MythBusters is an American popular science television show (2003 - 2016; 2017) that attempts to prove different myths and urban legends as plausible or debunked by re-creating their circumstances. Several episodes of Mythbusters have attempted to recreate different movie scenes from the Indiana Jones films in order to show whether they are actually possible. The primary team of Mythbusters are two special effects experts, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman. They are assisted by a secondary team, including Grant Imahara, Tory Belleci, and Kari Byron.
MythBusters episodes relating to Indiana Jones[]
- Episode 37 (Season 3) "Escape Slide Parachute" - The MythBusters team tested the plausibility of surviving a fall from an airplane in a life raft, as depicted in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. After 3 drops with their test dummy in a raft, they determined that it was not possible to survive as shown in the film. The myth was debunked as "busted".
- Special #9 (Season 4) "Mega Movie Myths" - The MythBusters team tested the plausibility of surviving a fall through several awnings on the side of a building, as depicted in the escape from Club Obi Wan in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The test dummy was shown to survive, albeit the strain gauges indicate that serious injury was likely to occur. The myth was rated as "plausible". Team member Tory then recreated the stunt as it was set up for the movie, using pre-cut awnings and safety wires.
- Episode 111 (Season 6) "Motorcycle Flip" - Team members Adam and Jamie tested the plausibility of getting a motorcycle to flip after inserting a wooden flagpole into the spokes of the front wheel, as depicted in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. They demonstrated that it was humanly possible to throw the pole and have it pass through the spokes of a motorcycle wheel, but that a motorcycle would simply skid and stop. The myth was debunked as "busted". The team then showed how explosives placed under a stationary motorcycle could cause the bike to flip end over end in a recreation of the film scene.
- Episode 224 (Season 13) "Indiana Jones Special" - The episode itself was a special dedicated to the Indiana Jones film series overall and the myths of the episode were adapted from the first and fourth films.
- Adam and Jamie tested the plausibility of surviving a chamber full of wall-mounted poison dart launchers by running past them, as depicted in the escape from the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors in Raiders of the Lost Ark. They constructed a mockup of the temple chamber and adjusted the time delay between triggering the plate and firing the gun. Adam donned protective padding and ran across the chamber, matching Indy's running posture and speed as seen in the film. While Adam was able to stay well ahead of the shots with the 1-second delay; when the time was reduced to almost zero, he did take one hit. The myth was rated as "plausible".
- Adam and Jamie tested the plausibility of disarming or neutralizing a pistol-wielding opponent by targeting the gun hand with a whip, as depicted in the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark. In addition to test the myth, Adam and Jamie brought Harrison Ford's fourth film whip trainer Anthony De Longis. Adam held a gun in a hand covered by a heavy glove and Jamie was able to snag his wrist and pull hard enough to throw off his aim. They later traded places, and Adam striked directly at the hand of Jamie. Subsequently, Jamie felt through the glove the sting of the whip and commented that a hit on his unprotected hand would have been painful enough to make him drop the gun. The myth was rated as "plausible". De Longis then stated that striking the gunman's face with the whip would be far more effective.
- Adam and Jamie tested the plausibility of the tip of a bullwhip breaking the sound barrier when it cracks like Indiana Jones does in the films. They built a large grid backdrop and used a high-speed camera shooting at 6,000 frames per second, so both men were able to record the whip cracking at a speed of 1,200 feet per second (370 m/s), slightly in excess of the speed of sound (1,126 feet per second (343 m/s)). The myth was rated as "confirmed".
- Adam and Jamie tested the plausibility of snagging an overhead projection with a bullwhip and swing safely across a chasm, as depicted at the Temple of the Chachapoyan Warriors in Raiders of the Lost Ark. They built a chasm from shipping containers with a width of 12 feet (3.7 m) and hung a thick wooden post 9 feet (2.7 m) above to stand for the log. Following several attempts, Adam was able to wrap the end of his whip around the post and pull it tight; however, when he tried to swing across, his weight caused the whip to come loose and he fell. Jamie and him covered the post with sandpaper to simulate bark on an actual log, and the additional friction allowed Adam to make it. The myth was rated as "plausible".
