All language subtitles for Mythbusters.S13E01.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-NTb_track3_[eng]

Don't try anything
you see on this show at home.

The things we do on this show
are dangerous.

We have experts
to help keep us safe.

[ "star wars" theme plays ]

Man: We've got him.

[ lightsaber humming ]

Adam:
Sophia bush is princess leia.

Jamie: We want to know
if you could make that swing...

Using a grappling hook.

[ imitates lightsaber ]

Yub yub!

Grant: It's about a log
crushing an armored vehicle.

Oh!

[ squeals ]
use the force!

Adam: Perfect.

Luke is going into the tauntaun.

[ groans ] [bleep]

And I thought
they smelled bad

On the outside.

It's the "mythbusters"
"star wars" special.

[ lightsaber hums ]

Narrator:
Who are the mythbusters?

Adam savage...

[ as darth vader ]
I am your father.

Narrator:
...And jamie hyneman.

I kind of like it in here.
It's private.

Between them, more than 30 years
of special-effects experience.

Together with kari byron...

[ as princess leia ]
help me, obi-wan kenobi!

...Tory belleci...

Aw, never!

...And grant imahara.

[ as darth vader ] we could rule
the universe together.

Narrator: They don't just tell
the myths.

They put them to the test.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Jamie:
[ breathing heavily ]

I really don't get
why you're into these things.

Into what things?
Costumes.

I appreciate you
trying to understand,

But have you even
seen "star wars"?

Probably.

[ sighs ]

Should we just
get started?

Sure.
Okay.

In "star wars," luke skywalker
and princess leia

Are trying to escape
the death star.

They're running
from stormtroopers,

And they get behind
a closed door,

Only to find their path blocked
by a chasm they cannot cross.

Quick!
We've got to get across.

[ screams ]

Luke pulls a grappling hook
from his belt,

Swings it across some piece
of death star hardware,

Grabs leia in his arm...

For luck.

Adam:
...And swings to safety.

So, we want to know if you
could make that swing,

Using a cable
and a grappling hook,

While holding on
to your sister,

Who you have
the hots for?

[ chuckles ] that is one way
of looking at it, yes.

Spoiler alert.
[ chuckles ]

Narrator: So, with a battalion
of stormtroopers in hot pursuit,

Can luke's unlikely leap
really be done?

Aren't you a little short
for a stormtrooper?

[ grunts ]

It's actually funny
that you say that,

Because in point of fact,

I'm a little tall
to be a stormtrooper.

Yeah, whatever.
Let's shoot this pig.

Narrator:
Not so fast, hyneman.

I know, with the stormtrooper
costume and all,

It looks like we're ready
to dive whole hog

Into the "star wars" universe.

But wait -- hold your horses

Because there's a whole bunch
of setup to tell you about

Before we even get
to this point.

Now, in examining luke's
swing across the chasm,

Jamie and I have broken it down
into three distinct elements,

Each of which
that needs testing.

Number one is the behavior
of the grappling hook.

Second would be his belt.

Would that be sufficient
to support him

While swinging on a line?

And third is the addition
of princess leia.

Luke doesn't swing alone
across the chasm.

He's got a passenger.

Since this first test involves
a grappling hook,

I'm gonna have to make one,

And it's gonna
have to be identical

To what luke used in the movie.

And there we go.

Sweet.

Narrator: And with accurate
grappling hook in hand...

Ah! That is gorgeous, dude.

That looks exactly like
the movie.

...It's test one.

Can you hit the target and wrap
and hook as easily as luke?

What are we
throwing it over?

Ah, we got a nice target,

Right from the death star,
for you,

Right up there.

Wow.

That's quite a ways
away.

Jamie: That thing is about
30, 35 feet away,

And I got to tell you,

That's quite a shot
to do in one go.

Oh!
Oh!

Can you catch it?

Thanks.

Narrator:
Clearly, it's not as simple

As the young skywalker
would have us believe.

Oh!

The height
was about sufficient.

[ chuckles ]

From the same distance
and angle as in the movie...

Oh!
Whoa!

All right.
So, now it's up there.

[ chuckles ]

Narrator: ...Jamie's
struggling to get close.

Adam: Oh!

Hitting everywhere
but the mast.

It's clear he needs a whole
"yoda" [load of] practice.

So close.

Now, luke is clearly
the quintessential action hero

In only needing one chance,
one try,

To get the grappling hook
over the correct target.

Not quite.

In reality, at this point,
if jamie was luke,

Luke and leia would be
clapped in irons

Somewhere in a trash disposal,

Somewhere in the depths
of the death star,

And the movie is over.

But it can't end there.

He's got to eventually get it.

Okay, man.
This one's for the princess.

Yes! Oh!

Narrator:
He finally made the throw,

But will it grapple and catch
like in the movie?

That's a hook.
Give me a high five.

He got it! He got it!

Look at that!
Look at that!

Jamie: [ chuckles ]

Adam:
Plausible, but unlikely.

Let's face it -- jamie had
all the time in the world

And as many tries as he wanted,

And he didn't have anyone
shooting at him.

Yes!

For luck.

He got it! He got it!

Next up, we're gonna have
a closer look at luke's belt

Because that's
what his grappling hook

Appears to be attached to
when he does his swing.

Now, I know this would work
with a harness,

But that's an awful lot
of weight to support on a belt.

We're gonna have to try it out.

Ready, wookiee?

[ bellows ]

Narrator:
So, can a waist belt

Really support you and your twin
without serious injury?

Adam: Yeah, a little bit more
this way.

To find out,
adam and the walking carpet...

[ bellows ]

[ whistles ]

...Go to work matching
the exact layout

From the silver-screen scene.

So, you want me to swing
from here to there,

Just using that?

I don't think so.

This is more like it.
Baby steps first.

Narrator:
Jamie's concerned supporting
the weight at his waist

Will lead to serious injury.

So, with crash pads

And a shorter swing distance
closer to the ground,

He can be lowered immediately
if there's any danger.

Normally,
if you knew that you were

Gonna take a fall
or swing on a rope,

You'd wear a harness
that went between the legs.

You want to hop up?
Okay.

If I jumped off of a height
on a rope on this thing,

I'd be worried about
breaking some ribs.

Snake it up.

I guess we're gonna have to
try it to find out.

Narrator: Jamie...
Yeah -- oh [bleep]

That's not -- ugh.

...Is clearly uncomfortable
with the belt bruising his ribs.

Princess delivery.
Here you go.

And with the added weight
of a twin,

Will he even make it?

So, she's just turned around.
Turn around, I think.

[ grunting ]
here.

Oh, god.

Remember, stormtroopers
are shooting at you.

[ chuckles ]
[ imitates blaster fire ]

You ready, girl?

[ shouting ]

Oh!

[ grunts ]

How you doing, sport?
[ chuckles ]

I'm all right,
but, man, that hurts.

Narrator: Over the short
distance, it was agony.

[ shouting ]

Over the full 30 feet,
it would be excruciating.

But it can be done.

So, when it comes to the belt,
I have to admit,

It might be a plausible way to
survive a 30-foot chasm swing,

But it ain't a safe way --
I.E., injury-free way --

Especially when
one is holding on

To precious cargo
like a princess.

Narrator: With two
marginally plausible calls,

This myth is barely hanging on.

We're gonna need a different
solution for the real swing.

Narrator: Can part three --

The full swing
with a real twin --

Rescue the result

From the darth maul [dark maw]
of defeat.

To find out, it's safety first.

For this third and final test,
I'm gonna be swinging

From 30 feet away, over there,
to here.

Of course, this time around,

I'm gonna be wearing
a proper safety harness,

Which, hopefully,
won't hurt me.

And we put safety mats down

In case something
goes horribly wrong.

Hopefully, not.

Now that is a harness.

Narrator:
The belt, already proven to work
in a pinch -- literally --

Has been put aside
in favor of a harness

That will allow
not-so-jedi jamie

To complete the final test
pain-free.

Howdy, sir.

All adam and jamie
are missing

Is a real, live
leia look-alike.

Narrator:
Cue star of nbc's "chicago p.D."

And massive "mythbusters" fan
sophia bush.

Hello, gentlemen.

Jamie, can I be
your princess leia?

Aw, shucks.
[ chuckles ]

Now, jamie,
I do want to point out

That sophia came to play,
dressed the part and everything.

Don't you think
you might want to put on

Something a little more
appropriate?

[ sighs ] fine.

[ chuckles ]

You look fantastic.

Okay, well, uh,
let's get started.

Coming up next
on "mythbusters"...

We tackle myths from a movie
you may have heard of.

May the force be with you.

Yeah, I'm getting excited!

[ pop ]

Tauntaun guts.

They're coming.

Adam: Luke is going
into the tauntaun.

Aw [bleep]

And you thought "mythbusters"
couldn't get any cooler.

[ "star wars" theme plays ]

Narrator: In a redwood forest
not so far, far away,

It's kari, grant, and tory's
turn to get their nerd on.

Okay, guys, so, this is
the "star wars" special,

And we're in a forest.

Guess where we are?

So, clearly we're on endor,

So we must be doing
ewok myths.

That's exactly right.

We're doing the scene
from "return of the jedi"

Where the ewoks attack
the all-terrain scout transport

And smash it
with two giant logs.

We're basically gonna see
how much damage

We can do to an armored vehicle
using nothing

But giant, swinging logs.

Yub yub!

R2, roll the clip.

[ beeping ]

Narrator:
It's a fictional battle scene
from a fictional universe,

But the hypothesis still stands.

Could a primitive
log-swing weapon

Really take out
a reinforced, armored vehicle?

Should we be in character?

[ snaps fingers ]

Uh...No.

[ snaps fingers ]

Oh, that's much better.
That was totally the wrong leia.

It's endor leia.

So, it occurs to me
that we're gonna need

Two things for this --

An at-st
and a giant, swinging log rig.

The builds for this experiment
are going to be insane.

That log-crushing rig
looks gigantic.

[ bellows ]

All right.
Sounds good.

Guess we better
get started.

Narrator:
Back here on earth...

Kari:
Let's put it over there.

Narrator: ...The team prepares
for one of the biggest builds

It's ever attempted.

Hey, r2, who's your
favorite mythbuster?

[ beeps ]

Aww,
you're just sayin' that.

They're re-creating
the massive forest of endor...

[ r2-d2 beeping ]

Mine.

...And the ewoks'
ingenious giant log swing.

Tory: The question is, how are
we gonna suspend them in midair

So that way we can actually
pull them apart

And let them crush our walker?

Well, we're gonna
plant our own trees --

Or telephone poles, at least --

With the help of
industrial power solutions.

They're gonna auger some holes,

We're gonna lower the poles
into it,

And save a bunch of time.

[ chewbacca bellows ]

You know what? I don't really
care what your script says.

I don't think slave leia
was in this scene.

[ bellows ]
no.

Narrator: From the movie,
the team has determined

That the height of
the chicken walker is 20 feet,

The logs swing from 45 degrees,

And what the relative size
of those logs are.

At 10 feet long
and 5 feet in diameter,

The answer is...

Whoa!

That's insane!

Tory: Oh, my god!

...Big.

Whoa.

Weighing in
at 10,000 pounds each,

The guys get busy cross-bracing

And cable-anchoring
the structure to support them.

Grant: That 45?

I think that's 45-ish.

Next up,
the mission-critical operation

Of craning the logs
into position.

Tory: Now, it's gonna be very
tricky because, as you can see,

The structure
has a lot of bracing,

And it's gonna be difficult

To actually get the logs
inside of it.

That's terrifying.

Now, remember, these things
are 10,000 pounds,

And there's not a lot of room
for mistakes.

Grant: That's a lot of stretch,
right there.

I mean, if this 10,000 pounds

Goes crashing to one side
or the other,

The whole thing could come down.

Okay, well,
it's holding the log up.

That's good.

Narrator: Round two...

Kari: Looking good.

...And trunk two...

Tory: Whoa.

Why is that
spinning like that?

Holy crap. All right.

...Is nervously...

Keep coming.

...Maneuvered into position,

And despite the structure
protesting...

[ wood creaking ]

Grant: Ew, can you hear
the cracking?

...Once raised and supported...

[ grunts ]

Kari: Yeah.

...It seems to be holding.

That's pretty gorgeous.

Okay. We're good.

As far as stressful
workdays go,

This is reasonably stressful.

[ beeps ]

Narrator:
And with the relief

Comes the anticipation.

I'm getting excited!

This is so cool!

Now, the question is,
will the rig actually rock?

To find out,
they're starting out

With a test swing
on a test vehicle.

Kari: Now, this is just our
proof of concept right here.

This is not remotely worthy
of a light armored vehicle

That the empire might put out
into the ewok forest.

Tory:
Oh, watch my paint job!

We just want to make sure
that our logs are lined up,

That our rig is working,

And it's gonna be a lot of fun
to see this thing crush.

[ as yoda ]
concentrate, luke.

Use the force!

Grant: So, in the movie,
the ewok's cut one log,

Then they cut the other log.

Here in the real world,

We're gonna release
both logs simultaneously.

Now, how much energy
are we talking about here?

Well, each log weighs
10,000 pounds.

We raised them up
to approximately 45 degrees.

Okay, kari, hold there.

Tory, let's have you boom in.

Back-of-the-envelope math says

That that's upwards
of a million joules.

[ wood creaking ]

You know, the structure is
making a lot of noise right now.

This is looking crazy.

And -- oh, yeah --

That's each log,

Which means 2 million joules
of energy hitting that van.

I don't know if we're gonna
be able to get it to 45 degrees.

I don't think
it's gonna hold.

Yeah, I agree.
This is not looking that good.

Narrator: With neither log
close to 45 degrees

And the rig in real danger
of collapse...

It's starting to crack.

...The team decides
to cut their losses

And let loose.

I say we call it
right here.

Okay.
Getting out of here.

Grant:
In three...Two...One.

[ crash ]

Narrator: Jamie has slipped
into something

A little more uncomfortable...

You look fantastic.

For luck.

...To find out
if the "star wars" swing

Is possible.
[ shouting ]

With the rib-breaking belt
benched...

[ grunts ]

...In favor of
a safety-first harness,

Can he hang on to sophia
while crossing the chasm?

Both arms around
like that.

Narrator:
And so, it comes down to this.

How are you holding
the rope?

I'm holding it
with this hand.

With the first two
pieces of the puzzle

Already proven plausible...

[ grunts ]
oh!

Got to come down.
Coming in.

[ laughter ]

Narrator: ...Jamie's
expertly strapped in

For the third and final test --

The twin tow.

Stormtroopers ready?

All right, luke and leia,
it's up to you.

Get into character.
Make this happen.

On your mark.

They're coming.

We got to get out of here.

You totally did it!

Excellent! Well done!
[ both laughing ]

[ laughter ]

Bite me, empire!

Jamie: Well,
we pretty much nailed that,

But I got to say,

Most of the stuff
we're testing here

Has been pretty borderline.

If it's a life-and-death
situation, sure,

You can throw a grappling hook,

But are you gonna be able
to get it in one go?

And, yes,
you can swing on a cable,

But tying it onto your belt
and carrying another person --

Life-and-death situation, sure,

But it's all
pretty dodgy, really.

All right, dudes,
we don't have much time,

'cause the empire
is coming.

How do you want to call
this one? Sophia?

We made it across,
so I say "plausible."

Jamie?
Well, you know,

It's clearly possible,

But that makes me want to say
it's confirmed --

Okay!

[ blasters firing ]

Plausible.

Stop those rebels!

Blast them!

Coming up on "mythbusters,"
we find out

If luke really could have
survived a night on hoth

Inside a tauntaun.

It's a "star wars"
"mythbusters," baby.

[ tauntaun bleats ]

You ready
for the next one?

I guess.

The myth we've got
comes from the "star wars" movie

"the empire strikes back."

[ tauntaun bleating ]

Han: Luke!

Darkness is falling
on the ice planet of hoth.

Don't do this, luke.

Han has ridden a beast
called a tauntaun to find luke.

Han slices open
the belly of the tauntaun

And puts luke inside
and says...

This may smell bad, kid...

[ groans ] yoda!

...But it will keep you warm
till I get the shelter up.

The question for us
to answer is, did han make

The right cold-weather
survival call for luke?

Great. Let's go to hoth
and test it.

Cool.

I thought they smelled bad
on the outside.

Narrator:
Jamie's got a point.

To bring the myth back to earth,

Adam and jamie
will eventually replicate

Hoth's inhospitable environment

And find a way to safely test
human hypothermia

While neck-deep
in internal organs.

Here comes the spleen.

But the first task
is to make a tauntaun

To house those guts.

Aah! [ chuckles ]

Adam: Embarking on a build
like an eight-foot-tall tauntaun

In two days, with one hand,

Is kind of like
a circus performer

Putting his head
in a lion's mouth.

He's pretty sure
it's gonna go okay.

From using the grid system

To transfer
the image of the tauntaun

To this block of foam

I couldn't even lift
by myself...

The first cut,
contrary to popular belief,

Is not the deepest.

...To the fact
that just cutting out

The basic shape of the tauntaun
in that block of foam...

[ grunts ]
...Took two hours

And left me sweaty
and spent and exhausted.

[ blows ]

[ clink ]
aw!

"get a big piece of foam,"
I said.

"I'll carve a tauntaun
out of it," I said.

[ grunts ] there we go.

Once I finally
got my foam tool out

And started cutting
the contours of the tauntaun,

The shape came into being
much faster than I expected.

All right.

My tauntaun is totally complete
in terms of being sculpted,

But it needs an outer layer
of skin and fur.

And that's where this comes in.

Time to fur you up, dude.

I am making, literally,

The stuffed animal
I dreamed about

When I was 12 years old.

You're a good boy!

Monsters are such
interesting people.

[ chuckles ]

There we go.

[ british accent ]
he's no longer armless.

Narrator:
Meanwhile, jamie's ensuring
he's not gutless, either.

Jamie: Tauntauns are made up
of all sorts of stuff,

But we're interested in
the gut cavity,

Because that's where luke
is gonna be spending the night.

So, I've got to make
a whole bunch

Of disgusting organs
and viscera.

Yeah, baby.

And that will conduct heat

The same way it would
on the planet hoth.

Narrator:
Cue our resident mad scientist.

Using a melt-and-mold plastic,

Jamie searches
for the perfect recipe

For the perfect
fake organ lining.

That right there
is the tauntaun appendix.

[ chuckles ]

But it takes several hours
of trial and error...

[ air blows ]
oh!

Oh, it's ripping.

...Before dr. Frankenhyneman...

[ pop ]

[ laughs ]

We have such fun.

...Hits on the right formula
and manufacturing technique.

[ chuckles ]

That's what
I'm talking about.

Jamie: This kind of
experimentation is...

Pretty much the only way you get
to this sort of result --

Tauntaun guts.

When we fill this with
some kind of goopy stuff,

It's gonna look totally organic.

Narrator:
It's not just the looks.

[ laughs ]

When filled, warmed,
and placed in the body cavity...

...Jamie's tauntaun intestines

Will have the same thermal
conductive properties

Of internal organs.

Adam: I have to admit
that when I was 13

And I fantasized about being
inside the "star wars" universe,

I have to tell you,
it never occurred to me

That I would be operating
on a tauntaun.

[ chuckles ] wow.

The cavity is set up like
a nice, neat envelope,

And all we need now is
a stand-in luke skywalker --

Hopefully, one
that can freeze to death.

Hmm -- let's see.
Ah! Ding!

Found it.

Remember this guy we built
for the "titanic" myth?

Look at you,
you handsome devil.

He's got over a quarter mile
of copper-tubing veins,

Plus a 300-watt heater

That keeps his body temperature
at exactly 98.6.

All we got to do is
dress him up in luke's costume,

Stuff him in our
finished tauntaun

Inside of some kind of freezer

We haven't figured out
how to build yet,

And we get to test this myth.

Go! Go!

Oh.

Narrator: Meanwhile,
back at the trial run...

Grant:
Okay, stop there.

Okay.
Getting out of here.

Narrator:
...The chicken-walker crusher

Is cracking under the strain...

[ wood creaking ]

...Some ways short
of the full 45 degrees.

It's let loose now
or risk a catastrophic collapse.

All right.

This is giant log crusher
proof of concept.

Take it away, grant.

In three...Two...One.

Wow!

Narrator:
They may not have reached
the ideal swing height...

But there was an encouraging
amount of destruction.

That was awesome!

[ laughing ] yeah!

Tory:
I would call that a success.

The ewok weapon seemed to work.

However...

I think if we put
the armored vehicle up there...

Ewoks are squishy
when you run them over.

...We are not gonna see
the same type of damage.

Ahh! This thing feels
indestructible.

Kari: This big, badass truck
right here

Is our "mythbusters" answer
to the light armored vehicles

That scout through
the ewok forest.

[ sighs ]
that's better.

[ squeals ]

I'm really curious to see
if the ewoks can take this down.

Narrator:
To find out, they need to
seriously reconfigure the rig.

And the first part
of the solution

Is more steel for more strength.

Tory: Now we are moving on
to the armored vehicle.

We're gonna place that
on the ground

And lower the logs
to the same level.

[ bellows ]
what that's gonna do --

It's gonna give us more length
on the cable,

Which in turn means

We'll be able
to lift those logs higher.

And so, when we release them,

It's gonna give us
a lot more energy.

Say goodbye
to the armored truck.

Narrator: The lengthened cable
should ensure

They get to the requisite
45 degrees.

But with structural stability
far from certain...

[ rip ]
kari: Aah! [ laughs ]

...The guys retreat to safety.

Okay, guys, go ahead
and pull the logs up.

And while the logs
are winched into position,

Grant will answer
your burning question.

Grant: Okay, so, you're saying,
"now, wait a minute.

Your vehicle's not at the same
height as the at-st."

Well, just remember
what this myth is about.

It's about two giant logs
crushing an armored vehicle.

And that can happen whether it's
in the air or on the ground.

Narrator: Despite the incredible
forces at play,

The swing is holding.

And with the logs
in their start position...

All right.
Take it away.

...It's time to find out

If the ewoks'
rope-and-stick trick

Could have really crushed

The steely mechanical might
of the evil empire.

Kari: This is log crusher
against chicken walker --

Actually, armored truck --

In three, two, one.

Grant: Oh, ho!
Oh!

Wow! That was so cool!

That was beautiful!

Well,
there's your answer.

Narrator: Asked...

"star wars"!

...And answered.

I really think we're making
all those little ewoks proud.

Tory:
So, we are not testing

Whether or not ewoks
could build this weapon.

We're assuming they could.

What we're testing is

Whether or not
it's an effective weapon,

And we have proven that it is.

However, you'd have to be
the luckiest little ewok

To make sure that
one of those chicken walkers

Was at the right height
and it was at the right spot

When the two logs came together.

To me, that is
a one-in-a-million shot.

Narrator: Unlikely...

But possible.

The myth is plausible.

Narrator:
But they're not done yet.

Kari:
Now we're just looking for

Some gratuitous
crashing and smashing.

So, we're gonna add
a stormtrooper to the cab.

Don't worry about
those ewoks.

You're in
an armored vehicle.

You got nothing
to worry about.

Push it back, smash it
with our log crusher.

Why? Just for the hell of it.

Fire!

[ laughs ]

Oh, that's gonna be
a headache.

Well, I guess it's a good day
for the rebels on endor.

Let's go home.

[ r2-d2 beeping ]

Remember, kids, hoth is not
a tourist destination.

It is a hostile
ice planet.

Don't try anything you're
about to see at home.

No. We're what
you call "experts."

[ "star wars" theme plays ]

Narrator:
Adam and jamie are testing
the tauntaun sleeping bag.

They have a tauntaun,
the intestines,

And they've resurrected
hypothermia testee thermo-boy.

Look at you,
you handsome devil.

Now they head for hoth.

Welcome to the ice planet
of hoth.

Okay, it's not hoth.

It's a refrigerator
storage facility for food.

But...

It's perfect for us to re-create
the conditions on hoth.

This is low-budget.

All we need
is a little set dressing.

Narrator: And temperatures
way, way below freezing.

And for that, they're building
a dry-ice box

Inside the already icy facility.

Jamie: He's a big beast.

I'm standing a four-inch-thick
slab of insulating foam.

On top of this,
we are gonna place,

Like, paving stones,
bricks of dry ice.

And then the tauntaun
goes on top of that.

Now, in order
to hold that cold in,

We're going to box
the tauntaun in

For the duration
of the experiment.

I think that worked out,
actually, quite nicely.

That box is gonna cover over him
and hold that cold,

And this foam floor will keep
that cold from getting away.

So, clearly, we're going
to a lot of trouble

To make it quite cold
in our freezer.

But what's our goal?

What is the temperature
on hoth?

No one in the movie
states the actual temperature,

So we looked it up
on wookieepedia,

And wookieepedia told us
that the temperature on hoth

Is between
-30 and -60 degrees celsius.

That figure comes from
a role-playing game

Released 10 years after
the "star wars" films.

Seems a little arbitrary,
but for our purposes,

To remain canon with
the "star wars" universe,

As long as our freezer gets
between -30 and -60,

We're happy.

And we'll be cold.

Narrator:
That's the outside environment.

Now, for the inside
of the insides.

That looks like
tauntaun-gut blue to me.

When dyed blue,
sodium polyacrylate

Is a suitably gross filling...

Ugh.

I've had mornings
like this. Oh!

...For the tauntaun
intestines.

Once filled...

Looks like he needs
a little more fiber.

[ laughs ]

...They'll be warmed in a bath
to 99 degrees fahrenheit...

The body temperature of
a recently dead arctic animal.

Oh, yeah.
Jamie: [ chuckles ]

Oh, yeah.

Ew.

That's just fantastic.
[ chuckles ]

Can I make guts or what?

[ both laugh ]

It's all fun and guts...

[ chuckles ]

Perfect.

...Until someone
perforates a bowel.

Well, we had everything set

And beautiful last night
with the guts.

Come in this morning,
and there's a problem.

The problem is, is that
the zip-ties we used

To close up the ends
of all of our guts

Ended up working their way

Through the vinyl
and tearing it,

So every single one of our guts
is evacuating itself.

That one's really bad.

So, I'm now attempting
to empty them all out,

Mix up a bunch more stuff
to go in this,

And remake them in a very, very
short period of time.

It is now of the essence.

Narrator: With the setback,
it's now a race to get set up.

First into the bath
is thermo-boy

Since he needs to reach
body temperature

Before the experiment can begin.

Excellent.

The water's like a nice,
really hot bath.

But there's no end
to the guts problem.

There's no ends
on any of these.

This is one.
The retied tubes

Have somehow
untied themselves.

The heat
is changing things.

It's just bizarre.
This stuff seems so resilient.

And then we put it
in water,

And it's, like,
falling to pieces.

Um...

Narrator: Undeterred, jamie
laboriously reties the organs

While adam plumbs in

Thermo-boy's heart pump
and heater.

When this gets to 99,
we're ready to start this test.

Narrator: And as they approach
body temperature,

Things are looking up.

This heart here is
one of my favorite parts

Of this experiment.

In addition to
temperature sensors

In his body, in the tauntaun,

And in the atmosphere
over there,

This heart will be
pumping blood through him.

And it's been calibrated
to have the same metabolism

As a human body.

So if he can't keep up with
the cold and starts to go sour,

We'll see it right here
on this temperature gauge.

Narrator: But as thermo-boy
gets into costume,

This cursed experiment
has more heartbreak in store...

Turn the pump off.

...A copper-tube artery
has burst.

He's bleeding!

If he bleeds to death
before he freezes to death,

It's not
a valid experiment.

[ chuckles ]
adam: You want a blowtorch?

Let's roll him.

Narrator:
Dr. Hyneman goes to work.

Jamie: Can we get something
to put between his teeth

To bite down on?
[ chuckles ]

Elevate.
Okay.

Narrator: With no insurance
to speak of...

Nippers, please.

...Luke gets a fairly basic
level of care.

Knife.
Anybody with a knife.

Jamie:
Thermo-boy here was a champ
on the "titanic" episode...

[ groans ]

...But we sprung a leak
in his circulatory system,

Because we can't provide him
with his metabolism,

We can't monitor
his temperature,

We don't have a valid test

Unless his circulatory system
is working.

It's blood. And no leaks.

Well, our day of "two steps
forward and one step back"

Has culminated in effectively
what is a waste of a whole day.

[ spits ]

Hopefully, we've learned
from our mistakes,

So it'll go
much smoother tomorrow.

Hope springs eternal.

Narrator: Earlier
on "mythbusters,"

What we didn't show you
was this dummy run with a dummy.

Sophia, this is what it's
gonna sort of be like

When you're up here with me.

So... [ grunts ]
sophia: [ laughing ]

[ laughing ]
jamie: Oops.

It's gonna be like that?

No, not like that.
I'm really excited.

It won't be like that.
You'll be able to hold on.

Ohhh!

Sophia: I am confident that
jamie's not going to drop me.

And you know, if not,
I'm sure my buns will save me.

Narrator:
With thermo-boy patched up...

[ groans ]

Adam: Let's get the second
pair of pants on.

Narrator: ...And dressed up,
the troubles of yesterday...

Tauntaun delivery.

Who ordered the tauntaun?

...Seems so far away.

So, now the next step
is to put luke in a tauntaun...

[ splattering ]

It sounds perfect.

...Put him in the sub-zero
weather of hoth,

And find out if han
was doing the right thing.

Ohh!
Oh!

Narrator:
Once luke is in place,

They'll add the organs
they managed to salvage.

Adam: [ chuckles ]

Meanwhile, in go
the bath-warmed bodily fluids...

♪ great big gobs of
goopy, grimy tauntaun guts ♪

Okay, up.

Jamie:
Okay, so, we've got this

Fictitious creature
named a tauntaun,

And it comes from
the fictitious planet hoth,

Which we know is very cold.

Luke is going
into the tauntaun.

That actually fit.

We've decided to construct
our tauntaun

To be very like a polar bear.

And I thought they smelled bad
on the outside.

The polar bear
has a thick layer of fur

And a thick layer of blubber.

That's the liver.

Here comes the spleen.

Our tauntaun
has a thick layer of fur,

But in lieu of blubber,
it has some foam rubber.

I know what that is.
[ chuckles ]

Narrator:
To maintain that model,

The tauntaun's core temperature
will start the test

About the same
as a polar bear's --

99 degrees fahrenheit.

Jamie: Tauntaun express.

You're clear
on your left?

All right.
You can lower him down.

Adam:
With the necessity to have

The tauntaun's core temperature
be the right number

And luke's core temperature
being the right number...

All right, I'm gonna
start luke's heart.

...And the actual
hoth planet surface

Being the right temperature,
the shelter built around it,

Probes inside of it, cameras,

Heart blood pumping
from the outside --

This is, without a doubt,

The most complex and sensitive

Experimental rig we have ever
implemented on this show.

Narrator:
With the tauntaun laying atop
his bed of dry ice...

All right.

...He's boxed in.

[ chuckles ]

Ladies and gentlemen,
night has fallen on hoth.

...The temperature plummets
and all is finally ready.

Adam: So, we have hit
our lower temperature limit.

Between the several hundred
pounds of dry ice

And the very cold ambient
temperature here in the freezer,

We are maintaining
a steady -40 degrees celsius.

All right, sir.
It's time.

Off we go.

The question is,
how long does luke have in here?

Well, han says,
"this will keep you warm

Until I can get
a shelter built."

All right, time zero.
Luke's core, 95.

Now, average time
it would take a climber,

Under very adverse conditions,
to built a snow cave

Is between two and three hours.

I've built a snow cave,
you know.

Yeah.

Spent the night in one
up on a mountaintop.

Given that han
is a capable fellow

And he's got a lightsaber,

We're giving him
2 1/2 hours

For luke to survive long enough
for the shelter to be built.

Narrator:
With the clock running...

All we got to do now
is wait.

...It's all eyes
on the gauges.

But one of them
got a head start.

But, wait,
I can hear you saying, "what?

"the human
body temperature's 98.6.

"why are we starting
this test

With luke's body temperature
at 95?"

Well, it's because we're
making the assumption

That he's already suffered
some heat loss.

Narrator:
Injured and left for dead,

Luke is already
mildly hypothermic.

All right. 10 minutes in.

Let's see.

94 -- he's lost a degree.

But he has to hit
82 degrees,

The critical point of no return,
before he dies.

Will he make it?

Jamie: It's one hour.

Still reading his core
at 93.

I remember,
when we started this,

I thought, "total b.S.
No way is it gonna work."

The time ticks away,

And the wet and warm,
recently deceased tauntaun

Appears to do exactly
what han intended,

Because at 2 1/2 hours,
the snow cave is built.

Dude, 2 1/2 hours
is up.

Let's go check him out.

And, amazingly, thermo-boy's
human-equivalent metabolism

Has only begun to cool down.

[ chuckles ]
what's the data say?

Luke went into the tauntaun,

He was mildly hypothermic,
at 95 degrees.

And in the last two hours,
he's dropped to only 92.

On the face of it, crawling into
a dead-animal carcass

Might not seem to be
the best way to stay warm.

But the thing is
that most mammals

Are made up of about 75% water.

And water has
a phenomenal ability

To absorb and retain heat.

So, if you had access

To the large thermal mass
of a large animal

And could get inside it,
it might just save your life.

This myth is plausible.

However fictional,
it's plausible.

That's pretty cool.

[ tauntaun growls ]

[ roars ]

Narrator:
And so the journey ends.

As newton almost said,

"the force equals
mythbusters times awesome."

[ imitates lightsaber ]

Jamie: Tauntaun guts.

Narrator: The team
pulled back the curtain,

Examined, explored,
and experimented.

[ laughs ]

They tested one of the greatest
tall tales of all time...

Yub yub!

You look fantastic.

...And made it a reality.

[ chuckles ]

Adam:
You totally made it!

Bite me, empire!
[ laughs ]

[ beeping ]