If only there was some sort of man-portable device that could be used to coerce people to remove themselves from ones' garden.

Mythbusters would like a word.

2wolves: Mythbusters would like a word.

How about "hubris?" It takes a special kind of it to confuse "I can't make this work" with "This is impossible," which they do with regularity.

I thought the Antikythera Mechanism is the oldest computer.

I_Can't_Believe_it's_not_Boutros: 2wolves: Mythbusters would like a word.

How about "hubris?" It takes a special kind of it to confuse "I can't make this work" with "This is impossible," which they do with regularity.

Oh, THIS. God I hate that show.

I_Can't_Believe_it's_not_Boutros and Msol :

And as any scientist can tell you, when confronted with two possible theories, the scientific method dictates that we must go with the one that is awesome


I know I'm in the minority but I think these Cracked submissions are often funny.


Looks like I'm in the majority of those who can't stand Mythbusters though.

I still call video games Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device.

I have nothing against "Mythbusters", and mostly agree with Zombie Feyman. I don't watch it, but I appreciate its existence.

muck4doo: I thought the Antikythera Mechanism is the oldest computer.

It computed things, but wasn't a computer. It couldn't do math, or anything like that. The Babbage Engine was actually a programmable computer that could solve different kinds of problems, as opposed to something like the Antikythera Mechanism, which could to one very specific calculation and could not be programmed. It was more of a mechanical calendar than it was a mechanical calculator.

In any case, even discounting the Mythbusters, it's still pretty implausible that Archimedes's death ray was actually used in the heat of battle. If it existed at all, it was almost certainly done on an unsuspecting fleet that wasn't going to be maneuvering against it. It'd be useless against a moving target.

muck4doo: I thought the Antikythera Mechanism is the oldest computer.

seriously.

Hooray for the Lego difference engine

When MythBusters started it was a neat idea. But it has gotten progressively sloppier. "Oh, well, that was my first and only try, but since I can't do it BUSTED" "What scientific method? Plan B? What the fark are you talking about? Just go cut the damn check already, didnt you hear me say BUSTED? BUSTED!"

t3knomanser: If it existed at all, it was almost certainly done on an unsuspecting fleet that wasn't going to be maneuvering against it. It'd be useless against a moving target.

Like a ship bobbing up and down on the waves.

I am assuming that, even in calm seas, a ship at anchor still has significant motion, particularly if the weapon requires it be focused on a specific area for more than a few seconds.

Indiana Dongs.

You whippersnappers also didn't invent-

DP (nsfw)

tranny hardcore (nsfw)

/Stalin? nsfw (new window)

They forgot to mention high definition television and cable tv.

Everything's stolen nowadays. Why, the fax machine is nothing but a waffle iron with a phone attached.

t3knomanser: In any case, even discounting the Mythbusters, it's still pretty implausible that Archimedes's death ray was actually used in the heat of battle. If it existed at all...

I'm of the suspicion that Nikola Tesla's death ray caused the Tunguska event.
/tinfoil hat in place
//can't read the link, filtered as "tasteless".

Put me on the list of people who also enjoy Cracked articles on a regular basis.

That said, this one's a month old.

Where's the fax machine in this list? They could have made this list an even dozen.

No love for fax machines.

Almost all of this has to do with re-defining or taking a very loose interpretation of the invention at hand.

/And MythBusters rocks. Best science/engineering-based show on TV.

I won't lie, this article resulted in me playing Nim for 20 minutes.

In 2001, if you are a die hard Mac fan. Or 1997, if you are aware cheaper MP3 players existed before Steve Jobs figured out people would pay twice as much to hear their pirated songs on the bus if the MP3 player looked like the bastard son of Eve from Wall-E and a pocket calculator.

I stopped reading right there. These writers cannot distinguish between opinions and facts. The rest of the article will probably be just as unreliable.

Msol: I_Can't_Believe_it's_not_Boutros: 2wolves: Mythbusters would like a word.

How about "hubris?" It takes a special kind of it to confuse "I can't make this work" with "This is impossible," which they do with regularity.

Oh, THIS. God I hate that show.

I'm not alone!!!

I friggin hate nim now.

Molavian: Indiana Dongs.

Damnit - Someone registered that login.

The chick is kind of dumpy but doable.

bingethinker: In 2001, if you are a die hard Mac fan. Or 1997, if you are aware cheaper MP3 players existed before Steve Jobs figured out people would pay twice as much to hear their pirated songs on the bus if the MP3 player looked like the bastard son of Eve from Wall-E and a pocket calculator.

I stopped reading right there. These writers cannot distinguish between opinions and facts. The rest of the article will probably be just as unreliable.

You do realize that the source is "Cracked" right? They aren't exactly serious journalists at work here.

Lost Thought 00 2009-04-04 02:19:21 PM
Almost all of this has to do with re-defining or taking a very loose interpretation of the invention at hand.

/And MythBusters rocks. Best science/engineering-based show on TV.

Sorry, there has never been any science or engineering on any Mythbusters show, ever. There has been a bunch of shade tree mechanics, stunt man antics and special effects crapola, but no science or engineering.

I watch it sometimes because it is amusing, but their rationales and methods are embarrassing from a science/engineering POV. Think CSI, what a farking joke from a reality POV.

I'm surprised they didn't mention the fax machine. It was invented by Alexander Bain in 1843.

Submarines
Most people will either tell you World War I or 1870

The Confederacy had submarines.

bnthrdntht: I watch it sometimes because it is amusing, but their rationales and methods are embarrassing from a science/engineering POV. Think CSI, what a farking joke from a reality POV.

B-b-but that where I learns mah sciences.

mat catastrophe 2009-04-04 02:18:03 PM
Where's the fax machine in this list? They could have made this list an even dozen.

No love for fax machines.

Yeah, you kin put a peece of paper in here with a pictyeur, and your fren geets a peece of paper with the same pictyeur.

Amishures.

bingo the psych-o: I'm surprised they didn't mention the fax machine. It was invented by Alexander Bain in 1843.

Your comment reminded me of another oft-overlooked inventor: Alexander Graham Bellski, the first telephone Pole.

Kar98: Submarines
Most people will either tell you World War I or 1870

The Confederacy had submarines.

I can beat that. They also used them in the Revolutionary War, like it says in the article, a little lower.

Pave_the_Planet: bingethinker: In 2001, if you are a die hard Mac fan. Or 1997, if you are aware cheaper MP3 players existed before Steve Jobs figured out people would pay twice as much to hear their pirated songs on the bus if the MP3 player looked like the bastard son of Eve from Wall-E and a pocket calculator.

I stopped reading right there. These writers cannot distinguish between opinions and facts. The rest of the article will probably be just as unreliable.

You do realize that the source is "Cracked" right? They aren't exactly serious journalists at work here.

Hilarity.

bingethinker: In 2001, if you are a die hard Mac fan. Or 1997, if you are aware cheaper MP3 players existed before Steve Jobs figured out people would pay twice as much to hear their pirated songs on the bus if the MP3 player looked like the bastard son of Eve from Wall-E and a pocket calculator.

I stopped reading right there. These writers cannot distinguish between opinions and facts. The rest of the article will probably be just as unreliable.

u r dum.

Action Replay Nick: I won't lie, this article resulted in me playing Nim for 20 minutes.

I remember in college, one of our professors who was Russian used it to help study Game Theory. Since the game starts with all pieces known, it is possible to formulate an algorithm that simply creates a lookup table to tell you how to do the perfect game. This is how some chess computers work now, they map all of the end-games, and probabilities of getting to a specific advantageous position.

Since this game isn't that complex, it is possible to play it perfectly, just like TicTacToe, meaning that if you go first, or your opponent goes first and doesn't play the first move perfectly, you are guaranteed a win if you can memorize the table. He claimed that in Russian prisons the oldtimers used it on the new guys to trick them into doing favors.

Uh, you mythbuster haters do realize that they often consult with actual engineers/doctors/whatever?

Not just 'ok, hey, lemme build this, hold my beer, watch?'

I don't think it's the most rigorous show in the world, but it's fun to watch.

No one (not even you anal retentive farkers) wants to watch 400000 hours of actual scientific method proof.

I expected the "OMG teh article is dumb!1!" crowd, but I wasn't expecting it to devolve into how Mythbusters isn't scientific.

Leaving the thread either way.

kroonermanblack: Uh, you mythbuster haters do realize that they often consult with actual engineers/doctors/whatever?

Not just 'ok, hey, lemme build this, hold my beer, watch?'

I don't think it's the most rigorous show in the world, but it's fun to watch.

No one (not even you anal retentive farkers) wants to watch 400000 hours of actual scientific method proof.

I think its a good show, perhaps not scientifically rigorous, but entertaining and informative just the same.

kroonermanblack Quote 2009-04-04 02:53:24 PM
Uh, you mythbuster haters do realize that they often consult with actual engineers/doctors/whatever?

Not just 'ok, hey, lemme build this, hold my beer, watch?'

I don't think it's the most rigorous show in the world, but it's fun to watch.

No one (not even you anal retentive farkers) wants to watch 400000 hours of actual scientific method proof.

I am not a Mythbusters hater, I also know they won't show their serious F-ups. Some of their minor "didn't work"s were devoid of any engineering advice that I would trust.

And be careful about that last statement, that is what some of us do, however, you are correct that I don't want to watch others do their thing.

Mythbusters is entertaining but not real informative.

Came in here to complain about the Mythbusters being referred to as "scientists."

Glad to see I'm in good company.

By the way, not everyone can help being bald. (Raises hand.)
But bald people should not have a big bushy walrus mustache and beard. It makes them look incredibly creepy. Something tells me the guy must already have a girlfriend who puts up with it.

Everything's stolen nowadays. Why, the fax machine is nothing but a waffle iron with a phone attached.

That gave me a good chuckle.

FTA: Some scientists propose that they were used to relieve pain while other scientists point out that electric stimulation would be ineffective when compared to painkillers available at the time such as heroin opiate and cannabis; who wants an electric shock when you could be chasing the dragon?



And who things dildos were new in the 60s? They aren't exactly complicated inventions and you'll see references in Greek plays, among other places.

Add me to the "Mythbusters" is fun, but not real science" crowd.

Goddamn it NIM! I'll farking kill you!

FTA: "The dildo is 20 centimeters long, three centimeters wide and dates to the Ice Age, where women, judging by the objects size, apparently had a "massive capacity""

Since when was 20 cm massive? Big, but not massive, right?


does not approve.

I don't get the Mythbuster hate.

They have a theory, they test it, if it fails, they try to see how it would succeed.

Some of the stuff is basic. Shooting an oxygen tank will not make it explode. Why? The bullet hole is too small and the canister is too strong to cause it to rupture. So what would cause a shark to explode?

They are just testing stuff they see on TV or hear in person or historical myths (I'm waiting for the Jesus-themed episode). Yes, a lot of it has to do with movies and Special FX, but there is nothing wrong with that. All they are saying is don't believe everything you see, and here's why.

I'm sure they go through tons of research and failed experiments that don't make it on TV. I haven't seen the DVDs, but I'm hoping they go indepth on the DVDs a bit more or show the failed experiments.