Adam & Jamie "D'oh!" Their Way Through The Simpsons Myths! | MythBusters

The beloved animated series The Simpsons has entertained audiences for decades with its witty humor and often outlandish scenarios. But how do the laws of Springfield physics hold up when tested in the real world? The MythBusters, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, set out to answer this very question, taking on two iconic Simpsons myths: Bart's cherry bomb in the school toilets and Homer's heroic stand against a wrecking ball.

Homer vs. The Wrecking Ball: A Battle of Mass and Momentum

The first myth involves Homer Simpson protecting his house from a 5,000-pound wrecking ball by placing his body between it and the structure. To accurately test this, the MythBusters needed to recreate Homer in full scale, complete with his precise dimensions, body mass, and even water content. This meant constructing a life-sized Homer dummy, a task Adam took on with his characteristic enthusiasm for fabrication. Using upholstery foam and additive foam building techniques, Adam meticulously crafted Homer's famously tubby torso and limbs. For Homer's distinctive head, Adam enlisted the help of legendary machinist Merrick Cheney, who used advanced CNC milling to create a multi-part mold. This allowed for the creation of a durable, latex-skinned foam head, bringing the animated icon to life in three dimensions.

Meanwhile, Jamie faced the challenge of creating a cartoon-accurate, yet realistically heavy, wrecking ball. The Simpsons wrecking ball appears much larger than a typical real-world one, so Jamie devised an ingenious method: digging two hemispherical molds directly into the ground using a custom-built auger. These molds were then filled with steel-reinforced concrete, creating a 5,000-pound sphere that perfectly matched the cartoon's proportions. This unconventional approach saved significant time and resources compared to traditional mold-making techniques.

With both Homer and the wrecking ball ready, the team constructed two identical houses. The first served as a control, allowing them to observe the wrecking ball's impact without Homer's intervention. The second house would see Homer strapped to the wrecking ball, testing if his presence could indeed mitigate the destruction. The MythBusters had to carefully consider the crane's limitations, as swinging such a heavy object too far could tip the entire apparatus. After tense discussions and calculations, a safe swing distance was determined. The control test showed significant damage to the house, with the second story and chimney severely compromised. The real question remained: could Homer, even in dummy form, make a difference?