As part of an initiative to boost science and math education, President Obama will appear on the Dec. 8 episode of "MythBusters," the Discovery Channel show aimed at debunking popular myths with experimentation and science.
Special effects masters Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, together with a team of likable young scientists and, well, geeks, dutifully subject user-submitted "myths" to rigorous testing.
Over its eight-season run, the show has asked many important scientific questions:
- Does a goldfish's memory last for only 3 seconds?
- Can a jet engine launch a taxi into the air?
- Can a playing card kill a person if thrown with enough power?
Perhaps the most popular – and mind-bendingly simple myth, if you ask us – is the question of whether an airplane can take off while on a conveyor belt. (Yep.)
President Obama's MythBusters episode is said to focus on the fabled "Archimedes death ray" – the legend that in the third century the famed thinker used parabolic mirrors arrayed along a beach to set fire to an advancing Roman fleet. The show has addressed the story before – twice – declaring it "busted," but maybe the President will add something to the discussion.
