MythBuster Show proves tailgate theory


John Harrelson

New Member
Does anyone watch the "MythBuster" shows ?

They proved that a pickup truck with the standard tailgate on it and in the closed position got better mileage than a truck with the gate down or off. ???

And they showed why ..... thats the important part.

Destroys the theory of a vented tailgate or no tailgate giving better miles per gallon...

Don't you love it when Science proves or disproves a theory ??

The MythBuster shows are fantastic... learn something new every time..

MythBusters is on the Discovery Channel..

John
 

SnowbirdInFlight

Senior Member
MythBuster Show proves tailgate theory

I love that show but darn it, I missed that episode. I'll have to catch it on the re-run. I always wondered if there was any basis in fact for that idea of the tailgate causing better milage when down. Glad that shows around to keep us all honest! :laugh:
 

John Harrelson

New Member
MythBuster Show proves tailgate theory

The other thing they tested was whether a person could be shot when under water.

We have all seen the movies where the hero dives into the river or lake and the bad guys try to shoot him, but he comes out alive..

MythBusters wanted to see if it was true that you could shoot someone under the water and not kill him..

It had nothing to do with "refraction" of light in the water causing the bullet to miss..

What they proved was that the friction or drag or whatever, of the water would slow the bullet down so it could not hit the person in the water, if that person were below the surface..

They fired handguns , rifles, shotgun and then .... the US military 50 caliber gun !!

The only weapon that even came close to hitting the underwater "person" was the hand gun.. because it propelled a slower moving heavy bullet.

The shotgun shattered the test tank and they had to then move the testing to a local swimming pool..

They used "Gel" stuff to represent the human body. We have seen that used in their test before.

All the rifle bullets shattered, or disintegrated within 2 to 3 feet under the surface of the water..

Yep ... even the big 50 caliber bullet shattered into small tiny fragments within two feet under the surface of the water, and slowly settled down to the bottom of the pool.

They proved that the movies were correct in portraying the hero being safe from bullets if he dove into a body of water and was at least two feet down from the surface..

The worst scenario would be if the bad guy used a 45 caliber pistol and was directly over the hero who was less than 5 feet under from the water surface.

AND .... even then, the bullet would not penetrate the human body more than a couple of inches.. so unless the bullet hit your eye, spinal cord in the neck area or other soft area of the body, like the liver, it would not kill you..

But like Jamie and Adam said, they would not want to be a Guinea pig in the test..

MythBusters is a fantastic show.. I always have a hard choice between them and "Mail Call" if they happen to come on at the same time.

John
 

C Nash

Senior Member
MythBuster Show proves tailgate theory

Just have to learn to hold your breath a looooooong time :laugh:
 

C Nash

Senior Member
MythBuster Show proves tailgate theory

John, did they give the speed when they were checking the truck MPG with the gate up and down?
 

John Harrelson

New Member
MythBuster Show proves tailgate theory

Not sure Chelse, but I believe they said they ran the speed limits.. I do remember they used the cruise control so there would be no lead foot or light foot on the gas pedal.

I wrote the show asking them to do a segment on "V" gates vs standard tailgates while pulling a 5th wheel type trailer, but kinda doubt getting a reply.. but then again, who knows, maybe they will.

John
 
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