Mythbusters (lost unaired segments of Discovery Channel science entertainment series; 2006-2015): Difference between revisions
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In the 2006 ''Mythbusters'' episode "Steam Cannon", among the myths being tested is "there's more nutrition in the cardboard box than the cereal." The experiment was designed to involve lab mice placed in three groups - one group eating normal mouse food, one eating the sugary cereal, and one eating cardboard box pellets. The resulting segment, as aired, is wholly uneventful; the mice are not seen after their initial introduction, and the impression is given that this is because the myth turned out to be so easily busted. Still, it feels oddly truncated in comparison to the usual in-depth investigation. | In the 2006 ''Mythbusters'' episode "Steam Cannon", among the myths being tested is "there's more nutrition in the cardboard box than the cereal." The experiment was designed to involve lab mice placed in three groups - one group eating normal mouse food, one eating the sugary cereal, and one eating cardboard box pellets. The resulting segment, as aired, is wholly uneventful; the mice are not seen after their initial introduction, and the impression is given that this is because the myth turned out to be so easily busted. Still, it feels oddly truncated in comparison to the usual in-depth investigation. | ||
In a Q&A some years later (and several times since) Adam Savage explained that the real reason for this is that the mouse experiment had gone so completely awry that it was beyond unusable. According to Adam, after several days they had noticed on the Friday afternoon that the cardboard-eating mice were acting strangely; upon | In a Q&A some years later (and several times since) Adam Savage explained that the real reason for this is that the mouse experiment had gone so completely awry that it was beyond unusable. According to Adam, after several days' filming they had noticed on the Friday afternoon that the cardboard-eating mice were acting strangely; upon their arrival to check on them the following Monday morning, they discovered that one of the "cardboard mice", presumably starving and desperate, had ''eaten the other two mice in its cage''. All that remained of each victim was, in Adam's words, "...a head, and a tail, and nothing but a ribcage in-between." | ||
The show's producers at the Discovery Channel flatly refused to allow this development to be shown in the episode. The experiment was immediately halted, and the result that eventually made it to air was hastily cobbled-together from prior non-animal testing the hosts had done. Adam & Jamie, on the other hand, found the whole thing gruesomely hilarious; Adam had made a rough cut of the footage by the time the decision was taken to ban it, and in the Q&A he admits to showing it at "Northern Michigan Tech" (likely referring to either "Northern Michigan University" or "Michigan Tech University"). When Discovery found out, however, they forbade him from showing it ever again. | The show's producers at the Discovery Channel flatly refused to allow this development to be shown in the episode. The experiment was immediately halted, and the result that eventually made it to air was hastily cobbled-together from prior non-animal testing the hosts had done. Adam & Jamie, on the other hand, found the whole thing gruesomely hilarious; Adam had made a rough cut of the footage by the time the decision was taken to ban it, and in the Q&A he admits to showing it at "Northern Michigan Tech" (likely referring to either "Northern Michigan University" or "Michigan Tech University"). When Discovery found out, however, they forbade him from showing it ever again. | ||
Revision as of 17:07, 19 December 2021
This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its disturbing subject matter.
Logo for the series.
Status: Lost
Mythbusters is a popular science entertainment TV program, hosted by veteran special effects artists Jamie Hyneman & Adam Savage that puts various myths, storytelling tropes and urban legends to rigorous scientific test. Adam & Jamie then use their results to determine if the myths are in reality "plausible" or "busted". Over more than a decade, this has resulted in some startling and surprising television... but in only one case was it so startling that most of the footage never made it to air.
Banned footage
In the 2006 Mythbusters episode "Steam Cannon", among the myths being tested is "there's more nutrition in the cardboard box than the cereal." The experiment was designed to involve lab mice placed in three groups - one group eating normal mouse food, one eating the sugary cereal, and one eating cardboard box pellets. The resulting segment, as aired, is wholly uneventful; the mice are not seen after their initial introduction, and the impression is given that this is because the myth turned out to be so easily busted. Still, it feels oddly truncated in comparison to the usual in-depth investigation.
In a Q&A some years later (and several times since) Adam Savage explained that the real reason for this is that the mouse experiment had gone so completely awry that it was beyond unusable. According to Adam, after several days' filming they had noticed on the Friday afternoon that the cardboard-eating mice were acting strangely; upon their arrival to check on them the following Monday morning, they discovered that one of the "cardboard mice", presumably starving and desperate, had eaten the other two mice in its cage. All that remained of each victim was, in Adam's words, "...a head, and a tail, and nothing but a ribcage in-between."
The show's producers at the Discovery Channel flatly refused to allow this development to be shown in the episode. The experiment was immediately halted, and the result that eventually made it to air was hastily cobbled-together from prior non-animal testing the hosts had done. Adam & Jamie, on the other hand, found the whole thing gruesomely hilarious; Adam had made a rough cut of the footage by the time the decision was taken to ban it, and in the Q&A he admits to showing it at "Northern Michigan Tech" (likely referring to either "Northern Michigan University" or "Michigan Tech University"). When Discovery found out, however, they forbade him from showing it ever again.
Mythbusters ceased first-run production as of 2016 - and it can be assumed that Adam still has his copy of the footage - but due to the graphic animal violence it is very unlikely it will ever resurface publicly. Both Discovery and the Mythbusters team have always done their best to keep a family-friendly image and strictly avoid any hint of animal harm (never testing the myth of "drying a dog in a microwave" in any form, for instance).