Despite shouted requests from the crowd that gathered to hear the hosts of the Discovery Channel's "MythBusters" at the O'Connell Center on Monday night, nothing was blown up.
Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, who said they leave the TV show's set every night with bruises, scratches and scrapes, told the audience tales of their tests and how they love their explosive-filled job because it's always different.
And that's what the crowd wanted to hear about and see - explosives. But Savage and Hyneman only told stories of the more than 2,200 explosions carried out on their show that have left them each with about the same number of stitches.
"The thing about explosives is, it's like different kinds of wine," Hyneman said. "They all have different kinds of qualities."
On their show, Savage and Hyneman use science to test the validity of rumors and urban legends.
About 9,000 people showed up for the free event sponsored by Accent, Student Government's speakers bureau. It was the largest turnout at an Accent event since 2004, Accent Chairman Steven Blank said.
Accent paid the speakers about $40,000 for their appearance.
Blank said a visit from the MythBusters hosts was requested by students surveyed earlier this year.
John Yelton, a UF physics professor, moderated Monday's event, asking Savage and Hyneman questions about their dream jobs, life after the show and where they get ideas to test.
"If we weren't on a TV show we'd be doing this crap anyway," Hyneman said.
Hyneman insists that they're not scientists or engineers, and they're just some curious guys having fun with science.
But in this "technology-obsessed society" they're consulted by major scientific institutions all the time, including NASA and the FBI.
He said his fascination with engineering comes easy because it's in everything people deal with every day.
"Everyone just takes it for granted and it's just the future of the world," Hyneman said. "We're basically playing around with where technology meets man.
Accent's last show of the semester didn't go out with the live "bang" the audience expected, but the special-effects experts showed a video clip that wasn't aired on their show.
In the video, Savage sat in a chair with both legs propped up while holding a lighter in front of his crotch.
The myth? They wanted to see if "lighting the emission" - or bluntly, a fart - was possible.
After waiting during what Hyneman called "performance anxiety" a slow-motion playback showed a second of a red flash.
Myth confirmed.
The crowd laughed and clapped until settling down to ask the hosts a few questions, such as how many times they've been hurt.
But Savage and Hyneman said they lost count of their injuries a long time ago.
One audience member told them they had the "best job," and both agreed.
"We're never bored," Savage said. "We always say we'll run out of myths when people stop believing stupid stuff."
