The Myth the MythBusters Refused to Touch

[@tested]

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[@Ron-d2s]

I firmly believe Pyramid power was the best myth you ever tackled..... it set the standard of NO OOGGY BOOGY!

[@ArtCOOL777]

I want to show off and share official proven information. That water is the most interesting substance in the universe that has many properties, conducts and is dazzled not only by any waves, but also And to conduct information. Let's not forget that the human body consists of 80% water, which everyone knows)))) ❤❤❤❤

[@ArtCOOL777]

There are 480 pyramids on our home planet and 10 pyramids are deep underground. NASA research has proven this by scanning the planet from satellites ))))

[@ArtCOOL777]

My great-grandfather found water deep for wells with copper wire and he was an expert in this matter. Since he worked in a team of well diggers. How long ago it was ❤❤❤❤

[@peterrobinson3440]

@@ArtCOOL777 No he did not find water with copper wire. In a double blind test he would have failed like every other dowser who has ever been tested. Please do not support myths.

[@samu3lk5000]

I wrote to James Cameron in like the early 90s when I was a little kid, maybe 9 or 10. I was super into movie special effects and just asked some questions and said Terminator ruled, basic fan stuff. He replied with a mountain of materials: Not only a response letter, but a whole magazine about his work that he'd signed the cover of, tons of samples of various prosthetic materials and resins, and some recommendations for finding out more about special effects. Dude went above and beyond in responding to a little kid's fan letter and it has always stuck with me. Good on you James Cameron.

[@HDReMaster]

are you in special?

[@oliviawolcott8351]

he was a teacher and bus driver for a bit.

[@samu3lk5000]

@@oliviawolcott8351 Makes sense because his response was really thoughtful and helpful.

[@AnthonyFlack]

He also is one of the biggest donors to the New Zealand Green party.

[@kpb58]

Very cool.

[@TheTurbineEngineer]

I love how ethical you guys were when making the show. You guys deserved every bit of publicity and viewership that you got and it was a big part of my childhood.

[@riccampbell]

Fairly decent chunk o' my adulthood, too. Was a total addict.

[@maryrosetran5109]

I love them so much that it hurts when I remember how they approached the wrecking ball newton's cradle myth.

[@darkfoxxbunyip]

Ethical? They had a problem to end a well established way to con people out of money. But they didn't want to make a fool out of a con artist... Ethics my ass.

[@CasualSpud]

@@darkfoxxbunyip The entertainment industry... ethics means nothing. The fact they had any power at all is amazing

[@marcleekes3040]

​@@darkfoxxbunyipThank you! Same today with the homeopathic trash. There's a close to zero chance of any molecule to be in it but "we can't be sure" according to some documentaries...

[@piercegardner3207]

I appreciate Adam's graciousness in explaining why they didn't test dowsing on Mythbusters. While people can be trained to detect certain things, dowsing simply doesn't hold up. His thoughtful approach to avoiding the test out of respect for the individual is a model for handling disagreements, and I wish we as a Public practiced this kind of grace with those whom we disagree with.

[@voidstar1337]

Yes, it was a very "non-savage" explanation. But now I'm curious, what about fortune tellers or palm readers? Also, it good to recognize that conclusions are relative to the time/budget they were given, it's good to at least be open to the possibility that more data (by more time to study) could lead to new conclusions. Like Adam suggested, maybe some people do have some kind of 6th, 7th, 8th sense that is so rare we haven't yet commonly identified it.

[@notreallygoingtopostanythi9225]

@piercegardner3207 .. I needed a water well drilled on a property in Southern Africa. I discussed this with the country manager and he said - you can pay about 450 USD or you can check with the dowser (50 USD). As I know that the country manager is a highly sceptical person who is educated, I said: seriously ?? its like a f**king horoscope reader ?? He said: - yeah - I know, but the dude just gets it right everytime. I don't know what to tell you .. I know it sound crazy but .. I've used this guy before. Totally unscientific and it freaks me out but he just gets it right. I said ok - less than 30 minutes later we had the location for a borehole and we still get water from it 10 years later. An hour later - 3 more boreholes on adjacent properties producing water. I can't understand how this would even be possible .. but the fucker gave us water. ???

[@milliondollarmistake]

@@voidstar1337 James Randi is pretty famous for debunking a lot of so called "psychics". And it's important that he and others have done so because psychic conmen can and have been harmful. Unfortunately there are still way too many people who give money to those parasites but there are many who saw what James did and changed their mind.

[@regenben9941]

Disagree, here in the UK there are so many of us farmers that use dowsing to find water pipes, drains etc, didn't realise it was even considered a myth?

[@wassup934]

@@regenben9941I thought it was a joke until I worked for the city water department and I was trying to trace a line with other lines (power, phone) distorting the signal. Old guy in the department whips out two metal rods walked the line in a zig zag telling me to put paint down to mark… the marks ended up being a straight line and the water line was right there under the marks. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@tripce4652]

Pyramid power may seem dumb to even entertain the idea. However, using a widely viewed platform to show there is no validity to something that way too many people were believing is an important public service.

[@RFC3514]

Same with dowsers, psychics, etc.. But MythBusters always tried to test myths that revealed something interesting about science or engineering, and "someone says they have a supernatural power, turns out they don't" doesn't really add much to the knowledge of your average MythBusters viewer. It's more the kind of thing that Pen & Teller's BS would test (and I believe they did).

[@justjane2070]

Do you know Milo Rossi ? His channel debunks all sorts of conspiracies including pyramid power 😊

[@YumekuiNeru]

I liked the episode because one of the apples or whatever they cut ended up lasting way longer and it had some subtle explanation other than the pyramid working

[@thestraydog]

​@justjane2070 He's a great science communicator too, always citing his resources and explaining why maybe people are confused about some things and then EVISCERATING the ideas that have no common sense. Highly entertaining

[@beerosaurusrex]

A great example of that is the 'airplane on a treadmill' one. That one is far too pervasive, with a lot of otherwise smart people still not understanding what propels an airplane. Even the pilot in the video didn't think it'd work. It's just mindboggling that people seem to think an airplane is moved like a car, via the wheels, even in the air, despite that giant propeller or jet engines.

[@sureofcourse2792]

If it makes you feel better, Adam, pyramid power taught me about conspiracy theories as a kid and why I should be more careful before I believe in them. So personally, I appreciated the episode!

[@yaboiflats6986]

Conspiracies are a real thing. Your talking about Conspiracy theorys.

[@joeterra.t]

@@yaboiflats6986 *you're. *conspiracy. *theories. At least try to spell words correctly.

[@djjazzyjeff1232]

I agree, it was a good lesson in skepticism. Which, just to clarify, there are some conspiracy theories that I do believe, (JFK was an inside job, for example) but you should approach everything in life with a healthy skepticism.

[@woodfur00]

@@yaboiflats6986 And the definition of a conspiracy theory is? Say it with me, "belief in a conspiracy." OP had it right.

[@jishani1]

@@woodfur00 Belief OF a conspiracy. Belief in a conspiracy would imply you're subscribing to someone else's theory.

[@Bad_Llama]

I love the heart that this story shows us. Y’all weren’t just “let’s bust every myth”, you took into account the human factor and considered how a myth test would affect people. Just found the channel but I’m subbing.

[@danielkarlsson3178]

I work as a Water well driller in Sweden and i often stumble upon dowsers. I'd say i met around a few hundred over my 20 years in the field and it is NEVER accurate. They say things like "I found water here at 20m deep". We can drill at that exact spot and find nothing for 100m. Our usual way to go is where its most practical to have the well and then just beg for luck. I have drilled in some really awkward spots just because some dowser really wanted it there. And still the results were nothing. I love what you do, you seem to have a very interesting work, Keep up the good work! :)

[@AppalachianMountaineer1863]

Where I grew up there were a lot of dowsers, and they always seemed to find water. However the region where I lived had an abundance of ground water. What I found more interesting than the dowsers were the tradesmen who wouldn’t set footers on a building or set fence posts if the phase of the moon was “wrong”

[@MeMe-gm9di]

In the UK, they're also used to find leaks of the water system. And if your entire water pipe system is ancient and leaking, it's not hard to be right most of the time.

[@gwoodtube]

I can find the drain laterals underneath the concrete with bent copper wire! I do it alot before I break concrete when we add a basement washroom. I'm in Canada

[@smalltime0]

We had an issue in Australia where farmers and local councils were paying for dowsers (especially in rural Queensland and New South Wales). The only issue is that you're almost guaranteed to hit water if you drill deep enough, the great artesian basin lies under there. It's just a question of how deep you go. The one state where it isn't really seen is Western Australia, there's still groundwater there (obviously) but no giant basin in the middle of nowhere to tap into.

[@skanvak]

In France, the test on dowser is that they seem to be as accurate as people who know the terrain.

[@Davefinney370]

Had a house in Colorado built in the 80s and could NOT find the main water shutoff. It was somewhere in the yard, but we couldn’t find it and called in a guy from the water dept. He came out and (I sh__ you not) pulls out a couple dowsing rods and starts walking around dowsing the yard. After an hour or so he gave up. That is my only experience with dowsing.

[@quinnreid1209]

2 copper antenna held loosely in the hands will absolutely find buried water lines. Now using a stick in the wilderness to find underground water? 🤔

[@ShrockWPS]

​@@quinnreid1209 Yeah, I've witnessed that one. Still confused on it and wandering if someone was messing with me though because it's so bizarre it's hard to make sense of it.

[@davecarpenter4917]

I used to locate underground lines (using electronics), and sometimes would be at the same work area as the city water guy doing locates. My eyebrows went up once when I saw him dowsing. Usually he would clip on and locate mains with electronics , but this time it was rods. He said this one is plastic and no tracer to hook up to. I mean, he had a decent idea where the line was already, but as he walked the zone there went the rods and he sprayed paint. Old timer. I have a few more stories, but to sum up.. I think it does work.

[@hafirenggayuda]

I heard/ read in some researches that this method would not work properly today. Too many interferences (radio/ cellphone wave, machines, etc)

[@MisterErts]

@@quinnreid1209 Underground water is nearly everywhere - as long as you dig deep enough you will reach the water table. Dowsing works so often because it works as long as you aren't over bedrock or high up a hill.

[@ChuckRagland]

What I always loved about mythbusters, was that you guys put a lot of humor into it. And did it so that the normal person could truly understand.

[@simianfarmer]

"Right and wrong physics are one thing... and people are another." I can really appreciate that statement!

[@MrTomaat23]

Some people claim they can hear the exact musical note that is being played, without reference. >99% of other people can not do this. Through some simple tests it's now known that absolute hearing (perfect pitch) is a real phenomenon within people. If dowsing is real it can be easily tested if it is or isn't a thing beyond luck.

[@DonariaRegia]

Let's play devil's advocate for a moment. Recent discoveries have suggested isolated pockets of iron in the spines of birds and mammals act as an organic compass and navigational tool for seasonal migratory patterns. Since humans walk upright we lack proper spinal orientation to benefit from that specific physiology. But it is possible humans might detect other anomalies such as magnetic lay lines, and if true could explain what dowsers mistake for indication of underground aquifers.

[@mummifiedgamer]

No I can't. People who mislead other people with some mumbo jumbo not just deserve their world view to be shattered, but it is a moral wrong to not do it given the opportunity.

[@ashakydd1]

​@@MrTomaat23Dowsing has been repeatedly disproven.

[@MrTomaat23]

@@ashakydd1 I know. Big fan of James Randi and other skeptics, my reaction was to show how scientific method can easily be applied on claims of specific human traits which are not found in a lot of people.

[@batlrar]

If I had to guess on what the coach taught Adam about how Jamie stands, it would be that he stands with his feet apart and his center of mass down low as if he's ready for an opponent to try to tackle him at any moment. It reminds me of when they were trying to tackle a sleep myth and Jamie was laying there with his eyes closed, but not asleep. Adam looks in and says with a chuckle "He's not sleeping!" then looks at the camera and says with intense eyes "He's waiting."

[@DobroPlayer12]

I remember from that episode it was indeed that Jamie stands in such a way that makes him harder to knock over

[@mdgeisto8953]

Haha, amazing 🤣

[@datadude67]

We would never know who Jamie is, if it weren't for Adam. Adam's ability to humanize (dare I say anthropomorphize) Jamie's mannerisms is stellar.

[@hawaiianseaturtle009]

I’ve watched Mythbusters, but I’m not a sub or let alone a viewer of this channel. Matter of fact, this is my first time watching a video from this channel. I just wanted to say how much respect you gained from me in the single video I’ve watched from you with your stance on not wanting to bring someone onto the show just to humiliate them on camera for the world to see. Again, massive respect for you.

[@tested]

We’ll share your kind comment with Adam. Thank you for taking the time to share it!

[@hauntedmasc]

I happen to be a mask enthusiast, and the mask maker that you worked with on that episode--who was one of the only *huge* silicone mask makers at that time--was a bit legendary for (1) being extremely and damagingly money-motivated, (2) intentionally making masks that were of dubious quality and not intended to last, and (3) being an extremely difficult person to work with. He passed away many years ago, and a lot of the silicone mask industry has had to put a lot of work into repairing the reputation of the community, while also acknowledging his legacy as one of the progenitors of the commercial silicone mask industry.

[@enisra_bowman]

ye, it's hard when someone is an overpraised Idiot that activly takes credit for things but is completly useless, but when it come to really smart People like a Richard Dawking, it's really frustrating. I mean People say in inverviews how much they hate him when they aren't even got asked about their opinion about him, but the work in the field of evolution is really well

[@Francois_Dupont]

@@enisra_bowman lolololol

[@thechumpsbeendumped.7797]

@@enisra_bowman That last sentence makes no sense.

[@fen4554]

@@enisra_bowman I don't think your fingers were keeping up with that rubber ball bouncing in your head.

[@davidg3944]

@@fen4554 The bouncing ball made it easier to sing along to.

[@flyingardilla143]

I am a geologist and have had too many people use dowsers to site well locations. In many places you can randomly pick well locations and be fine. However, I have experienced dry wells drilled in locations picked by dowsers and idiotic locations (like on top of mesas). These people inevitably think their good wells are due to the location being dowsed and the dry wells get explained away or blame the driller, geologist or anyone else involved.

[@atticstattic]

Dowsing - to douse is to soak.😂

[@brunnomenxa]

Dowsing looks like a kind of poorly made quackery to be fair.

[@gorgonbert]

@@brunnomenxathat’s because it is… they are taking foolish people’s money… it’s a scam

[@robmurphy806]

I'm a diamond/geotech driller and see dowsing used all the time.. on the geotech side for locating underground utilities and pipes (yikes..) and on the exploration side to locate vertical seams and fractures in bedrock. In my expirence, if you drill to any depth in my area, you will hit a vertical seam eventually while coring. But hey, if the client insists, they take responsibility but the boring location.

[@atticstattic]

@@robmurphy806 Thanks for the boring comment! 😄

[@martinn6564]

I live in France. The local electricity company were putting the power cables underground to our rural home. They used dowsing to check for water mains location. They were even "teaching" a young member of the crew how to do this. This was in 2020.

[@timhulio1]

It worked though, didn't it?

[@martinn6564]

@timhulio1 it did indeed appear to work... These french engineers had an incredibly complicated piece of kit that could not only dig the trench 1m down, but could also extract or cut the concrete electricity pole next to our house and stack up to 6 of these on the side for storage..... But before that they used two right angle bent pieces of copper wire to dowse where our water mains pipe was .... They found it (no maps, our house is over 150 years old).

[@guyversama1]

​@@martinn6564 of course it's working. Thinking that just because something does not fit the very limited specs of modern "science" the thing can't work is insanity.

[@2011Kestrel]

I saw a show where a guy said there was some kind of water 90% of the places you can dig. “If you want to prove dowsing works, show me where NOT to dig”. i.e. get a dowser to show you where there ISN’T any water.

[@RFC3514]

This is how all dowsing tests work. They have to predict whether there's water or not. If the result doesn't match the prediction, it's a fail.

[@warlock415]

@@RFC3514 That depends. Do they only test positive results? In other words, do they only dig where the dowser says there's water? If yes, then it's an incomplete experiment. Analogy, let's say I'm a suntan consultant, and we're walking down a beach, and I point at one spot and I say "As a professional suntanning expert, if you set up right there, I can assure you you will get a suntan." So you plow yourself down and sure enough, you get a tan. But you didn't have a control, i.e. you didn't put someone in a spot at which I didn't point and see what happened to them...

[@RFC3514]

@@warlock415 - Your question is already answered in the post you replied to. _"They have to predict whether there's water _*_or not._*_ If the _*_result_*_ doesn't match the _*_prediction,_*_ it's a fail."_ How would they have a *result* to compare it to if they _didn't_ test one of the predictions?

[@warlock415]

@@RFC3514 No, they have to test both positive and negative predictions. If they only do "dowser says there's water, sink a well, hey there's water, he was right!" it was an incomplete test. They also have to test somewhere where he says there is NOT water.

[@filanfyretracker]

however if its a friday and around quitting time the backhoe operator will still somehow find a water main. ;)

[@jefftimothy]

What a world we live in where I can listen to a behind the scenes story about the production of a TV show from years ago, open a browser tab and 3 seconds later be enjoying the episode I had completely missed back in the day. Thanks for sharing the story.

[@efad3215]

There is a MythBusters yt channel uploading full episodes

[@KillerBx23]

I once had to call the city to find my gas line because we were planning on digging somewhere close to it. The worker came out and said the probe or whatever that marks the line is no longer working so he says I quote "We're going to have to rely on some magic" and busted out dowsing rods, marked the line and left without saying anything. We never dug anywhere near that spot, not because we trust it, we just rather not chance it.

[@kevinmurphy5878]

Lmao what city 😂

[@thisherehandleIdospout]

Yeah, seriously bud - I feel like it's practically criminal to drop a bomb like this and not name the city 🤣

[@KillerBx23]

@@thisherehandleIdospout Its somewhere in Southern California

[@chrisose]

James Randy put doussing to the test several times and with the expected result every time. The most predictable part of each of these challenges were the litany of excuses the dousers made for why it didn't work. Chief among them was some variation of "there are too many disbelievers present".

[@zachvalue]

The Great Randy, what a legend. He did a show in Britain, they asked the audience how many names did the psychic throw out there before he hit the mark and they said three or four, the actual answer was like 38. People are just ridiculous.

[@ku8721]

Well I'll disprove one thing right now... his name was Randi. And he was a treasure!

[@zachvalue]

@@ku8721 😂 SwiftKey does it again.

[@ClintonAllenAnderson]

@@chrisose Dowsing is always a grift,and should only ever be treated as such, especially if someone is using that grift to try to earn a living. Why is anyone suggesting it's ok to coddle charlatans????

[@RFC3514]

It's a well known phenomenon: water that was there one moment ago will run away "if there are too many disbelievers present".

[@jeromethiel4323]

I have a funny dowsing story. We had a neighbor, who believed dowsing was real. Hired a local dowser to find his septic tank. This guy walked the entire yard with his "equipment," and eventually identified was he claimed was "the tank." My father, who was standing there watching this (and an engineer), simply pointed to the septic tank vent cover and said "nope, it's under the cover over there." Well, two holes got dug in that yard by a backhoe. I'll give you one guess as to where that tank was.

[@sterlingmullett6942]

Well since you said, funny dowsing story, I'm expecting a twist. 8^)

[@jeromethiel4323]

@@sterlingmullett6942 The twist is the "dowser" was as full of human waste as the septic tank was. ^-^ And the not very intelligent neighbor who had to pay to have two holes dug in his yard, which was not cheap, and left his yard trashed.

[@TheNextDr]

Hold up... Your father pointed out a cover, which I have to imagine likely had "septic" written on it, before the holes were dug and the neighbor STILL went with the "dowser" over the clear evidence of the septic tank's position!? Gotta say that they deserve everything that transpired afterward, if that's the case. That's lunacy.

[@ryno4ever433]

@TheNextDr You would not believe how common this is.

[@ShrockWPS]

​@@TheNextDr Yeah, I'm on the fence with dowsing because I've witnessed it done with copper wires. However, no matter how I feel on dowsing I'll go with clear physical evidence first every time 😆

[@JRJ556]

I miss Mythbusters, I grew up watching you guys. I love it and want to get all your episodes on DVD so I can watch over and over again, never gets old.

[@22webbs]

It's on streaming services

[@dianew800]

Your reason for not doing an episode on dowsing is one of the many things I loved about Mythbusters: it was a show about science & the scientific method without ever forgetting about the people, whether teammates, people behind the camera, guests, or people impacted by the myth.

[@ElusiveEel]

if he cared about the people impacted by the myth then he'd bust it. but he doesn't.

[@LiEnby]

@@ElusiveEelextremely idiotic reply, implies something bad about believing you can find water with a stick when there’s nothing actually wrong there, it’s also publicly humiliating someone on TV your talking about you know that right?

[@milliondollarmistake]

@@LiEnby The united states alone is filled with conspiracy theories, creationism, flat earth, psychics, etc. Maybe if people spent more time debunking magical thinking there wouldn't be a congresswoman who believes that the government can create and control hurricanes. Or maybe con artists wouldn't be able to sell "bomb detecting dousing rods" to various governments around the world that inevitably didn't work and got people killed. I'm obviously not blaming Mythbusters for any of that of course, I'm just pointing out the dangers of validating unscientific practises.

[@Svarbard]

lol yeah frauds have feelings too!

[@RainaEmms]

The Cameron bit is one I reference a lot to people who want to make that argument about the door. The size of the door should never be treated as "gospel". As Cameron implied, Jack has to die so that door is always only as big as it needs to be to fit Rose. Period. End.

[@kivimik]

And realistically, doors on boats tend to be smaller than a standard door.

[@juliadagnall5816]

Just a side note, but I personally think that a lot of people forget exactly how *cold* the water was that night. As in, the average person only has about fifteen minutes of useful consciousness and they are losing dexterity with every second. No moon either so it was a lot darker than the movie made it out to be. Not the best circumstances in which to be playing topple with your only shot at survival.

[@rapid13]

Then he should have used a smaller piece of wood.

[@RainaEmms]

@@rapid13 I'm sure the size was what looked good dramatically for the scene.

[@ThePurpleCheesecakeZebra]

@@rapid13 did you even watch the episode? its not about the size, its about buoyancy not size

[@LadywatchingByrd]

Adam one of my best memories is a New Year's Eve where there was a MythBusters Marathon... My cousins and brothers and I had the best time watching the entire Marathon. You and Jamie have sculpted my childhood. I'll be forever thankful. You guys are some of my favorite nerds❤

[@dougfoust117]

James didnt just say "script says he drowns, so he drowns". He took responsibility, saying that he, as the director, put in too large of a door. The script was right, he was wrong. That stuck with me all these years. I dont know why.

[@LiamNajor]

Real responsability, a rare sight in the modern world

[@FabledGentleman]

Either way, the scene makes perfect sense. The water they are in, is so cold, that you can expect to lose consciousness in about 5 minutes. Before that your muscles will stiffen. You can clearly see that Jack tries to get on the door after Rose is on, but he messes it up, and she falls back into the ice cold water. At some point, you don't have any motor functions left to even attempt getting back on. You can actually see it in Leo's eyes in that moment, that he realizes that if he tries, they both might die. If he doesn't, she might live. It doesn't even matter if both could fit. The movie is of course more powerful when Jack decides to sacrifice himself for her.

[@samuelsuggs9751]

James also wrote the script, so he's right either way lol

[@jesuschrist7833]

The dousing thing made me remember about the one Entrepreneur who scammed multiple countries by selling Dousing Rods as Bomb detecting devices. In ‘99 the FBI went after a gentleman who was marketing them as Quadro Trackers. The product was invented by Jim McCormick which is funny because multiple people throughout history have sold the same device but for different things. The main reason the FBI went after Jim was because it lead to many Bombings in India and the UK during the 2000s. It was claimed to detect many substances, such as drugs or explosives, from long distances. The device was sold to various countries, particularly in Iraq where the government was claimed to have spent £52 million for security operations. I recommend anyone who wants a good read to look up and learn about the ADE 651.

[@theaveragepro1749]

Those are also interesting because you could tilt it towards something you wanted to investigate and get a probable cause that it "detected" a bomb.

[@DonHavjuan]

Just like a drug sniffing dog then. 90% fake

[@AppalachianMountaineer1863]

Someone else did that to the Iraqi army 😂

[@srslothington]

@@DonHavjuan Except drug sniffing dogs actually work. An animal recognizing the distinct scent of a certain substance is much more reliable than a couple pieces of metal that can supposedly detect an object that isn't even magnetized.

[@Ecliptor.]

@@DonHavjuan Cut the bullshit. Drug sniffer dogs are always accurate, the thing is their sense of smell is too good. To a point where they can detect traces of drug even if someone who smokes weed touched your arm or something. Which doesn't mean you have drugs on you. An event like that would get grouped into a false positive. The only issue with this is how much time they'll waste on you if you give a false positive, which will probably prompt a more thorough search. Negatives also save everyone a lot of time, because if the dog doesn't smell anything, you don't have anything. Stop being a druggie and you won't have issues with police.

[@Syrus54]

Here's what I hated about that episode. You guys tested it, and prove that two people could have actually climbed onto that door. When you told James about it, he was unargumentative, and agreed with you. He could have easily said "but the issue is, you are in the east Atlantic, freezing to death, you're not thinking clearly. And we also showed that they tried to get on the door but it tilted throwing them both off. So Jack volunteered to stay in the water to stabilize the door, so that Rose could climb up." What always disturb me about that, is that James just submitted, and did not argue that fact. He was probably sick to death of hearing it from so many different people.

[@chrisbarnett5303]

He handle criticism in stride. Watch the Charlie Rose interview from 2010, he's just lobbing all these criticisms of Avatar at him, and Cameron is laughing saying "bring 'em on!". And he made in Titanic the biggest box office sensation since Gone with the Wind, so all those arguments are invalid.

[@WTFisTingispingis]

@@chrisbarnett5303 James Cameron is like, one of the most steel balled dudes ever. He's already filthy rich and doing what he loves, why does he give a shit?

[@denlog1177]

So what if Jack and Rose both lived? It would not have made such a moment in history and people would still not be talking about it to this day. I called Rose a b**** back in the day for not sharing, but James accomplished what he wanted to. Only the naive or people with less understanding do not get it. To have people get so emotionally invested into a fictional story that is less than 3 hours is an accomplishment.

[@AudieHolland]

The best explanation: kzbin.infoM0nJEr4rcS8

[@Professor_Utonium_]

​@@chrisbarnett5303So if someone is rich and successful, they're free from critique and argument? 😂

[@HonestDoubter]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="174">2:54</a> The ethics of the production. Which is why I always liked Adam and Jaime - they seemed good stewards of science.

[@Novarcharesk]

His entire position is emotional, not scientific. It's fine, but it isn't about science.

[@darkfoxxbunyip]

Good stewards of science... LOL that's laughable. They didn't want to debunk a common scam because they didn't want to risk hurting the scammer's feefees. They are stewards of jack shit.

[@pixelkatten]

I don't think Penn & Tellers "Bullshit" had an episode on dowsing but it certainly seems more like their type rather than mythbusters

[@Khronogi]

​@@Novarchareskit is ethical

[@aedes947]

@@Khronogi Is it ethical to scam people?

[@phillipburke9522]

Dousing is more of a 'Penn & Teller: BS' sort of topic. Those guys do not have the same qualms about spotlighting dubious professions. One of my favorite shows, they pulled no punches just like the Mythbusters.

[@RFC3514]

Yep. BS was more about "social" myths and scams. MythBusters was more about scientific / engineering myths. P&T did "pull several punches" on that show when it came to stuff that contradicted the Cato Institute (one of their main backers), though. Thankfully, they distanced themselves from that crowd in more recent times.

[@plwadodveeefdv]

I like how they had a whole episode on obesity, trying to explain away mountains of evidence that obesity is an extremely strong indicator of mortality because "correlation is not causation"

[@fifiwoof1969]

I remember they used the debunked jet effect to "disprove" JFK Assassination conspiracies. Was that one to appease their backers? More than 60 years later and the government still have hidden files despite saying the guy that did it all by himself was killed within 2 days of his INCREDIBLE act of marksmanship that has never been duplicated. "Maggie's drawers" If he DID do it alone what reason is there for ANYTHING to be still hidden? There is no benign explanation!

[@ClintonAllenAnderson]

@@phillipburke9522 Mythbusters very obviously pulled punches Being willing to dunk on thst Moon Landing denier, but not on some grifting dowser or other, is absolutely pulling punches.... Unfortunately

[@momsterzz]

I thought it was called a Divining Rod

[@vexus-calas]

Im glad KZbin suggested this to me because watching Mythbusters was some of the best times of my childhood. You are a great role model ❤

[@jaredbutler957]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="180">3:00</a> This level of empathy, especially in today’s world, is increasingly becoming rare. Most people given the platform of Discovery would relish the opportunity to “own” someone’s whole way of life for views. Yet you see humanity and instead choose better. Not to grand stand or virtue signal, but automatically and instinctually. Bravo as always for not only being a generational Maker but a fantastic person.

[@rdizzy1]

It isn't "owning" anyone. "Dowsers" are defrauding people, like psychics, much of the "nutritional supplement" industry, or people doing exorcisms. It does not matter if they believe it to be true for it to be blatantly fraudulent, if it is not based on actual physics and evidence. You need to prove that it works first, and then sell your service, and getting a 50/50 shot at finding water is not proving it is true. Otherwise you are a fraud and a snake oil salesmen. Objective facts exist, and they need to be told, and shown, over and over and over again, as our world is now disgustingly over run with nonsensical pseudoscience garbage and anti-scientific drivel. Because we have become far too lax with these people pushing this trash, and making billions and billions of dollars off of it.

[@edupunknoob]

Adam is an incredible example of integrity plus intelligence

[@stevedavidson9534]

Pretty sure you can go back on your appearance waiver, especially if the person is even remotely media savvy. So it's not empathy, it's having to show a segment where the person you are talking to is blurred both visually and audio wise because they had a lawyer challenge the waiver.

[@TheBrothergreen]

​@@stevedavidson9534 what's wrong with "having to show a segment where you blur his face?" No shirt off his back. Plus the studio gets their appearance fee back. Win - win.

[@wilburwhateley4626]

Empathy is great but it is letting nonsense and superstition prevail just so we don't hurt any feelings.

[@cymeriandesigns]

The dowsing story reminds me that one of the knocks on psychics is they'll almost always say that you'll find [whatever it is that you're looking for] "near water". Which could be anything from an ocean to a bathtub to a sprinkler system.

[@Llortnerof]

You'd have to specificially put it in a particularly dry part of a desert to make that not true. Of course, it works just fine on the ignorant who don't realise how common water is.

[@Aymungoos]

The funniest case of this is a lady who was never able to find her husband's body and asked Sylvia brown. Of course she said somewhere near water. The lady replies "it was 9/11"

[@efad3215]

​@@AymungoosThere are big fountains there now, so of course he's near water!

[@MercuryA2000]

Ngl, i read that as physics like 4 times and i was so confused.

[@physicswithpark3r-x3x]

humans being 80% water need to be relatively near to it

[@hag-youthrhys6471]

I saw you at supernova Brisbane last week. Thankyou so much for coming it was great to hear you speak, your stage presence is so capturing. I don't know if you realise how much of an impact you and the mythbusters crew have had on my generation ❤

[@roseserpenthelm7448]

He was in my neck of the woods a few weeks ago! I was cosplaying Lady Dimitrescu and got a selfie of him wearing my giant hat 😂

[@CrappyCar]

The door myth, and explanation from JC reminds me of a story Kevin Smith tells. He said his dad once asked him how to kill a Vampire. His dad said you can kill a Vampire any way you want, if you are the one writing the story. JC sounds like an amazing person, thanks for the video!

[@Doug-89]

I think it was Max Landis with the vampire story. Max Landis : "There's something my dad made up, which is he told me when I was little and I was frustrated about rules, uh, in movies. He said, uh..." John Landis : "How do you kill a vampire?" Max Landis : "And I was like..." Young Max Landis : "Stake through the heart, garlic, and like... sunlight..." Max Landis : "And my dad was like..." John Landis : "No. You can kill a vampire however the f*** you want, because vampires don't f***ing exist! You can make up rules for any kind of thing you want."

[@Woodat]

UK here. We don't need dowsers to find water here, it just falls from the sky... Every day...

[@elongated_muskrat_is_my_name]

I'm guessing our diverse geology also makes it pop up in springlines in many more places than in America.

[@orlock20]

Wouldn't that be the equivalent of jamming a radar?

[@stevenleades]

😅😅😅

[@storytellersd]

Geology was birthed in Britain but confusing well-researched with more diverse is a fallacy.

[@TonyNaggs]

Yeah, one of those things like skateboarding dogs that would be a filler segment at the end of a TV magazine every once in a while. Most people don't take it too seriously.

[@ncniehauskmkkwkkaiialk1319]

I'm South African, my grandfather used to use two L shaped copper wires to dows for water and he was successful, but when I tried -nothing, but as soon as he touched me it would work. Really weird. Love Mythbusters, thanks Adam.

[@pamsp]

About the door on Titanic, I remember something the creator of Babylon 5 said when somebody asked how fast was the faster than light travel. He said it was at "plot speed", if the plot required them to get there before the event, it did, if it required them to get after, it did. And that switched something on me, stories aren't meant to be realistic, they are meant to be interesting. We can leave realism to myth busters :D

[@MistaHoward]

Stories don't need to be realistic, but they do need to be consistent. You don't need to tell the audience how fast your FTL travel is, but if you have someone jumping from point A to point B in the same ship multiple times and it takes 5 hours the first time and 5 minutes the second time, it's going to break verisimilitude. Similarly, if you establish that it takes a small amount of time to jump across the galaxy, you shouldn't have a character who is feeling homesick because his job won't let him visit his home planet because it's "too far away." There's more to it than just "we can just write whatever we want in our story, because realism doesn't matter."

[@simcowgames981]

​@@MistaHoward My drive to work takes 5 minutes somedays and 30 minutes on others. My drive to my inlaws is 3 hours most days, but I've had it take 8 hours. Maybe there's was new construction in the teleport highway. (:

[@harrycalder]

A JMS answer if I've ever heard one. :)

[@MistaHoward]

@@simcowgames981 The wondrous thing about film is that you can establish things like this very quickly and efficiently.

[@CodPatrol]

@@simcowgames981 8 hours? Damn

[@kevincraftOH]

I wanna see Adam walk comic con dressed like Jamie, I feel like anyone that knows the show will freak when they realize it’s a real mythbuster

[@MaekarManastorm]

Get a job

[@woodfur00]

He wouldn't keep his cover for a second around anyone who's seen the episode

[@kevincraftOH]

@@woodfur00 that’s why he’s gotta practice it up and improve the mask lol Really I just wanna meet Adam in the real world, he’s done so much to inspire me and show me there’s no real limit to what I wanna do and it’s made my life so much better

[@litz13]

Adam has walked Dragon Con many times as himself and been complimented on his excellent costume.

[@timothy4664]

That would have worked during Mythbusters. Today it would just be weird and creepy

[@savingtess08]

This is one KZbin suggestion that I say: Thank you! I grew up watching Myth Busters (since your first episode) and you guys played a large role in my separation from inherited religion and superstitious beliefs. I cannot say how delighted I am to see you here Adam

[@ninehundreddollarluxuryyac5958]

Excellent reason to avoid dousing. I also think you're right about why James Cameron didn't argue with the coveralls and broom, "The script said the kid's goin down, the kid's goin down".

[@Lurker37]

Regarding Titanic: Jack or Rose implementing the Mythbusters solution would have suddenly felt like an episode of MacGuyver. Neither character had an established background to allow them to think of the solution. It is easy to forget just how highly skilled you and Jamie are in this field!

[@ClockworkChainsaw]

I always counterpointed the fact that they'd both fit with the fact that they were more likely to both freeze, with how much the door would have dipped into the water with both of them on it. It always irked me that they never even talked about that factor on the show.

[@tranquoccuong890-its-orge]

and the fact that both of them were wet & freezing in the middle of the Atlantic, just climbed back from the water, none of them would have the right mental clarity to figure that out; or that Jack figured out trying to climb would also risk freezing Rose over, so he chose not to.

[@closedmindsneveropendoors]

I respect him alot for not bringing the people on the show and making them look a fool for views. I wish you the best bud

[@The_Farwall]

I gotta clarify, as a UK resident in my 40s, so older than a few watching at least, we definitely didn't have "a neighbourhood dowser" as Adam suggests. But yes, it was a known thing, you'd see people claiming to be able to do it in the media often enough as I grew up but it's been an outdated idea the whole time I've heard of it.

[@JamesBiggar]

Rural Canadian, everyone claimed to be a dowser here lol.

[@georgehelyar]

In UK, nearly 40 myself, heard of it but never seen anyone actually claim to do it. Even the media seems to know it's rubbish. Maybe I just don't watch enough daytime TV.

[@DonariaRegia]

Here in America we had the "rain maker" in past eras. Sure, you'd be out some money and disappointed with the results, but at least you didn't dig a three-hundred foot deep hole in your yard for nothing.

[@Loosechip-ins]

To be a rainmaker in the UK just plan an outdoor event. No need to dowse, just dig a hole. Simple!

[@voiceofraisin3778]

@@Loosechip-ins No rain for a week, light up a barbecue, instant lawn watering!

[@DavidPruitt]

"if you haven't heard of dowsing you might think it's stupid" Oh I've heard of it and still think it's stupid

[@darkfoxxbunyip]

I have seen it in action and I lost all faith in the intelligence of the people who hired that conman.

[@BrandanLee]

@@darkfoxxbunyip same lol

[@FuncleChuck]

It is stupid and it’s embarrassing that “well some people make a living doing it” (conning people) was a reason NOT to do it.

[@stonefox9124]

Well I think it's done with two copper robs and I saw a video of someone seriously doubting it but it worked much to the persons shock so I don't know.

[@davidhogue100]

I've done it, one of the weirdest experiences of my life but it worked and found my well over 20 years ago

[@douglasschaden3475]

In 1980 we had a dowser come out and do his thing. We followed his advice and dig the well where he said to and it has been reliably pumping water ever since. It occured to me later, after a couple drinks (not of water) that our well is only about 10 metres from our neighbors well. Well played, dowser, well played.

[@barongerhardt]

The best part of James Cameron saying it was the script, was he backed it up with that it was his screw up as the director, not the writer. That kind of accountability in hollywood has been missing for some time.

[@Wonko-bj4jx]

Worked for a time as a diver on a commercial archaeology boat and there are people that do dousing for precious metals using antennas an EM frequencies, they would approach our outfit from time to time and ask for a cut of anything they helped to find, which was always nothing because it never worked. Our boss referred to them as "weejee board people"

[@CheebsCheeby]

Was your boss at least able to spell Ouija correctly?

[@PsRohrbaugh]

At least they were attempting to use some testable technology, not magic.

[@woodfur00]

How to ojo board works?

[@dELTA13579111315]

​@@woodfur00ghost

[@deltaeins1580]

Weejee board is fine. Sounds like a kids toy too

[@xGaLoSx]

I've been wanting to ask About James Cameron for sooooo long! The guy is my absolute idol. More stories about him, please!

[@user-neo71665]

There are people in the US that claim dousing works. I've seen it in action and actually produce a well but where I live the water table is so high you can dig just about anywhere 20 or so feet and hit water.

[@gorgonbert]

You discovered how the scam works 😉

[@atticstattic]

@@user-neo71665 Dowsing - dousing means to soak

[@At0mix]

Yea you can dig a well almost anywhere. If you're unlucky or cannot afford to be unlucky, hire a geologist, not a dowser.

[@gorgonbert]

@@At0mix exactly 👍… funny thing is… if the dowser is wrong, the answer is “oh there must be a bad voodoo magical energy field here”… if the geologist is wrong “see, see, scientists are liars” 🙈

[@FScott-m1n]

As a certified rhino detector I can guarantee you that there are no rhinoceroses within a radius of 80 miles of my current location.

[@monsterblues]

"Deep sea explorer James Cameron is a filmmaker?" I'm on the floor! LOL

[@ecurewitz]

Sounds like a Jamie thing

[@ZirconGames]

Dowsing is also very common where i live (in brazil). People swear it works. And i do believe that almost all of the people that do it actually believes it works. Also there's a lot of room for confirmatiom bias. And brazil also has huge aquifers, so it's no hard to find water based on pure luck. Trow a dart at a map and you'll probabbly hit a water vein. I find it quite annoying the ammount of people that believes it and will get angry when you'll try to tell them it doesn't work.

[@ArkonArchive]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="135">2:15</a> Runescape Damage Sound Effect

[@3gsFreak]

Hah. Spot on!

[@tylerengland4427]

@@3gsFreakhit splat lol

[@JesseLH88]

Runescape has sound effects? I remember it being an awkward and silent game

[@CatChrist]

​@@JesseLH88 the sound effects are the best part mate! They've got so many good audio tracks in sure you'd recognize because they've been used so many places haha

[@scorpionjacket3129]

Made me do a double take. Wasn’t sure if it was edited in

[@M16Joe]

I like the shirt, for those who dont know the characters テTe スsu テte ドdo combine to make Tested or Tesutedo. A perfect shirt for a Mythbuster.

[@zyg9]

The name of this channel / web series is Adam Savage's Tested

[@MuffledSword]

Used to be an entire website too, with news, reviews, podcasts, a forum, and at one point Jamie Hyneman. The videos are the only surviving content from those days.

[@britty23]

Yup, its part of his merch lol. But it is fun reading katakana

[@Seiibaa]

Which is still wrong lol, pretty sure its supposed to be テステッド

[@M16Joe]

Didnt realize that, this showed up as a youtube recommendation and i like trying to translate any hiragana or katakana i see. Its a fun hobby for me. ​@zyg9

[@cdtaylor7732]

I love the moral ethics that Adam has. When so much popular TV/Shows are based off of drama and hurting people, they stuck to their guns on making sure everything went above board. I also like that Adam doesn’t discredit it and gives potential solutions to the idea of dowsing. A true scientist that wants facts and nothing but, bravo.

[@LiEnby]

So often do people see something silly and dismiss the entire thing because of that, Someone claiming to be possessed by spirits might very well actually have the experience of feeling like their body is taken over by an external force, that’s a real thing in a few mental conditions BUT it’s most likely not because of a spirit controlling them, It’s important to remember this what people mean from what they’re saying … just because it doesn’t make sense doesn’t mean they’re lying or anything .. The issue is mythbusters probably doesn’t have time to explore such nuance?

[@kenbrown2808]

there's another thing that was missed in the Titanic episode: the set department had to make the door larger than reality, in order to get it to float just Rose.

[@geoffkannenberg6167]

Yeah, I know the memes are out there that there was plenty of room for him to get on as well, but it just would’ve sank

[@goldernie]

I think there was a BIG thing that was missed in the Titanic episode..

[@kenbrown2808]

@@goldernie oh, no. they definitely didn't miss the big thing. they hit it pretty hard.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Jack: Promise me you'll never let go Rose: I promise _[lets go]_

[@MajorTom5613-ws1my]

Love the McMaster catelog on your desk. One of the engineers I work with got one when he was ordering parts for one of our projects and it is an absolutely massive "book", if you can even call it that.

[@cjuice9039]

Their website is also an optimization masterpiece. It is incredibly fast. You can find exactly what you need in seconds.

[@Rob-i5k]

I'm not the type to comment, or post , usually years ago I borrowed a friend's computer and sent you a long email, describing how an ice bullet wouldn't work, and a whole list of stuff you could try, you guys tested everything I had suggested , I still think that was super cool , I always liked your positive attitude and your good nature, my kids grew up watching Mythbusters and I think it was great that they learned how to think outside the box inside the box, and realize that there is no box, thank you.

[@SeanHartnett-t8c]

that is cool.

[@stevestann595]

"Why did you insult me, I'm a douser, my father was a douser, my grand father was a douser" 😂, we have some crazy ones where I live, they even shake their whole bodies until they collapse to the ground.

[@DepartmentOfResults]

Us humans are strange creatures.

[@michaelsavage4414]

Back in the early 70's, here in the Adirondacks my friends bought a hunting camp in the middle of nowhere. We wanted water as there was none nearby. We brought in an old fella from town to look for water for us. He walked around a bit and marked a spot. Then he had a coffee can and a spool attached to a string. He rolled the spool around the inside of the coffee can for a minute or so. Then he held the spool in the middle of the coffee can until the string unraveled. Then the spool started to swing back and forth and started to tap against the inside of the can. Every time it hit he said that was one foot. It tapped the can 10 times and he said dig here and you will hit water 10 feet down. Well, we were pretty young back then and we started digging a well. Ten feet down we hit water...and plenty of it! That well is still there today and still producing water! I'm a believer!

[@marcgto]

Made me go back 🤣. <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="386">06:26</a> Adam licking his finger (and probably wiping it off on his pants) to scroll to the next question on his phone.

[@amirumir]

This is pure gold, adorable stuff

[@robpleasphoto]

Dowsing sounds an awful lot like what my Grandmother used to call "water witching." I remember as a teenager she hired a water-witcher to find where to dig her new well. She explained that he had to use a forked branch (freshly cut, not dried out) from a willow tree and had to hold it a certain way. If you imagine the letter "Y", hold the two legs so the single leg points away from you, parallel to the ground. When the witcher walks around the yard, the single leg will point to the best spot. I arrived after the fellow found the spot and left. But, lucky me, I found the stick. So, I held it like she told me to and wandered over to his marked spot. Of all things, that single leg on the stick pointed straight down. When I moved away, the leg straightened out. It was the craziest thing.

[@Atratzu]

I had no idea how considerate Adam was to the feelings of anyone else that might come on the show. It's heartwarming! ❤

[@jca111]

55 year old UK resident, and never had or heard of a neighbourhood douser!

[@rockets4kids]

he's down at the pub.

[@voiceofraisin3778]

@@rockets4kids Testing the water level in the beer!

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@voiceofraisin3778 Brewer's droop

[@darkfoxxbunyip]

You mean to tell me that something an American said about something outside the US isn't actually true? How very reasonably predictable.

[@thelonedrummer18]

Recognizing that potential impact on what would be somebody's entire life essentially is incredibly thoughtful. Hats off to you sir.

[@SilkyThick]

Okay but there are people calling themselves professionals out there lying to people. My country is being built by chiselers and fools. This is a problem.

[@AnthonyFlack]

Protect the livelihoods of scammers taking money off people for a service that doesn't work.

[@BobStein]

There's more to the *dowsing* story: I once watched a technician find an underground water pipe by dowsing. The physics part came from the huge current he made flow through the pipe by inserting leads into the water stream at both ends. Then the metal L-shaped rods he held lightly in each hand turned and crossed when he passed over the pipe.

[@williamnixon3994]

Okay that is actually really clever, and would (does) work in reality. Finding that pipe with nothing but a stick would get you nowhere though

[@BobStein]

@@williamnixon3994 agreed, if the sticks are nonconductive material or they're not passing through magnetic field lines generated by whatever you're trying to locate, then that's the fake kind of dowsing. The MythBusters only reported half the story.

[@snakesocks]

Good news is: These exact kind of experiments on dowsing have been done & the people fall into the usual mode of doubling down on their beliefs or claiming the 'test was wrong' when shown definitively that they couldn't locate water to any degree of accuracy greater than random chance.

[@kenbrown2808]

I am the outlier in that my claim is that the test proves that dowsing isn't magic. it's subconscious - some people are insanely good at deduction, and dowsing works for them "in the wild" but not when they are placed in an environment that removes the clues they subconsciously use for their deduction.

[@StudioDaVeed]

@@kenbrown2808 Psychics play the same game. "The body will be found near a small grove of trees and nearby will be running water." I guarantee 'you' are near such a location....and yes; 5 miles away 'works' for the nutcase Psychic....

[@kenbrown2808]

@StudioDaVeed "anybody who believes in telekinesis, please raise my hand."

[@StudioDaVeed]

@@kenbrown2808 lol

[@HalNordmann]

​@@kenbrown2808That would explain why sometimes the tests work. I've also seen a promising theory regarding magnetoperception - though not sure if those tests were repeated

[@sporkinum]

We had the main water line coming into our house fail. The small town that i lived in had a small town handyman. The only record of the water pipe was a hand written note from the 1930s. Anyhow, he "dowsed" to find the pipe. Of course it didnt find anything. They found the buried pipe sticking a metal rod in the ground. Anyhow, was old, and lead that finally rotted after 100 years. Everything was replaced with copper.

[@zedxxx9]

"Of course"??

[@darkfoxxbunyip]

​@@zedxxx9 Yes, of course. Unless you believe in that scam. Then, a Mythbusters episode on how the scam works, or the dowsing doesn't, would have been good for you.

[@zedxxx9]

@@darkfoxxbunyip - Well it's a "scam" which I believe I proved for myself. The fact that there are so many people like yourself who are convinced that it doesn;t work makes it a very good "myth" to investigate. I am surprised that Adam dismissed it.

[@ryanhodges4963]

I've been able to find underground water PIPES using two marker flags. I was a service tech for a sprinkler company. It doesn't work 100% but I'd say 80%.

[@samiraperi467]

Dowsing works worse than the methods used earlier, i.e. examining the soil, plants and so on. Because of course it does when the basic premises are incorrect. The soil + plants and stuff method actually worked.

[@charlesmontgomery7002]

I grew up on a farm in the TX panhandle ...over the Ogallala Aquifer...some old timers in the area did dowsing, called water witching. They were successful, unsurprisingly given the aquifer was under us everywhere.

[@JoyfulJabber]

It is so incredibly sweet that they did not want to bring someone in to embarrass them in front of a camera. That is a proper human being right there (and the entire team apparently). ❤️ It literally brought happy tears in my eyes.

[@pietergeerkens6324]

Thank you! That's a class act. I can't put any serious value into the wooden dowsing rod, from a physical stand point; but the points you mention about all other factors, plus the human element, I think strikes to the heart of why the show was such a success. Good on all of you.

[@budm9982]

Watching this channel is always a rewarding experience.

[@ivannightly1919]

I must say I don't believe in dowsing. That said, on my friend's 40-acre farm, they drilled 3 dry wells. On the fourth, they hired a guy to do that, and it hit pretty shallow. Either he read the land or felt something-I have no idea-but he picked the spot on the first shot-make what you will of it.

[@CanopyFlyer150]

I've always wanted to do a "dowsing" test this way. Blindfold the dowser and send them across an area with defined borders. Then mark any place where the dowsing rod points down. Repeat this step several times, marking each time the rod points down inside the defined area. Then, while still blindfolded, move the dowser in a way that confuses their sense of direction. I would also attempt to make the defined area as sensory null as possible. Maybe use white noise to cancel out the test subject's sense of hearing etc. Make the area as smooth and even as possible. I would go as far as having the subject sit in a wheel chair and be wheeled around by the tester. Then point them back toward the defined area and repeat the steps taken in the first part of the test using marks that can be differentiated from the first. Predicating the test on finding something is not the correct way to go about it. See if a dowser can find a specific spot, then go back and see if they can find it again, while being completely unaware of their surroundings. That would be an interesting test. If you can find a dowser that can consistently find the same spot, while unaware of their surroundings, THAT would be cool. Then you can go from there to finding out what is really going on. Having the subject's hands equipped to detect any ideomotor action would add to the test as well. My hypothesis is that the data would show that no one would ever get above the level of random chance in finding the same spot under the defined conditions. With that said, it would be fun to try.

[@SilkyThick]

Your experiment needs better controls, but it's a good idea. You can't use the wheelchair though, modifying their technique in any way invalidates the test.

[@EmptyPeace]

Holy fuck you care way to much.

[@RFC3514]

You don't need to deliberately "confuse" dowsers. the ones that aren't _deliberately_ trying to scam people are already confused enough. James Randi ran several (totally fair and scientific) tests. You can probably find them on KZbin. Can you guess the results?

[@dougmiyamoto3109]

The problem with your very logical test parameters is that you would never get a "dowser" who would actually accept the challenge.

[@RFC3514]

You don't need to deliberately "confuse" dowsers. the ones that aren't _deliberately_ trying to scam people are already confused enough. James Randi ran several (totally fair and scientific) tests. You can probably find them on KZbin.

[@floodwatcher8623]

Around 2010 I worked as a subcontractor for the power company and I would occasionally see them use 2 pieces of thick copper wire (one in each hand) to pinpoint underground wires. They told me it was an interaction between the human body and magnetic field would cause the wires to cross when the field changed because of the electric current running through the ground.

[@julietfischer5056]

Copper is not magnetic.

[@floodwatcher8623]

@julietfischer5056 copper is not magnetic, but have you ever dropped a magnet through a copper pipe?

[@MushookieMan]

Dowsing is an immediate firing from reputable utility locating companies

[@meiko_kaji]

I’ve witnessed that. Did it every 30ft or so. They stuck flags in the ground. Perfect straight line. One scoop of a shovel to prove it and the fence posts were marked and sunk. Easy!

[@Yonkage-ik5qb]

This is similar to a very popular "modern" version of dowsing, where instead of a forked stick, it's two metal rods, like thick coat hangers, bent into L-shapes with the short ends being held in each hand, and then long ends pointing away. As the person walks, if the two rods suddenly swing far apart or together and cross, it means the presence of whatever the dowser is looking for. Supposedly, it has to do with magnetic fields or ley lines or some such interacting with the metal; and it does look much more visually convincing and "scientific" than using a single crooked old stick. But it's still complete bullshit. The rods pivot because the person holding them has rotated their wrist, subconsciously or otherwise. This has a much greater effect than tiny variations in a magnetic field that even a purpose-built machine could not detect, and probably don't even exist.

[@DeanofMachines]

This is why we love you Adam. Kindness through and through!

[@mradamdsmith]

Nice to see you respecting the beliefs and dignity of others and being merciful and kind about it.

[@francoisleveille409]

Thank you for doing the popcorn (Real Genius) myth I asked for back in the Mythbusters days!!

[@malpal1213]

This is so concise and touching. Funnily enough before you revealed it was dousing, I guessed water divining (which is the same thing that’s just the phrase I knew it as)

[@wizard5637]

Taking an old episode of "In Search Of.." and debunking it would be cool. They did do a dousing episode.

[@JohnFourtyTwo]

I think “That’s Incredible” and “Real People” done similar stories back then also.

[@garyclark3843]

Funny thing is that your result announcement for "Titanic".was one of the few in the entire series that annoyed me. The reason being psychological. Would a young man of that period, while trying to save his new love from a disaster at sea, really ask her to take off her life vest? Would the thought even occur to him? Seemed like a good time to do a qualified answer that would have acknowledged both the technical result and the psychological improbability. I know psychology wasn't the shows remit, but humans will be humans.

[@johnpaquette6990]

Well, I live in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I needed a new well. The drilling outfit informed me the rate was $1k/100’, wet or dry. I queried how could I possibly increase my chances of success, good water and not excessively deep. My neighbor’s well stopped at 400’ and the water smelled and tasted like iron. I was concerned. He suggested a douser, an elderly and well known gentleman for his abilities. He asked me several questions that raised red flags like, “where do you want your well?” I controlled my skepticism and answered his question. After pacing the general perimeter around my house, he indicated a reasonable site. As a result of his dousing, he determined “great water at 120’. “ After the driller was done, we obtained really pure water at 30gal/min. from unstable basalt at 130’! The driller stated he had been drilling wells in my region for 25 years and had never encountered basalt, only sedimentary rock. Truly a fine testament to the art of dousing! Perhaps some factors not acknowledged by the scientific community are involved.

[@2livenoob]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="87">1:27</a> But that's the whole purpose for the show!

[@Quixan]

not exactly. the show was more for things closer to the world of plausible.

[@dogpotato972]

Nice

[@codywest7210]

Mythbusters and dirty jobs are the golden age of television.

[@SilasHick]

I am long-time hydrogeologist/geoscientist, my field work has taken me all across this big, red rugged land (Australia); new techniques and methods for groundwater investigation are being developed continuously - none of which are in any way related to "dousing"

[@johnjones_1501]

You should have done dowsing because it keeps turning up in unexpected places, and there was even a company that was selling "tactical dowsing rods" to the police that were supposed to be able to find drugs. Of course these could not actually find drugs, but if you had an officer in a community that didn't have really well educated jury pools, that officer could claim to use a dowsing rod to justify an illegal search based on discriminatory profiling, which was an issue that needs to be exposed in a format that those folks in those rural communities can understand, in order to prevent such huxters. I think currently in the US such dowsing rods have largely been exposed as garbage, but they may still be showing up overseas. That said, if you are going to bring a guy on to make a fool out of them, who better than the conman selling the dowsing rods?

[@NightRavenGSA01]

Oh, it's so much worse than that. It went on to be sold to find missing persons, dead bodies, and even to detect bombs in Iraq. Many many people have died because of that grift

[@martinwyke]

Dowsing in the UK is how the old hands prank youngsters, it's the ground working equivalent of sending apprentices for left-handed screwdrivers or long stands.

[@FLPhotoCatcher]

Don't forget the metric adjustable wrench, or the board stretcher.

[@squidwardo7074]

worked in a grocery store for a while and always told the news guys to fetch the shelf stretcher

[@christianweller4288]

Knew a guy that made pipettes out of glass tube as a kid because his dad showed him how to do it. When the spirit level bubbles nonsense started at work, he was ready.

[@TheBrothergreen]

​@@squidwardo7074 aye, aye, sir. Me: sweet, overtime! Yes!

[@uriituw]

Youngsters fall for it?

[@jackneighbors4374]

That really shows a lot about this dudes character, I think. A lot of (most) other television outlets wouldn't have hesitated to humiliate somebody in order to obtain content they thought would improve ratings. Adam Savage, I applaud your integrity sir .

[@stephennnnnnnnnnnn]

We absolutely do not and have never had a neighbourhood douser.

[@justinjewell8329]

Yeh im pretty sure that hasnt been a thing for a long time , theres dousers out there for sure but neighbourhood dousers nope . I moved to rural Ireland and over here we have people who think they have " The Cure " for various ailments and theres usually one in each parish that people use .

[@erinfinn2273]

How many of those "Cures" are just a bracing shot o' whiskey?

[@deaniweenie]

Yes, that was an ignorant and ridiculous comment he made there

[@jaybe2908]

It was a thing in the 70's / 80's, with dousers on tv, but you never hear anyone claiming to do it now, plenty of Dossers in every neighbourhood though.

[@deaniweenie]

@@jaybe2908 Dowsers have been featured on TV many times over the years and will continue to occasionally feature but only because of the novelty factor but, it has never ever been taken seriously in the UK and there has never been a 'neighbourhood dowser'. We are talking about handful of people 'practicing' at any time. It's just not a thing, no-one takes it seriously (for obvious reasons). By-and-large most people are sensible enough to see it for what it is. What makes me laugh most is that someone from a country that has just elected Donald Trump for a second term could have the audacity to suggest something so ridiculous!

[@billhegenauer789]

I have to chime in with a story on this topic. I've been a plumber for 23+ years. I've done everything from well pumps to new construction to service of all degrees. I was on a job in Maine once helping a friend locate a well that had been buried with a well seal and no pit about 7' underground. We were tasked with locating it. After an hour of walking around with a metal detector designed specifically for this purpose, no luck. We discussed the spitball option of dowsing. you can bend 2 metal coat hangers into L shapes and walk with them parallel to each other. If you walk over a water source, they begin crossing. I attempted this seeming Ludacris idea and son of a gun, it worked!! I walked away and re approached the spot 3 times from different directions and every time, same results. So we dug with a machine to about 5.5' and finished the rest by hand. At 5.5' the metal detector was screaming that something was indeed there. A little more digging and voila, a well!! I've never attempted dowsing again since that day, but I'd say it can work if your lucky!

[@LordPerrin]

Nah

[@LiEnby]

@@LordPerrinno no this makes sense whoever dug the well just got a dowser to do it so they found the same spot, :?

[@mayac4147]

Big respect! I love that Adam is such a principled guy. totally agree with the reasoning here, it's not worth disrespecting a whole tradition and people for whom this is a part of their lives just for an episode

[@jay_a_mania]

BRING MYTHBUSTERS BACK!!!!! 870K view in 3 days, the demand is there.

[@The_Slammy_Jammy]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="128">2:08</a> never stop asking questions

[@Maxsmack]

Some mammals can slightly smell water

[@xXAkitokunXx]

@@MaxsmackI can smell when it’s about to rain through the moist in the area. Weird yeah useful yeah.

[@jamiegreenough8513]

Why

[@joeyr88]

​@@xXAkitokunXx yeah smell rain in the spring summer. Not a skill though

[@xXAkitokunXx]

@@joeyr88 idk seems like it because a lot of people don't know when it's gonna rain. I can tell even when it's clear sky.

[@medicineman360]

I love how enthusiastic Adam is in telling these stories. I miss MythBusters. 😢

[@aqacefan]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="197">3:17</a> Nobody but James Randi, you mean.

[@BrokenEagle135]

What is this in context to?

[@aqacefan]

@BrokenEagle135 en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Randi

[@willschmidt7794]

Former magician who turned into a professional debunker of "paranormal" things. He does make people look like fools but it is pretty entertaining ​@@BrokenEagle135

[@JenOween]

​@@BrokenEagle135 James Randi had a $1M reward (I believe it was increased over the years before it was halted) to anyone who could come pass all the tests to be able to levitate things, talk to the dead, find water with sticks, etc. He had a show for a while where people would go on and try to pass. Over decads, no one ever passed.

[@FettTheWatcher]

Came here to make this comment

[@gunslinger2566]

As a kid we tried dowsing, and the only thing I could think of to give it any legitimacy was as a primitive survey tool to judge inclines. Finding a low point might find water.

[@roserichardson9480]

The pyramid power episode really sticks with me because that was also the episode where you visited the skycar guy. The pyramid power "expert" was absolutely a crank, but he seemed to sincerely believe in what he was saying; the skycar guy, by contrast, has a real, working prototype, but he knows he's blowing smoke when he talks about actually commercializing it.

[@dustinschouest8405]

Utility locator here. I haven't used a forked stick, but I've used two metal flag sticks and used them to effectively find petroleum pipelines, water lines, even copper phone lines. The two sticks cross as it crosses something over anything with an electromagnetic field. The locations were verified with either a probing rod or with a locating machine

[@OngoGablogian185]

Haha, sure thing.