Can You Actually Survive A Bathroom Bomb By Hiding In The Tub? | MythBusters

In the high-stakes world of action movies, heroes often find themselves in impossible situations, only to escape through a combination of quick thinking and cinematic physics. One such memorable scene from "Lethal Weapon 2" features Danny Glover's character trapped on a booby-trapped toilet, with a pressure switch set to detonate a bomb the moment he stands up. His partner, Mel Gibson's character, devises a plan: pour liquid nitrogen on the bomb to slow its detonation, then leap from the toilet into a bathtub for protection. The MythBusters, Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, set out to determine if this audacious escape could actually work in reality.

The Great Leap: Toilet to Tub in Two Seconds?

The first part of the myth focused on the speed and agility required for the escape. Could two men, even with assistance, get from a toilet into a bathtub and under a bomb blanket in the few seconds supposedly bought by the liquid nitrogen? To test this, Adam and Jamie meticulously recreated the bathroom setup from the movie, including a one-piece porcelain toilet and an annoyingly large and heavy cast-iron bathtub. They even went so far as to include a corner wall to ensure the geometry was exact. A pressure switch under the toilet seat triggered a timer, which stopped once both men were in the tub and covered by a 30-pound bomb blanket.

Initial solo attempts by Adam, without the added complexity of a partner or pants around his ankles, showed promising times. However, the real challenge came with two people. After several attempts, and some awkward close-quarters maneuvering, Adam and Jamie managed to get into the bathtub and covered in just under two seconds flat. This was a lot faster than they initially anticipated, suggesting that the physical feat itself was achievable within the movie's timeframe.