07x04 - Banana Slip/Double Dip

[bunniefuu]

Remember, do not try anything
you are about to see at home.

Ohh!

NARRATOR: On this salivating
episode of "Mythbusters"...

Burn!

NARRATOR:
...Adam and Jamie regurgitate

a "Seinfeld" classic.

I'm sorry.

NARRATOR: Is double dipping
really germ warfare?

[ Gagging ]

Plus, they're falling
over themselves...

[ Ding ]

...finding out if a banana peel

is a guaranteed
slapstick wipeout.

I've never seen him like that.

NARRATOR:
Meanwhile, Kari, Grant, and Tory

have a blast...

That was awesome!

NARRATOR:... and cook up trouble
as they tackle the myth

of homemade diamonds.

I'm gonna be rich!

NARRATOR:
So prepare yourselves.

-There's thrills...
-Aghh!

NARRATOR:... spills...

and the biggest expl*si*n
in "Mythbusters" history.

Who are the Mythbusters?

Adam Savage...

Oh, check out
my new bulletproof vest, man!

NARRATOR:
...and Jamie Hyneman.

I usually don't let
people do that.

NARRATOR:
Between them, more than 30 years

of special-effects experience.

I'm not gonna get tired of that.

NARRATOR:
Joining them...

...Grant Imahara...

-You beauty!
-NARRATOR:... Tory Belleci...

-[ Glass shatters, alarm wails ]
-Ugh!

NARRATOR:
...and Kari Byron.

Bustin' out of here, see?

NARRATOR:
They don't just tell the myths.

They put them to the test.

Dare I ask
why we're juggling bananas?

It's because of one of the
oldest gags in slapstick comedy

that we're gonna test --

that every banana peel
left on the ground

equals someone walking up to it

and slipping and falling
flat on their keister.

The old slipping-
on-a-banana-peel routine.

Exactly.

NARRATOR:
According to the laws of comedy,

a discarded banana peel
is an unavoidable fall magnet.

But is the peel really
a guaranteed guffaw,

or is it a load of shtick?

-Such a lovely display.
-Thank you.

Where do you think
we should start?

I'm gonna go out on a limb here

and say I think
we should peel one of these,

put it out on the floor,
try slipping on it.

No need
to overcomplicate things.

-Let's go.
-All right.

[ Pbht! ]

NARRATOR:
So, to find out if a banana peel

can topple the Hyneman,

Jamie slips into something
more comfortable,

while Adam checks his insurance.

Yes.
No, one banana.

Only one --
I'm just gonna place one banana.

Yeah, he'll be blindfolded.

Well, it's just to see
if he's gonna slip.

You know, if one banana
equals one person slipping.

Yeah, exactly.
Okay.

I'll see you after it's done.

NARRATOR:
That's the plan,

and a blindfolded Jamie
won't be able to see the peel,

meaning gravity can take
its hilarious revenge.

You're just gonna take
a leisurely walk forward.

All right, stop.

NARRATOR:
But unlike in the movies,

Jamie's not hitting his mark...

...until finally...

bingo.

You stepped right on it.
Nothing happened.

NARRATOR:
And that's not quite the result

the guys were expecting.

So, I could feel the banana peel
when I finally stepped on it,

but, you know,
you feel something like that,

you compensate for it.

At no time did I feel
like I was gonna lose it

and all of a sudden
end up on my butt.

NARRATOR: The Hyneman
may be stealthy enough

to avoid one peel,

but surely
there's no escaping a fall now.

[ British accent ]
This gauntlet of banana peels

with their leathery tops
and their slippery bottoms

is a virtual lethal gauntlet
of slipping and falling.

Le's see how the Hyneman does.

[ Normal voice ]
Go for it.

NARRATOR:
But gauntlet or no gauntlet,

Jamie remains unfazed.

I think what I need to do
from here

is actually move quickly enough

that it doesn't matter whether
I know it's coming or not.

If I slip, I'm gonna fall.

NARRATOR: And even at full
speed, there's still no banana.

Good job.
Ohh!

It's not looking good
for this myth.

-Can I take this off now?
-Yes, you can.

That's better.

Your mustache is all funky.

That's better.

Well, one banana, no slip.

10 bananas, little bit of slip.

Nothing spectacular,
even when running.

So I think we need to do
some testing,

and find out just how slippery
these things actually are

when compared
to other "slippery" things.

NARRATOR: And that means
it's time to get scientific.

ADAM:
There's two kinds of friction

we want to look at here.

One is called static friction,

and that's from a stop
to a start.

There's a secondary one which
is dynamic, or kinetic friction,

which is how much resistance
the banana peel has to moving,

while it's moving.

And I'm gonna build some rigs
to test both

and compare banana peels
to some other slippery things.

NARRATOR:
Let's get this straight.

When you slip on a peel,

there are two types of friction
in play.

First is the static friction,

which the banana peel
must overcome to start moving.

And then, once in motion,

kinetic friction is the peel's
resistance to sliding.

And first,
to test static friction,

Adam's whipped up
just the thing.

Let's start with this shoe
and 4 pounds of weight in it,

and see what
its static-friction angle is.

Okay.

10.

20.

45.

ADAM:
45 degrees for the shoe.

NARRATOR:
That's the control.

And with a banana peel?

JAMIE: 10.

15.

There it is.

Yep, 15 degrees.

NARRATOR: So the peel cuts
the static friction

by a factor of three.

What's slicker
than a banana peel?

Well, I happen to have

some animal birthing agent
laying around.

[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR: By comparing them
with this super-slick lube,

the boys can work out
where the banana peels sit

on the, uh, slipperiness scale.

ADAM: Okay.

JAMIE: 5, 10...

15...

.. .20.

I was gonna stop it,
but I didn't want to touch it.

NARRATOR: The physics of this
slapstick myth are looking good.

Surprisingly, the static
friction of the banana peel

is lower than the lube.

However, there's one more thing
to test,

and that's the kinetic friction.

This is a device
for measuring just that --

the amount of force it takes
to pull it

once you've overcome
the static friction.

NARRATOR: Once again,
the shoe is their baseline.

Jamie gives it a, uh, nudge
to get it moving.

I'd call it about 14 pounds.

That looks about right to me.

NARRATOR: But with the banana
peel, that number halves.

7 pounds.

[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
Finally, it's the slippery lube.

ADAM:
That is nasty.

-And... go.
-ADAM: Go for it.

That was consistently 5
across the whole thing.

NARRATOR:
So that takes care of the data.

But what does it all mean?

ADAM: The banana peel is not the
slipperiest thing we could find.

We found some lubricant
that's actually slipperier,

but the banana peel
did respectably.

However, I don't feel like
we can call this one

until we can test it full size,
of course.

JAMIE:
Where do we go from here?

Well, you know, it's funny.

With all the testing
we've done so far,

we still have yet
to see anyone slip.

What you're saying is, somebody
need to fall on their a*s.

Absolutely. But we're gonna need
some more bananas.

Lots more bananas.

-Yeah.
-[ Chuckles ]

What's up with the bling?

[ Slurred ]
We just robbed a jewelry store!

-Yeah!
-Yeah!

No, just kidding.
It's for our next myth.

Okay, why?

[ Normal voice ]
Because we're trying to find out

if you can make diamonds.

Aren't there companies
that already do that?

Yeah, but they're like
million-dollar machines.

We're gonna do this different.

We want to see if you can make
diamonds on your own,

in the comfort of your own home.

Okay, so homemade diamonds.

Oh, yeah. There's all
these schemes on the Internet

where you can make 'em
in your own kitchen,

you don't need
any of these fancy machines.

And in the end,
you get diamonds.

Yeah, we have
three different techniques.

One is using peanut butter
and a microwave,

another one is using
molten iron,

and then finally we got one
from the TV show "CSI,"

and you use nothing but graphite
and a pressure cooker.

Okay, let's put 'em to the test.

You know, if this works,
in the end,

we could be millionaires.

-Yeah!
-Yeah!

NARRATOR: The traditional way of
getting your hands on a diamond

used to be either mining
or marriage.

[ Woman sighs, smooching ]

But modern science has brought
us synthetic diamonds,

created in labs using
multimillion-dollar technology.

However, according to this myth,

you can make
your own precious gems,

all from the comfort
of your own home.

Okay, well,
there are three recipes,

so why don't we each
take a technique

and have a little competition?

Okay, well, in that case,
let's make it winner takes all.

Whoever makes the most diamonds
with the greatest value

keeps everything.

I like a good competition.

I'm gonna put my hand up
for peanut butter.

All right, well, I'll
investigate the "CSI" method.

Well, I guess that leaves me
with the iron and graphite.

But watch out, 'cause I'm gonna
blow you away with my bling.

Oh, yeah?

Well, I guess the proof...

...is in the pudding.

NARRATOR:
Tory's come over all "CSI,"

which is apt, given that
this myth will have m*rder...

-KARI: Dead.
-Burn!

NARRATOR:
...double dealing...

...plenty of shocks...

Uhh!

NARRATOR:... and the mother
of all cl*max.

"CSI: Miami"
makes it look so easy.

According to the crime lab,
all you need is pure graphite,

a ceramic box,
some mysterious chemicals,

and a pressure cooker.

Then, after three days,
hey, presto.

But is this technique...

It's like nature,
only a million times faster.

NARRATOR:
...or is it like science,

only a million times fabricated?

For an expert opinion,
Tory heads to U.C. Berkeley

to see Dr. Michael Franklock.

So, if I was gonna do this,

what kind of chemicals
do you think I should use?

Metals like nickel,
cobalt, and iron,

so I would advise you
to start from one of those,

and it should be salt
in its active form.

You still need to add
some initial seeds,

initial -- some small diamonds.

So you need a little piece
of diamond to start the diamond?

If you already start
with a little seed,

even of poor quality,
it can grow and get bigger.

NARRATOR:
Dr. Franklock's advice

has given Tory
the competitive edge,

and while he's off to gather
his "CSI" supplies...

TORY:
That is the pressure pot.

NARRATOR:
...Kari weighs in with a recipe

that puts the nuts
into peanut butter.

KARI: To turn ordinary
peanut butter into diamonds,

there's a very simple recipe
all over the Internet.

You take
two charcoal briquettes,

you cover them with 4 ounces
of peanut butter,

put them
in a microwave-safe dish,

and then you microwave them
for 60 minutes

in 1 0-minute increments.

NARRATOR:
Sounds crazy,

but according
to these Internet hipsters...

You want to take about
4 ounces of peanut butter.

NARRATOR:
...all that stands between you

and millions of dollars
is a microwave.

Still, unsurprisingly,

after just five minutes on high,
things go up in smoke.

KARI: Looks like I'll be getting
some more glassware

and trying this again,
because I want my diamonds!

NARRATOR:
Eventually, three attempts,

three dishes,
and two microwaves later,

Kari has her alleged
diamonds in the rough.

KARI: I don't think I see
any diamonds yet.

But we have
one more process to go.

NARRATOR: And that process is
to burn off the excess carbon.

KARI: When they say
diamonds are forever,

they mean they take forever
to create.

NARRATOR: Well, patience
is a virtue, but does it pay?

Maybe the diamonds
are microscopic,

but they're supposed
to be the size of fennel seeds.

I'm not seeing them so far.

I am seeing a lot
of burnt peanut butter.

NARRATOR: Still, Kari's not
out of the contest yet.

She can't tell the diamonds
from the dirt,

but maybe an expert can.

MAN: [ Laughs ]

NARRATOR: Everyone knows monkeys
go ape for bananas.

They're a delicious treat
for primates and people alike.

But in slapstick comedy,

the banana serves
a more sinister purpose.

But while you can lead a Hyneman
to a banana skin,

you can't make him fall.

So now the boys
are upping the ante

on this banana-peel myth.

We expect that we're gonna be
falling down a lot.

So with that in mind,

we're building a special floor
so we don't hurt ourselves.

And this is what it's made of.

ADAM: These springy tires
are layer one

of our sprung floor.

All this wood right here
is layer two.

And this linoleum here --
This is layer three.

NARRATOR:
The boys have busted their gut,

and now they have the perfect
venue for busting their butt.

This may look like
a completed sprung floor,

but, in fact,
it's missing one element,

which is banana peels.

Hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds of banana peels.

We're gonna lay them out here

like an obstacle course
of comedy death,

and then we're gonna run
a little like this.

-Goal!
-NARRATOR: That's right.

They're throwing
this banana-peel myth

one last lifeline,
with the ultimate test.

We've got a truckload full
of bananas,

and we have our rink set up.

Only thing now is that we need
to peel all these bananas,

so we either need a whole lot
of monkeys or some volunteers.

NARRATOR: Well, the monkeys
had a prior engagement,

so the guys settle
for the volunteers.

I'm gonna place eight
of these cones on the rink,

each one with a raw egg on top.

Our task will be to gather up
all eight raw eggs

running back and forth, back
and forth, back and forth

as fast as we can without --
I can't break this egg!

[ Laughs ]

And when we're all done,

we ring the bell,
and that stops the timer.

NARRATOR:
With the rink now full...

...Jamie's keister
is well padded,

as this test should give
the peels the best chance

to redeem
their slapstick reputation.

But if he doesn't fall
on his butt,

then this myth is busted.

Okay, banana-peel speed test.

Are you ready?

[ Ding ]

[ Laughs ]
5 seconds!

10 seconds.

15 seconds.

He's not falling down.

NARRATOR:
He's done it again.

Jamie's gravity-defying powers
are spooky.

[ Ding ]

ADAM:
40 seconds!

Nicely done.

Of course this test
isn't about Adam and I racing.

It's about how slippery
banana peels are.

And they are.

I had to be really, really
careful not to slide,

and even then,
I slid quite a bit.

NARRATOR: But that caution
invalidated Jamie's test,

because according
to the laws of comedy,

he shouldn't be expecting
to fall.

So for a repeat performance,
he takes off the brakes.

JAMIE:
Okay, Jamie on turbo.

[ Ding ]

NARRATOR:
At long last,

the banana peels
take their revenge...

And although he valiantly
attempts to recover...

[ Laughs ]

Go, go, go!
29 seconds!

You can still beat your time!

JAMIE: [ Laughs ]

ADAM: 37.

NARRATOR:... he just can't
overcome the giggles.

I've never seen him like that.

NARRATOR: And with no complete
data, it's all down to Adam.

ADAM: Okay, this is
Adam's banana-peel speed test

in 3, 2, 1...

NARRATOR:
And the results...

ADAM: Whoa!
[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
...speak for themselves.

ADAM: Whoa.

Whoa.

[ Laughs ]

-Oh!
-[ Crash! ]

[ Laughs ]
Hurry up!

[ Ding ]

52.2 seconds.

That was so much fun!

NARRATOR: That's six falls
in less than a minute,

which means that this myth
is back in plausible territory.

The real question is, how
do they compare against, like,

the ultimate slipperiness?

And that's pretty much what
the next test is all about.

NARRATOR:
Planet Earth is a violent place,

and, deep below ground,
it gets worse.

Here, immense heat and pressure

transform carbon
into a girl's best friend.

But perhaps that's not
the only way to make diamonds.

Well, the Mythbusters
are competing to find out.

Kari's chances appear slim.

I don't think I see
any diamonds yet.

NARRATOR:
But Tory's done his research,

and he now has a solid lead

on that annoyingly vague
"CSI" recipe.

Now, I have everything I need
to start making diamonds.

First, I have
my pressure cooker.

I have my ingredients.

I have my hunk of graphite.

The chemical that I'm gonna use
is ferric nitrate.

What I'm gonna do is stick this
and that in this,

put it in that.

NARRATOR: And that's as specific
as it gets.

But let's not forget
the most important ingredient --

a diamond seed.

Without it, this recipe
has no chance of working.

For, uh, safety,
Tory rigs a stun g*n...

It's been a while
since we used one of these,

and I kind of forget
what it feels like.

-[ Buzzes ]
-Aghh!

NARRATOR:... and lights the gas
from outside the bunker.

TORY: I'll leave it there
for three days,

and then at the end of that,

check and see if I've made
any diamonds.

NARRATOR:
And while Tory waits,

Grant's off to the blacksmith
for his shot at diamonds.

So, to execute this diamond
recipe, we need to melt iron,

and to do that,
you need a foundry.

We don't have a foundry
at Mythbusters,

but we've come to a place
that does have a foundry,

the Crucible.

NARRATOR: Supposedly this recipe
replicates the heat and pressure

that make natural diamonds.

All you need to do is melt
graphite into molten iron

and quench the mixture.

Then just dissolve the iron
in acid, and voilà!

Your very own
sparkling gemstones.

So to get this recipe fired up,

Grant enlists master smelter,
Nick DiPhillipo.

GRANT:
All right.

-Here you go.
-Thank you.

NARRATOR: The graphite and iron
go into the furnace,

to be heated to 2,500 degrees.

Burn! Burn!

Make me diamonds!

[ Laughs evilly ]

NARRATOR:
And at that heat,

Grant's stretching the rules

of the homemade-diamonds contest
just a touch.

But after 20 minutes,
it's the moment of truth.

So, this is it.
Now the pour, right?

Yep, here we go.

There's the iron.

NARRATOR:
As the iron hits the water,

the contraction of the metal

should apparently
be forming diamonds.

And after waiting
for the iron to cool,

it's time to harvest the spoils.

I'm rich!
I'm gonna be rich!

Finally this gig's
really paying off.

NARRATOR: Okay, Grant
could be onto a winner,

so, booty in tow, he heads home
to iron out the details.

The idea is that at this point,

your diamonds
have already been made.

It's just that they're encased
in this iron,

and you have to get the iron off
in order to get the diamonds.

NARRATOR: And Grant's
not just outside for the view.

The iron stripper

is super-concentrated
hydrochloric acid.

But first impressions
are a little disappointing.

There's bubbles aplenty,
but not a glimmer of glitz.

Right now, it looks
like a roiling soup

of butternut squash,
but not quite that appetizing.

There's got to be a fortune
in there somewhere.

NARRATOR: Well, Grant,
anything's possible.

So, I've let my iron dissolve
overnight in the acid,

and now it's time
to harvest my diamonds.

NARRATOR:
Grant neutralizes the acid,

but the results are low
on sparkle.

I think what we're gonna have
to do is take this somewhere

where they can see if there's
a diamond hidden somewhere...

...in the rough.

NARRATOR: If they're in there,
they're hidden well.

The Mythbusters are tackling
the slapstick favorite --

slipping on a banana peel.

ADAM: 37.
Come on!

NARRATOR: And while the skins
certainly are slippery,

the fun ain't over yet.

Whoa!

We wanted to compare
the slipperiness of bananas

to something that was
ultimately slippery,

and we went looking,
and we found this lubricant.

It's used to help animals
give birth.

We're gonna spread it out
on this field,

and hilarity will ensue.

NARRATOR: By comparing the peels
to the ultraslick lube,

the guys can find out
just how slippery

a banana peel really is.

Okay, commencing the slime.

NARRATOR: After a quick squirt,
the rink is ready for testing,

and by now,
well, you know the drill.

JAMIE:
Superduper lube, starting.

Come on, now

And scream

NARRATOR: And it's a hop,
a skid, and a thud

till the lube takes Jamie out.

ADAM: [ Laughs ]

Come on, get up, get up,
get up! 37 seconds!

Oh!

[ Boing! ]

ADAM: [ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
That's only two falls for Jamie,

but since he didn't
finish bananas,

it's down to Adam
for the final test.

-Be careful, little buddy.
-Okay.

In 3, 2, 1...

[ Ding ]

Whoa!
Cheese and crow!

It's like ice skating!
Whoa!

[ Both laugh ]

I have almost no control.

JAMIE:
22 seconds.

[Bleep] [ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
That's fall number one,

and I think the tally
should take it from here.

Oh! Ooh!

[ Boing! ]

[ Ding ]

What was my time?

1 minute, 20 seconds.

That was no faking, man.

It gets worse
the farther you go.

[ Laughs ]

NARRATOR:
Clearly, with two more tumbles

and an extra 30 seconds
on the clock,

falling down with the lube
was practically compulsory.

If I had to give it a rating,
I'd call our birthing agent a 9.

I could conceive
of something more slippery,

like a field of roller skates,

but within that, I'd say
that bananas were easily a 6.

So, how do you want to call
this one?

Well, what exactly was the myth
we started out with?

Okay, according
to the laws of comedy,

the myth is that one banana peel
plus one person

equals one person on their butt.

Well, then we'd have
to call it busted,

because a banana peel
was definitely not a guarantee

that you were gonna fall.

But I do have to say
that with their leathery top

and that permanently
lubricated underside,

they're perfect for slipping on.

I'd say this is busted,
but only just.

Agreed.

NARRATOR: The "Banana-Peel Flip"
may be busted,

but the guys are taking a bite
out of something else.

I've got a good one.

-Yeah, what's that?
-Double dipping.

Oh, that you can't dip, bite,
and dip in a second time

-like in "Seinfeld."
-Exactly.

The myth's been around
for a lot longer than that,

but "Seinfeld" popularized it.

If I remember correctly,
when George is accused

of double dipping,

the guy tells him that dipping,
biting, and dipping again

is akin to putting his whole
mouth in the bowl of dip.

NARRATOR:
It's a classic "Seinfeld" moment

that the fans
have begged us to test.

An unwitting George

-finds himself...
-What are you doing?

NARRATOR:... breaking
dip-dunking etiquette.

What?

Did -- Did you just
double dip that chip?

-Excuse me?
-You double dipped the chip!

NARRATOR: By dipping the chip
twice, supposedly...

That's like putting your
whole mouth right in the dip!

NARRATOR:
Is this bacterial baloney,

or is there something
to this "Seinfeld" saga?

Just take one dip and end it!

NARRATOR: The theory is
that double dipping

transfers microbes
from your mouth into the dip

and then on to other people.

But can the germs
inside your mouth

really hitch a ride
on your chip of choice?

So, what's your plan
on this one?

Well, we've got some chips,
we've got some dip,

and I think it's time to
bring back our old friends,

the petri dishes.

So, we'll do a control.
we'll do double dipping.

Then we've got to put
our whole mouths in the bowl.

We'll get separate bowls.

-You want separate bowls?
-Yeah.

Okay.

NARRATOR:
Separate bowls, it is.

And with a bunch
of soy agar petri dishes

primed for bacterial growth,

it's time to double dip
for science.

We've got two kinds of dip --

a cream-based dip, a salsa-based
dip, and a bowlful of chips.

Let me tell you how we're
gonna do this experiment.

First, before we touch anything,
we're going to stick a swab

in each of these kinds of dips

and put them on an agar plate
and try and culture them.

That's our control.

Then we're gonna double dip
in these dips.

Dip, bite, dip again.

Once we've done that,
we're gonna culture them again

and see if we've added
any bacteria.

But the story
includes a third wrinkle,

in which the guy says
that double dipping

is like putting your whole mouth
into the bowl.

So we're gonna do that.

We're gonna take as much of the
dip in our mouths as possible.

It's gonna be really gross.

we're gonna spit it back out,

and we're gonna culture it
one last time

and see if that's equivalent
to double dipping.

NARRATOR:
And it really is that simple.

With each Mythbuster
swabbing three experiments,

they're ready to incubate.

ADAM: Perfect.
It's right around 98 degrees.

So we want it right about the
same as the human body, huh?

Yeah.
For roughly a day.

We'll come back tomorrow
and check it out.

Okay.

NARRATOR: And thanks
to the wonders of editing...

...time's up
for the breeding bacteria.

The biohazards are ready
for their close-up.

But there's a problem.

That's the control.

And there's already bacteria
in the salsa.

NARRATOR: They check
all the salsa-only controls,

and every one
tells the same story.

Even with no human saliva,

the dips are already brimming
with bugs.

Clearly, we are going to need to
do this test again

and remove some variables.

NARRATOR: Yep, with the controls
showing more bacterial growth

than Adam's feet, the boys
are going to need a plan "B".

The Mythbusters
are battling it out

making homegrown diamonds,

and, so far, their crusade
is a little short on bling.

There's got to be a fortune
in there somewhere.

NARRATOR:
But Tory's not finished yet.

His "CSI" recipe was simple --

just graphite and chemicals
inside a pressure cooker,

and in three days,
he'll have a rock.

So, was it a recipe for success?

All right,
so it's been three days,

and now it's time
to check my diamonds.

The real question is, what am
I gonna do with all my money

once I start my diamond company?

NARRATOR: I wouldn't count
your diamonds just yet, Tory.

Oh, my gosh!

The graphite has not turned
into a diamond.

Looks like my diamond business
is not going so well.

NARRATOR: Which means there's
no clear homegrown winner.

So, for an expert adjudication,

the team heads to U.C. Berkeley
to see Dr. Kent Ross

and his electron microscope.

First up is Grant's
iron and graphite.

Nothing that I'm seeing
now has a shape

that says
this has to be a diamond.

NARRATOR:
Grant's out of contention.

So next is Kari's
peanut-butter dirt.

Charcoal.
You've got charcoal.

NARRATOR: Which leaves only Tory
and his diamond seed.

DR. ROSS: The straight edges
from the cut faces

are still perfectly smooth.

It's just like it was when you
started your experiment.

NARRATOR: There's been
no growth whatsoever,

and that's game over --
no diamonds, nobody wins.

But where does that leave
the myth?

So, we all tried
making diamonds,

and we all failed miserably.

Yeah, I think it's safe to say

that all of these recipes
are busted.

-Totally busted.
-But you know what?

Our researchers
have come up with someone

who can make diamonds
in a Mythbuster way.

-Cool.
-You guys remember Van Romero?

From New Mexico Tech.

He says he can make
synthetic diamonds,

and he wants to show us how.

Awesome.
What are we waiting for?

NARRATOR:
So, for a proper chance

at making some bona fide bling,

the Mythbusters head
to New Mexico Institute

of Mining and Technology
to meet Dr. Van Romero.

Van, we heard you know
how to make diamonds.

You've come to the right place.

Here at New Mexico Tech,

we do applied research,
and we do industrial research.

And part
of that industrial research

-is actually making diamonds.
-GRANT: All right, well...

cut to the chase.

Tell us how to do it.

You know what,
instead of telling you how,

let's show you how to do it.

-Even better.
-Okay!

Let's go do it.

NARRATOR: Step one
of Van's mysterious method

involves driving
into the middle of nowhere.

Step two involves arriving
at an almighty bunker.

And as for step three,
well, Tory's one step ahead.

Considering we're standing
outside of a bunker,

my feeling is it probably
involves expl*sives,

which is never a bad thing.

NARRATOR:
Tory's got it in one.

Van the Man reckons he can
make bling with a boom.

And not just any boom,

but the biggest boom
in Mythbusters history.

NARRATOR:
In "Blackpowder Shark"...

KARI:... 1.

[ All screaming ]

NARRATOR:
.. .400 pounds of expl*sives

turned Hugo into Hu-Gone.

In "22,000 Foot Fall"...

.. .500 pounds made
a train station turn torpedo.

And in "Cement Mix Up"...

.. .800 pounds made
a truck take flight.

But all will be eclipsed
right here, right now.

Because at ground zero,
500 yards from the bunker,

Van's team are packing
a 20-foot-high wooden tube

with 5,000 pounds
of high expl*sives.

But can a bang this big
really create diamonds?

Okay, you guys ready to make
some diamonds?

Yeah!

MAN:
Fire in the hole!

NARRATOR:
Strap yourself in.

This one's going to be gigantic.

Charging.. .5, 4, 3, 2, 1,

zero.

TORY: Oh!

Ha ha!

That was awesome!

NARRATOR:
With over 10 times the might

of any other Mythbusters boom...

...it sure was a blast.

But did it germinate
any gemstones?

The Mythbusters are getting
all bacteriological,

as they probe a "Seinfeld"
double-dipping dilemma.

But thanks to masses
of microbes,

their first test was ruined.

So this time, the boys
are taking precautions.

We need to do
what we normally do,

which is start
eliminating variables,

and then get back in there
and do the test.

So, sterile salsa,
sterile chips, clean space,

rubber gloves, surgical masks.

The only variable
being our saliva?

Exactly.

Perfect.
Let's do it.

NARRATOR: So Adam starts
with the chip sterilization,

heading to NUTEK Corporation
to have them irradiated.

Will these be safe to eat
after that?

Oh, sure.
They might taste a little funny.

But they'll be totally safe
to eat.

Okay, great.

NARRATOR: Funny-tasting,
and more importantly, sterile.

Friends and family of bacteria
may want to look away now,

because 2.5 million rads
of radiation

is about to be unleashed.

That is so much cooler
than I thought it would be.

I mean, I can see this beam
coming down,

like an anvil crushing bacteria
in its wake,

electrons scattering
little bacteriological lives

to the winds.

NARRATOR:
Uncharacteristically,

Adam is enjoying this
far too much,

and soon enough...

There you have it. One set
of totally sterile chips.

NARRATOR:
Meanwhile, back at the shop,

Jamie's also getting sterile
for science.

He first builds
a clean room for the test

and then conjures up
some decontaminated dip.

Two parts agar,
one part sterilized water,

and voilà.

JAMIE:
Well, okay, then.

I think that kind of looks like

as close to salsa
as we're gonna get.

NARRATOR: To make sure
the test runs smoothly,

the boys have Dr. Russell Vance,
an expert in pathogenesis.

He's the guy in the middle.

What's first?

NARRATOR: That would be
the salsa-only control.

Using much more
sophisticated equipment

than those earlier swabs,

Dr. Vance prepares
the petri dishes.

What now?

Now is double dipping,

except this time with
the fully irradiated chips.

Okay, here we go.

NARRATOR:
Once the infamous double dip...

...has been, uh,
double dipped...

...the salsa is sampled
and plated up,

leaving just
the full-mouth test.

All right.
Now for the really gross one.

NARRATOR: And, once again,
it's delightful... to watch.

ADAM: Ugh!

It's almost worse watching you
do it than doing it myself.

NARRATOR:
That's experiment over.

Dr. Vance plates
the full-mouth tests,

and they join the double-dipped
and control plates

in the incubator.

DR. VANCE: Okay,
they're in the incubator.

JAMIE:
Thanks, Dr. Vance.

Now we wait.

NARRATOR:
But not for long.

[ Ding ]

So, for viewers playing at home,
here's what to look for.

The stated myth
is that double dipping

is just as bad as putting your
whole mouth in the bowl of dip,

in terms
of transmitting bacteria to it.

So if this is true,

we would expect to see
the same amount of bacteria

on the double-dipping petri dish

as we would
on the whole-mouth-in-the-bowl

petri dish.

Here we go.

This is my control.

It's clean.

ADAM:
Here's your control.

JAMIE:
It's clean.

Just what we expected to see.

That's a clean start,

meaning Jamie's salsa
was bacteria-free.

So, from here on in,

any microbes can only be
from their saliva.

Here is my double dipping.

JAMIE:
Oh, maybe one.

NARRATOR:
There's one bacterial colony.

And for Jamie...

Oh, maybe three or four or so.

NARRATOR:
But how does that compare

with the whole-mouth results?

Lots.

Tons!
Check out yours.

JAMIE:
Also lots.

About the same.

Well, I guess that tells
the whole story, doesn't it?

It tells the entire story
that we set out to tell.

So, to all those germophobes out
there, I say double dipping --

not such a big deal.

Plenty more bacteria in here

than you are imparting
by double dipping.

And, besides, what the heck's
your immune system for anyway?

NARRATOR: Indeed.

The Mythbusters' attempts
at homemade diamonds

failed miserably.

KARI: Dead!

NARRATOR: So they hunkered
in a bunker to test the tale

that you can use expl*sives
to bring forth some bling.

TORY: Oh!

That was awesome!

NARRATOR: The theory is that the
pressure and heat at ground zero

is so intense, it converts
carbon to diamond in an instant.

So to delve deeper into that
theory, it's back to the lab

so the team can prep
a more manageable

diamond expl*si*n of their own.

So, this is the device
that we're gonna be using.

We're gonna have you guys pack

the special sauce
into the device here.

NARRATOR: This metal tube sits
at the center of the blast.

And in the center of that
is a mixture of graphite,

cobalt, and other chemicals.

The cylinder is placed in the
very center of a wooden barrel,

which is then filled to the brim
with ANFO.

-TORY: Mmm, it smells good.
-GRANT: Yeah.

TORY:
It smells like diamonds!

Now, I know they say diamonds
are a girl's best friend,

but let's face it.

If you're making diamonds
with expl*sives,

I'm starting to warm up
to them myself.

NARRATOR:
It's a win-bling situation,

so the team hunkers
in the bunker once again.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, zero.

NARRATOR: That blast may have
been a wee bit smaller,

but the effect should still be
the same -- diamonds,

apparently.

-TORY: Whoa!
-GRANT: Dude.

That looks in much better shape

than I thought
it was gonna look.

DR. ROMERO: That's what we
wanted. Pressure and heat.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

NARRATOR:
Back at the shop,

it's the moment of truth
as the very myth gets dissected.

Tory's so confident,

he's taking precautions
against bling blindness.

Everybody's happy.

Ready to see our diamonds?

Show me the money.

Perfect! That's great.
Excellent. Good job.

Where's the diamond?

Well, we've got to take it

through a few chemical
processes first.

NARRATOR:
They might not look like much,

but after a quick chemical bath

to remove the excess cobalt
and graphite,

uh, they still don't look
like much.

But these are
definitely diamonds.

Gemstones, no.
Diamonds, yes.

So how much
are these diamonds worth?

-About a quarter.
-TORY: Quarter of a million?

No. 25 cents.

Oh, that was money well spent.

I'm going back to getting
diamonds the old-fashioned way.

NARRATOR: The blast may have
mimicked the pressure and heat

of the earth's core.

But even
with all that expl*sive energy,

the end result is still
only cheap and cheerful

industrial diamonds.

We made diamonds
in a completely spectacular,

totally
impossible-to-do-at-home way,

but still,
all that heat and pressure --

We didn't get gemstones.

Yeah, we made little diamonds.

The kind that you use
in industry.

The kinds that you put on
a drill bit or a saw blade.

Stuff like that.

So the idea
of homemade gemstones --

totally and completely busted.

And like virtually
all get-rich-quick schemes,

this one's bogus.

Don't you guys want to see that
5,000-pound expl*si*n again?

-Absolutely.
-Yeah!

NARRATOR: While the team
may not have made their fortune

with diamond gems...

...they did make
Mythbusters history.