Top 10 Crazy Facts About MythBusters Cast Members
#10: Adam Suffers from Hearing Loss
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You’d think with all the explosions and gunshots, someone was bound to suffer from hearing loss sooner or later. You would think that, but that’s not the case. Nope, Adam’s hearing loss stems from nothing more than a congenital birth defect. Savage revealed on the podcast “Still Untitled: The Adam Savage Project” that he suffers from severe hearing loss owing to substantial structural problems within his ears. It’s so bad that he requires the use of hearing aids, lest he “start to get panicked.” He also joked that hearing aids saved both his life and his marriage.
#9: Grant Worked for THX
You know that sound effect that blows out your windows when you start a movie? Yeah, Grant worked for them. THX was founded by “Star Wars” creator George Lucas in 1983, and is primarily used to develop high fidelity audio for movie and home theaters. Imahara was hired by THX after graduating from the University of Southern California and worked within the company as a licensing engineer. According to Imahara’s LinkedIn CV, his job entailed “performing electrical and acoustic measurements on Home THX loudspeakers, amplifiers, and surround sound controllers.” Grant is now busy building robots for Walt Disney Imagineering. You could say he’s pretty smart... but then, that's hardly a secret.
#8: Jamie Is Also an Inventor
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Jamie Hyneman has led a very interesting and eclectic life. He was a bit of a Renaissance Man as a young adult, having owned both a pet store and a boat chartering business in the Caribbean. He now owns M5 Industries, the special effects house that hosted “MythBusters” for over a decade. Jamie continues to invent within his workshop. In 2018 he unveiled an autonomous tank used to fight wildfires, and he also helped design an aerial cable camera system called Wavecam. You may have seen it used at various entertainment venues or during live sporting events.
#7: Tory Took Part in Gumball 3000... with Deadmau5
The Gumball 3000 is an annual motor rally that sees celebrities driving customized, street-legal cars through 3,000 miles of public road. In 2014, Tory drove it with DJ Deadmau5 in a customized Ferrari 458 Italia painted like the Nyan cat, which they called the Purrari. Not only was the ride wrapped like the Nyan cat, but it also blared the theme song on repeat through the car’s speakers. Tory and Deadmau5 were eventually awarded with the Spirit of Gumball prize, which honors the most enjoyable team. We can’t imagine that Tory and Deadmau5 had a good time, what with having to listen to the Nyan cat theme song on an infinite loop... but maybe they didn't hear it over that sweet V8.
#6: Kari Is a Devoted Sculptor
We all have our hobbies. And Kari Byron’s is... sculpting. In fact, she loves sculpting so much that she studied it in school! Byron graduated from San Francisco State University in 1998 with a BA in film and sculpture. And even though she didn’t pursue sculpting as an artistic career path, she continued the art form as a hobby in her free time. Byron claims that she would “go crazy” if she didn’t work on some form of art at least every day, and she claims to “do portraits or make sculptures exploring [her] cynical view of contemporary issues.”
#5: Adam’s Father Worked on “Sesame Street”
Before Adam was born in 1967, his father, Whitney Lee Savage, worked in the advertising industry. He left the industry around the time Adam was born and took his talent for illustration to new heights – working with “Sesame Street” and “The Electric Company.” Adam remembers his father meeting with producers once a year to pitch his ideas and spending the next couple of months illustrating the approved segments. These little animations would then air in 30-second intervals between the live action segments. Whitney’s inside connections led to a brief acting career for Adam, which included playing a stock boy named Jimmy in a Charmin commercial!
#4: Jamie Has a Degree In Russian Linguistics
You may think that Jamie Hyneman has a masters in robotics engineering or some fancy thing like that. Well you’d be wrong. Like we said, Hyneman is a bit of a Renaissance Man, and he actually has a degree in Russian linguistics of all things! Hyneman attended Indiana University in the late '70s and graduated with a degree in Russian language and linguistics in 1981. He probably didn’t have “special effects workshop owner and inventor” in mind when he chose the subject. Hyneman has since received three honorary doctorates for his work in the fields of engineering, science, and technology.
#3: Adam Is Now the Creative Director of SiliCon
What do you do after a show as seminal and popular as “MythBusters?” Well, you head an annual pop culture convention, for one! SiliCon is an annual pop culture and technology convention that takes place at the San Jose Convention Center. It was started in 2016 by Steve Wozniak and Rick White and was then known as the Silicon Valley Comic Con. In February 2020, Savage was made the convention’s new creative director, and the event was renamed to the far more catchy and creative SiliCon.
#2: Jamie Ran Away from Home as a Teenager
Jamie certainly has a call for adventure. That, and a dislike of authority. Hyneman admits that he was a “problematic” child, and his parents threatened to throw him in reform school due his “unruly behavior.” Hyneman decided to run away from home instead. He is said to have “hitchhiked all over the country” when he was just fourteen years old, but the journey ended in California when he was thrown in juvenile detention. He was picked up by his parents and brought back home to Indiana, but would later return to sunny California to start M5 Industries, where he's remained to this day. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Adam’s Grandfather Pioneered Breast Cancer Surgery Grant Was in “Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!” Adam Appeared in a Billy Joel Music Video Grant Built Geoff Peterson for Craig Ferguson Scottie Chapman Worked As a Horse Trainer, Video Game Tester & Graveyard Plot Telemarketer
#1: Everyone But Kari Worked on the “Star Wars” Prequels
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Before they were the “MythBusters,” the cast worked on numerous high profile movies. And none are more high profile – and yet, infamous – than the “Star Wars” prequels. Jamie is credited as a “special effects technician” on the first two films. Adam went uncredited for “The Phantom Menace” (despite working on it) but received a “model maker” credit for “Attack of the Clones.” Tory was also credited as a “model maker,” and the two actually worked together on the model of Tipoca City. And Grant, being a robot wizard and all, actually controlled R2-D2’s movements throughout the entire prequel trilogy! Talk about building a resume.
