Don't Try This at Home

It's a tough job separating truth from urban legend, but the MythBusters are here to serve. For example, is it true that if you step in quicksand, you'll be sucked down to your death! Only two men would be inventive and adventurous enough to try to find out: Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, the MythBusters. Each week, hosts Savage and Hyneman, both special effects experts, use modern science to put another three urban legends to the test on their popular TV show. In this book, you'll learn how they either "busted" or confirmed fifteen myths on their show, often with spectacular results. Here are just some of the urban legends in this book: Did a Ming Dynasty astronaut launch himself into space with a rocket? Can a swallowed octopus egg grow to full size inside a person's stomach? Is the daddy longlegs the world's most venomous spider? Will a sinking ship suck you down? How many balloons are needed to lift a small child off the ground? Does a duck's quack echo? "Mythbusters: Don't Try This at Home!" gets to the bottom of these urban legends and more, and it lets you do your own mythbusting with fun experiments you can do safely at home.