[s2e17] Bullet Bump — Deluxe & Fast

The "B-story" of the episode involved a more whimsical but dangerous urban legend: can a professional confetti cannon accidentally kill someone if it's packed too tightly or contains the wrong materials?

"Bullet Bump" is often cited by fans as one of the best demonstrations of . It stripped away the cinematic glamour of gunfights to show that bullets are designed to penetrate , not to push . The episode remains a staple for physics teachers because it so clearly illustrates why Hollywood's depiction of kinetic impact is almost always exaggerated for dramatic effect. [S2E17] Bullet Bump

In the small-scale testing, they fired various calibers at a stationary target. While the bullets caused significant damage, the was negligible. To scale up, they used a "dead weight" rig representing a human body. Even when hit by high-velocity rounds and a 12-gauge shotgun, the target didn't "fly" backward as seen in films; it simply fell over or absorbed the energy through deformation. The conclusion was a definitive Busted : the laws of physics (specifically Newton’s Third Law) dictate that if a bullet had enough force to throw a target backward, the recoil would similarly throw the shooter backward. The Secondary Myth: Confetti Cannon The "B-story" of the episode involved a more