‘MythBusters’ make surprise appearance at SolidWorks World 2006
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 23, 2005 — Can you spark a gasoline fire with a cell phone? Is yawning contagious? Can Pop Rocks and soda be a lethal combination?
“MythBusters” Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who answer questions like these for a living on their weekly Discovery Channel TV show, made a surprise appearance this morning at SolidWorks World 2006, using SolidWorks® CAD software integrated with COSMOS® analysis capabilities to illustrate the facts behind the myths they bust every week. The duo kicked off the annual conference in front of more than 3,500 SolidWorks users at Caesars Palace, showing models from the “MythBusters” program and M5 Industries Inc., the visual effects company that is the home of the show.
The “MythBusters” team used SolidWorks to model an exotic-fueled rocket for their upcoming fourth season and used SolidWorks’ COSMOSWorks® analysis software to analyze structural issues that affected its dramatic flight. They revealed an M5 prototype of a next-generation stadium camera called WaveCam and described how COSMOSMotion™ analysis software optimized the design by reducing weight and calculating motor requirements.
While the duo is known for fast, furious, and in some cases explosive builds for the show, they are using SolidWorks and COSMOS software behind the scenes to analyze the problematic situations they investigate. “SolidWorks and COSMOS put some serious engineering chops at our fingertips, and someday they are going to keep us from kissing our butts goodbye,” says Hyneman with his characteristic dry humor.
‘MythBusters’ put urban legends under the microscope
Each Wednesday night on “MythBusters,” Savage and Hyneman take on myths and urban legends using modern-day science to demonstrate what’s fact and what’s fiction. Among the questions they’ve tackled on “MythBusters”: Could a penny falling from a skyscraper injure a pedestrian? If the elevator plummets, can you save yourself with a well-timed hop? Exactly how do you find a needle in a haystack? Can a singer really break glass with his or her voice?
“Adam and Jamie make perfect guests for SolidWorks World,” said John McEleney, CEO of SolidWorks Corporation. “They are innovators and engineers who live and breathe the theme we have chosen for SolidWorks 2006: Passion for Design. And they don’t just dream. They get their hands dirty, and they relish tools like SolidWorks that make them work smart and productively.”
‘MythBusters’: The Individuals
Savage takes pride in “making stuff” and has constructed everything from toys to spaceships. He’s served as an animator, graphic designer, stage and interior designer, carpenter, welder, and scenic painter. He’s worked in every medium from metal to glass, plastics to injection molding, and pneumatics to animatronics.
For the past eight years, Savage has concentrated on the special-effects industry, honing his skills through more than 100 television commercials and 12 feature films, including “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace” and “Episode II: Attack of the Clones,” “Galaxy Quest,” “Terminator 3,” “A.I.,” and the “Matrix” sequels. He’s also designed props and sets for Coca-Cola, Hershey’s, Lexus, and a host of New York and San Francisco theater companies. He also
finds time to teach advanced model making, most recently at the San Francisco Academy of Art, and to create sculptures that have appeared in more than 40 shows in San Francisco and New York.
Equally multifaceted, Hyneman is a wilderness survival expert, boat captain, diver, linguist, animal wrangler, machinist, and chef, among other things. He has managed the production of models and special effects for hundreds of commercials and movies. Top U.S. production companies seek out his company, M5 Industries Inc., when unusual or problematic props need to be fabricated, especially if they involve animatronics or robotics.
Hyneman has worked on “Robocop,” “Arachnophobia,” “Naked Lunch,” “Flubber,” and a number of Disney films as well as more than 800 commercials. Amid all this activity, Hyneman has diversified his company into toy prototyping as well. The holder of several patents and the winner of numerous industry awards, Hyneman is a long-standing Screen Actors Guild member.
The fourth season of “MythBusters” begins in February and can be seen on Wednesday nights on Discovery Channel.