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Ah.  I've worked with Dave Wallace.  Apparently the Mythbusters guys
dredged up a boat that had been submerged for tens of years to use for
the show.  Understandably, Dave and his team had a challenge igniting
the waterlogged beast...  

-----Original Message-----
From: Informal Science Education Network
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Beryl Rosenthal
Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2006 11:35 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Mythbusters: (yes, Virginia, even MIT geeks watch TV!)

ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology
Centers
Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
institutions.
************************************************************************
*****

Hi all,
I thought I'd pass this along:

"Mythbusters" The Best Science Show on Television?
New York Times, by John Schwartz, November 21, 2006
"David Wallace, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at  
M.I.T., praises the program for "getting people interested in  
engineering, technology and how things work." Dr. Wallace has sparred  
in a friendly way with Mr. Hyneman and Mr. Savage over Archimedes'  
"death ray," sunlight reportedly focused with mirrors by the ancient  
Greeks and used to burn ships in a harbor. The Mythbusters declared  
the death ray "busted" in 2004 after they were unable to start a fire  
with their version; Dr. Wallace and his class said they proved it  
plausible by burning a mock-up ship in 2005. The "Mythbusters" group  
invited Dr. Wallace and his students to California to revisit the  
question under more rigorous conditions for an episode that ran  
earlier this year. Dr. Wallace's group failed to ignite a real boat  
in the water at a distance of 150 feet, but did get it to ignite at  
75 feet. "I don't think the ruling on a given myth is all that  
important," Dr. Wallace said. "It is more about being curious and  
trying to figure things out." [Show is hosted by Jamie Hyneman and  
Adam Savage and airs on the Discovery Channel.]"  Story

Beryl

Beryl Rosenthal
[log in to unmask]
Dir. of Exhibition & Public Programs
MIT Museum
265 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617)452-2111 (t)
(617)253-8994 (f)



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