MythBusters/Killer Tissue Box

Killer Tissue Box
Season 2, Episode 23
Airdate	August 3, 2005
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MythBusters — Season Two

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Killer Tissue Box is the twenty-third episode of the second season of MythBusters, and the thirty-ninth episode overall.

A must-see for anyone with the foresight to keep tissues on the rear shelf of their car — in a crash, will that box be propelled forward with enough force to crush your skull? The MythBusters are on the case, with surprising results. Then, the build team — and their arrow-shooting robot — take on Robin Hood ... or at least the legend that Mr. Hood once fired an arrow into an opponent's, splitting it completely in two.

Guest Stars:

Killer Tissue Box

The Myth

If a tissue box is placed on your rear shelf and you get in a car accident, there will be enough force on the tissue box to kill you.

The Test

They bring back the car from the Rear Shaft Myth and instead of using remote control, they tow it. They also want to test a variety of other objects as well, so they build a reusable crashable car using diamond sheets and aluminum steel bars, which will be towed by a truck. For the first test, the cable snaps. After tying it to the I-beam, they try again and snaps. After a few tinkers, they successfully get the vechile to stop properly. Jamie and Adam want to try a variety of other objects, such as a bobble-head, an hatchet, a subwoofer, and a bowling ball to see the effects on the ballistics gel. All of these objects, expect the bobble-head do deadly damage to the ballistics gel with the axe splitting through the ballistic gel box and the bowling ball taking out the front of the rig. When they try with the tissue box, they find that it doesn't even do any damage to the ballistics gel.

The Result

Busted. Due to the weight of the tissue box, it is too light to cause any lethal damage.

Splitting an Arrow

The Myth

Is it possible to fire an arrow into another arrow so that it is split from tail to head, like Robin Hood did in the movies. To archers, this is known as "telescoping".

The Test

Tory tries to split an arrow using his own strength and fails. He continues to try, using different types of wood and arrow heads, but can only get a cut 6 inches deep. They decide to build a robot so they can hit the same spot over and over again. After a few tests, they are not able to split an arrow with the robot, so they try aiming at a bundle of arrows, again they fail. They discover that they were using the wrong type of wood and fix it, however they fail again. They determine that they are hitting the wood too hard, causing it to splinter and not splint in half like they want. They move the robot back, however wind becomes a problem so they move it indoors to no success. They put the machine right up aganist the arrow and fire, but it doesn't split it due to the nature of the way an arrow flies. To avoid the movement of an arrow, they place the arrow in a tube, but again it fails.

The Result

Busted. Based on their test results, the build team determines that it is not possible to split an arrow using another arrow.