Gallery: MythBusters Grant, Tory and Kari Show Us What They'd Design for 'Punkin Chunkin'
01the-hosts
*Tory Belleci, Kari Byron and Grant Imahara, of MythBusters, host* Punkin Chunkin 2012*. Click through the gallery to see their illustrations of the "ultimate pumpkin launchers" they'd like to make, and some of the craziest machines that already exist.* Photo courtesy Science Channel.
02grants-punkinator
*"The Punkinator," Grant Imahara's hypothetical design, is a hydraulics-powered, Fibonacci-cammed catapult with a roller-chain linkage.* Illustration: Grant Imahara.
03torys-pumpkin-chunker
*"Sling Shot Chunker," Tory Belleci's concept design, features a giant, 500-foot-tall snorkel crane with massive bungee cords and a quick-release mechanism.* Illustration: Tory Belleci
04karis-napoleon-bonafart
*Kari Byron offers "Napoléon Bonafart" as her pumpkin launcher, harnessing the "extraordinary flatulent" tendencies of French bulldogs, funneling the gasses into the cannon, and igniting it. "I'm pretty sure this is illegal," she says.* Illustration: Kari Byron
05inertia-ii
*"Inertia II" is an evolution of the spinning centrifugal concept that adds a sling element to whip its pumpkin cargo to incredible velocities. It's powered by a V8 engine pulled from a Corvette.* Photo courtesy of Science Channel.
The Science Channel06big-10-inch
*A frequent contender and multiple-time champion, "Big 10 Inch" (named for the diameter of its barrel) is an air cannon that uses two huge, highly pressurized tanks of air to blast a pumpkin out a massive barrel. Millisecond-precise microprocessors open its valves in stages, allowing the pumpkin to accelerate without vaporizing it before it launches — a not uncommon result for many teams.* Photo courtesy of Science Channel.
07american-chucker
*"American Chucker" is a floating trebuchet, advancing the gravity-powered medieval catapult concept with an articulating design that maximizes capabilities through physics and engineering.* Photo courtesy of Science Channel.
08launch-ness-monster
*"Launch Ness Monster" takes the concept of a floating trebuchet to the extreme, creating a massive structure that stands tall with huge weights attached, and then folds down onto itself to whip the sling and pumpkin outward. Resembling nothing like a traditional catapult or trebuchet, it has to be seen to be fully understood.* Photo courtesy of Science Channel.
09human-power
*The human-powered category doesn't get the greatest distances in the event, but it creates some of the best entertainment. Mischief Knights, from Arlington, MA, were still able to get one of their shots over 1300 feet in 2011.* Photo courtesy of Science Channel.
THSC10team-chucky-3
*Torsion catapults, formally called onagers, are starting to encroach on the records held by the air cannons. Team Chucky has created a dual-armed, cam-driven machine that holds the current world record in the torsion category — 3,636 feet.* Photo courtesy of Science Channel.
