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Mythbusters in the Flesh

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11:37 pm
10/4/08

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incandragon
We went to the Mythbusters talk today. It was just Adam and Jamie sitting around, talking about their experiences, showing a few clips (bloopers, an unreleased episode (lighting farts, although they weren't allowed to use the word "fart"), and explosion porn), and answering questions.

The Q&A was about a third of the show, and I was surprised that about half the questioners were kids. The questions were fantastic ... none were vapid, and even the innocently silly ones they treated with respect and humor. (Those two guys came across as really, seriously nice.) But really, most of the questions were great.

Some were, "did you ever" or "would you ever" or "what episode are you proudest of" but I think my favorite question was "what kind of pranks do you pull on April Fool's Day" and "do you prank each other?"

They don't prank each other, as they are "nuclear powers" with "mutual assured destruction." Jamie started a prank war until Adam pointed out what road he was stepping onto, and Jamie declared detente. But for April Fool's, there was a host of things, including how to make a fake X-acto knife. This was explained carefully to a seven year old, including what an X-acto knife was, and why it was very dangerous, and why one should never make a fake X-acto knife to fake-cut people with. Because, you know, if you accidentally fake-cut someone who has previously actually stabbed themselves in the leg with a real X-acto knife, "it takes hours for them to calm down."

Oh, and they showed us "how great it is to be us" because someone in Seattle went to their hotel to give them a potato gun. Possibly the world's greatest automatic potato gatling gun. They were ecstatic with it. Yes, I believe the word "ecstatic" isn't hyperbole.

It was a great evening.

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On October 5th, 2008 01:51 pm (UTC), [info]wasabibomb commented:
Mythbusters were HERE? In Seattle? And I didn't KNOW until it was too late?

Argh.

As an effects artist, they're like, my heroes. I use footage from their site as photo ref all the time.

I'm so jealous.

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On October 6th, 2008 12:33 am (UTC), [info]incandragon replied:
As plugged in as I try to be, I usually have about three a year of "WHO was here and I MISSED HIM?!" I actually felt a bit bad about being there, since they obviously have a cult following, and we're just interested. But it was wonderful. You should definitely jump on the chance, next time they're around. Although there wasn't any busting on stage, it was just a talk.
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On October 5th, 2008 05:37 pm (UTC), [info]jacardie commented:
I LOVE MythBusters!!!

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On October 6th, 2008 12:33 am (UTC), [info]incandragon replied:
It's probably the show that's done the most for interesting the next generation in science, that's for sure!
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On October 5th, 2008 11:12 pm (UTC), [info]cabin77 commented:
Okay, I am now a very nice shade of green. I love those guys. They are two people who absolutely adore their jobs and who look like they are genuinely fond of each other, too. Sounds like a really fun time!

I'm so glad that I give to live vicariously through your blog!

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On October 6th, 2008 12:40 am (UTC), [info]incandragon replied:
They do, very much, adore their job. Oddly though, the "genuinely fond" part is more complicated. They deeply admire and respect each other, and have an incredibly strong working relationship, but they mentioned that they aren't really chums. They both love doing their job, and doing that job with each other, but they're SO DIFFERENT from each other that they can't really be buddies. Plus, I think that if they spent any person time with each other, in conjunction with the long work hours, that would just be way too much.

Lycangeek and I had a discussion of how their relationship was like a strong, working, feudal alliance of two very powerful leaders with the same goals.
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On October 6th, 2008 12:59 am (UTC), [info]texanfan commented:
It's so clear on the show that they are having the time of their life doing what they do. I love the genuine excitement they have with the myths. I'm so glad they turned out to be nice in person.
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On October 6th, 2008 01:23 am (UTC), [info]incandragon replied:
I was entirely impressed with their handling of the kids. No kid's question got short shrift, even ones like "have you ever cooked an egg in a microwave" or "what's a good way to marinate steak." They got just as much time, science, and anecdotes, as any other question.

And I was really impressed at the quality of the questions. There was no fawning, no abrasive "in your face" belligerance, or anything like that. Just some good questions.

The one about "were any episodes not allowed to air" was ... interesting. Those guys have a very dark sense of humor, oy.
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