Mythbusters: The Explosive Truth Behind 30 of the Most Perplexing Urban Legends of All Time is a pretty self descriptive title. One of the legends these gentlemen bust bears further examination though, since it was the central element in a plot by Professor Perfidy to hold the entire borough of Manhattan for ransom. Professor Perfidy isn't actually a professor of anything, and it turns out that his science is a bit shaky. So when he cooked up the idea to build a "Penny Dropping Doomsday Device" on the top of the Empire State Building capable of launching millions of pennies across Manhattan, he didn't bother to conduct any experiments first, or even do any math. So there he was up there on the observation deck with a dozen henchmen and and the PDDD filled with about $60,000 worth of pennies, demanding equal rights for insects and the right to yell "fire!" in a crowded movie theater. Captain ILL was all ready to go up there and do some evil booting when a quick thinking bystander pointed out that a penny dropped from the top the the Empire State Building not only wouldn't kill anyone, but it might, in fact, give them a bit of good luck. When this was pointed out to Professor Perfidy, he surrendered without a fuss; no doubt he was much too embarassed to put up a struggle at that point.
4 comments:
What if you launched rolls of pennies (50 cents in each roll)off the top of the Empire State Building...would it still be lucky if one of those hit you?
Captain ILL is no scientist, but with 50 times the mass of a single penny, a roll of pennies could very well present a lethal danger. It's a good thing the Cardboard Queen does not suffer from "Malign Hypercognition Disorder" ("evil genius" syndrome).
Would you need a clinical diagnosis for that or is there a blood test?
Have you ever built a doomsday device? Have you ever kidnapped a beautiful reporter and held her for ransom? Do you been assigned an archnemesis by the Guild of Calamitous Intent? If you answered no to any of these questions, you probably do not suffer from Malign Hypercognition Disorder.
Post a Comment