"You call that a loose cannon? I am THE loose cannon, dudes."
Posted on 12/07/2011 7:00:46 AM PST by Red Badger
DUBLIN, Calif. (CBS) — A cast iron cannonball rocketed through two homes and landed inside a minivan Tuesday when a “Mythbusters” TV experiment went wrong.
Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage are hosts of the scientific experimentation show, which airs on The Discovery Channel. The pair was reportedly trying to figure out how fast a cannonball would travel, when it misfired and shot hundreds of feet in the air.
“This cannonball was supposed to go through several barrels of water and through a cinder block, and then ultimately into the side of the hill,” said J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department.
Instead the cannonball flew over the foothills surrounding Camp Parks Military Firing Reservation, before spiraling back toward Dublin like a cruise missile.
It flew straight though the front door of a home on Cassata Place, and bounced around like a pinball, flying up to the second floor before blasting through a back bedroom wall.
The wayward cannonball then blasted across a busy road and through a second home some 50 yards away, demolishing roof tiles.
The homeowner’s mother was frightened.
“”It was a very loud boom; she thought a tree fell, maybe a meteor,” said Ming Jiang. “It wasn’t clear that it was a cannonball landing on the roof.”
The out of control cannonball finally came to a stop inside Jasper Gill’s minivan.
“It hit the dash, through the passenger window,” said Gill, who had gotten out of the vehicle just 10 minutes before the ball struck. “I’m lucky I’m alive.”
Incredibly, no one was injured in the mishap.
Officials said Mythbusters had been using the firing reservation for the last eight years for similar experiments, but none had gone awry.
I think Camp Parks was a base at one time (WWII) but
inactive since the 1990s.
"You call that a loose cannon? I am THE loose cannon, dudes."
bump that
They used to be my absolute favorite show but many of their myths to me are inspiring idiotic copycats, the real turning point was of course the idolizing of Obama who only saw them as a tool to spread his propaganda.
Now MB does have some revelations, the episode of the Hindenburg were quite interesting as was Bullets Fire Up, the recent rocket sled myths are eye candy, some like Spinning bullets on ice were stupid and dangerous.
And they should have never allowed a pregnant member near loud noises or any possible accidents. Period.
They do always have a locale problem, perhaps they should ramp it up and just build their own town in the Nevada desert so they can safely blow up cars and buildings.
I think this stunt may possibly shut them down, lawyers you know.
And I suspect they are gay..........
if you will
I went through Air Force basic training at Parks AFB in 1955. Could Camp Parks be what was once Parks AFB?
Always keep your muzzies pointed in a safe direction?..............
Oh, wait.........
They’re interviewing a candidate to replace ‘Buster’ on the show there aren’t they?
From MythBusters to MinivanBusters in one shot!
FWIW, I know of two episodes in which a wife was mentioned (the Obama experiment being one of them - Adam's). Jamie referenced his wife in a recent 'best of' show.
(got the guys names reversed in that prior post.)
That, my FRiends, might just have signaled the END of the Mythbusters.
I know they’re insured, so these folks will have the damage repaired. But I’m really wondering if said insurance company will ever let them pull a stunt that involves explosives OR projectiles again.
I’m fairly sure the minivan dude, Mr. “Lucky-to-be-alive”, was probably smiling because he was seeing dollar signs in his eyes from a lawsuit. You just KNOW it’s gonna happen.
I wonder if either Adam or Jamie got any sleep last night....
That figure makes Obama look like a wax statue and I don’t know why.
That Punkin Chunkin contest looks like a serious injury just waiting to happen.
They ain’t gay. Not EVERYONE who lives in the San Fran/Oakland area is gay.
They are both happily married. I am usually pretty good with the whole ‘gaydar’ thing, and neither of them have registered nary a ‘ping’.
I was thinking the same thing. Then I thought of Disney's Hall of Presidents and when it's Obama's turn to talk all he says is "uh".
I don’t really care at all as long as they keep it at home. I do like the guys and the crew, they have a long lasting appeal and I watch the re-runs all the time.
Recently there was an American version of First Gear on another channel, well I am a huge fan of the BBC First Gear but these jokers were trying to duplicate everything the BBC show did and did it horribly, I watched three episodes and quit, no more ever.
Its all about the characters and the personality interaction, and MB does have it. I hope they stick around for a lot longer though this little even and the one before it “Knock your socks off: may have gone too far, the socks myth explosion really pissed off a nearby town.
Discovery Networks only has association with the organizers of the Chunkin as far as covering it. The event is totally independent of Discovery Networks and they have their OWN insurance, just in case.
I am sure injuries HAVE occurred in the past...they just never talk about them.
The installation is an Army Reserve training area, and I'm going to guess it was a rifle range, rather than an artillery range.
Per here:
The cannon was aimed at some water containers, but the shot missed the water, tore through a cinder-block wall, skipped off a hillside and flew some 700 yards east, right into the Tassajara Creek neighborhood.They aimed at the hill, which probably serves as the backstop for the rifle range. Rifle bullets will safely embed themselves in the hillside.
They did not understand the concept of "elastic collisions" and did not anticipate that the cannonball, upon hitting a slope, would BOUNCE like a billiard ball up and over the hill, nor how much kinetic energy the cannonball would have. The Mythbusters guys really need to have somebody familiar with this stuff that they can call and talk to when they try things with projectiles.
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