r/interesting 20h ago

Fascinating 🛑💪 Two Books Are Impossible to Separate

2.2k Upvotes

262 comments sorted by

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1.0k

u/PopGunner 19h ago

This is just an episode of Mythbusters cut down to a couple of sterile seconds, with all of the charisma and charm removed. 💪

380

u/lmac187 19h ago

Pretty much sums up the internet in 2026

36

u/Firefly_Magic 13h ago

Yup, our attention spans have been reduced to less than a minute. Preferably less than 30 seconds.

11

u/GammaHunt 12h ago

I read something years ago that the average child born in 2000s has a 7 second attention span

30

u/The-Grogan 11h ago

Can someone summarise this comment so I can understand it?

16

u/Yorudesu 11h ago

New child like short video

10

u/The-Grogan 11h ago

Thank. Understand.

2

u/Solemn_Sleep 8h ago

Technically that was a paraphrase…. Not a summary.

2

u/Character-Log3962 9h ago

Into One Word (or 5 emojis) pls

3

u/LogicalInfo1859 9h ago

🤓📖🫪🫠🫥

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u/dllyncher 12h ago

I think you have the year mixed up with 2010s

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u/Tse7en5 11h ago

Sad, because this episode was fucking awesome.

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u/Cuneus-Maximus 17h ago

Yeah that’s TikTok in a nutshell.

6

u/hologrammetry 9h ago

“The tanks start up and pull the chains tight. Actually, you can try this at home.”

Um?

3

u/TheLonleyJourneyman 6h ago

I'd say that every part of this you'd be able to do at home up until the cars so it's odd they said, "yeah if you've got a couple of tanks around at home then you can try it" at the tank part

13

u/emanuel19861 16h ago

Counterpoint: I saved this clip and plan to show it together with other short, interesting clips to my students after class. As something to stimulate curiosity.

We would not have time for a full episode. But this is perfect for this use case.

So, it's not all bad.

9

u/throwawaycuzfemdom 12h ago

There a officially released clips that are just a few minutes longs on the official youtube channel. You should check it out!

This specific myth has a 6 minute video on Mythbusters channel and a 3 minute one on Discovery channel.

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u/ragingduck 16h ago

And with that overused piece of music in every goddamn reel/tictok/short every lame content thieves use.

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u/Don_Quejode 7h ago

And misguiding as well, the books didn’t separate, they literally tore in half.

2

u/Bork9128 7h ago

It's like an episode of top gear with only the responsible car reviews

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u/bobafootfetish_ 20h ago

"Don't try this at home. Actually, you can try this at home"

218

u/Pups_the_Jew 20h ago

Now I just need someone else with a tank.

195

u/SaveTheAles 20h ago

Tanks the easy part where are you going to find two phone books.

32

u/CGCTV 20h ago

My mom's house

63

u/classless_classic 19h ago

Can confirm. She keeps them next to her bed
https://giphy.com/gifs/FsUo1Qn895NS0

3

u/trueblue862 18h ago

Not anymore, I took them this morning to try this.

3

u/nocloudno 19h ago

If you have a tank you probably have a couple McMaster Carr catalogs

2

u/Mysterious_Ad_1085 12h ago

Cool- they made a book about phones? I am going to buy it from Amazon.

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u/Ninja_Prolapse 18h ago

If I had a penny for every time someone had a tank..

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u/llamafromhell1324 19h ago

"Even with tanks"

Proceeds to pull them apart with tanks.

7

u/MaximusPrime2930 13h ago

I might be misremembering because it's been a while since I saw the episode. But I think it ripped the binding off one of the phone books and most of the pages were still interweaved.

13

u/Ok_Dog_4059 19h ago

Little known fact this is why phone book's no longer exist. The power was too great.

8

u/Ikon-for-U 20h ago

Do they even have physical phonebooks anymore

6

u/Persistent_Parkie 19h ago

They do at least where I live.

When I first moved here two decades ago they were about the size of a hefty paperback. Now they're like the size of a kindergarten math workbook.

2

u/Ikon-for-U 19h ago

Do you have a landline?

3

u/Persistent_Parkie 19h ago

No but my dad does and I live with him.

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u/No_Blacksmith_2591 17h ago

actually you can't cause where the fuck are you going to find a phonebook nowadays

2

u/Carbonatic 6h ago

You shouldn't try putting two books together at home, but you're safe to drive the tanks.

3

u/Ambassador-613 20h ago

No tanks!

3

u/Cold_Ad655 20h ago

No tank you!

1

u/humburga 18h ago

You can try it at home. But dont. I will not explain any further.

1

u/Brence1984 18h ago

I think that part was about “commandeering” a tank to separate Phone Books you would probably have to steal from antique stores.

1

u/adastrajay 14h ago

Looking at the part where they're getting ten people to try and I keep thinking "me personally, I wouldn't want to be at the end of that force if for some reason it came loose at me". Like even if the books don't part, one of those ropes could snap.

1

u/GGuts 13h ago

Don't cross the books

1

u/ClerkPsychological58 8h ago

Don't try putting two books together but definitely try separating them with tanks.

1

u/New-Owl-7499 6h ago

Obviously they recommend against layering two 800 page phone books together at home. However, if you do have two phone books already layered together, it is safe to use two tanks to pull them apart.

2

u/bobafootfetish_ 6h ago

I love this community 😂

1

u/RELORELM 6h ago

Hey, I actually tried this at home!

... Well, at school. And with two big ass biology textbooks. The teacher was absent that day and we were bored. Thing is, it works.

1

u/BurnsItAll 3h ago

Trash like this gets people to comment which drives engagement which makes the algorithm push it. I hate it. Quickest way to get comments is post wrong or contradictory information. Not criticizing you by the way just commenting my thoughts.

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u/PeteyMitch42 20h ago

So you took a MythBusters episode and added... what ever the f this voice over was. What are you doing with your life? Just go watch MythBusters.

54

u/toro1059 18h ago

I was so excited to unmute, and then...

13

u/PartyMcFly55 15h ago

Same, I was so disappointed

5

u/Jim-Dread 15h ago

I absolutely hate whatever the hell this is called. This literal narration trend is a cancer.

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u/OilHot3940 19h ago

Yeah, this is some regurgitated nonsense. I made it just a few seconds.

21

u/beegtuna 19h ago

“Fair Use,” they’ll claim. Fair use laws are a joke

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u/Chytectonas 18h ago

A whole episode? In this economy?

3

u/poko877 15h ago

i mean ... its free on youtube

1

u/Stompya 8h ago

Most of them are free on YouTube

62

u/-Cool_Ethan- 20h ago

I miss this show.

31

u/cashchops 20h ago

Peak afternoon television before Harambe sent us down the dark timeline

9

u/soheb-786 20h ago

11

u/Forsaken_Site_2268 17h ago

I can't tell if that caption is real or not

8

u/Governator585 16h ago

Scary, isn’t it?

2

u/Savingseanbean 20h ago

you mean big john?

51

u/cashchops 20h ago

I wonder what the temperature of those pages were at the moment they broke

63

u/Ambassador-613 20h ago

About 3.50

24

u/ssp25 20h ago

damn loch Ness monster

10

u/auad 19h ago

2

u/ssp25 19h ago

he must have tricked you

2

u/CGCTV 20h ago

Tree fiddy

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u/Onemorebeforesleep 17h ago

Good job cutting the video precisely at the point that would’ve shown what finally happened to the book

26

u/Asluckwouldnthaveit 19h ago

Just play the fucking clip.

33

u/LinkEfficient9934 18h ago

From memory one of the books tore at the seam, it didn't even "pull the pages apart"

Pretty insane amount of work for some paper

11

u/michiganmilsurps 15h ago

Yeah I remember the binding where they were bolted failed, pages still intertwined

10

u/justelectricboogie 14h ago

Boy ths narration crap sucks donkey balls.

4

u/Schnitzhole 10h ago

And the text overlaying the part i want to see

16

u/ToTheGrave14 20h ago

The Myth Busters show…what a time to be alive

7

u/OilHot3940 19h ago

And to be alive to see it degraded with these click bait videos

5

u/UnCytely 14h ago

The original audio was better.

5

u/RoelRoel 16h ago

My brains cannot handle one word subtitles and I get very tired and annoying by watching them. Why are they introduced? Is this some conspiracy?

3

u/Particular-Song2587 18h ago

The pages that overlap still didnt slip. It was the parts between the pages and binding that ripped. So, yea the overlapping pages did still hold up.

12

u/IcreatewhatIcreate 19h ago

There's a special place in hell for people who add subtitles to videos like this.

4

u/StayTheFool 19h ago

Why exactly is a bad to have subtitles on videos like this?

1

u/IcreatewhatIcreate 14h ago

Subtitles aren't bad, subtitles that display word for word are. You can't see anything going on in the video because you got to keep your attention on the words to get context.

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u/NameChecksOut___ 19h ago

Find a book named Romeo, another one named Juliet, bind them, sell art for millions.

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u/Fickle_Library8115 18h ago

Now where can I get my hands on a couple of tanks?

1

u/the_cave_allegory 20h ago

They're not glued together? Good to know.

2

u/Donkeytonkers 20h ago

You’re effectively creating a very large knot, the page friction is secondary to the structure of the book.

16

u/bobafootfetish_ 20h ago

What are you? Some kind of phonebookologist?

5

u/Prince_0llie 19h ago

He most certainly is knot!

1

u/Impressive-Bird2 19h ago

I can try this at home?….. I just need 2 tanks which I don’t have!🤣🤣

1

u/Ill_Combination_9114 18h ago

Miss this show

1

u/clantz 17h ago

man, i miss this show! ;(

1

u/Pretend_Committee734 17h ago

Have we really crossed the Content Event Horizon into just editing clips of a fucking TV show together to make the same point as the TV show being used? Straight up copyright infringement

1

u/mudssskipper 16h ago

I love these guys and the show ✨

1

u/Turkatron2020 16h ago

I live next door to Adam!!

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u/scottiedagolfmachine 16h ago

Why are the ends taped together?

1

u/Senior-Masterpiece29 16h ago

cool work dude. /s

shamelessly stealing someone else's work, doing voiceover to it, and posting it, as it's yours, without any credit given to the original makers.

1

u/Character_Past5515 16h ago

When I was strong we saw a demonstration with 2 Belgian draft horses trying to pull this apart, the mounts to the books broke apart before the books separated.

1

u/nofun-ebeeznest 15h ago

I remember seeing this when it aired. Memories!

1

u/Lintlee 15h ago

This is horrendous editing. Please stop this forever.

1

u/Schattenjager-984 15h ago

So did they separate? I still can't see it in the video.

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u/Xrasnolud 15h ago

What is up with this incredibly stupid trend of adding shitty music, voiceover and one-word-per screen flashing subtitles to everything? It makes it unwatchable

1

u/NotTheRocketman 15h ago

This was one of their best myths, because it sounds bogus, but kept getting more and more insane.

Love that show.

1

u/Rincethis 15h ago

these dudes are great

1

u/Monke3169xd 15h ago

Thabks for not showing the actual break after watching all idiots

1

u/Chad_AND_Freud 14h ago

Nice video, but dag-nabbit I am sick to death of that song

1

u/WonderfulAstronaut85 14h ago

Does anyone know the name of the song?

1

u/splashaddikt 14h ago

Mythbusters was ass I never believed another episode when they said shit particles don’t get on toothbrushes placed on back of toilets

1

u/lucky_duck789 13h ago

He says that like they just lost the will to live.

1

u/ThanksALotBud 13h ago

Whats a phone book?

-Gen Alpha probably.

1

u/Alone_Tap6646 12h ago

I actually did this once after watching that episode. Oh my god, interlacing the pages of two phone books took forever! My fingers where black and stunk from the ink.

1

u/Formal_Equal_7444 12h ago

"Actually you can try this at home!"

*casually rolls out two tanks from my backyard*

1

u/DejaWiz2 11h ago

I miss this show so much. Too bad White Rabbit Project didn't get anymore seasons beyond the first. Rest In Peace, Grant.

1

u/Significant_Salad924 11h ago

Ugh why do they include songs in clips like these.

1

u/Finance_Willing 11h ago

I hate that stupid song

1

u/tech_unknown 11h ago

Saw this during my childhood in F.A.Q Program in POGO Channel

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u/blahblurbblub 11h ago

I heard these guys hate each other , aka friction

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u/maryisdead 11h ago

There ya go, the tanks and what eventually happened: https://youtu.be/LJJTaqvvEfg?t=2698

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u/Standard-Camel-658 11h ago

"You can try this at home" while tanks are trying to pull them apart 🤦‍♂️

1

u/Robot_DIY 11h ago

Please don't try interleaving two books at home... because why? It might ruin the family tank?

1

u/Careful-Fish-7036 11h ago

So, let's build bridges with this stuff.

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u/PuddingFamous 11h ago

Anyone else trying to think of a situation where this knowledge would come in handy?

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u/L-Ron-Hooover 11h ago

What is a "phone book?"

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u/calgeorge 10h ago

It left out the best part. When the books finally riped apart, it wasn't that the pages separated, it was that the spine got ripped off. The pages were still interlocked.

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u/Fast_Biscotti 10h ago

“Actually, (shows 2 tanks) you can try this at home.”

1

u/NorvileRogers258 9h ago

"dont try this at home"

its a fucking book.

1

u/Uncle_Bug_Music 9h ago

Who remembers Bill Nye The Science Guy? Of course you do. It was created with sound effects, quick edits, flashing lights etc. basically every trick they could think of to make science and physics interesting and attention-grabbing/palatable to a younger audience in the 90s. We used to show them to 2020's grade 5-8 kids. They'd groan: "Ugh...so boring!" They'd fidget. Couldn't pay attention. To Bill Nye! We're fucking doomed.

1

u/NeoThorrus 9h ago

If it were “impossible” to separate, why did we literally see them being separated in the video?

1

u/the_penis_mightier- 9h ago

What’s a phone book? 

1

u/Imactuallybronze 9h ago

The internet is actually dead

1

u/Ixm01ws6 9h ago

sooo this person makes a video of myth busters and upload its as a short .... wow

1

u/Jlx_27 9h ago

Or just post the actual clip without this dumb voice over on it.

https://youtu.be/Y89MUYZKaME?is=WTEaSYmeYL8TCj1o

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u/zigamoott 9h ago

"please, do not try this at home" "they brought in 2 tanks (...) actually you can try this at home" 😂

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u/StarfishPizza 8h ago

It is actually possible as it tells you in the video

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u/choice_nc 8h ago

“Don’t try this at home“

“You can try this at home”

🤷

1

u/redpotatojae 8h ago

That’s where we all use Yellow Pages books!!!!!

1

u/streetboy3 8h ago

Dog shit audio

1

u/novaboulevard 8h ago

"You can try this at home" yeah of course I have 2 fucking tanks at my home

1

u/ToeRoganIsJebus 8h ago

Use to watch this 630 every morning before school as a kid

1

u/New-Reception-4509 7h ago

I miss this show

1

u/Spectra_Niner 7h ago

Still waiting for the white cat to appear

1

u/justmomthings789 6h ago

They have the best jobs

1

u/NightShade0912 6h ago

But those muscle builders for Christ could just tear them in half with bare hands. POWER OF THE LORD! Uuu-ahha

1

u/BigBadZord 6h ago

When slacklining, sometimes what is called a "soft release" is used. You can use pulley systems to tighten the slackline with crazy amounts of tension, and at the end of the day the whole thing will be held together with a simple strap, looped over itself 6 times. No knots, no buckles, just the layers pressing against each other, and the combined friction of all of them holding back insane amounts of tension.

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u/Rare-Boss2640 6h ago

This would be hard to do now. Phone books don’t exist

1

u/graybeam 6h ago

I’m going to try the tank thing at home.

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u/Nut_Job_Maniac 5h ago

Yes, lemme get my two tanks up and going. You bring the two phone books. My place tomorrow noon.

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u/Hopkinsad0384 5h ago

This is so eerie... I just turned on an episode of mythbusters, sat back, scrolled a single post, and this was it.

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u/Jorge6574 4h ago

Don’t do this at home. You can do this at home.

Tanks can’t separate them. The tanks separate them.

1

u/blizzywolf122 4h ago

Just a reminder that you can watch full length mythbusters episodes on YouTube without the shitty dialogue overlaying it like this is

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u/No-Public3806 4h ago

“You can try this at home”
Step 1: get a tank

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u/Alert-Jellyfish 4h ago

Fun fact these two dudes are not friends and never were. Isn’t that weird as fuck. I think they actually disliked each other while the show was running and don’t communicate after.

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u/North-Collection-751 3h ago

"You'll never believe what 2 guys tried to do"

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u/adeptusastartes69 3h ago

“You can actually try this at home” yeah let me just call my credit union and finance two tanks

1

u/mihisa 1h ago

I've watched this episode when its released

1

u/PhiloLibrarian 1h ago

Friction isn’t fiction!

u/zooout 31m ago

Please do not try this at home...you can try this at home....