The Discovery Channel loves swimming and diving! Because all my attention was on Mythbusters “Swimming in Syrup” with Nathan Adrian, I completely missed Time Warp “Splashes, Guns and Bikes” which featured videos of platform and springboard diving with high speed cameras – resulting in some incredible slow motion videos. It’s a good thing I caught the rerun! American Idol results and two aquatic themed science shows all presented in prime time – I’m only one man!

But first, did you see the spectacle Mythbusters Adam and Jamie made on tonight’s show? They didn’t swim in a pool, rather they dug two 75 foot long trenches in the desert and filled them with water. The syrup was actually a mixture of guar similar to the experiment I talked about on Tuesday. And if you thought I cringed when they got in a hot tub wearing a full body Speedo LZR Racer, it was nothing compared to my reaction when I saw that suit covered in snotty chemical thickner. Nonetheless, the myth was deemed “Plausible” considering unexplained variables in the results. Look for clips to surface on the Mythbusters YouTube Channel.

Nathan Adrian was a good sport for swimming in goop 500x thicker than water, but his results were basically thrown out for inconsistencies because the Mythbusters decided his technique changed too much between the syrup and regular water. Nathan swam the 75 foot fresh water pool in 9.81 seconds, and managed his way through the syrup in 10.87 seconds. However, I don’t know if I would trust the precision of the the desert-trench-pool timing system.

Also on the Discovery Channel tonight, Time Warp pointed their ultra high speed cameras at divers Kim Popp, Brian Earley, Kent Demond, and Derek Starks to capture dives and entries from both the 3m springboard and 10m platform. The explaination of the physics, and a very brief history of diving, were pretty much dead on. As a diver, I’m glad they got it right.

You can watch all of the diving videos online on their website: http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/time-warp/ or just click on the links below to watch the best ones (how easy is that!)

> Watch “Optimal Dive” – A diver relies on both kinetic and potential energy.
> Watch “Diving Board” – The diving board plays a big role in how high a diver’s body can move.
> Watch “Deep Dive” – A dive doesn’t end the moment a diver hits the water.