#mythbusters vault

[mythbustersfacts]

JFK Revisited

The episode begins with Adam gesturing animatedly in front of the camera while holding a replica Carcano rifle.

Adam: “Alright, MythBusters fans, today we’re diving into one of the most controversial myths in history: the magic bullet theory! Did a single gunman really gank JFK? Or was there a second shooter on the grassy knoll? To find out, we’ve going to Dealey Plaza in Dallas—to test it for ourselves!”

Jamie stands stoically in the background, his arms crossed, his hat shading his expression.

Jamie: “This isn’t about conspiracies. It’s about physics. That’s all.”

The camera pans up to show Jamie climbing the stairs to the Texas School Book Depository. He takes position at the window, rifle ready. Adam, meanwhile, stands below on the sidewalk, looking at passing traffic with a mischievous grin.

Adam yells up to the window, “Alright, Jamie, here comes our first victim. Try this blue Honda!”

Jamie adjusts the scope and takes aim. A shot rings out, striking the car’s hood with a loud clang. The Honda swerves slightly and accelerates away.

Adam: “That was beautiful. Let’s go again!”

A silver minivan appears, and Adam waves enthusiastically.

Adam: “Ooh, ooh, Jamie! The van! Let’s see if you can hit that side panel!”

Jamie fires again, this time denting the side of the van. The driver screams and honks angrily but doesn’t stop. Adam laughs and claps his hands like a delighted child.

Adam: “Direct hit! You’re getting the hang of this!”

The camera cuts to Jamie, who reloads with a quiet intensity. The next car, a sleek red sedan, approaches. Adam is practically vibrating with excitement.

Adam: “Jamie! This one! Let’s go for the windshield!”

Jamie adjusts his aim and fires. The bullet smashes through the windshield, and the sedan veers off the road, crashing into a lamppost. The driver steps out, clearly shaken but unharmed. Adam grins nervously and waves.

Adam: “Uh, sorry! MythBusters! Science in progress!”

Jamie is silent, his focus unbroken. Suddenly, a white pickup truck enters the frame. Adam points enthusiastically.

Adam: “This one! This one! Let’s see if you can graze the side mirror!”

Jamie exhales slowly, takes aim, and pulls the trigger. But this time, something goes horribly wrong. The bullet doesn’t strike the truck—it hits a child crossing the street. The boy crumples instantly, blood pooling beneath him. There’s a beat of stunned silence. Then chaos erupts.

Adam: “Oh my god. Oh my god. Jamie, what the hell did you do?!”

Jamie lowers the rifle and stares down at the scene, his face unreadable.

Jamie: “He walked into the line of fire. That’s not on me.”

Adam: “Not on you?! Jamie, someone’s dead! What are we supposed to—what are we—”

The sound of approaching sirens cuts through Adam’s panic. Jamie steps away from the window, calmly unslinging the rifle.

Jamie: “We leave. Now.”

Adam: “Leave?! Jamie, we just killed a guy!”

Jamie: “Correction. I killed a guy. And you’re coming with me.”

The camera shakes as the crew scrambles to pack up their equipment. Adam looks directly at the lens, wide-eyed and trembling.

Adam: “Cut the feed. Cut the—”

The screen cuts to black. The episode never aired, the footage was recovered from an SD card found by a cleaner at M5 Industries and leaked online.

[tobiasdrake]

This might be the weirdest investigation yet, but I'm here for it. Not like I have room to talk anyway.

Oh hey, maybe Vivia should project with me. That way, I can go investigate the murder while he can remain here on lookout. If he sees Yakou's soul try to exit his body, Vivia can grab him and cram him back in there.

Yuma should be able to levitate, pass through solid objects, etc. This does mean we won't be able to touch anything, though. However, given recent events....

We have already confirmed that Yuma would rather bend over and blink at something than pick it up and take a closer peek. So this should offer no complications for his investigative process. He was already very hands-off as it is.

I guess this is the lore explanation for not giving us complete freedom despite using the complete freedom superpower.

Given everything we've seen from him? Yeah. I can believe that Yuma's base assumptions about the nature of reality would make this difficult. He's aggressively neurotypical, after all.

The blackout most certainly has something to do with our murders. I'm not sure what, but it's doubtful that it just happened by coincidence.

We know that the inner lab's deathtraps are on a separate power grid that never glitched, so it's not as simple as "Fink caused a blackout to get to Huesca."

Well. I. Will never feel safe again. Gonna go out on a limb and say those are here to restrict our otherwise free run of the lab.

If you touch the lost souls, you become one of them. Which is a super macabre way of saying they're walls meant to funnel the investigation along on its rails, as well as an obstacle course for gameplay.

What would be the point? Yomi's already made up his mind as to what happened. There's nothing more for him to learn here.

OMIGOD Do I get to interrogate a ghost? Tell me I get to interrogate a ghost. I want that so badly.

But he was unaware of their presence until late into our conversation. This means they must have been hidden from him until right that moment. Or they had just entered the room when he reacted.

Moving into the airlock.

What this means for our case is that the gas chamber may have been activated while we were talking to Huesca. Nobody would know. Since decontamination devices are affixed to both the airlock and the panel chamber, the gas chamber's activation is imperceptible from the outside.

Yuma. What did Vivia say to you? You can levitate and pass through objects. You absolutely can pass through the vents.

Imagine if the inner lab was penetrated as easily as crawling through the decontamination vents from airlock to panel room.

It can't be that easy, can it? There's no way.

Also, and I don't expect this to be a factor because writers never take this into account, but you can't pass stealthily through a ventilation shaft. Even setting aside that vents aren't designed in a way that allows a human body to conveniently pass through unimpeded, the flimsy metal that they're made with makes really loud noises at the slightest impact.

To quote Jamie Mythbusters, it sounds like Thor, God of Thunder is trying to enter your building.

But that's like volcanic convection. Never comes up in media because the alternative is more fun.

In any case, this isn't as simple as "Killer crawled through the duct to escape". But assuming the panel room has a similar duct, it may have been used to hide during our initial investigation. After the killer got the drop on our Ama-Pal and then vanished behind the vault door, it may be possible that he slipped into one of these vents and stayed there until we were all busy with our lab stand-off.

It can also be absorbed through the skin. In order to pass safely through this chamber, you would need a full suit with an enclosed oxygen system. A diving suit with full helmet or a space suit or the like.

It does, however, take thirty minutes to kill you. Which means it's possible that Fink waded through it and went right on into the panel room. Then he killed Huesca and Yakou, then wandered off somewhere to succumb on his own terms.

No idea why he'd do that but it's on the table as a possibility. The answer to "How did Fink beat the gas chamber?" could be as simple as "He did not. Next question."

We were able to brute-force the combination, but only by temporal cheating. Even if Fink waded through the gas chamber, it would be difficult to crack this code via the same mechanism we used.

We have firmly refuted the possibility that Fink used an Ama-Pal to do it. Only one Ama-Pal was functional at the time, and it's the one we went and retrieved while Fink was in the lab killing Huesca. Furthermore, it can't be used to brute-force the panels (time cheating excepted) because the electroshock penalty fries Ama-Pal's circuits and kills it dead. Tested and proven.

Okay, so only the airlock decontamination vents are easily accessible. There goes the theory that Fink was hiding in this room.

It would have been difficult for him to sprint all the way to the airlock in the short time we were down. Especially before we disarmed the gas chamber. Unless he brute-forced the gas chamber, in which case it wouldn't matter.

I still feel confident that he was hiding behind that door after he conked out Ama-Pal. But whether he was or wasn't, where could he have gone from there?

It's super inconvenient, though. The door opens on this side, so you have to waddle around this big, heavy metal door. With our slow-moving clunker of a robot, no less. After he notices the door opening, Fink had plenty of where the opening door was concealing his presence, in which to skedaddle to the other side of the room and prepare his ambush.

[theultimatefan]

Wilson, McGowan, Mulgrew, Baccarin Added to FAN EXPO Philadelphia Celebrity Lineup, May 3-5

The deep pool of fandoms at FAN EXPO Philadelphia, set for May 3-5 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, became even stronger with today’s announcement that Rainn Wilson (“The Office,” “Lessons in Chemistry”), Rose McGowan (“Charmed,” Scream), Kate Mulgrew (“Star Trek: Voyager,” “Orange is the New Black”) and Morena Baccarin (Deadpool, “Gotham”) have joined the event’s stellar celebrity guest lineup.

The four are folded into an incredible FAN EXPO Philadelphia roster that already includes Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, The Wrestler), Adam Savage (“MythBusters”), Cameron Monaghan (“Shameless”), Danny Trejo (Machete, The Book of Boba Fett), Alan Tudyk (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, “Firefly”), Felicia Day (“The Guild,” “Dragon Age: Redemption”), Mario Lopez (“Saved by the Bell,” “Access Hollywood”), Ashley Eckstein (“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”), Emily Swallow (“The Mandalorian,” “Supernatural”), Joonas Suotamo (Star Wars), Holly Marie Combs (“Charmed,” “Picket Fences”, Ben McKenzie (“Gotham,” “The O.C.”), and many more.

Wilson is best known for his portrayal of salesman “Dwight Schrute” over the full nine-season run of “The Office.” He has nearly 100 TV and film credits, including last year’s Apple TV+ hit “Lessons in Chemistry,” the 2022 Roku original film Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, and the lead in the Fox comedy “Backstrom.”

McGowan played long-lost sister "Paige Matthews" for the final five seasons of “Charmed.” The Italian-born actress first caught major attention for her role as "Tatum Riley" in the horror blockbuster Scream (1996) opposite Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette. She has appeared in more than 60 films and shows as an actress and is also an accomplished producer and director.

The award-winning actress and bestselling author Mulgrew has become FAN EXPO royalty through her portrayal of “Captain Kathryn Janeway” in “Star Trek: Voyager,” the first female captain in the franchise. She first hit screens nationwide with a lead role in “Ryan’s Hope” in 1975 among 80+ roles and is also an author of two memoirs.

Baccarin also vaulted to pop culture mainstay with a run on the series “Firefly” before capturing new audiences with roles on hits like “Heartland,” “V,” “Homeland” and “Gotham.” Baccarin also co-starred opposite Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool as well as its sequel and has recently lent her voice talents to video games like “Destiny 2: The Witch Queen” and “Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR”) and the CW series “The Flash.”

Single-Day Tickets, Three-Day Passes, Ultimate Fan and VIP Packages for FAN EXPO Philadelphia are available now. Advance pricing is available until April 18. More guest news will be released in the following weeks, including line-up reveals for additional headline celebrities, comic creator guests, voice actors and cosplayers.

Philadelphia is the eighth event on the 2024 FAN EXPO HQ calendar; the full schedule is available at fanexpohq.com/home/events/.

[freifraufischer]

Gymnastics History Mythbusting: East Bloc Gymnasts Don't Wear Grips... Except When They Do

On my trip through watching 1980s gymnastics on youtube in as much a chronological order as I could I spent a good day watching the 1981 European Championships.

Why you might ask if you know anything about 1980s competitions on youtube would I do that. Most video from that era is heavily edited down, 2 hour AAs in 30 minutes or an hour if you are lucky. Event finals are often edited down to just the winners. Not to mention that a lot of it is of terrible quality. But the 1981 European Championships are unique on youtube and actually kind of amazing.

Almost eight hours of uncut high quality film footage with no commentaries. You can see fine details and hear the general sound of the meet between floor music (to include the fact that every vault landing sounds like it's a crack of a falling tree it's a wonder any gymnast survived the 1980s).

But in particular I found myself watching the uneven bars event finals with with particular attention because I was watching a bars final with 2 Soviets, 2 Bulgarians, 2 Hungarians, a Romanian and an East German and the camera lingers on their hands as they are preparing the bars and chalking up. And they've all (or nearly all I didn't track every gymnast) got grips on.

Including the Romanian.

That ran counter to the received wisdom I had as a gym fan and from watching 1990s gymnastics that east bloc gymnasts didn't wear grips. I had remembered a comment given to NBC in the mid 2000s by a Ukrainian coach that they couldn't afford to train their younger gymnasts with grips and when given the choice the senior gymnasts often chose to continue not to use grips because they were simply not used to them.

So I started to track when and where I saw gymnasts from those countries I thought of as "no grips" countries wearing grips. I suspected that it was a financial consequence from the collapse of the communist system that carried through to eastern Europe as those countries' gymnastics programs were lacking in funds. My observations of the 1980s suggest this to be the case.

Romanian gymnasts are rarely seen with grips on and that film from 1981 is essentially the last time I saw it.

There were occasional 1980s Chinese bars workers wearing grips.

Soviet gymnasts were all wearing grips until 1987-88 and then it was the youngest gymnasts who weren't wearing them. Shushunova was a grip using bars worker.

To the extent I saw North Korean bars workers in the 1980s they wore grips, but I saw them so rarely I don't think I could say they did so categorically.

The East Germans used grips right through the end of the East German state. Which brings me to my second grips history mythbusting. I have seen it be said that round off bars mounts aren't possible to do with grips on and I took that as true. Until I watched Michelle Goodwin of the United States do a round off arabian bars mount with grips on at the 1982 World Cup and Gabriela Fahnrich do a round off back straddle over the low bar at the 1985 European Championships. I mentioned this discovery to a former MAG friend of mine who seemed surprised I'd been told that it wasn't possible because just as a goof he'd played around with round off arabians to the high bar and he described the sensation of doing so with grips on as not particularly strange or difficult. As far as I can see the two other East Germans who used a round off back tuck over the low bar mount, Martina Jentsch for whom it was named and Dorte Thummler both did so with grips on.

TLDR: In the very later stages of the collapse of communism many gymnasts were trained as juniors to work bars without grips and that persisted in those countries likely because of financial considerations. Grips were used by many Eastern Bloc gymnasts throughout the 1980s with only the very occasional examples of grips being worn by Romanian or Chinese gymnasts.

If you are curious about the 1981 European Championships footage: AA Sub 1, AA Sub 2, EF VT, EF UB, EF BB, EF FX

[ebficnotes]

Lorebook notes for Letter to Casolinwe

Hints about Mannimarco’s character from a fellow student.

Letter to Casolinwe by Rullinalion

Casolinwe, I had another unpleasant run-in with your friend, Mannimarco, yesterday. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but the Relicmaster put me in charge of overseeing vault deliveries. It is simple work—just a matter of cataloging potentially explosive reagents, unstable relics, that sort of thing.

So Mannimarco does have friends on the isle. He is not a loner.

The vault is a big enough deal that it has its own mailing address. And it’s own OSHA inspector.

Another unpleasant run in. Mannimarco isn’t universally liked. He can and does rub some people the wrong way.

Most of the acolytes have brought a parcel or two. Mannimarco, however, has brought dozens of unmarked crates, barrels of mysterious alchemical solvents, and so on. Given his seniority, I gave him a bit of latitude. But with the sheer volume of materials—I had to say something, you know?

Acolytes? General psijic acolytes or Mannimarco’s specifically? Given how many enemies are in that place, and how big it is, I wonder how many students had access to the place. And how many were necros? And if they were all Manni’s lackies and practicing necros, then how did Manni keep all the necro shit away from Vanus until he was ready to show it off? I sincerely cannot see Vanus as the non-snooping type, especially when it comes to Mannimarco.

Mannimarco has seniority. He’s also referred to here as an acolyte himself. So he is a student. Its unclear what that means though. Do all the Psijic monks including the titled Sages consider themselves students,  or is there an actual formal teaching structure those two are enrolled in? Got to look up traditional religious schooling for context.

He doesn’t travel light. Wonder where he’s getting the cash for all that shit. Maybe his spending spree is part of this guy’s issue?

Sheer volume of materials. Whatever Manni’s doing, that’s not fair. He’s a polymath. As someone who also has a million stuff-intensive interests and who’s whole house looks like the Mythbuster’s garage i wish - and who is not a necro,  I take offense ;)

I very politely asked him what was in his most recent delivery. He did not even look at me. He just said, “Nothing you’d be interested in.” I persisted—gently, mind you! When I asked him a second time, he fixed those icy eyes on me and whispered something in the forgotten tongue of the Ublivey mystics. At the time, I thought he said “If you ask again, you will know regret.” But after some uncomfortable reflection, I think he might have said, “If you ask again, you will know murder.” It is an easy mistake to make—the words are very similar. But I tell you, Cas, I do not think it was a mistake. He knows I am a linguist. I think he knew exactly what he was saying. Even now, my skin crawls at the thought. There is something very wrong with that mer, I know it. Please, be careful.

Mannimarco is good with languages. Of course he is. Forgotten tongue of the Ublivey mystics. Maybe that’s where he spent the last 900 years?

Icy eyes. So he creeps at least a few people out.

He knows I am a linguist? That doesn’t mean he didn’t use the wrong word, just that he knew this guy would know the language in general. Still a threat though.

Something wrong with that mer, please be careful. Why doesn’t THIS guy tell Iachesis of of his concerns? He doesn’t want to hear it? Or its too hear-say? Iachesis is… I don’t know about him. He’s presumably a good guy, but he has a penchant for plugging his ears and making very dumb deals. I still don’t get what he was thinking in the Summerset quest.

Did not even look at me. Mannimarco dismisses this guy when he attempts to confront him. He is a nobody to Manni. Just some dude who’s currently in his way. THIS is how Mannimarco treats people he doesn’t care about. Meanwhile Vanus blows him off three different times - that we see - yet Manni keeps inviting him back to the party. And does NOT snap his neck like a twig even though this here note is heavily implying that he has zero issue with doing so when it suites him. He threatens this guy just for asking whats in a few crates. Something I imagine he could easily BS his way through if he wanted. He’s not even trying here. Yet Vanus presumably fucks up some ritual that was important enough to need the Dreaming Cave for, and he just lets him go with a little squeeze. Btw, how is he talking through all that? You can’t talk while being strangled. Telepathy I guess. Vanus doesn’t even sound scared either. He sounds pissed. A real firecracker isn’t he?

I persisted. So he just had to push right? I thought this might be out of character for him since it’s not very smart to threaten inspectors who report to the guy who keeps your lights on. This note though reads like a “Evil Minds” rundown of a "textbook" psychopath (or “sociopath”, which btw isn’t even a real word, depending on which researcher you ask). Him giving an ill-advised death threat to an authority, however minor, fits with psychopathic impulsivity, as well as his calm and rational-to-him actions in the vault scenes.

Except MQ Mannimarco isn’t a psychopath? My own reading on the subject says they usually have a more flat affect when they’re not trying to act normal. And their emotional response in general is dampened. They do feel stuff, it’s just not that super-intense emotional rollercoaster shit that most of us do. Meanwhile MQ Manni is gloating at us like a kid playing tag, you’re it! Meh, maybe soulburst-induced brain damage made him normal-ish? Or psychotic? That would explain why he is all ‘youll regret this waaa!’ when we let him out of Coldharbour. Whatever dude, I thought you didn’t believe in good and evil.

Old Ways Guide You, Rullinalion

PS—His crates made a hollow, rattling sound as he carried them away. If I had to guess, I would say that they contained either dried wood or bones. I think you can guess which is more likely.

His Elseweir note suggests he does prefer bones to flesh. Though obviously he experiments with everything. An innovator yeah? Do bones actually rattle or sound hollow? Idk.

Relicmaster put him in charge. So the vault is the Relicmaster’s domain. That guy is is a space case, if his handling of the vault of Moawita is anything to go by. I can see Manni getting away with all kinds of shit under his watch.

The third vault scene shows two former sapients as thralls and 4th scene Vanni says “worse than a murderer”. Coupled with this blunt-force note, the obvious takeaway is this dude is one of the thralls. Except who’s the other thrall then? This “Casolinwe”? I suppose she(?) could be one of Manni’s expendable friends, but how did he get the note then? A mystery third non-expendable friend? Vanny himself? Now THAT would be messed up! Gives a whole new take to his “you’ll pay…eventually,” line. Why is it so easy to make Vanus dark?  I don’t want to say he’s asking for it, but…

On the other hand, we find this note on a table just sitting there for anyone to find, and presumably the vault is still open for business during this time? So if Manni sees this note, why does he just leave it? But if he doesn’t see the note, why would he kill this/those guys? I’m probably overthinking this lol.

Vanus says “classmates”. I guess it’s not uncommon to have student workers doing stuff like that, but given it’s supposed to be hazmat logging, it’s a bit like the fox guarding the hen house. But then again, that’s like, the entire Psijic questline.

And again we have someone other than little Vanny suspecting Mannimarco of necro-shennagains, and yet it takes 2 more vault scenes and possibly setting the Dreaming Cave on fire before Iachesis does anything about it. What kind of place is he running anyway? Guess that’s what Vanus asked himself before he left the island too. But only after Manni gets banished. Because Iachesis’s two-faced/ineffective policies wern’t a good enough reason to haul ass and leave them to rot together? Uh huh.

[lcdrarry]

LCDrarry Round-Up Post | Week 4

On Sundays during our posting period, we won't post a new work, instead you have time to catch up on the works that posted during the week and hopefully leave lovely comments for our creators.

Happy reading, commenting and sharing! ;)

~Your LCDrarry Mods

PS: Please have a look at the author notes and tags on AO3 for additional information. Thank you!

Slick

Prompt: #59 | "Grease" - 1978 - Randal Kleiser Author: Anonymous Word Count: 10.4k Rating: Teen and up Warnings: Slight Virginity Shaming

Summary: Slick is the word. Harry's bike is a bird. And Poor Draco's a sex noob.

Read "Slick" on AO3.

The Loudest Bang

Prompt: #51 | "MythBusters" - 2003 to 2015 - Series Author: Anonymous Word Count: 1.2k Rating: Teen and up Warnings: none

Summary: “You’re not going to use a nuclear weapon on Gringotts’ strongest vault, Potter.”

Read "The Loudest Bang" on AO3.

A Truth Universally Acknowledged

Prompt: #12 | "Pride & Prejudice" - 2005 - Joe Wright Author: Anonymous Word Count: 23.9k Rating: Teen and up Warnings: none

Summary: It has been four years since the war. Mr. Henry Bennet is perfectly pleased with his domestic life at Longbourn, managing the affairs of his demanding mother and many sisters. But a new Muggle gentleman moves into Netherfield Park, and he brings with him a surprising figure from Mr. Henry's past ...

Read "A Truth Universally Acknowledged" on AO3.

Man Eater

Prompt: #25 | "Little Shop of Horrors" - Alan Menken Author: Anonymous Word Count: 2.4k Rating: Mature Warnings: Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence (not between H & D), Dark Draco, Implied Sexual Acts

Summary: “You can’t lie to me.” The plant released Draco and he stumbled, overbalanced by his own gangly limbs. “I've watched you. I've heard all your idle thoughts. All your whispered secrets. I know what Harry means to you.”

Read "Man Eater" on AO3.

I Wanna Get Better

Prompt: #139 | "One Day at a Time" - 2017 - Series Author: Anonymous Word Count: 5.0k Rating: Mature Warnings: Mental Health Issues, Mental Breakdown, Suicidal Thoughts, Depression

Summary: One night Draco comes knocking on Neville's door, with a tape recorder and a desperate need for a hug.

Read "I Wanna Get Better" on AO3.

Please help promote the fest by sharing your favourite submissions, so more people can enjoy all the amazing new Drarry works of LCDrarry. Thank you!

Author and artist reveals are on 15 June.

[wouldyouliketoseemymask]

Get to Know the Blogger: Any hobbies not related to comics?

Yes! I am a huge fan of horror (books, TV shows, films, creepypastas, etc.) and have been interested in paranormal subjects ever since I was a kid, like cryptids and haunted history and cursed places. Most of the time it is easily debunked but it’s still fun to read about. 

I’m also extremely intrigued by banned/destroyed media and have spent literal hours on the Lost Media Wiki. I have an insatiable curiosity when it comes to things like that and it’s incredible how much media has been lost to time or kept out of public view for various reasons--for example, did you know that: 

there is an uncut version of the film Event Horizon that will never see the light of day because it was considered too disturbing and graphic 

there is audio footage from the documentary Grizzly Man that is currently locked away in a vault and has been heard by only a few people

there are two segments of the TV show Mythbusters that will never be aired because of inevitable public outcry 

entire television shows and films have been either lost to time or irreparably destroyed, either because they were taped over or damaged 

there are books and diaries written by infamous killers that will never be released to the public (for obvious reasons) 

there is an IMMENSE amount (decades worth) of lost animation

THIS IS HOW I SPEND MY TIME

[northernmisery-blog]

Ho-Ho-Ho Now I Have A Machine Gun

There are many people who would dispute the validity of Die Hard as a Christmas movie.

Let’s have a look at the reasons people deny the obvious, Flat Earth Die Hard Heathens, I think we should call them.

First, here are many people’s reasons why it can’t possibly be a Christmas film debunked in a festive Mythbusters-esque style with actual facts and logic.

“The film was released in Summer”

United States                   July 1988

United Kingdom               February 1989

“Neither of these times are Christmas, so it can’t be a Christmas movie”.

The original Miracle on 34th Street was released on May 2nd, 1947.

If Die Hard’s release date excludes it being a Christmas movie, what in the red nose of Rudolph is Miracle on 34th Street? I suppose that’s a feel good summer camp movie, is it?

“Die Hard is an ACTION movie”

Whilst the plot of the film is thieves masquerading as terrorists, the entire robbery plot rests on the fact that it needs to be a holiday period, specifically Christmas Eve.

·         The office staff will be there at night because they are there for a Christmas party. The thieves need the hostages, which are integral to Gruber’s escape plan.

·         The office staff will all be in one location because they are there for a Christmas party. Security detail would be spread out more during the day, staff would all be on different floors. Only an event could get them in one location and that event is a Christmas party. Not a thanksgiving hootenanny. Not an Easter bonnet parade. Not a summer barbecue. It’s a Christmas party.

·         Takagi will definitely be there because it’s a Christmas party.

·         Nobody else will be around the area of Nakatomi Plaza because it’s Christmas Eve.

·         Gruber knows the FBI will cut the power to open the last lock of the vault. If the robbery and hostage scenario took place during the day or even a non-holiday, the FBI would not be as willing to cut off the power to a financial area, affecting all of the other businesses.

The plot isn’t about Christmas

Neither is Home Alone. It’s about a kid being left at home fending off robbers. Yet Kevin is left alone at Christmas and his family have to get back to him. Die Hard is about John McClane fending off robbers, on his own at Christmas, having gone to LA to see his family.

Further Evidence .

Now, let’s look at further reasons why Die Hard is absolutely and definitely a Christmas film;

Reasons for McClane's Presence

He’s going to see his wife, with a view to spending Christmas with her and his estranged children John Jr and Lucy. He has no other reason to be in Los Angeles other than it being Christmas.

The Soundtrack

There are eleven different songs / musical numbers listed on the official soundtrack to Die Hard.

Two of them are pieces of classical music.  One is a piece of music from Aliens. That leaves eight pieces of music and or songs, of which the following are considered Christmas songs; Winter Wonderland, Christmas in Hollis, Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!, Jingle Bells, Half of them. Half of the songs are Christmas songs. I don’t remember random Christmas songs in Terminator, Commando or Rambo. That’s because they are action films.

The film is littered with Christmassy paraphernalia

The Christmas tree at the party, the Christmas decorations in the office, the Santa hat placed on the dead robber who has the words “Ho-Ho-Ho” written on him, the Christmas decorations in the McClane home when Dick Thornburg goes there to name a few. Even McClane’s wife is called Holly for Kringles sake.

The script. The chuffing script.

OK, here are some parts of the official script, all referring to it being Christmas. If Christmas isn’t integral to the plot of the film (it is) and isn’t intended to be part of the plot (it is) then why would a script writer include these lines in a script;

Ellis; I was thinking more of roaring fireplaces...mulled wine and a nice brie...

Holly; Ginny, it's 6:40, you're making me feel like Ebenezer Scrooge.

Holly; Well, we'll see what Santa and Mommy can do.

McClane; How 'bout some Christmas music?

Argyle; That is Christmas music.

McClane; You throw quite a party.  I didn't know they had Christmas in Japan.

Hans; It’s Christmas, Theo, it's the time of miracles.  So be of good cheer and call me when you hit the last lock.

Argyle; If this is their idea of Christmas; I gotta be there for New Year's.

Furthermore, read the script. There’s countless references to it being Christmas and there’s tonnes of notes and directions about things needing to be Christmassy. If you want to show me a non Christmas film that has less Christmas in it than Die Hard, I’ll buy you a mince pie.

Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Christmas - oh and don’t even get me started on Lethal Weapon.

Here, buy a festive Christmas sweater. You won’t be wearing this bastard in the summer, will you?

[exclusionzoneocs]

Deltar family mottoes:

1. Family, freedom and the Deltar Vault are the most important things we have. 2. The more mutations the better 3. Offer shelter and safety to lowbloods and mutants. 4. Don't give Taipan-dad peanuts. 5. Keep the family secrets and wear your mark with pride. 6. The hemospectrum is irrelevant to day to day things but only take those you trust through the forest 7. Release any of the aquatic fireflies you catch 8. Lock up the laboratory whenever you leave it unattended and remember the lab safety rules 9. Don't let highbloods through the forest, set Taipan-dad or Roseli on them if needed 10. For the love of god don't take food into the library 11. Mythbusters and thermite are banned from the hive forever no exceptions 12. Also dynamite and/or any kind of explosive 13. Do your chores and help out.

[redbuster8]

J.D. Sadler’s Top 10 Moments from MythBusters: THE SEARCH!

Decided to make my VERY FIRST top 10 list. The reason, The Finale of Science Channel's Mythbusters: THE SEARCH is airing tonight and I thought What better way than to make a List of the best moments in the series. so with that in mind...Here we go

#10: Side Ejector Seats DOs & DON’Ts!

Ejector seats, a staple of almost any spy movie. In the Mega Movie Special, Adam & Jamie tested cliché by creating an air-powered ejector seat (since rockets were a little too unpredictable and the fact they can become BOMBS!) and let me say, It worked.

Now Cut to 2017, Our 10 candidates had to do the same but with a twist: They needed to Build HORIZONTAL Ejector Seats (something I never seen before until that particular episode). Now the 10 split into 2 teams and began to design and then create their concepts. Now for a little lesson in Ejector Seats: When Designing something whose purpose is to remove an unwanted desirable (Examples include An In-Law, An Annoying Gungan who ruined a movie, or quite possibly a Mutant Oompah Loompah with Tiny Hands)...

Make sure it Looks something Like This:

AND NOT LIKE A BABY SEAT!:

#9: Your Friend, Gravity

Gravity, or gravitation, is a natural phenomenon by which all things with mass are brought toward (or gravitate toward) one another, including planets, stars and galaxies. Gravity has been a main staple of MythBusters since it’s first official Myth with it (Barrel of Bricks). Some prime examples of Gravity in action on MythBusters include:

Dropping an Elevator 92 feet down to see if you can survive by Jumping at a specific moment

Jumping over a little red wagon with a bike (or attempting to)

Or more recently, When you test a method of Painting with Explosives via some weights, pressure, and of course, Gravity. Basically what Happened was This: Hackett Designs a possible method for painting with explosives, 

Team builds small scale version to test said method

Team forgets to do the math and learned that a few grams of black powder lifts 45lbs OVER 40 FEET INTO THE AIR! (on the bright side, it proves the old saying “WHAT GOES UP MUST COME DOWN!”)

#8: Boats, Costumes, & Elder Deities

During World War II, Geoffrey Pyke came up with the idea for a huge, unsinkable aircraft carrier for the British Royal Navy made of a material called Pykrete (Which is a frozen composite material made of approximately 14 percent sawdust or some other form of wood pulp (such as paper) and 86 percent ice by weight (6 to 1 by weight). the material was named after ol’ Geoff BTW).  In 2009, Adam & Jamie tested the theory that you could make a boat out of this material (Albeit Jamie used newspaper and created an advanced version of it dubbed “SUPER Pykrete”) and proved it was plausible. In 2017, Our candidates had to test if Cardboard could be used as a material to make a boat (Which they proved it does). but the reason why I picked this to be number 8 is due to the fact that this particular myth had the following:

Boats

Silly Costumes (In which I called the Red team “TEAM RAMBO”)

And the creation of the MythBuster’s version of an Elder God: MYTHULHU!

#7: Bo The MythDog

W.C. Fields once said "Never work with animals or children." Well there are 2 things that I should mention here:

1: W.C. Fields secretly admired children

and 2: He should meet Bo, The official MythDog of the show

Now Bo is a Girl and belongs to  MythBuster Search Contender Brian Louden and has been featured on a few myths and always supporting the team her master is on (And having a blast as well). I think i need to ask Mr. Louden to help me expand on this a little more

On an unrelated note, I have a MythPet as well...His name is Buster, and I named him after Everyone’s favorite Crash-test Dummy

#6: Buster

Speaking of Buster (The Dummy, not the cat), our favorite inanimate fall guy has been through heck & back and still keeps coming back for more in a new form (Like a Timelord). What is there to say about him? Hard working, doesn’t complain, practically indestructible (well, he does lose a few limbs now & then), and a valued member of the Mythbuster team. He recently reappeared in his latest incarnation after being obliterated on a rocket sled into a wall (Something tells me that as long as a fragment of him exist, he can regenerate), has been ejected form a side launching ejector seat and, based on a preview of the Finale, He may be attempting to go into space again via Water Heater Rocket (Didn’t we learn what happened when we tried to launch him via Rocket Throne in Ming Dynasty Astronaut?). If I like to make a suggestion for his next regeneration: I really like to see him use an updated version of his 2.0 design (IE: Breakable bones, Dragon Skin body parts, some sort of flexible skeleton, and a head that wont Crack like in Escape Slide Parachute and is able to hold delicate equipment)

Oh yeah, before i forget and go to Number 5, Did you know there’s a Church Dedicated to Buster?: The First Church of Buster is dedicated to Buster, the crash-test dummy of 'MythBusters' fame. The One True Buster came to us in 1973... General Motors was overcome by the Light and envisioned a creation, one of supreme knowledge and power – The One True Buster. These scientists worked with His hand and built the Hybrid II. Hybrid II is the name that is used by the inter sanctum during the most Holy of services to praise those that have went before him. This is celebrated around the world as the Busterian Ascension.

#5: Hacking with Hackett

Jon Lung (In a David Attenborough voice) Here we find the wild Hackett in his natural habitat, going about his daily routine...

J.D. Salder (In a David Attenborough voice):  He will later take his hunt back to his cave to feed the Young

This is Chris Hackett. Hackett is the one dressed in Black with the giant Scythe. Remember that now.  For those who don’t know, this is not  Hackett’s first time on TV, I remember him from another series Called “Junkyard Wars” (Which in Other parts of the word is known as “Scrapheap Challenge”). He’s also an artist, television presenter, writer, fabricator, alternative engineer, instructor, a co-founder of the Madagascar Institute(an art combine located in Brooklyn, NY), contributing editor for Popular Science Magazine,and was the host of the Science Channel's television show Stuck with Hackett (Where he made a Hot Tub). A 2012 New York Times article entitled "Building a better apocalypse" described him as "something like a fabricator in chief for the Kings County D.I.Y. art set."

A free thinker and a Living Human Paradox (Like me), I think his best creations throughout his Timeline would be:

The Tiki Tank (As a member of the Junkyard Wars team Brooklyn Benders)

The Supersonic Didgeridoo Pulse Jet Drag-boat (Junkyard MEGAWars, As team Captain of the Red team VS. Col. Richard “Dick” Strawbridge (Ret.) of the Blue Team)

The Decapitator (Also from Junkyard MEGAWars)

An Air cannon that launches Bowling Balls (JMW)

A Bucket on a Stick (50 bucks if you can guess which show this came from)

And more recently...THIS LITTLE DEVICE THAT DEMONSTRATES IF GRAVITY STILL WORKS (Or paints a room with explosives...)*!

*I think it’s a gravity Checker

#4: Failure is ALWAYS an Option (And Epic Fails are cool, too)

The main motto of the Mythbusters is “Failure is ALWAYS an option” (The second one being “When in Doubt, Lubricate). it means “any result is a result no mater the outcome”, but it also means something to me and many fans: EPIC FAILS AND COOL STUFF TO GIF! The most memorable to me are:

Pole vaulting a Bike over a wagon

a JATO attached to the rear of a Chevy Impala blowing up on a ramp

And Hackett’s DIY Painting experiment

#3: MythBust Air Flight 2017

OK folks, #3 is about Airplanes, Get into crash positions!

Airplanes and the concept of flight have been the subject of many a myth and always get tested by the Folks at MythBust Air (Who Have a 100% Crash Rating from the Dominate Agency of Mechanical Misappropriation And General Entropy (or D.A.M.M.A.G.E. for short) and still have yet to have a successful flight). From testing Explosive Decompression to MacGyver’s Bamboo Ultralight, things have always been up in the air (per say) for the Mythbusters, But for 2017, Our candidates had to try and Land a small plane (Simulated of course). Needless to say...I think i’ll stick with Brian & Martin for flying a plane...

#2: Teamwork makes the Dream Work

Now on Mythbusters, there have been times where the hosts have competed against each other (Due to the producers on occasion), but most of the time they worked together to get a job done and Bust a myth. A prime example of this was in the Search’s A-Team Episode.

Now the remaining 6 candidates were split up into teams of 3 to test the myth of “Can you build a functional weapon out of junk salvaged from a Scrapyard that can fire cabbages?”. Now the teams had 2 very different concepts for this one: The Blue team based theirs on a Crossbow (A Ballista to be exact) while the Red team went the Air-Powered Cannon Route (However, there was one component of their build that was Still Brand new and was used in a Previous Test and the rules stated that their creations must be made out of Junk found in the yard and they Could use stuff from previous builds and they were Borderline cheating). However, The Blue team were having some trouble building with their Ballista and were running out of time, and with the Red team practically done, What did they do? If you guessed “Leave them in the dust and laugh maniacally”...YOU ARE WRONG! The correct answer was “The red team decided to help them so that the blue team could have a fighting chance and be able to have an honorable battle firing Cabbages at targets.” which is one of the most memorable moments in the competition and renewing my faith in humanity again (Which has a tendency to go up & down on occasion). In the end, No one was eliminated...well...except for this guy:

And my #1 most memorable moment from MythBusters: THE SEARCH Is...

ALLEN PAN STEALING THE BLUE TEAM’S SPY CAR AT THE END OF THE PENULTIMATE EPISODE OF THE SERIES AND RIDING IT OFF INTO THE (Opposite Direction of the) SUNSET!

No explanation for why, I just like this (And i can say this: RUN, ALLEN FOREST, RUN!)

[superfortnite]

Vaulted Fortnite Mythbusters 😱😱😱

[mythbustersfacts]

In one of the most destructive banned episodes, Adam and Jamie test the myth of creating a nuclear-level explosion using Diet Coke and Mentos. Adam builds an oversized "Coke Fusion Reactor," ignoring Jamie's protests about safety.

The final test takes place in the M5 parking lot, where Adam’s device—pressurized to extreme levels—detonates with catastrophic force. The explosion levels nearby structures, causes a mile-wide crater, and sends a mushroom cloud of soda foam into the sky, visible for over 20 miles.

The shockwave kills multiple crew members, destroys their vehicles, and triggers an FAA investigation after disrupting air traffic. Authorities shut down the site, and Discovery shelves the episode indefinitely, citing severe safety violations and criminal charges against Adam.

The myth? Confirmed—but banned from ever being revisited.

[mythbustersfacts]

Adam excitedly explains the day’s challenge. “We’re testing the myth of killing two birds with one stone. Can you actually do it? And if so, how good do you have to be?” Jamie stands silently nearby, arms crossed, clearly dreading where this is headed.

The team skips any attempt to set up fake birds or controlled conditions. Adam insists, “To really test this, we need real birds. And I saw plenty in the parking lot this morning.” Jamie raises an eyebrow but doesn’t object outright. “This is dumb,” he mutters, following Adam reluctantly.

Out in the parking lot, Adam spots a cluster of pigeons perched on the workshop roof. “Target acquired!” he shouts, selecting a particularly hefty stone.

Jamie, already regretting agreeing to this, shakes his head. “Just don’t—”

Before he can finish, Adam launches the rock with full force. It soars majestically through the air, missing the birds entirely and smashing into the windshield of a crew member’s SUV.

“Uh-oh,” Adam says, peering at the carnage. Jamie pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Adam, this is why we don’t test myths like this.”

Undeterred, Adam grabs another rock. “It’s all about dialing in the technique,” he says, lining up his next throw. This one ricochets off a lamppost, narrowly missing a cameraman and shattering the side mirror of Jamie’s truck.

Jamie’s face darkens. “That’s my truck.”

Adam, now sweating, forces a laugh. “Okay, okay, third time’s the charm.”

Adam decides to climb onto the roof of Jamie’s truck for a better angle. “From up here, I’ve got the perfect trajectory!” he declares.

Jamie, now visibly angry, barks, “Get off my truck.”

Adam ignores him and hurls another rock, which glances off the roof and somehow manages to strike an air-conditioning unit on the building. A loud boom echoes as coolant begins to hiss from the damaged unit, sending a cloud of vapor into the parking lot.

Jamie grabs the bucket of rocks from Adam and dumps it unceremoniously on the ground. “We’re done here.”

“No, we’re not!” Adam protests, grabbing one last stone. “I’m so close! Just one more!”

He winds up for a dramatic throw but slips on the scattered rocks, falling backward off Jamie’s truck and landing hard on the asphalt. The rock flies out of his hand, striking a pigeon. The bird squawks loudly before fluttering to the ground, dazed but alive.

Adam groans from the ground, clutching his back. Jamie stares at the bird, then at Adam, then at the destroyed parking lot. “Congratulations, Adam. You’ve managed to prove nothing except that you’re an idiot.”

[mythbustersfacts]

9/11 Myths

Known as one of the most controversial and infamous unaired episodes in the history of the show, the "9/11 Myths" special was intended to test the structural integrity of steel beams and the plausibility of jet fuel melting them. Initially pitched as an educational deep dive into engineering and physics, the episode quickly spiraled into chaos, ensuring its permanent ban from airing.

Adam and Jamie reportedly approached the episode with their typical enthusiasm, intending to debunk conspiracy theories surrounding the World Trade Center collapse. Early scenes were shot in a controlled environment, with a replica steel structure subjected to various heat and impact tests. These segments were rigorous and methodical, focusing on temperature thresholds, material stress, and realistic recreations of jet fuel burns.

However, tension on set was palpable. Adam, known for his boundless energy, frequently veered into tasteless territory, cracking ill-timed jokes and suggesting increasingly reckless experiments to "really sell the myth." At one point, he proposed testing the effects of a scaled-down airplane crash on a steel structure using a remote-controlled drone, much to Jamie's visible discomfort.

The episode took its darkest turn during a live-fire demonstration of explosive forces, designed to simulate secondary blasts. Rather than following safety protocols, Adam insisted on a larger payload to "make it cinematic." The resulting explosion caused significant damage to the set and injured a crew member, halting production for the day.

Compounding the disaster, an argument erupted between Adam and Jamie over the direction of the episode. Jamie reportedly wanted to stick to the science, while Adam advocated for recreating conspiracy-fueled scenarios, including a test of whether "nano-thermite" could demolish a building.

Adam (shouting): “If we don’t test it, people are just going to call us cowards!” Jamie: “Or we could not pour gasoline on this dumpster fire.”

Production was ultimately shut down when the legal team intervened, citing "severe reputational risk" and growing backlash from families of 9/11 victims. The footage was locked away, and the network released a brief statement disavowing the episode, citing "poor judgment and insensitivity."

Behind the scenes, the fallout reportedly caused a rift between Adam and Jamie. Rumors swirled that Jamie almost walked off the show, citing his discomfort with the direction the series was heading.

[mythbustersfacts]

Adam: "Today, we’re tackling one of the BIGGEST questions in science: Can a human brain be uploaded into a machine? And what better machine than… this!" (dramatically unveils a standard two-slice toaster).

Tory: (hesitant) "Why a toaster?"

Adam: "Because it’s simple, elegant, and deliciously ironic! Plus, it’s what I had in my kitchen."

Jamie: (already tinkering with wires) "It’s also what we could afford without getting a grant. Speaking of which, Grant, explain the tech."

Grant: (excited, pointing at his laptop) "We’re using a neural mapping system I designed, combined with a modified EEG helmet. It’ll record Tory’s brainwaves, translate them into data, and upload them into the toaster. If this works, Tory will theoretically be able to control the toaster!"

Tory: (uneasy) "Define ‘control.’"

Adam: (grinning) "You’ll be the toaster! You’ll think, and the toaster will obey!"

The team straps a reluctant Tory into the EEG helmet.

Grant: "Alright, Tory, just relax and think about toast."

Tory: "Toast?"

Grant: "Yeah, like, imagine the perfect piece of toast. This helps the system map your thought patterns."

Adam: (interrupting) "Or think about bagels. Bagels are good."

Tory: (groaning) "Why do I feel like I’m going to wake up as a kitchen appliance?"

Jamie: (deadpan) "That’s the point."

Suddenly, sparks fly from the contraption.

Grant: "Okay, I think we got the mapping done. Now for the upload!"

As the team finishes the upload process, Tory's body goes limp as his consciousness leaves his body. The toaster’s lights flicker, and its slots start glowing ominously.

Adam: (cheering) "It’s working! It’s alive!"

Grant: "Tory, try thinking about lowering the lever."

The toaster lever slowly moves down on its own.

Adam: (laughing maniacally) "IT WORKED! TORY IS THE TOASTER!"

Tory: (voice distorted through a speaker wired to the toaster) "Uh… guys? I don’t feel right."

The toaster suddenly starts convulsing, ejecting toast at high speed. Sparks fly, and smoke fills the workshop.

Tory: (over speaker) "WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?!"

Grant: (frantically typing on his laptop) "I think the toaster is rejecting his consciousness! It wasn’t built to handle a human brain!"

The toaster glows brighter, its chrome surface turning molten red. Smoke and sparks pour from its vents, and the air fills with the acrid smell of burning plastic and… something worse.

Tory’s voice crackles over the connected speaker, his tone frantic and warped by distortion.

Tory: (screaming) "GUYS! IT’S TOO HOT! I CAN FEEL IT! I’M BURNING!"

Adam: (panicking) "Unplug it! Unplug it NOW!"

Grant: (frantically typing) "It’s not that simple! His consciousness is fully integrated—if we cut power, it might kill him!"

Jamie: (calm, but tense) "He’s already dying. Pull the plug."

Tory’s distorted screams grow louder, blending with the sound of metal warping and circuits frying. Flames shoot from the toaster’s slots, licking at the ceiling.

Tory: (desperate, agonized) "PLEASE! DO SOMETHING!"

Adam grabs a fire extinguisher, but the flames intensify, as if the toaster is resisting. Sparks explode outward, sending Adam stumbling back.

Adam: (yelling over the chaos) "Grant, can’t you reverse it? Download him back into his body!"

Grant: (shaking his head, near tears) "There’s no time! The hardware’s failing!"

Tory’s voice, now barely recognizable, cuts through the chaos one last time.

Tory: (weak, resigned) "Guys… it’s over. Just… just don’t let this happen to anyone else."

With a final burst of light and sound, the toaster erupts into a ball of fire, shattering into molten shards. The room goes silent, save for the crackle of burning debris.

Adam: (staring at the wreckage, whispering) "Tory…"

Grant collapses to his knees, staring at the charred remains of the toaster.

Grant: (voice shaking) "He’s… he’s gone."

Jamie: (stoic, but grim) "We all knew this was a bad idea. Let’s make sure it never airs."

[mythbustersfacts]

Behind the Scenes Special 2

Scene: MythBusters Production Meeting

The team is gathered around a table in the workshop. Kari is scrolling her phone while Grant tinkers with a small gadget. Tory leans back in his chair, tossing a stress ball in the air, and Jamie stares at the table with the intensity of a man counting the minutes until this meeting is over. Adam, however, is buzzing with energy, shifting in his chair like he can barely contain himself.

“Okay, okay, everyone,” Adam says, clapping his hands together. “I’ve been brainstorming some really exciting myths for next season, and I think you’re going to love them.”

Jamie doesn’t even look up. “Doubtful.”

Kari offers an encouraging smile. “Alright, Adam. Let’s hear what you’ve got.”

Adam stands and paces, gesturing wildly. “So, I’ve been thinking... people love myths about the human body, right? Stuff that’s relatable, grounded in reality—”

“Get to the point,” Jamie snaps, not bothering to mask his irritation.

“Right, right!” Adam says, holding up a finger. “So, you know how there’s that idea that... uh, certain feet are more—uh—distinct? Like, scientifically speaking? And maybe we could test, uh... Kari’s feet?”

The air in the room shifts immediately.

“Say what?” Kari says, snapping to attention. Her tone is friendly on the surface, but her eyes are daggers.

Grant stops fiddling with his gadget, blinking at Adam like he can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Adam, please tell me you didn’t just say that.”

Adam barrels forward, oblivious. “No, no! Hear me out! It’s science! Like, we could see if bare feet are better at gripping slippery surfaces, or—uh—if the heat from someone’s feet can, I don’t know, melt ice faster? For survival scenarios!”

Tory lets out a loud, exaggerated laugh. “Oh my god, Adam, are you seriously trying to pitch a whole episode about Kari’s feet?”

“No! It’s not about her feet, it’s about the concept of feet!” Adam insists, his voice rising in pitch. “It’s universal! Relatable! You know, like those myths about walking on coals or—”

“Adam,” Jamie interrupts, his voice like a knife through butter, “shut up.”

Adam freezes mid-gesture. “But—”

“Shut. Up.” Jamie’s glare is so icy it could freeze lava.

Kari stands slowly, her chair scraping against the floor. “Adam, you’ve got about five seconds to explain why this isn’t just an excuse to talk about my feet before I leave this meeting and never come back.”

Adam waves his arms desperately. “No, no, no! It’s not like that! It’s... it’s science! Like, what if we tested if Kari’s bare feet could, uh, withstand more force than—”

“Stop. Talking.” Jamie’s voice is deadly calm now, and he leans forward, his hands flat on the table. “Do you understand how stupid this sounds? How uncomfortable you’re making everyone?”

Grant clears his throat awkwardly, not looking at anyone. “This might be the most deranged idea you’ve ever had, Adam. And that’s saying something.”

Tory is laughing so hard he’s nearly crying. “You’re gonna make a whole episode about Kari’s feet and call it science! This is amazing.”

“Alright, that’s it,” Kari says, standing up and grabbing her notebook. “I’m done. Call me when you have an idea that doesn’t make me want to set this entire workshop on fire.”

She storms out, slamming the door behind her.

The silence that follows is excruciating. Adam looks around the table, his face beet red. “It... it wasn’t supposed to be weird.”

Jamie stands up and starts walking toward the door. “This is why I hate meetings.”

Grant sighs and picks up his gadget. “You’re lucky Kari didn’t murder you.”

Tory is still laughing as Adam sinks back into his chair, muttering under his breath, “It was just a thought...”