Our Family's Newest Addiction

We rarely watch TV in my house.  Neither my husband nor I are big fans, probably because we're prolific readers...but also the TV just hasn't taken on a central role in our life.  I may watch when I fold laundry, Matt will watch when it's football season, but that's really it. 

Except for ... Saturday nights - just a few years ago our Saturday nights were spent watching Finding Nemo, or A Bug's Life with our little ones.  More recently these evenings have begun with a disagreement between the two children about what movie to watch, the older one wants a more mature movie - say Star Wars or James Bond, while the younger prefers lighter fare - Beverly Hills Chihuahua is her favorite! Ultimately, we desperate parents make a random selection and everyone ends up annoyed.  This fall, however, we discovered a show that we all can agree on and that we will watch multiple episodes of in one sitting:  Mythbusters! Have you seen it?

The premise of the show is simple:  Give the two characters?  actors?  scientists?...well, give them a myth (urban or historical) and they will go to great lengths to prove or disprove it - often with some interesting pyrotechnics involved in some way.  This evenings' myths were interesting...Could a crew of 8 rowers actually pull a water skiier?  Could the in-step marching of a group of soldiers over a suspension bridge cause the bridge to fail?  And, can the spray from the toilet cause toothbrushes placed all over the bathroom to become contaminated with yucky stuff? 

There are a couple of things I really enjoy about the show - first of all, they seem to be practicing good science (in most cases), they love what they are doing, and they seem unrehearsed and honest in their TV presence.  There are curse words that are bleeped out, mistakes that are admitted, and new methodologies explored when things aren't going quite right.  A couple of the guys (like many of our students) really like to make big booms...so they do, but always with the understanding that safety comes first - and they model this.  Most importantly though, is the explanation of the science behind the myth that accompanies the experiment.  We have learned so much watching this show.  

So - what happened this evening?  Well, yes, a rowing crew of 8 could pull a water skiier behind them for almost a minute!  That was impressive.  The bridge didn't collapse, although there were issues with both the simulated marchers and the bridge.  And, yes - there was fecal coliform bacteria (is that right?) on every single toothbrush placed in the bathroom; but even more shocking was that there was fecal coliform on the toothbrushes that were the control in a totally different room!  Yuck!  Don't panic, however.  The amounts that are in the air are negligible...and don't seem to be harming us at all. 

When there is dissension among your TV viewer about what to watch...I recommend Mythbusters!