Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman
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Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who are special effects professionals, are the hosts and they try to prove whether or not urban myths are true. In a lot of horror movies, appliances are used to electrocute people so the Mythbusters are out to determine whether or not this can happen. Savage and Hyneman go shopping for appliances and discover that most of the newer appliances have ground fault interrupters or GFI switches. A GFI switch turns off an appliance when it detects any small change in the current of electricity. Older appliances do not have a GFI switch so they will not shut off.
Savage believes that the older appliances will hit the water and continue to run. The metal drain pipe will cause the person to become a conductor of electricity and they will be electrocuted to death. Hyneman believes that once the appliance hits the water, it will no longer work. Thus, there will be no injury at all.
They buy a lot of different appliances to use in the experiment. Also, they build a special bathroom in order to test the appliances in a controlled fashion. The bathtub will be isolated for safety issues and there will be a collapsible shelf above it for the appliances. An amp reader is used to determine the current flowing through the water. They attach it to the metal drain pipe.
A ballistic gel filled dummy is put in the bathtub. It has 2 copper paddles in the chest to represent the heart of a human being. Savage believes that amperage, not voltage, will be what causes the injury or possible death. He believes that 6 volts of electricity will cause 70 milliamps, which is enough to kill a human. The copper paddles will measure the amperage and will shut off if it reaches 70 milliamps. Water is not a good conductor of electricity but sodium added to it does increase the effect. A human in a bath makes the water salty and electricity will pass through the body.