To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Friday, November 09, 2007
Mythbusters Saves a Life
Well... sort of...
A man was waiting for a train when he fainted and fell about 7 feet onto the tracks. A high school student jumped down, rolled him under the platform and to safety. Where does Mythbusters come into the story?
Mythbusters is a cool show. It's fun to watch, but I can't take it too seriously. A lot of it is staged, and rarely do they get results they weren't expecting. Their "scientific" procedures seem thorough, but there are gaping holes in many of the experiments (which is part of the reason why they have to go back and revisit so many myths). But, like I said, it's fun, and it gives the boys and I a chance to talk about the myths, the experiments, and what could have been done differently.
All that said... great job, Julian. You're a hero.
A man was waiting for a train when he fainted and fell about 7 feet onto the tracks. A high school student jumped down, rolled him under the platform and to safety. Where does Mythbusters come into the story?
With the train "just a couple of metres away", Julian moved the North Gosford resident to the edge of the track and rolled him under the platform.So... the myth that he was referring to is the one that says that if you're too close to railroad tracks when a fast-moving train goes by, aerodynamics would dictate that lower pressure under the train would suck you under the train and squish you like a bug. Mythbusters "busted" that myth in Episode 66, so I guess Julian wasn't paying attention to the conclusion, which in this case was a good thing. (There have been reports of people being sucked under trains, but, of course, I can't find any links right now.)
But danger was not totally averted.
"[As the train roared past] the noise pierced your ears and there was a suction that pulled us in," Julian said.
"I'd seen that on MythBusters, so I stayed right back and pulled Mark back towards me."
The train eventually passed safely, and the pair chatted until ambulance officers arrived.
Mythbusters is a cool show. It's fun to watch, but I can't take it too seriously. A lot of it is staged, and rarely do they get results they weren't expecting. Their "scientific" procedures seem thorough, but there are gaping holes in many of the experiments (which is part of the reason why they have to go back and revisit so many myths). But, like I said, it's fun, and it gives the boys and I a chance to talk about the myths, the experiments, and what could have been done differently.
All that said... great job, Julian. You're a hero.
