Appliances on Mythbusters: don’t try this at home!

June 15th, 2012

Appliance Talk

Urban legends don’t always stand up to scrutiny, but as Mythbusters has discovered, some can surprise you by turning out to have a grain of truth at their core.

We’ve had a go at busting myths on this blog before, but some myths are best left to the professionals, especially when they involve big, heavy, and valuable appliances.

Here are some appliance-related myths that the team from Mythbusters have investigated over the years, often with explosive results.

Oh, and hopefully we don’t need to remind you, but just in case: DON’T TRY THESE AT HOME.

Killer Washing Machine

Myth: The story goes that a man once tried to overstuff his top-loader washing machine by standing on top of it and stomping down his clothes, only to accidently turn on the spin cycle.  Flailed about by the machine, the man was bludgeoned to death.  Adding insult to injury, some baking soda was knocked over in the chaos, which the man’s dog urinated on, causing it to explode.

Result: The Mythbusters found that a washer’s spin cycle can’t spin a person at the kind of speeds required to cause injury – not unless you were to hook an electric car engine up to the motor (which they did).  What’s more, they found that dog urine does not react with baking soda in any meaningful way.  With these results in hand, they had no problems with declaring this myth not just Busted, but Decimated.

“Basically now I’m about to pour the dog wee on the pile of baking soda, which, if the myth is correct, should cause a small explosion, or, if we’re actually on Earth, will do absolutely bupkis.” – Adam

Still, if you were REALLY worried about this myth coming true for you, maybe you’d be better off with a front-loader.  And keep Fido out of the laundry.

Jet Engine Vacuum

Myth: Can sucking up gasoline turn a vacuum cleaner into a jet engine?

Result: According to the myth, sucking up gasoline with a vacuum can lead to a surprise ignition and blast-off once the material gets into the motor.  However, the Mythbusters found that the engine in a vacuum cleaner is intentionally kept separate from the suction, making this scenario impossible under typical circumstances.

Even custom-converting a vacuum into a jet engine with a lot of ingenuity and mad science didn’t really work for the Mythbusters, with their final explanation being that vacuum cleaners use low pressure to create suction, while jet engines use high pressure to create thrust.  Busted.

“Yeah…there’s probably a bunch of engineers looking at me and going “What the hell is he doing here?!” And, ah…I’ve been asking myself that as well on a moment-by-moment basis…” – Tory, trying to build a jet engine from vacuum cleaner parts

So while Dyson may use jet engine technology in its Hot+Cool fans, it doesn’t really work in vacuums.

Homemade diamonds from the microwave

Myth: By covering charcoal with peanut butter and putting it in the microwave, you can create your own diamonds to become stinking rich.

Result: Trying this trick out, Mythbuster Kari managed to create no diamonds, but did manage to destroy two microwaves.  Busted.

If you for some reason were going to try this at home (hint – don’t), be sure to have a laptop open to Appliances Online handy so you can order a replacement microwave straight away…

Microwaving C-4

Myth: As seen in the film Grosse Point Blank, you can create a massive explosion and get clean away simply by microwaving a block of C-4 for one minute.

Result: Following some experiments at the bomb range, the Mythbusters were only able to create a single explosion of note, which required both a blasting cap and more wiring than was seen in the movie.

What’s more, this bomb went off just a few seconds into the one-minute countdown.  Reasoning that this would leave no time for the assassin to escape such an explosion, the team declared the myth Busted.

Exploding Water Heater

Myth: A water heater can explode like a rocket and shoot through the roof of a house OR effectively act as a cannon.

Result: The Mythbusters team must really like blowing up water heaters, as they’ve done so at least three times – firstly to see if it could be done, secondly to see how many floors of a house it could blow through, and thirdly to see if a water heater could be shot horizontally like a cannon.  In every test, the myth was Confirmed, with the Mythbusters citing real-world incidents as corroborating evidence in addition to their insane experiments.

The water heaters sold by Appliances Online (pictured left) are of a significantly smaller design than the large cylindrical kinds tested by the Mythbusters, so your risk of explosions should be minimal at best.  Even if you’ve got one of the cylindrical style models in your home, water heater manufacturers include a multitude of safeguards to prevent catastrophic failure.  It would take severe neglect or a dedicated effort by a team of pyromaniacs like the Mythbusters to make a water heater go BOOM.

“The water heater shot up so high, you could order a pizza while you wait.” – Rob Lee (narrator)

“House? What house?” – Adam

Gas Canister Rocket

Myth: Similar to the Exploding Water Heater, this myth involves a gas tank from a barbeque igniting during a house fire and shooting through a garage roof like a rocket.

Result: Much like the water heater, barbeque gas canisters include safety features to prevent explosions, but when the team simulated the effects of neglect and aging on a tank (disabling the release valve and adding a rusty hole), the tank did achieve flight, for a limited time.

The conclusion?  Plausible.  Look after your barbeque’s gas tanks!

When Feces Hit the Fan

Myth: Remember that old saying about the… poop hitting the fan?  The Mythbusters decided to put this to the test.

Result: With the help of some artificial feces and an industrial-sized fan, the Mythbusters were able to declare it Plausible that everybody in the vicinity would indeed get covered in… well, you know, under the right conditions.

I’d be interested in seeing the results if they used a bladeless Dyson fan, as long as I didn’t have to smell it…

Bulletproof fridge

Myth: A typical fridge door can protect you from a spray of 9mm gunfire.

Result: Filling a typical fridge with some typical items, the Mythbusters unloaded their firearms into the door, and found that every round went right through everything.

Even a bigger and heavier fridge from the 1950’s (the style emulated by many SMEG fridges), wasn’t immune.  Busted.

While we like to talk about how tough the various fridges we sell are, we’ve never put them through this kind of test.  Next time though, I want to see nukes.

Instant-freeze beer

Myth: A chilled beer can instantly change from a liquid to a frozen solid with a sudden sharp shock.

Result: When the Mythbusters put their beers in the freezer for 2 to 2.5 hours, then slammed them on the table, they got snap-frozen beer.  It took some precision timing, but the myth was Confirmed.

This is one experiment you probably could try at home, with the only real risk being spilled beer (and possibly a broken bottle, if you’re not careful – might want to experiment using plastic bottles to start with).

Science, plus beer, equals good! – Adam

Exploding a home with a toaster and gas oven

Myth: As seen in The Bourne Supremacy, you can create a massive explosion by filling a room with gas from a gas oven, and igniting it with a slow-burning fuse created from a magazine shoved in a toaster.

Result: When the Mythbusters set about recreating the conditions of this myth, they managed to start a few fires by following the movie’s guidelines, but couldn’t create anything close to the inferno seen on-screen, even when they created the most ideal conditions possible.  Busted.