Obama to appear on reality show Mythbusters
By ANITuesday, October 19, 2010
MELBOURNE - US President Barack Obama has said that he will star on reality show Mythbusters next month, but insists he will not get to blow anything up on the explosives-prone program.
Obama will instead, in an appearance taped in July, charge the Discovery Channel show’s team to test the legend of the fabled solar ray weapon invented by ancient Greek scientist Archimedes.
“I can announce today that I taped a special guest appearance for their show, although I didn’t get to blow anything up. I was a little frustrated with that,” the Age quoted Obama as saying at a White House youth science fair.
The episode of Mythbusters, a popular globally syndicated show, will examine whether it was possible for Archimedes to set fire to an invading Roman fleet using only mirrors and reflected rays of the sun.
The myth has been debunked before on the show, but the producers say fans are constantly asking hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman to test the legend again under different conditions.
“In the episode, we’re brought to the White House and the president asks us to answer this question once and for all,” said Savage, who was at the White House for Monday’s science fair.
“We tackled it and when we come back we tell him how we did.”
“It was the White House’s idea, based on our popularity and the connections that we have with young people and the sciences,” he said.
The show will be broadcast in the United States on December 8. (ANI)
