MythBusters

Please don't try anything

that you're about to see us do at home.

Ever!

On this "Way too drunk to drive" episode,

Adam and Jamie get sloshed for science.

Whoo!

I usually don't let people do that.

What is the best way to get sober in a hurry?

Oh!

And is the myth of beer goggles fact or fantasy?

She's pretty darn cute.

Then, Kari, Grant, and Tory

rebuild an ancient weapon of mass destruction.

Hwacha!

They start with one fire arrow,

then try launching 200

to see if the hwacha lives up to its legend.

Who are the Mythbusters?

Adam Savage...

...and Jamie Hyneman.

Feel like I'm ready to go out clubbing.

Between them, more than 30 years

of special-effects experience.

Freedom!

Joining them -- Grant Imahara...

You suck.

...Tory Belleci...

Put your back into it.

...And Kari Byron.

High explosives and electricity. Whoo!

They don't just tell the myths...

they put them to the test.

Let's wet our whistles with the myth of beer goggles.

I'm feeling a little left out here.

And I'm glad. What's going on?

Beer goggles.

-Beer goggles? -Beer goggles!

It's been out there waiting for us the whole time,

and for some reason, we haven't tested it --

the idea that alcohol has this magical property

that will make people around you more attractive

the more you drink.

Actually, I feel like I've been testing this for over a decade.

Yes! But that's anecdotally.

We are going to test it scientifically.

Great. More drinking on the job.

Jamie knows that eventually this will turn ugly.

They'll have to lose their inhibitions,

and maybe their lunch, to test the truth of beer goggles.

This seems to be a really subjective thing.

We need to be objective if we're gonna be scientific.

-How are we gonna do that? -Large sample size?

That's exactly what I'm thinking.

And I'm thinking that we rate photos.

Specifically, we get a bunch of photos --

us of women, you of men.

We review a whole bunch and rate them when we're sober.

And then we get drunk and re-rate those photos.

And see if there's a difference.

Exactly.

But before we raise our glasses,

let's meet the newest member of the team,

with a vital role to play.

This is our new SMART Board.

Not only is it a really big, beautiful interface,

but it's also interactive.

Let me show you a couple tricks.

Watch this.

How about that, huh? Huh?

You like that? It gets better. Check it out.

Not only can I even do that,

I can also diagram what's gonna happen in real time.

I'm not gonna go too much farther

showing the tricks this thing can do,

'cause we're about to use it a whole bunch

in this very episode.

The board's first job is to help Adam, still sober,

rate the looks of 30 women from 1 to 10.

Here we go.

He's got just five seconds to score each photo.

He can see the time tick down on the left of the screen.

I got to say, the exercise of giving a quick rating,

it doesn't feel great.

It's kind of an awful thing to have to do.

Aah!

Like, I found myself resisting giving a 1 or a 2, but...

Yeah? But?

I got a 96!

So the total possible score is potentially 300.

Out of that, I gave a 96.

The question from here on in will be,

as I drink, will my overall score go up?

Now it's Kari's turn to rate the chaps.

Quite honestly, there are no supermodels on here.

Oh, God. Do I rate you on your hair?

Mm!

Kari's either much more generous

or less discriminating than Adam.

Okay. Total score -- 154.

But she does know what pushes her buttons.

I noticed I was rating higher on men that looked confident.

If they looked sort of squirrelly

and really apprehensive about the whole thing,

I definitely gave them a lower score.

Now for a man who's anything but squirrelly.

-Your turn. -Okay.

I'm about to look at a bunch of pictures of women,

apparently, and try to objectify them.

Jamie's got a point.

Snap decisions based on looks alone are shallow and shameful.

But hey, it's all in the name of social science.

It's set up so that it's sort of a gut reaction.

I don't know how consistent it's gonna be,

but that's where the averaging becomes important.

'Cause you've got some kind of a number that should show a trend.

And Jamie's trendy number?

Higher than Adam's, but lower than Kari's.

So I got a 116.

Whatever that means.

Well, it means nothing

till they've done this twice more --

first slightly inebriated and then stumbling, dribbling drunk.

Hello, Ginger.

Hi, Adam. How you doing?

Good. How about three beers?

The aim here is to get buzzed.

For the boys, that means two or three quick brewskies.

For Kari, maybe one less.

What's red and smells like blue -- blue paint?

What?

Red paint.

She got Jamie giggling.

Ginger keeps the suds coming.

And they're ready to test

if they're officially buzzed.

Let's do a Breathalyzer.

Let's get some science going.

It sounds like fun.

.06.

Over to Kari, who proves she's too drunk to drive.

.08.

She's at the legal limit.

Then Jamie blows the same number as Adam.

.06.

But will their slightly pickled perceptions

affect the way they judge the opposite sex?

How am I gonna do when I'm buzzed?

I don't think it will be a whole lot different than sober.

Adam's not so sure, and he's the first to try it.

I'm at a .06.

You guys, don't cheat. Don't look over here.

-You got it? No problem.

Okay. "Adam Buzzed."

Here we... go.

This time around, they've got 30 new faces,

judged by others to be exactly as attractive

as the first batch.

I can already feel my ratings being higher.

I found it much easier to rate them buzzed than sober.

I started to feel bad for the 1 s and 2s while sober.

Buzzed, didn't care at all.

1! 1! 2! You're out!

Harsh words. But his tally supports the myth.

He is finding these faces more attractive.

My buzzed score overall was 121.

That's 25 more than his sober test.

So, on average, each girl rates almost a full point extra.

Now for Kari, who was far kinder than the boys first time 'round.

I think I get a little giddy after a few drinks,

so I think I might be pretty generous

after I've had a beer or two.

Or three.

Kari also has 30 new faces to rate.

Again, all average Joes.

That is some fabulous hair.

But the beer-goggle effect

seems to be working in reverse.

Is this an uglier group of people?

I wouldn't give most of those guys change

if I passed them on the street.

Just two hours ago, sober,

Kari rated a similar group at 154.

Now that she's loosened up...

My buzzed score was 89.

I might be a mean drunk.

I'm not sure if I was charity rating before,

'cause I felt kind of bad for some of the uglier people.

But there was absolutely no talent in this group.

None.

So Jamie steps up to rate the new babes.

And remember, he predicted no change whatsoever.

Here we go. "Jamie Buzzed."

My perceptions of what made them attractive or not attractive

were pretty much the same

as they were the last time, as far as I know.

I mean, nice complexion, regular features, signs of health --

things like that.

But after three beers,

Jamie's brain is lightly sautéed.

It all comes down to one number.