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Yesterday Mythbusters shot a cannonball into someone's home, and no they weren't trying to bust the myth of "shooting a cannonball into someone's home." So how exactly does this affect the "do not try this at home" warnings at the beginning of each episode? And sure, cue the inevitable jokes about myth-busting Murphy's Law. But about that cannonball and about those homes--the Discovery Channel staple, known for testing out the ridiculous ways you could get electrocuted (lightning, electric eel, etc.) or figuring out how to make a homemade death ray, was attempting to shoot a home-made cannonball through barrels of water and a cinder-block wall, at the safe-sounding Alameda County Sheriff's bomb disposal range in California, reports KTVU and the San Francisco Chronicle. The lesson in inertia then apparently took a turn for the worse, when the cannonball careened down a hillside into the town of Dublin
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You're not allowed to fire a cannon if you even have a chance of hitting your own guys; it's in the WHFBBRB.
Jeez mythbusters, RTFM!
Mandorallen turned back toward the insolently sneering baron. 'My Lord,' The great knight said distantly, 'I find thy face apelike and thy form misshapen. Thy beard, moreover, is an offence against decency, resembling more closely the scabrous fur which doth decorate the hinder portion of a mongrel dog than a proper adornment for a human face. Is it possibly that thy mother, seized by some wild lechery, did dally at some time past with a randy goat?' - Mimbrate Knight Protector Mandorallen.
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One of the zany experiments staged by the "Mythbusters" television show nearly turned into a suburban tragedy Tuesday afternoon in Dublin when the crew fired a homemade cannon toward huge containers of water at the Alameda County Sheriff's Department bomb disposal range.
The cantaloupe-sized cannonball missed the water, tore through a cinder-block wall, skipped off a hillside and flew some 700 yards east, right into the Tassajara Creek neighborhood, where children were returning home from school at 4:15 p.m., authorities said.
There, the 6-inch projectile bounced in front of a home on quiet Cassata Place, ripped through the front door, raced up the stairs and blasted through a bedroom, where a man, woman and child slept through it all - only awakening because of plaster dust.
The ball wasn't done bouncing.
It exited the house, leaving a perfectly round hole in the stucco, crossed six-lane Tassajara Road, took out several tiles from the roof of a home on Bellevue Circle and finally slammed into the Gill family's beige Toyota Sienna minivan in a driveway on Springvale Drive.
That's where Jasbir Gill, 42, who had pulled up 10 minutes earlier with his 13-year-old son, Manvir, found the ball on the floorboards, with glass everywhere and an obliterated dashboard.
"It's shocking - anything could have happened," Gill said after the van had been taken away as evidence, along with the cannonball.
"Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy," said Sgt. J.D. Nelson, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff's Department. "You wouldn't think it was possible."
He said the television crew was incredibly unlucky that the cannonball flew through Dublin, but "tremendously lucky that it didn't seriously injure or kill somebody."
Nelson said "Mythbusters," a show on the Discovery Channel, had used the bomb disposal range without incident while shooting portions of more than 50 episodes over the past seven or eight years. The show does not pay a set fee but has donated to the department and given it exposure.
One of the terms of the deal, Nelson said, was that the show take out insurance in case of a mishap.
The show is based in San Francisco. Hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman use science experiments to confirm or debunk rumors or myths. Reached Tuesday evening, Savage said, "I can't talk right now," before hanging up.
This isn't the first time projectiles in the area have hit homes. In 2007, a stray .223-caliber submachine gun bullet, apparently fired during a training exercise at Camp Parks Army base in Dublin, shattered the bedroom window of a San Ramon home.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/12/07 19:44:37
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2011/12/07 19:49:36
Subject: Re:Mythbusters have a cannonball accident
This isn't the first time projectiles in the area have hit homes. In 2007, a stray .223-caliber submachine gun bullet, apparently fired during a training exercise at Camp Parks Army base in Dublin, shattered the bedroom window of a San Ramon home.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/12/07 19:53:14
"I hate movies where the men wear shorter skirts than the women." -- Mystery Science Theater 3000
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mega_bassist wrote:Ha, that article was much better than mine
This isn't the first time projectiles in the area have hit homes. In 2007, a stray .223-caliber submachine gun bullet, apparently fired during a training exercise at Camp Parks Army base in Dublin, shattered the bedroom window of a San Ramon home.
What kind of submachine gun uses a .223???
Technically none, since a submachine gun by definition fires a pistol round. It just sounds more dramatic than "M16"
Avatar 720 wrote: You see, to Auston, everyone is a Death Star; there's only one way you can take it and that's through a small gap at the back.
Powder Burns wrote:what they need to make is a fullsize leatherman, like 14" long folded, with a bone saw, notches for bowstring, signaling flare, electrical hand crank generator, bolt cutters..
Yes, articles make technical errors on nomenclature and I knew there would be a "nerd fight" over that as soon as I posted my M16 comment. Does it really matter? The point is that it's not the first accident where a projectile hit that neighborhood and the caliber is far more essential than what weapon that fired the shot. They didn't specify the exact weapon, only the caliber and a generic weapon term that may be incorrect. I think what most readers (especially homeowners in that area) are more concerned with is what size projectiles are hitting their homes so from that standpoint they included what was most important. Next.
This message was edited 6 times. Last update was at 2011/12/07 20:03:22
"I hate movies where the men wear shorter skirts than the women." -- Mystery Science Theater 3000
"Elements of the past and the future combining to create something not quite as good as either." -- The Mighty Boosh
Check out Cinematic Titanic, the new movie riffing project from Joel Hodgson and the original cast of MST3K.
See my latest eBay auctions at this link.
"We are building a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. You have our gratitude!" - Kentucky Fried Movie
I'd be more worried about the Alameda county government's butt's puckering about this and refusing the MB's the range or Discovery losing it's gak about it.
Given the insane gak they do it's sort of amazing this is the first time this has been an issue.
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Tyyr wrote:I'd be more worried about the Alameda county government's butt's puckering about this and refusing the MB's the range or Discovery losing it's gak about it.
Given the insane gak they do it's sort of amazing this is the first time this has been an issue.
Absolutely. The range is apparently 2 miles from the affected neighborhood! That was one hell of a shot and amazing no one was killed. Lots of property damage and headaches for the affected people. I'm guessing there will be more restrictions on what they do from now on, self imposed or imposed by others, and that they'll be a lot more careful how much charge they use for experiments like that one when there are residences within "cannon range".
"I hate movies where the men wear shorter skirts than the women." -- Mystery Science Theater 3000
"Elements of the past and the future combining to create something not quite as good as either." -- The Mighty Boosh
Check out Cinematic Titanic, the new movie riffing project from Joel Hodgson and the original cast of MST3K.
See my latest eBay auctions at this link.
"We are building a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. You have our gratitude!" - Kentucky Fried Movie
Fafnir wrote:No one was hurt, and insurance will cover it. I hope they'll at least reference this in an episode though, it'd be funny.
Damaging someone's property would not be funny at all if they are going to reference the incident I hope it's an apology and/or they'll cover some of the damages, but I love Mythbusters either way.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2011/12/07 20:13:28
2011/12/07 21:26:51
Subject: Re:Mythbusters have a cannonball accident
Covering the expense of repair is what their insurance is for.
Now I'm curious what they were testing. They've done so many cannon myths - including making cannons from duct tape and (most recently) leather. I can't wait to see the episode.
Since no one was hurt, and with the assumption they or their insurance will pay for the damages, I would have loved to have had that happen to me. I would insist on meeting the cast, and have an awesome story to tell. I wonder if I'd get to keep the cannon ball....
2011/12/07 23:52:51
Subject: Re:Mythbusters have a cannonball accident
Saw bits of this on the news this morning. I almost thought the OP's article said Joplin. Then I started thinking "Damn that town has gotten the crap beat out of it.
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2011/12/08 00:27:20
Subject: Re:Mythbusters have a cannonball accident
Cool, now I will have to think of this story every time I go through that part of dublin on the way to SF...and while I weld some AR500 plate to the sides of the car. (Not that one needs an excuse, but cmon, I have one now!)
2011/12/08 08:34:50
Subject: Re:Mythbusters have a cannonball accident
I can relate. When I was a kid, myself and my friends used to buy up all the giant bottle rockets that we could during the summer and save them, then build massive snow forts at either end of the alley and little 12" tall army men from twigs all over the middle and have mighty artillery wars. One time a little yappy dog sauntered into the hot zone during a particularly furious exchange and got bit with Big Bertha. It's amazing how much innards come out of a Jack Russel Terrier when you blow it up...
Cheesecat wrote:Damaging someone's property would not be funny at all if they are going to reference the incident I hope it's an apology and/or they'll cover some of the damages, but I love Mythbusters either way.
Or indeed, *all* of the damages. Seeing as it was entirely their fault.
Cheesecat wrote:Damaging someone's property would not be funny at all if they are going to reference the incident I hope it's an apology and/or they'll cover some of the damages, but I love Mythbusters either way.
Or indeed, *all* of the damages. Seeing as it was entirely their fault.
Erm, misfire? Actually the article quotes that one of the requirements of using the range was getting insurance, so it just means that insurance pays them out. Misfires happen relatively often, especially with old style muzzleloaders, and there really is nobody's fault or nothing really that you can do to prevent it. It can happen to the best of us. I do know that they also use ballistic experts for the cannon experiments.
I am actually surprised that something like this hasn't happened earlier. as per *tree cannon* and the aircraft myth. Also that awesome concrete truck explosion.
2011/12/11 07:01:11
Subject: Re:Mythbusters have a cannonball accident
I would actually like to know more about the specifics on this "Misfire"... it encompasses everything from "Well, there was a burning ember from one of the previous shots still in the barrel and then when we packed the shot and projectile in, it made contact with the charge and BOOM..." to outright mechanical failure (Hammer notches chipping off, for example.) to "OOPS, I ARE DUN GOT THE LANYARD CAUGHT ON MAH SHOE AND I DUN YANKED IT!"
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