Top 10 Myths We NEED to See MythBusters Test

#10: How Blind Are Bats?

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It’s a common saying to refer to someone as being “as blind as a bat”, but are bats truly blind? We know that many types of bats use echolocation to heighten their senses, but technically they’re not completely blind. So how much can bats actually see? We’d be very curious to see what kind of vision tests the crew would put the animals through and if we’re being honest, we’d just love to see Adam and Jamie trying to wrangle bats for their experiments. Considering bats are known for being nocturnal, it would be especially interesting to see how their vision fared in the daytime.

Ancient natural philosopher Pliny the Elder wrote many hundreds of years ago that ostriches "imagine, when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed." Since then the myth has been prevalent that ostriches think they’re tricking their enemies by simply burying their heads in the sand. In fact it even spawned the common idiom. But do the birds actually do this, and if so, is it actually because they think no one can see them? The Mythbusters would have to do some serious digging to get to the bottom of this one, and some poor ostriches would probably be scared in the process.

#8: Does MSG Cause Headaches?

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It’s a common belief that you might be at risk of developing a headache after eating at a Chinese restaurant due to all of the supposed MSG in the food. This has even been dubbed “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”, which is definitely morally questionable. First off, it’s always fun to see the guys testing any myths that have to do with food, so seeing them binge on a bunch of dishes that contain MSG would be a blast to watch. Some studies have already looked at whether there’s an actual connection between headaches and monosodium glutamate, but we’re curious how the Mythbusters’ experiment would go.

#7: Can Lightning Strike in the Same Place Twice?

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We’ve seen the Mythbusters tackle lightning myths a couple of times on the show. First, they tried to see if someone with a tongue ring was more likely to be struck by lightning, and then tested if someone who was holding a kite that was struck by lightning would be killed. But somehow they’ve never tackled the most prevalent lightning myth: that it can’t strike in the same place twice. Technically, we know this isn’t true, since plenty of places have been struck more than once, but we’d like to see the guys try to test the likelihood of lightning continually striking in the same spot.

One of the most disturbing myths that many people believe is that people inadvertently swallow several spiders in their sleep every year. Experts have said that it’s very unlikely that this is true, but we still can’t help but wonder. Testing this myth would involve unleashing spiders onto a sleeping person, which sounds like something we’d perversely want to watch. If someone is a deep enough sleeper, could they snooze through a spider crawling on their face? Only the Mythbusters would be brave enough to try this one out.

We’ve all heard the old adage before, “beer before liquor, never been sicker”. But isn’t that the natural order of things?! Technically, there isn’t much evidence to prove that this is true, but the Mythbusters have drank themselves to a hangover for the sake of science before. In 2009, they busted the myth that mixing different types of alcohol would result in a worse hangover, but they didn’t bother to test the order in which they consumed their beverages. We’d love to see them try it both ways to see if there’s any truth to this common saying.

#4: Do “Best Before” Dates Matter?

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There are two types of people: the ones who dutifully throw away any food that is past it’s “best before” date and the ones who do a sniff test and hope for the best. But how much do expiration and “best before” dates really matter? Jamie and Adam could certainly run some tests, checking for levels of bacteria in commonly consumed foods like dairy and meat to see how dangerous it is to eat food when it’s expired. This would be extra useful and would save us a few bucks if we could rest easy eating those eggs that expired four days ago.

No one wants to be stung by a jellyfish while enjoying a day at the beach, but we all know the most commonly touted solution if the worst happens: peeing on it. TV shows like “Friends” have even further spread this myth. Many sources say that peeing on your wound isn’t the best idea because it’s impossible to predict the concentration of your urine, but it would be a riot to watch the guys try this one out. Back in 2006, the Mythbusters did test one way to reduce the pain after being stung by a jellyfish: pouring vodka on the sting. It actually worked, so we’re not sure why they didn’t give urine a go at the same time!

We probably all know that if you swallow a piece of gum it won’t stay in your stomach for seven years. But considering gum isn’t made to be digested like other foods, we’d love to see the Mythbusters do a deep dive into human biology to show us what actually happens when you swallow your gum. Considering they don’t have seven years to try this one out, we imagine they could find a way to track a piece of gum through the human digestive tract and see if it stays there longer than anything else you would consume.

We’ve long heard it said that the Great Wall of China is the only man made structure which is visible from space. While it’s an impressive factoid, it doesn’t really make sense. From what we know so far, it seems pretty tricky to see the Great Wall without magnification. So we admit, this would have to be a pretty high budget episode. But wouldn’t it be cool if the Mythbusters could get some sort of camera into the stratosphere and see what exactly was visible? We’d put money into that Kickstarter!