Original subtitles

It may not look like it, but we're professionals.

Do us a favor...

Don't try this at home! Whoa!

Narrator: Throughout the ages,

Mankind has pushed the limits of endurance and ingenuity

To make the impossible possible.

Man: The eagle has landed.

Narrator: And now, the mythbusters

Are about to join them.

[ both laugh ]

Yep -- jamie and adam are, uh, herding cats.

[ cats yowl, hiss ] oh!

That is really scary as hell.

Narrator: But will they be the world's first

"cat"tle rustlers? [ cat yowls ]

I'm going to get you. I'm going to get you.

[ dog barks ]

[ adam laughs ]

Meanwhile, kari, tory, and grant cut to the chase...

[ pig squeals ] ah!

Kari: Got her leg. Oh!

Narrator: ...And grease the squeals...

Grant: Poor pig doesn't know what hit him.

Narrator: ...To find out if hauling a hog

Could really be as hard as they say.

[ pig squeals ]

Ew, there's poop on my hands.

Ugh!

Narrator: Who are the mythbusters?

Adam savage...

I got the chicken! [ laughs ]

...And jamie hyneman.

What could go wrong?

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

Together with tory belleci...

Let's chop this car up!

Narrator: ...Grant imahara...

Something just touched me!

...And kari byron.

Aw!

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

First up, adam and jamie let the cat out of the bag

With this myth-ssion impossible.

So, I got a memo from production that said "impossible."

What's that about?

Yes, it's because over the years on this show,

We have done many, many things

Formerly considered to be completely impossible.

Like, remember when we made a concrete airplane?

Ah, impossible, like lead balloon.

[ laugh ] it's perfect.

Exactly.

So, this entire episode that we're about to do

Is all about us attempting things

Thought to be impossible.

Like what?

First up -- herding cats.

Seriously?

Seriously.

Cats -- so individualistic, independent, and aloof.

They say you don't own a cat, it owns you.

Which is why the phrase "herding cats"

Is synonymous with impossible.

But, could you ever rustle up a flock of felines

Without resorting to movie magic?

So, what do you think we should start with?

I think we should find someone

That teaches herding for a living

And have them teach us

On some kind of animal that's easy to herd.

Like sheep or something.

Exactly.

Okay.

Let's get herding.

Yep, they'll be pitting their wits

Against crabby tabbies later.

But first, they've got to learn how to actually herd.

Well, this is perfect.

Jamie: That's a herd.

Let's see about moving it around.

So, we wanted some instruction in the herding of animals,

And we found the perfect location

Up here in vacaville, california --

A farmed owned by debbie pollard called herding-4-ewe.

Debbie is going to run jamie and I

Through the rudiments of animal herding.

Narrator: And what it comes to herding,

The best way to learn is by observing.

So, debbie gives the guys some pointers

By first getting her ducks in a row.

Jamie: It's kind of like a dance, in a way, you know?

A very delicate dance.

You kind of move in, and then you move away.

You got to kind of feather them in.

Got them.

But the mythbusters won't be "ducking" around.

Instead, they'll be learning the ropes

With a herd of six wooly wanderers.

Now that it's time to be herding sheep,

We're going to take this in baby steps.

Jamie's going to walk the course while I describe it.

We are going to merely walk them

From the upper right-hand corner down the fence line

To the lower left-hand corner,

Make a left at that piece of fence,

And up through the middle.

Not through the middle gate,

Just into the middle of that side of the paddock.

Then, once we've got that down,

We are going to try and each individually

Maneuver the sheep through that gate in the middle

And back up to the top right-hand corner.

Narrator: Country boy jamie is the first to tend to the flock.

There you go, guys. In you go.

And his firm but gentle technique

Is a real crowd-pleaser.

[ sheep bleating ]

I think what they're saying is,

"don't trust the white guy with the big mustache."

Narrator: Although one sheep puts up a little resistance,

Jamie guides him back to the herd.

I'm onto you.

And you can bet the farm he soon got them home safe.

Nicely done, sir.

I did it. That was beautiful.

There's a little bit of a delicate dance

That we have to do to get them through the gate,

But I did it -- it worked.

Narrator: So now, it's the savage's turn to shepherd.

All right. They're already walking in the direction I want.

How hard can this be?

All right, sheeps.

Adam's breezing through

Because sheep have evolved to stick together

For safety in numbers.

Well, he's doing good.

He's got them all in a nice, tight group.

No, no, no, we're going to keep going.

Narrator: And while the sheep's natural instinct is to huddle,

Will a group of feisty felines ever flock together?

You're doing very well. [ sheep bleating ]

It's a pleasure working with you gentlemen...

And ladies.

Oh, these guys are doing so well.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no!

Adam: That's it! That's it!

That's it! That's it! That's it!

Yes!

Narrator: Adam and jamie

Each herded their sheep through the course

In three minutes.

Yippee!

But when you put the mythbusters among the felines,

Can they achieve the impossible and herd cats?

[ cats meow, hiss ]

[ both laugh ]

[ cats hiss, dog barks ]

Next, can kari, tory, and grant really bring home the bacon?

[ pig snorts ]

All right, so, like jamie and adam,

We are also testing idioms.

But ours are dealing with pigs.

[ pig squeals ]

Want to take a guess? When pigs fly?

Nope.

Silk purse out of a sow's ear?

Nope -- both of them are good,

And maybe at some point we'll test those,

But ours is catching a greased pig.

Oh, "as impossible as catching a greased pig."

Ew.

Narrator: "sweat like a pig."

"eat like a pig."

"squeal like a pig."

Idioms don't give our porcine pals the best rap.

However, this phrase suggests they sure can run.

But with a load of lube,

Are they really impossible to pin down,

Or is this saying total hogwash?

Well, maybe the task is gonna be hard,

But the plan's pretty simple --

Get pig, grease pig, chase pig, right?

Yeah. Sounds like we need a pig farm.

[ chuckles ]

This is weird.

Narrator: Weird, maybe, but at walnut keep,

They've got all the pigs they need

To go the whole hog on testing.

[ laughs ]

That one's cute.

These are a lot bigger than I imagined.

Grant: I see a lot of good candidates out there.

Narrator: And just in case you were worried...

Now, I know you're thinking --

How could you be having a greased pig contest?

They're so cute.

Why would you want to harm them?

But we've been given expert advice

On how to handle these pigs

So that none of them get hurt.

I mean, look at how adorable they are.

[ pig snorts ]

Here, piggy, piggy, piggy, piggy!

Narrator: Yep, no pigs will be harmed during this test.

But they certainly will be greased.

[ pigs snort ]

All right, so, I have been tasked

With mixing up the grease for the greased pig experiment.

Now, what we're going to be using

Is an animal birthing agent.

Jamie and adam used this

For the slippery banana peel experiment.

Oh! [ laughs ]

It's not gonna harm the pigs.

It's...Natural.

They use it in the veterinary process.

Narrator: Natural and just as slippery as grease.

Ooh, it's thickening! Ugh.

Narrator: So, now, to break down how this is going to work.

Grant: When it comes time,

We'll release the pig from the squeeze.

It's going to run around,

And we'll time how long it takes for us to catch the pig

And bring it into the eight-foot diameter circle

In the middle of this pen.

Narrator: And first to haul hog will be kari.

Kari: See my pig coming?

He's a nice, small, adorable little pig.

I think they picked a good one out for me.

Grant: Whoa. Tory: Whoa, he's slippery.

And feisty.

He's gonna be hard to catch.

My strategy?

Just gonna run and hope I can catch it.

Those things are fast, especially the little guys.

[ pig snorts ]

Narrator: Fast and covered in a thick layer

Of animal birthing agent.

All right, kari, good luck!

Kari gives chase and quickly corners her porker.

Good technique, got him in a corner.

Oh, but now I have to touch him.

[ screams ]

Yeah, you got a leg!

Ew! Ew! Ew!

Ew! Ew! Ew!

Ew! Ew! Ewww! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!

There's poop on my hand!

Time! Time!

Narrator: Kari seized her swine

Using the traditional rear-leg grab.

But, she was more distressed than her pig.

Kari: I need some sanitizer!

Ew!

There's poop on my hands.

Ugh!

Smell my hands! No!

Good job! Now go wash up.

High-five.

Narrator: Well, despite her germaphobia,

Kari caught her pig in less than a minute.

That quick result certainly throws doubt on the myth.

But perhaps this idiom all comes down to size.

I got the back legs and the undercarriage.

This is so weird.

So, kari lubes up a 40-pound squealer for grant.

Come on.

All right, grant, you ready?

Ready.

You ready, piggy?

[ pig grunts ] here we go!

[ pig squealing ]

Narrator: Grant's hot on the greased trotters of his pig.

Oh, boy.

Yeah?! Ahh!

[ laughter ]

Careful, grant.

Remember, you've got to outsmart the pig.

Narrator: However, after a minute and a half

Of the runaround,

The pig decides to fight her corner.

Grant: He's clomping his teeth at me, man!

That's not cool!

Kari: She thinks you look delicious.

Get it! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! You got her!

Tory: Got a leg! You got a leg!

You got a leg!

You're coming with me, buddy!

Narrator: And as grant drags the pig to the ring,

This myth is looking shaky.

Kari: Whoo! You did it! Time!

Nice work!

Narrator: Grant made it in two minutes,

And kari in 55 seconds.

And those times are far from impossible.

You know, so far,

It's not really looking very good for this myth.

But we're still working with baby pigs.

We're going to have to get a much bigger pig for tory.

Something to give him a real challenge.

[ pig squeals ]

I'm not looking forward to this. Not one bit.

Poo! Narrator: Later...

Adam and jamie have a myth

That gets the scoop on poop.

Sometimes, it takes a while to make a nice poop.

Narrator: Cats and sheep --

You'd be hard-pressed to find many similarities

Between the two.

And although herding sheep is routine,

Herding cats is supposedly impossible.

But after learning the "herd" way,

Adam and jamie are about to test their skills on cats.

[ cat meows ]

Adam: Our task here is pretty straightforward.

We have a pen that's 35x45 feet,

And we're gonna fill it with eight cats.

Our job is to move those cats from the big pen...

...Into the little pen,

Or as we're fond of calling it,

The cat corral.

Narrator: And thanks to

The animal friends rescue project,

They've got eight curious kitties to round up.

Okay.

Now it's safe to unleash the beasts.

[ cat meows ]

This is exactly what I will look like

When I come back as a cat.

See?

Sorry.

Narrator: But as the cats explore the arena,

It's clear there's a problem.

Adam: We chose this flexible orange netting

Because we thought it would be impossible

For the cats to climb.

It does turn out to be possible

For them to shove their heads in it to try and get out,

And maybe stretch it enough to get out,

Or, at worst, maybe choke themselves

[ sighs ]

Narrator: So to keep that curiosity at bay,

The guys have a handy plastic solution.

Cat's probing the weakness of our system.

Narrator: With the cats contained,

They're ready for some cat herding.

And first, it's over to adam

And his gifts of "purr"suasion.

Good luck, buddy. Okay.

You want to go this way.

Straight away, the big difference

Between sheep and cats is that these cats

Will not flock together,

I guess because it's not natural behavior for them.

Come on.

So that means I'm trying to cajole them

Into the pen one by one.

Hey, red.

Let's go over to the pen. What do you say?

Let's take a walk over there, see what's going on.

This looks like it could be cool.

Maybe this is an exit.

No, no, no, no.

In, in, in! Wait, no!

But now, it's been five minutes,

And even this one-on-one technique,

Which obviously you can't call herding,

Isn't working at all.

I cannot get this cats to go anywhere

That I want them to go.

[ chuckles ] he's like, "amateur."

[ laughs ]

Jamie, whatever the opposite of luck is,

That's what I'm having here.

Narrator: Yep, the cat's instinctive response to adam

Is to ignore him.

So he tries something a little more hands-on.

All right, I'm just gonna put them in the pen,

See if I can get them all in.

I know this is cheating, but it's all I got.

Narrator: But, as the number of cats in the pen grows,

So does they caterwauling.

[ cats yowl, hiss ] oh!

That was a bad idea of mine. I'm very sorry.

Narrator: At the 10-minute mark,

It looks like adam's about to close the gate on eight cats.

It's happening!

[ cat meows ]

Oh!

Defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

I give up. I got seven.

I'm going with that as my score. It's your turn.

[ cat yowls ]

Narrator: The cats refuse to flock together,

So adam cheated seven into the corral.

But can the hyneman go one better

And actually herd them?

Jamie: Let's start over here.

Right.

So, I can see this cat's afraid of me.

[ cat yowls, hisses ] that's it. Go on.

Go on. Oh. Aww.

Go on.

So I'm gonna gently intimidate it

To get it to go where I want.

Yay!

Jamie, nice!

Well done.

One cat -- I got to do it exactly what I wanted.

But although the cats are going into the corral

Of their own free will,

It's a tactic that only works one cat at a time,

So I'm not so sure this counts as herding.

Narrator: Jamie's one-on-one approach

Has gotten five cats into the corral,

But he's hit a snag.

Go on. Go.

[ chuckles ] he's moving you back

More than you're moving him forward.

Narrator: There are still three cats to go...

[ cat meows ] jamie: Go. Go. Go.

Come on!

Narrator: ...And none of them are afraid of him.

I don't think you're gonna get him to move, jamie.

Okay. Well, I got five in the pen.

I got three that just wouldn't play ball.

It was very respectable.

Nicely done.

Are you almost ready to die? [ both laugh ]

Adam: Well, jamie's technique worked far better than mine.

By stamping his feet and clapping his hands,

He was able to cajole

Five of these felines into the pen,

But that still gives him a 36% failure rate.

I think we're gonna have to bring some technology

Into this mix.

And by technology, I mean cat toys.

[ pigs snort ]

Narrator: So far, two mythbusters have caught two pigs,

And all in under five minutes.

Whoo!

But now, it's tory's turn to play catch,

And he's got a much heftier hog.

Kari: She said her favorite dish is italian.

150 pounds of pig is caked in two gallons of grease

And then released.

Hey! Hey! Tory: She's getting out.

All right, start the timer.

All right, baby. Just chill. Just be cool.

Just be cool.

Whoa! You almost got her!

Damn it! Go for the leg!

Oh, you're tiring her out. There you go!

You got her! You got her!

Oh. Holy crap.

She is heavy.

And strong.

Narrator: Yep, at 3/4 of tory's body weight,

She's a lot of hog to handle.

She's tiring you out.

They was her strategy the whole time.

She might be smarter than us.

God... [ laughs ]

Narrator: Finally, just before the five-minute mark...

Wheelbarrow -- I like that technique.

You're doing it!

...Tory gets a grip on a leg

And heaves his hog into the ring.

Kari: Whoo! You did it!

That was probably one of the hardest things

I've ever done on this show.

That girl was big...

Fat...

Tough...

Strong...

Stinky.

But man, she's tenacious.

Narrator: Clearly

All the mythbusters caught their pigs,

Even if it did get harder as the porkers got porkier.

So, this myth says

That catching a greased pig is impossible.

But we've shown that,

If you have enough time

And if you have enough patience,

You can do it.

It's very difficult, but it's not impossible,

Which means this myth is busted.

But that's not to say we couldn't make it easier.

So that means it's time to go back to the shop.

So, this is clearly busted.

It's not impossible to catch a greased pig.

But we're mythbusters.

I feel like we could do this better,

You know, make a better pigger-upper.

All right, well, a few ground rules.

No tranquilizer darts and no nets.

Whatever we make, we have to carry along with us.

And the most important rule --

No pig shall be harmed in the making of this episode.

Of course!

Narrator: So having proved this task is not impossible,

Just downright difficult,

It's time to bust out that old mythbusters ingenuity

And create some pigger-uppers

To make catching greased pigs a breeze.

And each mythbuster

Has a very different pig-catching tactic to try.

And this one is mine.

[ laughs maniacally ]

That's right!

I got a pair of grabby claws.

Now, these are made out of plastic

And they might break.

So I'm gonna remake my own.

Get ready, porky!

It's time for round two!

[ bell dings ]

[ grunts ]

Now, for my technique for catching the pig,

I'm gonna be using suction.

Now, we've used suction a lot on this show,

Like when adam climbed up the side of a building.

Jamie: Well, good luck there,

Little buddy. Thank you.

But I'm not just gonna be

Using the plungers for the suction alone.

I'm also going to attach

Some vacuum cleaners to the plungers.

Let's see if that greased pig can get away.

Ah!

When things get really complicated for a simple task,

You really just have to keep it simple.

So, I know tory's working with an idea that sort of sucks,

And grant's got a lot of air.

I'm hoping for a softer touch here.

I'm thinking that this fur

Will grab on to the lube

And make it so that I can actually

Hold on to the pig easily.

Narrator: Well, that's one part of kari's tactic.

But to make the pigs come to her,

She's got a secret ingredient.

You ever heard, "eat like a pig?"

Well, I found some things

That are irresistible to the swine.

So, as the piggy's getting into the food,

I'm gonna sneak up right behind him,

Get right in the blind spot

[blows] and pick him up.

Narrator: Kari's finished,

But tory's idea is just starting to come together.

And although it may seem like

Something from the cartoon villain handbook...

[ imitates pig squealing ]

Narrator: ...With plungers attached to vacuum hoses,

It sure will suck.

Liposuction!

Get your fresh, hot liposuction!

Narrator: And while tory's been plugging away,

Grant's getting some air to power his claws.

So, what I've got so far is a backpack with my air supply,

A couple solenoid valves, a battery --

Everything that I need to power these actuators,

Which are going to be connected to my arms.

The last piece of the puzzle is the claw.

Narrator: And by machining some aluminum elements,

Hopefully, he's got that sorted.

Grant: Okay. I am done with my claws.

Time for a little test.

[ laughs maniacally ]

All right, they do look a little pinchy,

So I think what I'm going to do

Is cut up, like, a padded welding glove

And put it over each claw.

Narrator: Yep, grant's plan is to rule with an aluminum fist.

Grant: This is claw test

In three, two, one...

[ claw clacks ]

As you can see, no marks, no damage.

It'll hold the pigs leg securely

Without causing the pig any harm.

Operation pig catcher is complete.

But now, it's time to test our devices on real pigs.

This is going to be interesting.

[ imitates pig squealing ]

Narrator: Coming up, the mythbusters enter the ring

With more foxy felines.

But is there more than one way to herd a cat?

Narrator: Taking a catnap from cats,

Next is a myth that stinks.

So, what's up next?

10 pounds of poop in a five-pound bag.

Yeah, I know what you mean, but what's the story?

Oh, no, no, no, that is the story.

It's the idiomatic phrase,

"you can't put 10 pounds of poop in a five-pound bag."

You mean, like, indicating something is impossible?

Exactly.

Well, I've always heard it said,

"10 pounds of [bleep] in a five-pound bag."

So have I,

But because it's a family show,

We can't say [bleep]

Well, can we say crap?

Well, apparently we can say crap,

But only twice in an episode,

And we just did.

Ah [bleep]

Narrator: It's a phrase that implies

Something is explicitly undoable.

But is this scatological saying logical?

Is it really impossible to scoop 10 pounds of poop

Into a five-pound bag?

Well, to find out,

First they're going to need that mythical bag.

Welcome to the "mythbusters" poopcraft corner.

Today, we'll be making a bag

That holds precisely five pounds of poop.

What we've got here is...

A bunch of pounds of -- whoo! --

Horse poop.

Horse pucky.

It's real.

Poo! [ laughs ]

Narrator: So, the first order of business

Is to weigh out five pounds of equine number two.

I'm going to have to etch onto this,

"never use this bowl for food."

Five pounds of poop.

Narrator: Next, adam sews a bag that holds just that volume.

Adam: That right there, my friends,

Is a five-pound bag of poop.

You can give these away for birthdays,

Weddings, bar mitzvahs -- whatever you want.

Narrator: And while adam's been on doodoo duty...

Looks perfect.

...Jamie's been working on a way

To compress 10 pounds of poop

Into adam's five-pound bag.

This thing right here is an engine hoist.

Now normally, it's used to lift an engine off the ground

With that hydraulic piston and this lever.

But, the way I see it,

If I take that piston out and I put a longer lever here,

I'll have myself something like a gigantic garlic press.

And that might be just the thing

To compress 10 pounds of poop into a five-pound bag.

I reckon that ought to work just fine.

Narrator: So now to see what the poop press can do.

Loading the poop.

But it's gonna require some straining.

[ grunts ]

Just be patient.

Sometimes it takes a while to make a nice poo.

And, unsurprisingly, all that pressure

Is also producing a lot of toxic brown sludge.

That's got to be thousands of pounds

Of pressure on that.

I think that's probably good enough.

All right, let's try that out.

[ grunts ]

All right.

Compared to an uncompressed 10 pounds of poop,

Their shtick brick is almost half the size.

But does that mean it'll fit into adam's bag?

Adam: That's an impressive amount of compression.

Jamie: Yeah, we're on the right track.

We have the tools.

We have the, you know, the methodology.

And I think we're on the road to success.

Well, with the bag and the poop press

And the poop loaded...

Ugh -- this is freaking disgusting.

I tell you what -- I'm glad it's not dog poo, though.

...It's time to put on the squeeze.

Okay, ready? Yeah.

[ german accent ] we harvest the poop

Twice a year in the spring and the fall.

Baked into cakes which are fermented in our attic.

As that disgusting fluid runs off,

It's clear the 10 pounds of dung is diminishing.

But... Okay, pulling it up.

All right.

Oh, okay,

So this is one of the problems we're having.

Okay, well let's... We're accordioning.

See if you can settle that down in there.

So, with a little manual assistance,

The poop is pushed down further into the bag.

Jamie's family have been manure massagers

For three centuries --

Started just before the american revolution.

And that hands-on approach has them nearing the finish.

Adam: We're getting closer. Jamie: Yeah.

Now remember, we've got to tie that

Under that line, right?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay.

The bag goes back into the press once more.

Okay, go for it.

And after a final, heroic push...

Dude, dude!

♪ hallelujah ♪

♪ hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

Jamie: Well, after all that wrangling,

We took that 10 pounds of poop

And put it into that bag.

It fits in a five-pound bag.

♪ hallelujah ♪

Narrator: It's mission accomplished.

Or is it?

We did it! We did it!

Ten pounds of poop in a five -- uh-oh.

Jamie: How much does it weigh?

It weighs 7½ pounds.

Well, I guess that means we squeezed

2½ pounds of water out of it.

Most poop, or all poop, has water in it,

And if we squeezed it out, we ought to put it back.

It's part of the poop.

I feel like that's cheating.

Water's not poop.

This is poop.

I think this equals poop,

And this is what we need to put in here.

It's amazing what kind of philosophical discussions

You can get into in trying to put poop in a bag.

You would think it would be simpler.

Narrator: Yep, this myth confuses volumes and mass.

Five pounds of poop fits the bag with no room to spare.

But when we compact 10 pounds,

Which had twice the initial volume,

It now fits into the same bag.

However, the water that's lost during compression

Means the bag no longer weighs

The 10 pounds it's supposed to.

So, how to call it?

Jamie: On the one hand, we were able to take 10 pounds of poop

And fit it into a five-pound bag.

So, you might say we were successful.

But on the other hand, in that process,

We lost a couple pounds of liquid,

So the final resulting bag weighs less than 10 pounds.

So, you would say that we were unsuccessful.

I'm inclined to accept the latter,

Because by definition,

If you're taking 10 pounds of poop

And putting it in a five-pound bag,

That bag ought to weigh 10 pounds.

Now, that may be a little bit of a crappy conclusion,

But, heck,

Who gives a [bleep]

Narrator: As yet, catching a greased pig has been comical,

But not impossible.

So now, the team is getting competitive.

Kari: Whoo! You did it!

Now, we are back

With our own inventions to catch pigs.

Now, as it stands, it took kari a minute to catch hers,

It took grant two minutes to catch his,

And it took me a whole five minutes.

We're going to do it again and see who comes on top.

Narrator: Yep, and first to try for the pig-catching cup is kari,

Who's keeping it simple with a bait-and-pick strategy.

Kari: Okay, so hopefully...

He'll stop, get a snack, and then bam.

Narrator: The gloves are on, but will they mean

Kari can catch this greased oinker with ease?

He's getting really slippery now.

All right, let's, uh... Hang on. I'm good.

All right. You ready? You ready, kari?

All right, get ready to start the clock.

Ready? Yep, go for it.

And, go!

Okay, so he jumped right over the food.

Narrator: Yep, kari's little piggy

Ignored her tasty trap...

Kari: This is a lot faster today!

[ laughter ]

He's wearing you out.

Narrator: ...Making a break for the perimeter.

But once she's got him cornered,

The second part of her plan fits like a glove.

Kari: [ grunts ]

Oh, she got him!

There you go. I'll tell you what --

Once I actually did catch up to him,

It was easier to grab him.

[ laughter ]

Time! Yes.

Yeah! [ laughs ]

Solved two problems.

One, not afraid to touch the pigs, got gloves.

Two, they gripped perfectly,

And the pig, when I grabbed on, didn't seem to mind.

It was like, "oh, I like this."

Kari: I am just like a pig in mud,

Happy over the way that this glove thing worked out.

I didn't have to touch the disgusting little critters.

I got to grab onto them

With a much softer but firm grip.

And it all worked out.

Narrator: Simplicity was the key to kari's success.

But can grant beat his two-minute target

And claw his way into the lead?

Oh, my goodness.

Okay, and start the time!

The pig is keen to get started,

And although grant's got a longer reach

With his pig-friendly claws...

He's going for it whole-hog.

[ laughs ]

...He's got to catch up to the pig first.

[ grant panting ]

All those near misses have grant all puffed out.

Grant: Ah!

Narrator: But finally, after completely exhausting porky,

Grant gets his claw on the pig.

Oh! You got him!

Oh! Oh, my god!

You did! Grant: Yes!

No way!

Yes! It worked!

Yeah! Whoo!

Whoo!

Nice work!

I can't believe that actually worked.

That did work.

However, you doubled your time.

What?!

It was way more entertaining.

Yeah. All right.

Narrator: Entertaining,

But twice as long,

Meaning his claws are no pig-catching shortcut.

Grant: It's so unwieldy to deploy

And so difficult to aim that --

Well, that pretty much ate up all my time.

So, one out of two ain't bad, right?

Narrator: So, grant's claws are out of contention,

And kari's fur gloves retain the lead.

But can dr. Vac enter the ring

And hoover up the title

To become the ultimate pig picker?

Come on, suck him up!

Please do not try

What you are about to see at home.

We are what you call experts.

Narrator: Whether it be finding a needle in a haystack...

Bone needle! Bone needle!

Narrator: ...Or making a lead balloon that can fly...

Take it as a challenge!

...Making the impossible possible

Has put the mythbusters on the map.

But when it comes to the idea of herding

A throng of strong-willed cats cross-country,

Have they reached the end of the line?

[ cats yowl, hiss ] oh.

That was a bad idea of mine. I'm very sorry.

So now, in order to proceed,

We're going to reduce the number of cats we have to "herd"

To the smallest number we can still call several cats,

And that is three cats.

We are also going to enlist the aid

Of some kitty interest aids --

Colloquially known as cat toys -- to help us.

Narrator: Yep, it's well known that cats have a weakness for toys,

And fewer cats should make

Grouping them together easier, right?

So, with a buffet of cat-tempting toys,

Adam selected a famous feline lure.

But, he's adding an irresistible twist.

Gonna to empty the catnip in the bag

So that when I shake the mouse in,

It gets completely covered in the catnip.

Yes.

Hopefully, that's gonna be one desirable mouse.

Narrator: Hopefully.

But will this trio of mischievous moggies --

Puffball the punisher,

The crabby tabby,

And devious domino --

Take the bait and end up behind the gate?

Time to go cat fishing.

Narrator: Adam casts his line and waits for a bite.

Oh, I've got some interest.

And for the first time, he's got the predators hooked.

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Jamie: Well, you've got two cats at once

Moving their way towards the trap.

Totes.

Adam's fake prey finally has two cats

Moving together towards the corral.

But they quickly lose interest.

So, it's time to break out

The ultimate cat-attracting weapon...

Lasers.

Everybody knows that cats love lasers.

Let's find out if they prefer green --

Green or red.

Oh, yes. Okay.

We have some -- wow! Good, good, good.

But although adam had high hopes for his lasers...

No. No.

[ vocalizing rave music ]

None of the cats are guided by the light.

They can clearly see the lasers. They notice them.

They just don't seem to care.

Narrator: So after, 10 minutes, round two is over,

And it's adam 0, cats 2.

Well, as you can see,

I am all alone in this cat corral,

And I believe the cats

Have a better record of getting me into it

Than I have of getting them into it.

All of the tricks that I have employed

Have not worked at all.

I am not herding cats.

Narrator: Adam's defeated,

So jamie's contenders enter the ring.

He'll face off against miss white...

The ginger ninja...

And bob.

Adam tried to attract the cats.

That didn't work.

So I'm gonna try to repel them.

[ cat meows ]

Like earlier, jamie's using

The natural startle reflex of the cats.

Okay, go with the other kitties.

That's it.

You've got them into one corner. That's pretty good.

But, jamie's umbrella and maraca meringue

Still doesn't group the cats together.

[ maracas rattle ]

You're such a pain in the butt.

[ cat meows ]

[ laughs ]

Narrator: So he doubles down with two umbrellas.

I think we're onto something.

Okay, you're home free.

Sort of.

Nice and steady.

[ cat meows ]

Nothing to be afraid of.

That's it.

Narrator: But even double the trouble

Can't get these cranky cats to cooperate.

It seems to me that it's virtually impossible

To get these cats to behave

In any kind of grouping at all --

A herd or a flock.

I don't think it's working.

I can herd individuals,

But if you can't get them to behave as a group,

I don't think that we're being successful at herding.

Narrator: Indeed, so it's time to pull out all the stops...

Why don't we work as a team?

All right, let's do it.

As they enter the ring for a last-ditch attempt.

Two men and four umbrellas versus three cats.

Oh, yeah. We're all in a group.

That's it, slow and steady.

Go on. Go on. That's it.

Adam: Oh!

I lost the white one.

What do you think?

I think we successfully herded cats for about eight feet.

[ laughs ] yeah, I think so.

[ both laugh ]

It really is true to the saying.

[ laughs ]

Narrator: And clearly,

At the end of five unsuccessful rounds,

There's no arguing with this result.

So this is confirmed, right?

It's totally confirmed.

In every that we could've demonstrated,

Herding cats is just as difficult --

Nigh-impossible --

As the idiomatic phrase would lead you to believe.

But you know what?

I might just have an idea.

[ cat purring ]

Still to come --

The decider of the pig-picking championship.

Go, plunger man!

I'm going suck him up!

Narrator: Back at pavilion d,

The cats have staged a great escape.

We picked this particular location

Because we thought it was an easy place

To contain the cats in.

But we made one small mistake,

And that was this hole right here,

Which was just big enough for cats to get into.

So we now have several cats inside the walls,

And we're trying to herd them back out,

So to speak.

The walls may have ears,

But with a little d.I.Y. And a lot of treats,

Our escapees are soon back behind bars.

There we go.

Narrator: After complete feline failure...

It really is true to the saying.

...It's time to turn this job over to the professionals.

Hey, lance, how's it going?

[ lance whines ]

How would you feel about herding some cats?

[ lance whines ]

I was wondering what technique you were planning on using?

[ lance barks ]

Perfect idea!

Let's go.

Narrator: Yep, this myth is going to the dogs,

Because they may be man's best friend,

But they're also the archenemy of cats.

Lance and debbie

Are the ultimate droving duo from herding-4-ewe,

And if they can't herd eight cats into the corral,

Nobody can. [ cat meows ]

Adam: All right, here we go.

Three, two, one,

And go.

Narrator: Immediately, it's clear

That the cats are standing their ground.

Arched backs.

All the backs are arched.

In fact, they're going on the attack...

Here. [ cat hisses ]

...Because when cat meets dog,

Their natural instinct is to fight.

[ lance barks ]

And although lance obeys debbie's commands,

The cats do not budge one iota.

He's like, "I'm really not sure about this, boss."

Jamie: This is one of the most bizarre things I've ever seen.

It's just totally amazing.

[ both laugh ]

After six minutes of feline resistance,

It's clear not even a sheepdog can herd cats.

Lie down. Lie down.

Calm down.

You're okay. You're not in trouble.

Good boy.

Come on over here, lance.

Good boy. Good boy!

Yeah.

So what do you think was going on there?

I think he was out of his game,

And he's not used to animals that don't come together,

And he wouldn't face off something like that normally.

He's not used to dealing with predators

In that sort of situation,

And they all know the relationship, I guess.

Right. Right.

I think they thought he was lunch.

Aww!

Good job, buddy. Good job, buddy.

Hey, lance. How did that go for you?

[ lance whines ]

[ laughs ] I totally know what you mean, buddy.

You did a great job, regardless.

Good boy!

[ sighs ] that was rough.

Narrator: In the quest to find out

Who is the fastest pig catcher in the west,

Two pig pickers entered the ring.

One halved her time,

And one doubled it.

[ echoing ] but now, it's time for the final contender.

To take the lead from kari,

Tory needs to catch 150 pounds of greased porker

In less than half his previous time.

All right, let's see if I can suck.

All right, you ready, tory?

Ready!

Three, two, one, go!

Remember, you've got to cut your time by 50%.

Narrator: Tory's off to a sucky start,

But his attempt comes unplugged.

Oh, time out! Time out!

I blew a fuse.

After a quick fix,

He powers up again

With 20 seconds already on the clock.

Kari: Whoo!

Oh, that was good!

You got to keep up with the pig!

The concept works.

My suction's not strong enough.

Pull back. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Oh! [ laughs ]

Poor pig doesn't know what hit him.

I'm going to suck him up!

Narrator: The minutes tick by as tory pursues his porker

With 50 pounds of vacuum cleaner on his back.

Yes!

Yes!

But it's too light a touch

To hold onto 150 pounds of pig.

[ laughs ] go, plunger man!

You got him on the ropes!

You got him on the ropes, kid!

You've got 10 seconds left, man!

Kari: Oh, yeah! Get him in the circle!

Oh, yeah! You got him! You got him!

Oh! Oh!

You almost got him!

[ bell ringing ]

Oh, that's it! Oh, that's time.

Narrator: That signals the end of tory's five minutes,

And the end of his challenge for the pig-catching cup.

Yeah! You definitely win the award for weird.

[ both laugh ]

Dude, that was awesome!

I could see it almost working.

Man, I just needed more suction.

If that pig wasn't so strong,

I might have been able to get him to the circle.

Yeah, you definitely needed to suck more.

Yeah. All right.

This sucked pretty good, though.

[ laughs ] well, I guess that means

That kari is the winner!

Whoo! Congratulations!

Narrator: Yep, the title of the ultimate pig picker-upper

Goes to kari byron.

And so ends the swine olympics.

Now, for the myth that it's impossible

To catch a greased pig -- clearly busted.

We've learned all it takes is a slightly softer touch,

And that tory is going to make

A great supervillain janitor some day.

Well, I guess the lesson here is keep it simple.

Yep.

Ugh. Both of you need a shower.

Phew!