MythBusters James Bond Special part one:
“The name’s Hyneman. James Hyneman”
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC WATCH
Myth: An electromagnetic watch could deflect a speeding bullet.
Bond’s modified super-watches are a frequent feature of the franchise, getting him out of innumerable tight spots with their ingenious design features. From the humble ‘garrotte watch’ seen in 1963’s From Russia With Love to the more sophisticated laser beam and remote detonator watches seen in later films, Q-branch clearly enjoys dreaming up new appendage apparatus for our favourite superspy.
The MythBusters decide to take on the electromagnetic watch featured in 1973’s Live and Let Die.
Sidestepping the watch’s integrated circular saw feature that Bond uses to save himself from becoming shark food in the film, along with the functionality that allows him, hands-free, to unzip Miss Caruso’s dress, the team decides to concentrate on trying to create a watch that, as Q claims, could deflect a bullet.
Can a trumped up timepiece really hold enough magnetic force to overcome the velocity of a speeding bullet?
PROPANE TANK PERIL
Myth: A 9mm pistol has the firepower to make a tank of propane explode.
You’ve seen it happen in countless action movies: The hero shoots at a handily placed canister that's helpfully packed with something highly explosive and sends his enemies flying into the air in a ball of flame. But can this happen in real life?
In Casino Royale, 007 shoots a canister of propane and the ensuing explosion allows him to make his getaway.
Does a bullet from a 9mm pistol have the firepower to cause such an explosion? Or would the bullet bounce straight off the canister leaving little more than a dent?
Kari, Grant and Tory blow this one wide open, to obligatory explosive effect.
SPEEDBOAT SURVIVAL
Myth: A speedboat can jump high over a levee and keep going.
Remember the massive boat chase in Live and Let Die? Remember when Bond jumps his speedboat over a levee to escape both the evil henchman and the authorities that are out to get him, but just keeps speeding on?
Adam and Jamie do, and they want to see if they can do it too (minus the authorities and evil henchman, of course).
Starting out in small scale, with a toy speedboat and mini ramp, the MythBusters soon graduate to a real-life speedboat similar to the Glastron speedboat Bond uses in the film.
Adam modifies the boat, allowing it to be controlled by remote, before speeding it toward a purpose-built ramp.
Legend has it that the special effects team working on the film took over a hundred attempts and countless speedboats to get the stunt right, and at the time it set a new Guinness World Record for a speedboat jump (110 feet). Adam and Jamie get just one shot.
Can a speedboat survive such a jump and give the MythBusters the evidence that will prove whether or not such a stunt is possible?
