare their results with 100% confidence.
It was just so frustrating to watch them declare something a myth when I can go to my bookshelves and easily find recorded verifiable examples of people being killed or maimed by the very phenomena being declared a myth.
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Re: Mythbusters ballistics
A quick Youtube search would have given them the correct answer.
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Thanks for the correction.
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(spasms)
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Re: Mythbusters ballistics
On the other hand, when they prove myths, they are pretty much proven. I especially enjoyed the one where they tried to figure out just how much force was required to "knock your socks off". Especially since in the end, they were able to do it, sort of.
And in fact, Science is the same way. We have a darn hard time truly proving anything. But all it takes is one test that doesn't fit to prove an idea wrong.
This is entertainment of the best sort, and if you are going to do reality shows, this is at least reality within the bounds of what a handful of hacks can make of it.
Don't get frustrated. Enjoy it for what it is, a few hacks trying to do tests that are often beyond what a few hacks can really do.
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Re: Re: Mythbusters ballistics
It's just when they make obvious errors in setting up the tests that bothers me. And that too is okay, if they mention the limits of the test when drawing their conclusion. I just can't stand it when they smugly declare something a myth when a small amount of research would show that it's not a myth, but rather a very well understood and researched one-in-a-million phenomenon. My problem isn't that they're not recreating the circumstances of a test properly. It's that they try to recreate something that was a one-in-a-million shot, test it a couple times, then declare that it's a myth because they couldn't replicate it. This is especially irritating when we have very solid evidence that something has actually occurred in the past, which goes back to my ship sinking example.
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"And in fact, Science is the same way. We have a darn hard time truly proving anything. But all it takes is one test that doesn't fit to prove an idea wrong."
Um...those two things sound like exact opposites.
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Re: Re: Re: Mythbusters ballistics
I wish I could edit ...
Myth busting is really the opposite of Theory busting. In the first, you just need some way to demonstrate it can happen. Theory busting only requires one to show there exists at least one way to break it.
Good catch.
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You think they don't have a team of researchers going to their "bookshelves"? What makes your bookshelves so much better than theirs? Sorry, you don't impress.
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Re: Mythbusters ballistics
Most here dont seem to 'get it', all they are doing is the things most young kids would just love to do but cannot or should not do.
It is not intended to be educational, or to adhere to detailed scientific method, they are not producing a "paper" or scientific report, they are just taking what people tell them and trying it out themselves.
They freely admit that they get it wrong all the time, and accept that is a part of the appeal of the show.
It is not ment to be a dry, rigid scientific study, it's "give it a go" and see what happens !!!!
It also appears from the show they are very carefull in ensuring correct safety assesments are carried out.
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If you want to learn something about nature, try science. Try dedicated, patient, dogged persistence. Feynman (more or less): I know how exceedingly difficult it is to know something.
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LoC
http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/1005/twitter.html
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Was the Myth Busted?
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For all the "unscientific" complaints against Mythbusters
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A few details
Second, I suspect the pulled pics and tweets were ordered by the lawyers.
Third, liability. The police make sure that Mythbusters are properly and fully insured for accidents like this, however I I believe that range safety is the responsibility of the police. They would have had to sign off before that cannon was even loaded. I see a few new yachts in some lawyers futures as they figure out who is to blame for what.
Thankfully no one was hurt. I hope, once all the liability stuff is squared away that Mythbusters broadcasts this. It could be "Mythbusters greatest Mythasters!" :)
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Re: A few details
Maybe one of their slow-mo cameras was pointed in the right direction, though.
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Don't try this near homes : Re: A few details
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Re: A few details
Since the range was there first, there will likely be a quick settlement with an NDA.
(While IANAL yet, I did just finish property law)
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I work around sewage treatment plants sometimes. When they get odor complaints my first question is - "was the plant there before they purchased the property?" If no then they may complain.
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Because you've never gotten laid in the afternoon
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Re: 4:15 pm
"Really? That's the part of the story that makes you say hmmm? The fact that reportedly a 6-inch cannonball fired from a homemade cannon busts through a cinder-block wall, then bounces off a hillside, then flies 700 yards and bounces again, then goes through a front door, bounces up a stairway and into a bedroom where it proceeds to bust through a stucco wall, and after all that, still had enough energy to fly over to a neighboring house hitting its roof and destroying a few roof tiles, crosses a six lane highway (still in the air, presumably) over into another neighborhood and crashes into a parked minivan shattering its windshield and destroying its dashboard is all copacetic with you, but taking a nap in the afternoon makes the story hard to believe?"
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"But, of course, you can't delete anything online... So, the photos & tweets have been preserved."
I guess there are a number of questions here. What are the liability dangers of posting pictures before performing a test with a negligible failure rate on a controlled course? Does it look worse to leave the pictures up, or take them down after the accident? Etc., etc.
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Boom!
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Re: Boom!
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Not plausible
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Re: Not plausible
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Re: Not plausible
Oh wait...
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Re: Not plausible
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Re: Not plausible
http://wikimapia.org/8706724/Alameda-County-Bomb-Disposal-Range
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Re: Looks like someone has been drinking the Rush Kool-Aid
Now the insurance industry has managed to brainwash a significant percentage of 'men on the street' to believe that such accidents are nobody's fault, forcing homeowners to sue in order to get their damages paid for.
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I love Myth Busters.... But....
In one episode you could see Adam and Jamie seething with anger after "the kids" built a device in some sort of hanger that nearly killed them. After that episode it's been rare to see Adam and Jamie on the set when the "kids" were doing something explosives related.
This is just my impression - maybe wrongly.
**********
I also have a beef with Adam and Jamie. Those who watch and dare I say worship them, are the Makers and Geeks of the DIY / Open Source / Open Hardware / Open Data movement. They seem to be insulated from this fact, and I think it's sad.
-CF
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Re: I love Myth Busters.... But....
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Never been a fan of these two fakes...
More often than not, their shoddy 'science' doesn't prove or disprove anything, other than the desperation middle-American television viewers have in convincing themselves that they are watching something educational.
This doesn't seem to stop them from announcing in big bold letters, of type you might see in demolition derby or pawn shop, that this or that myth has been 'busted'
My father always told me, never trust a man with a mustache, and I'm not sure if Goatee's count, but I'm pretty sure they do in the case of these two hucksters.
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Re: Never been a fan of these two fakes...
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The myth they need to test
The myth they need to test, literally, not just figuratively for the hundredth time: is it really possible for a water-skier to leap over a large aquatic predator with a prominent dorsal fin?
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Re: The myth they need to test
Sharks don't breach anywhere near as well as orca's do. ;-)
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What Shark?
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those were 'happy days' !!!!
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Myth Busted!
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Source: https://www.xkcd.com/987/
There is some sort of correlation between Mythbusters and the XKCD today.
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Kinda hard to be totally insured against a negligent death - I wouldn't settle for whatever the insurance company wanted, if someone in my family was killed.. heh
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Re:
Um, no one was killed, and no one has shown that any negligence has occurred.
No one can insure against negligence, just as you cannot insure yourself for murder.
If the took all reasonable precausions, and it appears safety is a high prioity on the show, then it would not be a case of 'willfull' negligence.
They would be insured against public liability, that means if for some reason, even through the appropriate safety proceedures were followed, then the victim can claim against that public liability insurance.
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Well, to be fair...
I suspect that the pictures were removed simply to avoid the bad PR of "look - they're celebrating and showing off when someone could have been killed" reactions. Again, they were taking responsibility all night long (and into today, as they retweeted earlier messages) via written tweets.
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That CBS video you linked is gone
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Mythbusters Crew Accidentally Fire Cannonball Through Suburban Neighborhood
It was no accident, I am absolutely sure that they had every intension to fire the cannonball, the accident was what occurred after the cannon was deliberately fired.
@wesmorgan1
Correct, clearly they are not trying to cover it up, removing those pictures was simply something that should have been done, for the reason of good taste, and to not as you say try to profit off what was an unfortunate accident.
But mythbusters did not accidently fire the cannon, that was deliberate.
Good on em, for being honest and trying to make amends for this.
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Re: Mythbusters Crew Accidentally Fire Cannonball Through Suburban Neighborhood
It was no accident, I am absolutely sure that they had every intension to fire the cannonball, the accident was what occurred after the cannon was deliberately fired.
"State Department suspects Iran is developing nuclear weapons"
They don't suspect, they know Iran is! I mean, it clearly exists, we have satellite photos of it.
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Re: Re: Mythbusters Crew Accidentally Fire Cannonball Through Suburban Neighborhood
It's funny they had pictures, and all sorts of people saying what they were.
But when they got there, and actually LOOKED, what did they find ??
Freaking NOTHING... you believe everything your Government tells you ??...
How sad for you..
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Re: Re: Mythbusters Crew Accidentally Fire Cannonball Through Suburban Neighborhood
Did I say "suspect", all I was saying that the act of firing the canon was a deliberate action.
What happend AFTER the canon was fired was an accident.
Who said anything about "suspecting" something ??
Talk about missing the point completely.. !!!!
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Re: Re: Re: Mythbusters Crew Accidentally Fire Cannonball Through Suburban Neighborhood
Hm, I guess I have to explain in more detail. In my made-up headline, the word "suspect" applies to "Iran is developing nuclear weapons". If you mistakenly try to apply the word to a portion of the headline, such as "State Department suspects Iran is", it no longer makes sense.
In the Mythbusters story, the word "accidentally" applies to "fire cannonball through suburban neighborhood". If you mistakenly try to apply the word to only a portion of the headline, such as "accidentally fire cannonball", it doesn't make sense.
Obviously they meant to fire the cannonball, but there is no reason to point that out because the headline didn't say they accidentally fired a cannonball. It said they accidentally fired a cannonball through a suburban neighborhood.
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