MythBusters: Don't Try This at Home!

MythBusters: Don't Try This at Home! by Discovery Channel, Mary Packard

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.

(5.38mb PDF)

Click to read front matter from Myth Busters. (PDF)

Book Details:

• Number of Pages: 144
• Book Size: 8" x 9-3/4"
• Book Type: Paperback
• Recommended Ages: 9 and up
• ISBN 10: 0787983691
• ISBN 13: 978-0787983697

"Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman are the Mythbusters starring in the eponymous Discovery Channel show and their images embellish the cover of this colorful paperback authored by popular science writer Packard. Fifteen intriguing episodes that challenge commonly held myths and urban legends have been excerpted from the broadcasts and incorporated here. Does running in the rain keep you drier than walking? Does a sinking ship pull swimmers down with it? Along with careful scientific scrutiny of these questions, lots of good-natured humor, witty props, and gadgets are employed to enthrall youthful readers. Each chapter includes a guide for safe "at home" experiments along with a brainbuster quiz challenging commonly held notions about the subject. Of course, answers are provided at the back, along with a glossary, an index, and a listing of web sites. The comic-book layout with its incandescent palette of reds, yellows, and brilliant blues should be graphically appealing to the visually oriented preadolescent population. Suitable for all public and junior high-school libraries." — Rita Hoots, Woodland Coll., CA (Library Journal, March 15, 2006)

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Kids absolutely love the Myth Busters! This book includes experiments that kids will have fun trying in their own "labs"!