All language subtitles for Mythbusters.S15E02.The.Busters.of.the.Lost.Myths.1080p.AMZN.WEBRip.DD2.0.x264-CasStudio_track3_[eng]

[ Whip cracks ]

[ Ominous music plays ]

[ Triumphant music plays ]

You don't look
anything like him.

I know.

Let's get to work.

Okay.

Captions by vitac...
www.Vitac.Com

captions paid for by
discovery communications

why are you dressed like
my old archaeology professor?

No, no.
I'm dressed as Indiana Jones.

That's him,
Dr. Jones from Indiana.

Anyway, what's the story?

Okay, the story is
there's also a movie

called
"raiders of the lost ark,"

starring a guy named
Indiana Jones.

And we're gonna tackle
some myths from that movie.

First and foremost,
his famous sidearm, the whip.

We're gonna look at some of
the science of indy's whip

and some of the remarkable
things he does with it.

But the opening sequence

of "raiders"
is where we're beginning.

Indy is escaping
from a south American temple

that is attempting to kill him
with all manner of booby traps,

including our first test,

a floor filled
with pressure pads

that shoots
poison darts at indy.

Well, sounds like fun.
Let's get into it.

Okay.

Narrator: In the exhilarating
opening scene

from the iconic
'80s adventure story,

there's a question
to be answered.

By simply running for it,

would indy really have
escaped unharmed?

And, as a massive fan
of the franchise,

Adam's in his element.

We're gonna do this temple run

and really figure out if we
truly can outrun the darts.

We're gonna need to know how
long that run is going to be.

So I'm gonna look at some video,
do some measurements,

and actually work it up
in a little diorama

for little indy Adam here.

You can't tell, but he's totally
psyched about it.

This kind of work
is something i used to do

all the time
in the film industry.

It's all comin' together.

In the film industry,

it's often used as a
previsualization technique.

[ Laughs ]

Now I'm just havin' fun.

Like, i will mock up a set
in foam core,

just so i understand
all of its dimensions

before building it in the actual
materials it'll be built in.

Got hot glue threads on my face.

Ugh, aah.

Seeing something
in that white space,

for some reason, to me it's
deeply, deeply satisfying.

I put my head down and i can
see what it looks like

from different angles.

It's like I'm building
a playground for my brain.

I've actually also learned
a few things.

I have carefully checked
screenshots of Harrison Ford

against many parts of the set.

Knowing how tall he is,

i have determined the dart pads
are about 40 inches long,

and that that room
is about 30 feet long.

If it's 30 feet long,

and the dart pads are the size
they are,

Harrison Ford, indy,

will encounter at least 16
of those pads,

likely setting off 16 darts.

That's how many
he's gotta outrun.

That's how many
we're gonna set up.

You notice that i managed to
keep the label of the pipe

facing the thing,
so you really see 450 psi.

That's really shattering
the illusion.

In the temple run,
indy gets shot at

by Mayan poison darts.

But because these are
potentially lethal,

I'm gonna do the same thing
using paintballs.

14.

You know,
i buy this crap salvaged.

But who knew
that 14 wasn't enough?

I need 16.

And so it's my job to figure out
how to put together...

Nope.

A 16-gun,
pressure pad-operated

paintball gun array.

I think those will work.

This item right here
is a solenoid switch.

The wire gives power
to an electromagnet,

which opens the flow of air.

[ Air hisses ]

These kinds of things are how

we can fire pneumatic
projectiles on cue.

[ Chuckles ]

It works.

I love it when I've got

all the parts i need to put
together something like this.

The sequence is gonna go
like barrel connected

to a pipe nipple, a solenoid,

and that will screw
into one big, long tube,

and that'll be our air feed.

And so it's just gonna be like
a little assembly line

of, you know, barrel, barrel,
barrel, barrel.

And out comes the paintball
and shoots us.

Narrator: With the first
of the 16 air-powered guns

attached to its
solenoid trigger...

[ Buzzing ]

Sounds kinda like a... a seal.

Narrator: Adam arrives to up
the pressure.

Dude, they arrived.

Oh, cool.

That is our pressure pad
switch activation.

Well, let's, uh,
let's check it out.

[ Air hisses ]

Point it that way.
Pointing.

Yeah.
Three, two, one.

[ Air hisses ]
Oh!

[ Laughs ]

That couldn't have worked
any better.

[ Air hisses ]

Inside this pad
is an electrical switch

such that when you step on it,
it completes a circuit, like so.

Now that opens the flow of air,

and out comes the paintball,

and we get shot
when we step on the pad.

[ Air hissing ]

That is beautiful.
There we go.

Awesome.

Narrator: That's how each gun
will be triggered.

The next step is to combine them

into a single, coordinated,
air-powered system.

Jamie: This white tube
is the air supply

for our paintball gauntlet,

which we'll be installing
in the temple.

Now, each one of these guns
will be wired

to its own pressure pad...

Three, two...
[ Firing ]

Whoa! [ Laughs ]
Beautiful.

Which, as we run along,
will be setting off these guns,

one after the other,

while we possibly are screaming
in pain.

That is going to hurt.

Well, let's, uh, pack it up,
put it on the truck,

and take it out to the location.

[ Laughs ] Okay.

Narrator: Before they pack up
their temple run gun,

while the team gets busy

prefabricating
a fake Mayan temple,

Adam and Jamie get cracking

on another iconic indy inquiry.

Well, good luck there, buddy.

So, whips.
Exactly.

Indy's whip is, like,
almost mythological.

He does all sorts
of incredible stuff,

including one i think
we should test:

When he disarms an opponent
with a gun using only the whip.

So, would the whip
be accurate enough

and would it hit the hand
hard enough

to knock the gun out of it,
or something?

Exactly. And i think the other
thing we should look at

is the opening sequence,

when he loops the whip
around a log

and swings across a chasm.

Is that really possible?

Yeah, i wonder whether the whip
would actually have enough grip.

And then, if it did,
how are you gonna get it off?

I think we need to deeply look
into the science of whips.

[ Imitates whip cracking ]

If we're gonna put whips
through their paces

in this episode,
we're going to need...

Wait a minute... whips.

Whip making is something
i taught myself

about 17 years ago.

I built a whip
i had always wanted

from "raiders of the lost ark."

And to start this episode,

I'm going to build
the first whip.

This is kangaroo hide.

Don't let anyone
tell you any different.

This is the strongest leather
in the world.

Narrator:
Whip making is an art,

an art for which Adam
clearly has a passion.

Adam: Now, astonishingly,
this right here

is everything required

to make a eight-foot
leather bullwhip.

[ Grunts ]

Mm, animal fat.

But before i start, i actually
need to prep the laces.

[ Laughs ]

I need to treat them
with a leather dressing

that softens them and allows me
to stretch them

to bring them out
to their natural state.

Then I'm going to braid them.

I'm gonna do a four-plait braid.

That is using four laces.

And this will comprise the inner

and smallest core of the whip.

This will be the center.

Now you're starting to see
where this is going.

That is called the belly,
the first belly,

the interior belly, of the whip.

I'm going to cover this belly
with a bolster,

which is effectively a long
triangle of leather.

That bolster will then get
another belly laid over it,

because the Indiana Jones whips

are what are called
two belly whips.

Narrator: The braided core
and leather bolster

is doubled up to form
the second belly.

And in the middle of
this meticulous process,

Adam couldn't be happier.

Adam: In case you haven't
guessed already,

i loves me the bullwhips.

I started out
inspired by "raiders."

I'm done with the second belly.

And i quickly learned

that i love two distinct things
about the practice.

These will be the 12 laces

that make the actual
outer coating of the whip.

One was that i loved
the practice itself,

the craft of whip making.

The meticulous,
repetitive stretching,

checking, cutting, lacing.

It is deeply meditative.

Hold on,
i gotta drink my own urine.

I'm kidding, i wasn't drinking
my own urine.

I was drinking someone else's.

The second thing i love about it
is the form and function

coming together magnificently.

I mean, you've got
this beautiful form

of a smooth leather object

that is tapered from one end
to the other.

Dude, it's looking so good.

And then that tapering turns out

not just to be lovely
and compelling,

but, in fact, crucial

for delivering the energy
from your hand

out to the tip of the whip with
the maximum amount of strength.

That is really cool.

I am really pleased
with how this is looking.

Narrator:
For the finishing touches,

Adam decorates the handle.

And then, to make the whip
actually crack,

attaches two thin strips called
the fall and the cracker.

But will all that work pay off
with a working whip?

All right.

Phew! This is very exciting.

[ Whooshing ]

Oh, it sounds good.

[ Whip cracks ]

Yeah!

[ Whip cracks ]
[ Laughs ]

[ Whip cracking ]

Oh, that's pretty loud.
Can you hit anything with it?

You know,
I've never actually tried.

Why don't i set something up?

Let's do it.

Narrator:
Indiana Jones nonchalantly

and surgically disarmed
his armed foe.

Come on.

Adam, however...
[ Laughs ]

can't seem
to take out a few cans...

[ Whip cracks ]

Not exactly precision shooting.

Until he gets real close

and the laws of probability
weigh in.

Yeah!

[ Laughs ]

Yes.
He hit it.

As long as I've got 10,
12, 15 tries,

you are in trouble, man!

Narrator:
Yep, to find out

if you can indeed disarm
armed adversaries,

Adam and Jamie clearly need
some expert help...

[ Whip cracks ]

And a spectacular
change of scene

to set up
for some temple run fun.

Totally gonna get shot.

Adam: Indy's whip is a character
in its own right

in the "raiders" films,

and it does some unbelievable
things in the film.

First and foremost,

he is able to disarm someone
who pulls a gun on him,

just pullin' this off his belt
and giving it a crack.

And that's what we're gonna do.

We're gonna give that a crack.

Narrator:
But there's a problem.

Adam: Now, I'm pretty good
at making these,

but we've already established
that i am not that good

at operating them.

Let's just say
you're a work in progress.

Aren't we all?

Narrator: Yep. To test
indy's mythical ability

to disarm gun-toting foes,

Adam and Jamie need a whole heap
of whip-wielding tips

from the very best
in the business.

De longis:
The science of the whip

is the acceleration
of kinetic energy.

All energy added to the whip
is multiplied.

A small amount of focused energy

literally produces
explosive results.

Wherever i point the handle,

this is where the whip
is gonna go.

So I'm literally aiming
with my whole body,

instead of this kind of,
"i sure hope this works."

That's pretty much
the school I'm in.

Weight on the back foot.
Weight on the front foot.

Adam:
We've brought a lot of experts
onto this show over the years,

but Anthony might be my all-time
favorite right now.

And then...

Now it's just timing.

Adam:
I have rarely ever had someone

teach me something so quickly.

[ Whip cracks ]

And i got results i really
didn't think were gonna happen

within such a short period
of time.

Open your hand, straighten
your arm, close your hand.

[ Whip cracks ]
Hey!

Perfect.
That totally worked.

This is awesome.

This is a far more precise tool
than i thought it was.

Bend.

Jamie:
We've gotten a lot of the basics

of whip handling from Anthony...

Excellent.

But now it's time to see
if we can't use the whip

to grab a gun
out of somebody's hand.

[ Whip cracks ]

But it's important to note

that we never actually see
how indy disarms the bad guy.

So, to cover all our bases,

we're gonna run a couple
of tests.

Now, stretch it out
and send it out.

Better. Okay.

First, we're gonna see
if that whip tip

could wrap around the wrist
and/or the gun

and yank it in such a way
as to spoil the shot.

We're gonna see if a direct hit
to the wrist

with the whip tip is enough to
make somebody drop the gun.

This is the scariest thing
I've done all day.

Is it? [ Chuckles ]

Go ahead.

[ Whip cracks ]
That was perfect.

That was a nice crack
you got there.

It was right on the tip
of your thumb.

That would have hurt a lot.

Narrator:
Jamie's making contact,

but there's no mythical grab
and aim-spoiling pull.

Go for the wrist.
Go for the wrist, hyneman.

That's it.

Not quite the first-time
accuracy of indy,

but novice Jamie is dialing in
on the technique...

Yes.

Narrator:
Surprisingly quickly.

De longis: Yes.
There we go.

Good job.
[ Laughs ]

All right, my turn.
[ Laughs ]

Did i get ya?
Yeah.

Adam missed his target
a couple of times

and connected with me instead,

but he was actually able
to wrap the tip of the whip

around my hand...
Ha ha!

To where he would be interfering

with my aiming of that gun.

De longis: Yeah.

And that was actually
pretty effective.

Narrator: The grab and tug
is clearly plausible.

But what about
the second option,

the hit to the hand?

Would that force you
to drop the gun?

Well, Jamie,
with the short straw drawn,

adds extra protection

and prepares to face
the whip-cracking might

of the whip master.

Jamie: Ow!

[ Whip cracking ]

Jamie: I'm positive
i wouldn't have been able

to hold on to that gun
if i didn't have this glove on.

It would be equivalent to
somebody slicing at your hand

with a sharp knife.

[ Whip cracks ]
[ Chuckles ]

You'd drop the gun.

Narrator:
Yep, without padding,

Jamie's dropping the gun
every single time.

Yeah, i don't think
there's any way

i would have been able
to hold on to this

if i hadn't had this protection.

So, Anthony,
it strikes me that we have

enough experimental evidence
gathered thus far

to conclude that
the first appearance of a whip

in "raiders of the lost ark"

is actually pretty reasonable...

That it is feasible
to disarm someone with a gun

if you're only holding a whip.

Would you agree?
De longis: I do agree.

I think a targeted strike
to bare flesh

is going to make it
pretty much impossible

to hang on to the gun,
let alone operate it accurately.

So this is plausible.

Is that what you would do if you
were in the same situation?

Absolutely not.

No? Well, okay.
What would you do?

I would go
straight for the face.

Ohh.

Narrator: With the gun-whip myth
all tied up,

it's time to set the scene
for the temple run.

Not many people realize,

but the Mayans built their
temples just like this... yeah.

Narrator: And Adam's having
a whole heap of fun.

Adam: Look, i know that some
of the lengths we're going to

seem a little bit over the top.

Now, I'm thinkin'...
Right about this level.

Yeah, upper torso?
Yeah.

We could have just set up
16 paintball guns

on, like, a wooden rack
in about an hour and a half.

[ Chuckles ]

But, honestly, we couldn't.

We're special-effects guys.

This is what we did for a living
for decades.

[ Chuckles ]

Looks pretty good.

I know it looks like crap,
but it's fun.

It would offend
our sensibilities

not to make it look period
and timely

to the actual film
we're replicating.

Jamie: Of course,
any decent temple's got

its share of deities and gods,
so we've got ours.

Adam: It would offend
my sensibilities.

Frankly, i think Jamie thinks
this whole experiment

is an excuse
for me to dress up...

Which it might be.

Narrator: While Adam completes
the scene setting...

Yeah.

Narrator: Jamie's connected
the pressure pad and gun one

for a test run.

Three, two, one.

Oh!
[ Laughs ]

That works perfectly.

Perfectly,
except for a timing tweak.

Oh!

Adam:
That was fantastic.

Our Mayan temple dart room
is operational,

except with paintballs
instead of darts.

The only thing is,
that hit was instantaneous.

Pad touch, dart hit.

And in the movie,
there's actually a delay
when indy tests the rig.

My question is, how much
of a time delay is there

between the time
that torch pushes the pad

and the time
the dart hits the torch?

[ Stopwatch clicking ]

That's one second.
That's gonna be our delay.

Narrator: Over to Jamie.

It's tricky,
but by inserting a timer

between the pressure-pad trigger

and the air-powered
paintball gun,

he can delay the firing
by the required one second.

And with the guns not loaded,
he steps up the test the timing.

[ Air hisses ]

Jamie: Hmm.

Narrator:
Hoosier, we have a problem.

That's, uh... Not quite
what we had in mind.

Narrator: As soon
as this episode got rolling...

That's great.
That's great.

It was clear the mythbusters...

One... Oh!

Idolize all things indy.

And with one myth
already cracked...

the fun is set to continue.

[ Air hisses ]

Or is it?

Jamie:
As it turns out, this timing
setup that we put together

is really screwing us up,

because while they're delaying
the firing of our valves

like we want them to,

they're also holding the valves
open way too long.

Which means that, by the time
we get to the end of the array,

our tank is empty.

Adam: Our solution is
to actually give them more air,

or more of a tank.

I'm about to build
that tank out of a bunch
of pvc plumbing pipe...

You stay.

While Jamie plays around
with the timers.

Narrator: And with the larger
air supply hooked up...

Good.

It's time for the temple-run
test run take two.

[ Air hissing ]

That was good!
Jamie: Yeah.

That's exactly what we wanted!
Yep.

With the rig successfully firing
on the big cylinder,

the set dressing is complete,
the guns armed for action...

16 barrels, 16 paintballs.

There we go.

Narrator:
And Adam's geared up, ready
to run the paintball gauntlet.

Adam: Any second now,
I'm gonna grab that idol

and hightail it
across this chamber.

Now, if the myth is true,

if the movie's version of events
are correct,

i should make it
to the other side alive.

That's what
we're gonna find out.

Narrator:
Remember, their run

has the same number
of booby traps as the movie,

and they'll shoot
with the same one-second delay.

You ready?

Yep.

See you down the other end.
Okay.

The question is,
will Adam, who will run

with the same hunched,
protective shuffle as indy,

make it out unscathed?

Okay.

In three, two, one.
Go.

Something's not turned on.

[ Chuckles ]
That was anticlimactic.

Anticlimactic and a mystery...

Three, two, one, go.

It's still not working.

Maybe even a Mayan mystery.

Adam: Well, i think it's clear
what's going on here.

It's this guy.

"Mythbusters" is clearly
suffering the idol's curse.

[Bleep]

The circuit's not collapsing
the way it should.

[Bleep]

The curse may not be real,
but ours are.

This rig is kicking our butt.

Hold on. I got to take
all my [Bleep] off

if we're
gonna really solve this.

Narrator: Some rolled sleeves
and brainstorming later...

We're only gonna pressurize it
to like, what, 70?

Yeah, i mean...
We could try that.

And they think
they may have it sorted.

We have figured out the problem.

It's a simple, little,
dumb problem.

We just got a couple
of leads misplaced.

And we should be
up and running...

Literally running...
In a minute.

A minute
and a test fire later...

Oh, yeah.

With vigor.

The, uh, curse of
the crossed wires is lifted...

All right.

And the temple run
is ready to rock.

Three, two, one.
Go.

I didn't feel a thing!
I don't think i got hit.

Jamie:
You were a mile ahead of them.

Really?

With a one-second delay,

you were halfway
across the thing

before they started to fire.

Fantastic. So indy really
could have made it out?

Easily.

We had all the parameters
we needed

from the setup of the temple
in the film

and we applied them to our set

and discovered that indy

would, indeed, have made it out
alive with his idol.

Wouldn't he?

But now let's assume
the Mayans could make darts

that shot almost instantaneously
as indy ran.

We'll see whether
he gets shot or not now.

Here we go.

And frankly...

I pretty much expect to get shot
at this point.

Totally gonna get shot.

Instantaneous firing
in three, two, one.

Go.

[ "The raiders march" plays ]

Ow! [ Laughs ]
I totally got hit.

I got one in my back,
right there.

That's the only one i see
on you.

Really?
Yeah.

As i expected, when we set
the darts to instantaneous,

i got shot and I'm dead.

It's a poison dart, after all.

What i didn't expect
is that i only got shot once.

So as far as I'm concerned,
if you ever find yourself

looting a piece of precious
Mayan gold from a temple,

while you'll probably gonna die,
i say run for your life.

Ow!
[ Laughs ]

So, why do you think

the Mayans set such a long delay
on their dart mechanism?

Well, it is an ancient temple.

Maybe the machinery
was getting kind of rusty.

That's a good idea.
So, how do you want to call it?

Confirmed, i guess.

I'm there with you,
but it is a fictional universe,

so I'm inclined to give them
plausible.

Suits me.
Okay.

So, all episode,
we've been learning

the mechanics
and the operation of whips.

And we've actually gotten
pretty good at it.

[ Whip cracks ]

Yeah.
Ha ha!

But before we continue,

we think that we'd be remiss
if we didn't address the idea

that a whip is supposed to break
the speed of sound.

Is this really true?
Is there enough

of a kinetic-energy transfer
from the handle out to the end?

That's we are about to test.
All right.

Using our high-speed camera

and all of the stage craft
we've learned

in 10 years of doing this show,
we're gonna try and prove

that the end of the whip
breaks the speed of sound.

Three, two, one.

[ Whip cracks ]

Because the tip of the whip

is moving so fast
and over such a large area,

it makes it really difficult
to see

where and when
it's making the crack.

[ Whip cracks ]

[ Whip cracks ]

Yeah, the tip's starting
to swing around at about 4-d.

[ Whip cracks ]

So, with that in mind,

we've created this background
with a grid on it.

[ Whip cracks ]

Yeah, right about there,
a little bit below it.

So we can hopefully zoom in on
it with the high-speed camera.

[ Whip cracks ]

Oh, spank.
Right on the same mark.

Narrator:
But with the camera recording
at the 6,000 frames per second

required to measure
the speed of sound,

zooming in and capturing
the exact moment of the crack

is a very tricky task.

Adam:
Okay. Are you ready?

Yeah.Yeah.

Okay, here we go.

[ Whip cracks ]

Too low.

[ Whip cracks ]
Try that.

Jamie:
In terms of time,

this is like looking
for a needle in a haystack.

There's a lot of increments

when you're looking
at 6,000 frames per second

to find the exact instant that
that passes through the frame.

Narrator:
Yep, not only does Adam
have to get a clean crack...

[ Whip cracks ]
That was too low.

And pull off the unlikely feat

of hitting the exact same mark,

the guys then have to find those
four or five frames of action.

So the signal
you're watching me on right now

is transmitting 29.9-something
frames per second.

[ Whip cracks ]
Low.

I'm aiming at the same
[Bleep] spot every single time.

Our high-speed camera
is catching

almost 2 seconds of footage
at 6,000 frames per second.

[ Whip cracks ]

That's gonna be too high.

It is, uh...

It's a little bit
of a hunt-and-peck.

[ Whip cracks ]

[ Whip cracks ]

There it is.
[ Laughing ] Oh!

Narrator:
Finally, in glorious

6,000-frames-per-second
high speed.

Now, how fast is it going
right here?

[ Whip cracks ]

That's 5 frames
to travel 12 inches.

1,200 feet per second.

That beats the speed of sound.
That is awesome!

We caught the speed of sound
being broken

by these little fuzzies.

[ Chuckles ]
That is so cool.

[ Whip cracks ]

It took hours of Adam whipping

for us to finally capture
that tiny piece of string

traveling over the speed
of sound in front of this grid.

But we finally cracked it,
so to speak.

Narrator: With the science
whipped into shape,

Adam and Jamie
head back to the warehouse

to test the whip's mythical
ability to swing indy to safety.

[ Truck beeping ]

Jamie:
This story has indy swinging
across a chasm on his whip.

[ Thud ]
Yeah.

Foom! Cool.

And since we don't happen
to have a chasm ready to go,

we decided to build our own.

Adam: This thing weighs
5,000 pounds empty.

You got room.
You can keep comin' in.

Kill someone in a heartbeat.

Pull, pull, pull.
Yeah.

We're using these containers,
which we love...

That's it.
Perfect over here.

Miles, pull.

Because
they're kind of like big bricks.

Yeah! Phew!

We can build whatever we want
instantly.

Threading the needle.

But like a 5,000-pound needle.
[ Laughs ]

Phew.

Adam:
The containers here stacked up

represent exactly one half
of our chasm.

All right. Here we go.

We're going to bring in
the other pair of containers

and make the other half
of the chasm.

They're going to be
a certain distance apart,

but "how far apart?"
Is the real question.

Narrator:
An answer found with a little
high-speed camera magic.

That was good.

Adam: So we've got my jump
on high speed,

but how are we going to use that

to determine how wide
our chasm is...

Especially since
I'm jumping on flat ground

and indy was jumping
across a chasm,

which he hit the edge of
with his chest?

Editors,
can you help me out, please,

and load up the high-speed
footage of my jump?

Excellent.

Okay, now, fast forward until my
foot leaves the starting line.

Right there.
And put a dot on my chest.

Great. Now,
continue to put dots on my chest

through the full arc of my jump,

until my left foot
touches the ground.

Excellent.

Now, draw a line
that intersects all those dots

until you've got a curve,

and continue that curve

until it hits the ground
where my number stripes are.

Perfect. Okay.

Can you count up how many
number stripes those are?

12? Beautiful.

That is the distance
of our chasm... 12 feet.

Narrator: With the exact
distance marked off,

the far side of the chasm
is dropped into position...

Nice!

Some protective padding
put in place...

That's a long way to fall.

Narrator: The key structural
component brought up...

This is a branch.

Narrator: Some more
safety measures manhandled...

Indy never fought
a beast like this.

This is like
a "doctor who" villain.

Yeah, that's it!

Narrator: Before the
movie-accurate scene is set...

Good luck there, buddy.

[ Laughs ]
I'm gonna stand back here.

For Adam's date
with whip-swinging destiny.

Narrator: If you wondered
exactly how Adam and Jamie

got the ball rolling
on this Indiana Jones junket,

wonder no more.

Believe it or not,

this is actually going to be
our spherical temple-run stone.

Rise! Rise!

[ Laughs ]

[ Laughs ]

Oh, hey, man.
Check it out.

It's our temple-run ball.
Whoa, dude!

Jamie: So we've got
our big, clear plastic ball,

but to make it look
like a Boulder,

we had the idea that
we'll take this two-part foam

and mix it together and
slather it all over the surface.

If we do it kind of sloppy
but in the right way,

it might just look
like a big stone thing,

which is what we want.

[ Grunts ]

Adam: That looks like
a piece of stone.

[ Laughs ]

Inflatable stone?
No problem.

It's called safety stone.

Jamie: This test
is all about the relationship

between the whip
and the tree branch.

And so we've looked very closely
at the film

and tried to replicate
the diameter of that tree branch

with this log and its placement
above the chasm.

Now, the next thing that
we've got to do is take our whip

and throw it
across the tree branch

and see whether it creates
a knot

that's strong enough
to hold a person.

Here we go.

Because if it ain't...

[ Laughs ]

I've waited my whole life
for this moment.

They're falling to their death.

Narrator: But before Adam tests
the strength of the swing...

Adam: Ho! Hey!

Wasn't bad.
That was not bad.

He has to actually secure
the whip on the log.

Adam:
This test goes down in history
as one of my all-time favorites,

but it did not start out
looking that rosy.

[ Groans ]

First, just trying to wrap
the whip around the log,

i was not getting
enough surface area,

not getting enough friction.

I want to feel that solid bite,
the leather on the log.

What i really needed
was a kind of a knot.

Actually, the technical term
is a half hitch.

Oh, that looked so promising.

You had a crossover.
I did.

I need a second crossover.

But that tested my whip-wielding
skills to the absolute limit.

Dude.

That's not bad.

I think i got a hitch.

Oh, man.

Well, good luck there, buddy.

[ Chuckles ]
I'm gonna stand back here.

Narrator: With the whip grip
seemingly secure, this is it.

[ Chuckles ]

Actually, I'm genuinely scared.

Was indy's mythical swing
to freedom feasible

or a fictional fancy?

[ Dramatic music plays ]

[ Music warps, stops ]

Whoa!
[ Laughing ] Oh!

I'm good, I'm good.
I'm okay.

So i got the loop
around the log.

It felt really, really secure.

I think i got a hitch.

And then just before my feet
reach the other side,

the whip unwinds from the log
and i go tumbling.

Whoa!

Whoa!

Oh!

All right.
We got to try this again.

That was too much fun.
[ Laughs ]

Jamie: Even though Adam fell,
i have to say,

I'm surprised he did
as well as he did,

because from this distance,

you're only gonna get
around three wraps out of it.

There you go.

So a single half hitch

holding
a close-to-200-pound guy?

Pretty low odds, if you ask me.

Oh, yeah. You're moving
the whole log, dude.

Am i?
Yeah.

I think you're gonna do it,
buddy.

Here we go.

Hup!

[ Dramatic music plays ]

Oh!

[ Groans ]

[ Both laugh ]

I thought
that was gonna be mine!

Narrator: Once again, the whip,
and potentially the myth,

unravels at the last second.

But, as Edison almost said,

"mythbustering is 1% inspiration

"and 99% repeatedly throwing
yourself into a chasm

for science."

Oh, dude.

Well, no guts, no glory.

No guts, no glory.
Three, two, one.

You're gonna make it.

Oh!
Oh, drat!

[ Chuckles ]
[ Groans ]

[ Groans ]

Three times so far,
I've attempted to lasso our log

with my whip
and swing across this chasm.

And three times, just as glory
seemed within my grasp,

the whip slipped
and i fell to my death.

But, for due diligence,
we are going to cover our log

with some bark-like friction
material and give it another go.

This sandpaper,
or our psuedo-bark,

may not seem like that much.

But it may not actually take
that much

to allow the whip to bite.

Without this, it can just slide.

It's almost like
it's lubricated.

With this, it'll just give it
a little bit of tooth

so that those coils
can actually cinch onto the log.

All right.

One more time?

Jamie: Go for it.
Okay, here we go.

Narrator:
So, what difference will this
small real-world detail make?

Oh!

Narrator: A first-time grip,
and it's looking good.

But Adam's been burned before.

[ Breathes deeply ]

As many times as I've done this,
it's still scary.

All right. [ Breathes deeply ]
It's now or never.

Here we go.

Hup! Oh!

Yeah!

Yeah!
Give me some!

Hop! Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Whoo! Whoo!

Narrator: You could say
Adam's happy with the result.

Yeah!

[ Laughs ] Oh! Yes!

Whoo! Whoo!

[ Laughter ]

Not quite an indy reaction,

but, dude, we totally did it!
Yeah.

All right.
Throw me the idol.

[ Chuckles ]
Come on.

Oh!

[ Laughs ]

Well, the question now is,
can you get it off there?

Oh, right.
Okay, here we go.

Come on, come on.

So, once we added
a little bit of friction,

some bark, to our log,

the whip grabbed easily
and i swung across handily.

It was beautiful.

Hup! Oh!

Come on, baby. Come on.
This is the final thing.

Indy's whip grabs when you want
and lets go when you want.

Come on, come on.

Now, i still don't think
the whip

has the kind of magical
properties that indy uses it

as an extension of his hands.

How does this work?
There we go!

Almost.
Almost.

[ Laughs ] Awesome!

But we've pretty much proved

it can do everything we've seen
in the movie.

[ Both chuckle ]

Narrator:
With that, this archaeological
adventure romps to a conclusion.

[ Whip cracks ]

And indy's iconic status is quo.

Dr. Jones
was not doomed in the temple.

Indy really
could have made it out?

Easily.

And when it comes
to a tight spot...

Jamie:
You're gonna make it.

His trusty weapon...

I think you're gonna do it,
buddy.

Is all it's cracked up to be.

Yeah!