Ep 3. Underwater Car

In Mythbusters season 5 episode 3, titled "Underwater Car," the team tackles a mystery that has puzzled many for years: can a car really drive underwater?

To test this myth, the team builds a special car that is essentially a submarine with wheels. The vehicle is designed to stay watertight while it moves through the water, and to be able to drive on land just as easily.

Adam and Jamie start by testing the car's ability to stay afloat and move through the water. They take it to a local pool and submerge it, watching closely to see if any leaks develop. Surprisingly, the car works perfectly underwater, and they are able to drive it around with ease.

Next, they take the car to a more challenging environment: a lake with a steep drop-off. They want to see if the car can handle being submerged and then driving back up to the surface. They submerge the car and drive it around, but when they try to bring it back to the surface, they encounter a problem. The car's wheels are not able to get enough traction on the slick, steep lake bottom, and it starts to slide back down into deeper water.

Undeterred, Adam and Jamie try a different approach. They add some extra weight to the car to help it sink faster, hoping that this will make it easier to get back up to the surface. This time, the car is successful, and they are able to drive it back up to the surface and onto land.

Although they have proven that a car can indeed be made to drive underwater, the Mythbusters team realizes that this is not the most practical mode of transportation. However, they do point out that their vehicle could potentially have useful applications in search-and-rescue operations or other scenarios where being able to drive both on land and underwater would be an advantage.

In addition to their main experiment, the team also takes on a few smaller myths in this episode. They test whether a person can really use a plastic bag as a life-saving device while lost at sea, and whether it is possible to ride a motorcycle across a body of water. These segments add a bit of variety to the episode and serve as a reminder of the wide range of myths and experiments that the show covers.

Overall, "Underwater Car" is a fun and informative episode that should satisfy both fans of Mythbusters and anyone who has ever wondered about the feasibility of underwater driving. The show's trademark blend of scientific inquiry and entertaining experimentation is on full display here, making for an engaging and memorable viewing experience.