As you probably know, Mythbusters has been
off the air for years… but at least you
can still watch Adam Savage in the spin-off,
Mythbusters Jr.
But what about MythBusters' other host, Jamie
Hyneman?
So smart.
So stoic.
And lately, so elusive.
What's he been up to lately?
"This is like a wheelie machine.
That's great!"
Hyneman was quite an intriguing character
long before MythBusters came along.
He used to run a sailing charter business
in the Caribbean.
Then he switched careers and started to work
as a special-effects artist, lending his creativity
to over 800 commercials and several films,
including Robocop.
Some more fun facts: He received an undergraduate
degree in Russian Linguistics.
His mind-bending special effects work earned
him honorary Doctor of Engineering degrees
from Villanova University and Finland's Lappeenranta
University of Technology.
Regarding the former occasion, he proudly
tweeted that
"[I've] never been there or to a white tie
ceremony.
I think it works for me."
Hyneman was also the first of the two co-hosts
to get involved in Mythbusters.
After the production company behind the show
approached him to host, he came up with an
idea.
As his official Mythbusters bio reveals,
"He reached out to Adam to join him, feeling
that between his experience and Adam's liveliness
-- and their straight guy/foil combination
-- they would make a good team.
It turned out to be a great call."
Savage and Hyneman had known each other for
years by that point and even worked on battle
robots together.
"Blendoooooo!"
For thirteen years, they hosted the show and
brought science to the masses.
They also created a whole lot of explosions
along the way.
These days, Hyneman spends more time on personal
projects and new inventions.
While still filming MythBusters, he collaborated
with Villanova University and the US Office
of Naval Research on some innovative projects.
He made cool sci-fi stuff like blast-resistant
armor and robotic camera systems that track
athletes at sporting events.
Unsurprisingly, he's still obsessed with new
technology.
According to Popular Mechanics, his latest
invention is a tank to help fight wildfires.
It's called The Sentry, and it was built using
a non-armored military tank.
Hyneman reportedly bought the tank from an
Army surplus store.
The Sentry can be driven remotely via virtual-reality
headset, allowing it to brave raging wildfires.
What was his inspiration for The Sentry?
Hyneman told Popular Mechanics that it was
a robot he built for a 7Up commercial.
The robot had tank treads built into it and
could be controlled remotely.
It could also fire bottles of soda into the
air.
Hyneman explained The Sentry to DesignNews
like this:
"Let's say a fire makes it into a neighborhood,
as happens in some cases.
Well normally you'd have to evacuate, but
these [robotic vehicles] are made from surplus
US military armored personnel carriers that
we can repurpose.
We could set up a mobile fire brigade and
stop the fire."
That's not the only project Hyneman's been
working on.
According to New Atlas, he helped design a
prototype for a pair of electric shoes called
Vortrex.
The shoes feature wheels that, again, look
like tank treads.
There's also motors, Bluetooth connectivity,
and infrared sensors for obstacle detection.
Hyneman wants these shoes to help people walk
faster with minimal effort.
The idea for Vortrex grew out of one of Hyneman's
old projects, which involved sticking cordless
drill motors onto rollerblades.
Hyneman created six prototypes before launching
an Indiegogo campaign for the seventh sample,
but it fell a little short of its goal in
2017.
Beyond that, Hyneman still runs M5 Industries,
where most Mythbusters episodes were filmed.
He often uses the space as his own personal
workshop.
And according to DesignNews, he's been known
to dip his toes in new bioengineering tech.
As he tells it,
"Bioengineering excites me the most right
now.
Bioengineering is having an, as yet to be
fully appreciated, profound effect – the
ability to manipulate genes."
If you're hoping for a Savage and Hyneman
reunion, we have some bad news for you.
In 2016, Savage told Business Insider that
he and Hyneman will never work together again...
but on the bright side, they're still both
obsessed with science… and they still love
to blow things up for the greater good.
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
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