Mythbusters Recap: Speed Cameras
Beating the Speed Camera. Back in Season 2, it was confirmed that there was no way to Beat the Radar Detector, regardless of the method used. They threw everything at the myth - new paint jobs, wrapping the car in aluminum foil, disco balls and even a magnatron (whatever that is). But nothing worked. What about taking on an automatic speed camera? Perhaps that will somehow be different.
The most popular myth is to simply drive fast enough to not be able to be caught by the camera, but that doesn't seem to be able to work. Even strapping Adam into a Lamborghini wasn't enough to get going fast enough.
Another method gaining popularity is to obscure the plate through one method or another. But this doesn't seem to work either. Whether wrapping the license plate in plastic wrap, spraying something on the plate or even putting a diffusing plate over the actual plate, the camera still caught everything. The only trick that managed to get past the test was when Jamie rigged a license-plate flipper into the car, James Bond-style. But that would probably get you in even more trouble if you get caught, so it's probably not a good idea to try it. The speed camera even caught a falcon flying through the test "intersection"! Busted.
Exploding Nitroglycerine Patches. The other test was to put to rest the myth where it is rumored that certain nitroglycerin patches would explode if they were subject to certain sudden jolts of electricity. Obviously disturbing, because people wearing them are typically doing so for heart problems, and they are also likely to get shocked by a defibrillator.
After building a torso from ballistics gel, they promptly find out... nothing. Kari then builds an old-style patch, which perhaps was less lethal than the new ones, and... nothing. So they move everything out to the bomb range, and a drop of pure nitroglycerin is put on the torso and... still nothing! Finally, they cut a hole in the torso, the bomb squad adds some "assistance" (not sure what that is), and this time, the torso is blown to bits. Busted.
