‘MythBusters’ cannon experiment ends in epic fail

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Failure was definitely an option for the ‘MythBusters’ team Tuesday: A ballistics experiment for the Discovery Channel show went awry and launched a cannonball into a nearby neighborhood, damaging a house and a car.

‘MythBusters’ -- the show that tests whether legends and common assumptions hold up under scientific scrutiny -- was using a cannon at a police firing range in Dublin, 35 miles east of San Francisco. A stray shot somehow bounced off a safety berm and careened into a residential area, where it hit the parked car and tore through the home. No injuries were reported, according to Discovery.

Contrary to a report on TMZ, the experiment did not involve ‘MythBusters’ frontmen Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, but rather their colleagues Tory Belleci, Kari Byron and Grant Imahara, who were present for the filming.

Discovery said an explosives safety expert for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Department was on hand at the time of the incident and that ‘all proper safety protocol was observed.’ The network is also apparently settling up with property owners for the damage.

Maybe part of the compensation could be one of those souvenir ‘MythBusters’ T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan: ‘Failure is always an option.’

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-- Scott Collins
Twitter.com/scottcollinsLAT