Rattis beat me to it.

It isn't easy and it isn't comfortable but you can breathe off a cylinder without a regulator. We used to do it in open water on one of our regular shallow wreck dives @ 35' (in addition to the pool). The hand is cupped to form an inverted funnel. No Adam, no deep breaths are available. Slow and steady does it and be ready to suck some water.

As a former instructor, we never required anyone to perform this exercise. It was more for bragging rights rather than any practical purpose.

By the way - I hope no one is trying to breathe from a tire filled with pure nitrogen which is being offered by some tire stores now.

The idea has already been put forth to somehow filter the air out of the water. It's just a matter of trapping enough air to have a breathable bubble. How about a funnel, even?

What about breathing underwater from empty bottles in the vehicle that catch air like in the movie "Strange Brew"?

I think they should practice underwater with just the tire first. Then move on to exiting the vehicle and breathing with the tire. I know they will say "under the shock of just getting into an accident and sinking, you wont have time to think about what to do", BUT I believe it can be done if they practice. Trying twice doesn't persuade me that it is busted.

Also they mentioned that they got everything right on the first uderwater car experiment. Well they didn't. Testing the windows with sandbags on them does not simulate underwater conditions. It was acting like a wedge on the glass. Water does not work like that. I think that manual windows will definitely roll down easy and so will the electric windows if they operate underwater. They NEVER tested opening the windows, only the doors were tested.

The MB crew should discuss before hand what they are going to test so the fans can tell them ways of testing it to help prevent revisits. Or they should just try harder. I wouldn't mind watching 1 1/2 to 2 hour episodes, as long as they give it their best efforts to prove themselves. Apparently they have plenty of footage but not enough time. Also they should maybe host a live 2 hour episode special. Maybe with interactive parts using the website or calling in. Just an idea.

How about airbags, they should have an inflater that you could breathe with, or breathing through the actual bag.

Given the input from those with experience, this one demands a revisit (although being a lesser myth it will never get one).

Sounds totally plausible to me - especially in a person who would be chased by bad guys with guns, and have the presence of mind to "play dead".

More science, less hollywood please!

Correction - doors were tested in the pool.

Ok, Mythbusters really blew this one. I know because I've done it myself using a much smaller stream of air than a slashed tire/valve stem.

As a kid I used sink to the bottom of my parent's hot tub and suck the air from the "bubble generator" which was really just a series of pinholes in a PVC pipe at the bottom. The key was I need to place my mouth over the pinhole and let the bubble slowly generate an "air cave" inside my mouth. Gravity does all the work for you. You need to be extremely patient and be very calm to regulate your breathing. It's also important the you be positioned ABOVE the stream so that gravity can do it's work.

I've been timed at over a half hour doing this and could do it indefinitely. As an adult I use it mostly as a party trick. It is definitely something that needs to be learned (took me a couple of hours trying before I could do it without difficulty) so I'm not really surprised that Adam couldn't do it under the gun.

I'm heading off to my place in tahoe this weekend which has a Jacuzzi. I'm seriously considering bringing along a video camera and posting the results.

This really brings out a pet peeve of mine...just because the mythbusters can't do something means it's automatically? Hey I can't run a four minute mile but that doesn't mean a four minute mile is therefore "busted". Sheez. Actually one of my favorite myths is the one where the mythbusters created a personal flying device. Unfortuantely they failed...hence "busting" it. I do think they had a great design, however, and would love to see them try again with a more powerful engine.

I vote for a new category "not plausible". It just means they can't rule it out for sure but it's highly unlikely.

Okay, for some reason my previous post was screened.

Rather than go through the long-winded explanation again I'll make it simple: I've done it through a hole the size of a pinhole. It takes practice. They blew this one.

Pat

quote:

Originally posted by dumbells:
How about airbags, they should have an inflater that you could breathe with, or breathing through the actual bag.

Sorry, airbags don't have inflaters or even use air. airbags fill with a gas from an explosion in order to fill them fast enough to counteract the speed of a crash. Being an explosion, airbags are actually pretty dangerous and can cause burns or other injuries, but it's still better than a face full of steering wheel or windshield.

I agree this one was botched. I'm not sure how hard it was to keep the tire valve depressed, but in the test where Adam stabbed the tire with the knife, I think it could has been done. I've had a lot of practice with breathing underwater in a pool/hot tub off of bubblers or jets. The stream of air from that tire looked comparable to the air from a bubbler.

If playing with getting a good seal with your lips on the tire didn't work, I have another idea. Air naturally filters itself out of water via gravity, so tip your head forward enough so that even if water gets in your mouth the air would rise to the top against your throat where you breath.

What if you sliced a hole in the bottom of the tire to let water in, whilst you breathed from the stem?

It looked to me like the flow was being disrupted from water rushing in and air out of the same hole.

Wouldn't this create a more stable flow? (like when you poke a hole in the top of a five gallon jug of water (the kind with a spout on it) to get a better water flow out of it.)

A very simple solution, sitting in the glove box, center console or door pockets in alot of cars is the tire pressure gauge. take it, yank the slide piece out of it, and then use it to get the air from the tire. If you know your headed to the water it'd be reasonable to think you could grab it before you went in. at that point it will depress the valve stem, seal and let air in your mouth like your using a straw. Pretty simple and very plausible for someone with underwater training to figure out.

Here's what I was thinking while watching the underwater tire breathing:
You would be acting on instinct at first, then hopefully realize you must separate the tire air from the water and make an air pocket. The only practical tool that you have at your immediate disposal is your shirt. Hands wouldn't work well, too hard to seal off. A shirt would leak tiny bubbles through the fabric, but I bet a knife hole in the tire would supply enough air.

If that happens to you, I say your best bet of air is by taking off your shirt and making a "bag" to capture air.

ok adam i know you used your knife to make a hole in the tire and couldnt breath underwater.... but it would be possible to cut the end of the soft valve stem off and
use it as a air ''nipple'' you sould not have any trouble keeping the water out of your mouth .....ny
2 cents...

love the show matt

Just an observation but the idea of biting or cutting through the valve stem is not very practical. the stem is reinforced with a brass tube that starts at the top of the stem and goes down to where it meets the rim. you can cut it off maybe right at the rim but unless you have some serious pliers or bolt cutters, you won't be able to bite or cut through the stem itself. If you don't believe me go out to your car, bicycle, etc and feel that schrader valve stem. Biting it is going to hurt alot!

i know about the valves inside i also know about the kids who go around breaking the things off by bending and kicking them leaving a short stubby rubber stump. i didnt say how long the stem had to be.. only that you could probably get your mouth over it and keep the water out

Since you guys are using SCUBA gear in the experiment, at least as safety divers, you should have had the experience of taking air from a tank valve without a regulator. You may remember from your Open Water Dive Class, that when you do this, you have your face pointed down so you can catch the air in your mouth which will displace the water. Then you can breath the air.
Had you done this in the experiment, you may have found that you could breath. Granted with the flow of air from the tire being limited you would not have been gulping down the air, but you should have been able to survive and wait out the "bad guys" on the surface.

By the way, yes I too am a SCUBA diver.

My first thought, and, thus, the first thing i'd try if i was in that situation (like any of us will ever be in that situation), was to use my now wet t-shirt to catch the air. Most fabrics, when underwater, will hold air effectively enough. i used to do this as a kid in the bathtub and pool... i'd go underwater, and breathe from the air bubble created under a piece of fabric. Just spreading it out over the stream of air from the tire will form a large bubble under the cloth... the tricky part is keeping yourself underwater while holding the t-shirt with your hands.
This myth is not busted at ALL. i'm disappointed with this one... not nearly enough tests and variants, and if i could do it as a 6 year old, the mythbuster team shoulda' been able to figure that one out. NOT BUSTED!

IF ADAM HAD REMEMBERED TO GRAB HIS HANDY CAN OF TIRE INFLATE- HE COULD HAVE YANKED OFF THE FILL TUBE,SCREWED IT ONTO THE VALVESTEM OF THE TIRE, AND GOTTEN A STEADY STREAM OF AIR WITHOUT THE WATER. I THINK IT HAS A GOOD CHANCE OF WORKING!
LOVE YOUR SHOW YOU'ALL !!!