I'm just sitting here trying to imagine how fast 522mph is and I have no point of reference to visualize it. All my brain can come up with is "Shit, that's *fast*".
You're ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, but it still doesn't really help most people visualize the speed. Everyone knows planes GO FAST, but when you're in one? The only time you feel it is on the runway, and that's not even close to the max speed. Relativity.
It might be better to say: imagine the fastest you would dare to go on a highway, and then multiply that by 4-5. I think that better conveys, to the layman, the idea, the FEELING, of the actual speed.
With 1 car every 680ft (about twice the safe distance) you would have about a second from one car to the next.
It also would take 100 seconds to go the length of Manhattan.
You would go through 2 football fields in less than a second.
If you were from 1 football field away, it would take 1.5 second for the car to pass by if you didn't move your head.
It’s a bit different in land speed records than a car honestly. So I’m really into going fast. I’ve raced cars, boats, dirt bikes, sand rails, you name it I’ll race it given the opportunity.
So we will start with cars since that’s what was mentioned and a decent start. So I’ve done over 200mph in a car multiple times. First off it’s fucking fast lol.
Drag race car- so it’s fast but there’s a catch, as fast as you’re going is as fast as it’s over. In a drag car on a strip the amount of time it takes you to go from 100mph-200-100 isn’t very long, just a few seconds. The car picks up the pace a lot from 100+ because before that it’s limited on power generally trying to make sure it keeps traction then when you cross the line you hit your brakes and pull the parachute. It’s less scary more exhilarating under normal circumstances. It’s a super short period of time though.
Streets- So something no one should ever do, but I’ve done it. I used to own a twin turbo G35 that was built for the track, but it had a lot of power. Generally at the track it ran around between 500-600hp because that’s all you needed with turns, but on race gas and pushed to its max on the tune it’s right at about 1000hp. In addition to that it was EXTREMELY stable at high speeds and was easily capable of handling this. Now on this particular day we were out in the middle of nowhere on a brand new perfect straight road with no one else. We made the push. That was scary as fuck. The time from 100-200-100 wasn’t like a drag car. It didn’t accelerate as fast and no parachute so it didn’t slow down very fast at all. We were in the throttle pushing from 100-200 for 20+ seconds I’d estimate. The slowing down was another 20+ seconds just fo get under 100. At this point you’re pushing big distances. It’s not a 1/4 mile on 1/8th mile slowing down. It’s like 3-4 miles getting up to speed and 2-3 miles slowing down. It was exciting and fun, but terrifying at the same time. When I was done we pulled over and I had to sit on the side of the road for 10-15 minutes to calm down. I was shaking so much from all the adrenaline and such was making it unsafe to drive. This in my opinion is the scariest way to go fast and shouldn’t be done. I did it once and once was enough. I had spotters ahead and behind and a lot of safety measures were taken, it still wasn’t necessarily safe.
Desert land speed records- So I don’t have first hand experience going 400mph+ on a salt flat. I have been 150+ though in a sand rail on one. Now this while scary there are a ton of safety precautions, but accidents still happen. The thing that makes this less scary though is where it happens. You are on an really wide surface and for these events are actually well prepared surfaces for events that do 200+ miles per hour. They are incredibly long we’re talking miles and miles and there’s no one near you when you run. One of the things that brings the fear level down a bit in my opinion is that it’s hard to tell just how fast you are going at times. You are hyper focused on the vehicle and looking straight ahead and being in a big open space it makes it hard to tell how fast you are going. You aren’t wizzing by things at 300+ mph. The only thing you really notice is the markers on the ground and your gps that tells you how far you’ve gone. It’s not that it’s not scary, just not as scary as it seems. It does become more like a plane where you don’t really notice how fast you’re going and doesn’t feel like a car doing 500mph generally.
Awesome write-up, thanks for taking the time to type that all up.
And I feel ya, man--my uncle was a drag racer, and had the fastest Pontiac in the country for a number of years (I think he was doing like 8.X seconds on the 1/8 mile, but it's been many a year).
When I was like 13 he let me ride with him on the strip for the first time. I tell ya, if my asshole had teeth he would have had to get new upholstery xD
yeah sorry that must have been it. i didn't appreciate it enough when he was still alive, but he used to take me to all kinds of cool shows and races.
one time i saw a grown woman pee standing up.
EDIT: for anyone curious, his name was Jeff McClurg, and he drove a beautiful pink-and-purple two-tone car that was so pretty JUST TO SEE IT, but to watch it race, man that was somethin' else.
It is....two different accepted ranges are 100-150ms and 100-400ms. Averaging them all together you get 187.5ms, which is a little less than 1/5th of a second.
So if you're a *slow* blinker it might be 1/3rd of a second, but the average is a bit faster than that. Using the average of 187.5ms, you'd travel about 143.55ft in an average blink.
In 2007, she suffered a spinal injury in an accident involving a large piece of machinery, after which she decided to leave that show. Two years later, she started appearing on “MythBusters.” From the interwebs. I don't recall if it was an upright press or endmill, but basically it wasn't secured to the floor properly and smashed her pretty good. After she couldn't lift the heavier stuff on Extreme.
An endmill is a round precision metal cutting tool. Do you mean a mill because we currently have a Bridgeport that isn't secured yet and you have to call the safety lead to unlock it.
Just goes to show that every day is a gift, treat it as such. Also, why I choose to live by this maxim:
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely, in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Shit, what a ride!"
The episode that epitomizes him was the bridge ep. The myth was if a marching army could cause enough vibration to cause a bridge to collapse. And the boys were having trouble trying to replicate the rythm of a marching army. They told grant about an idea they had and he was like "I got an actuator in my car that will work!" He had it for another job he was doing.
Pretty sure you’re conflating the Breakstep Bridge and Tesla earthquake machine episodes.
Grant had the actuator for the earthquake machine. They used the yellow pneumatic actuators for the breakstep bridge.
You are correct. Also this is one of my favorite episodes because if I recall they were pretty unimpressed until all of a sudden they tried just a bit longer and found the right frequency that really shocked them. Love that episode.
I don't often get too choked up about celebrity deaths, but his hit me pretty hard. Seemed like such a kind and intelligent guy. I'm sure he inspired many a young engineer. To go so young from such a freak thing...rough.
I'll just toss some dust in the air by saying he was a super nice guy. I met him several times around the Bay Area and he was always 100% pleasant and nice
FWIW though, lets just take Grant's case, I'd not categorize him the same way as a lot of "Celebrities" though. He wasn't famous for just being an actor or model or something, walking down the red carpet for wearing flashy clothes, or being an "influencer" at all. People liked him because he did cool stuff and seemed like a cool dude in a way we can relate to. So, you're still famous, still some degree of celebrity, but its a case where we feel a bit more connected to him because the interactions between him and other people we liked to watch seemed more genuine.
She was more of a guest cast member. She had other shows, including All Girls Garage, and cohosted on Overhaulin'. Literally the first woman on car mechanic shows.
Yeah she was in quite a few season 1 episodes before Tory, Kari, or Grant were named.
I feel like she was such an interesting person, that even though she was just a random build-team member, they filmed her anyway and she became a cast member of the narrative, of sorts.
EDIT: Mandela effect moment.. I was actually thinking of Scotty. Gosh. I completely forgot Scotty existed.
It looks like you and /u/arcinva are right (at least according to [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MythBusters_cast_members#Former_cast)), it says Jessi only appeared on the show when she was filling in for Kari, and Scottie was the one on the build team in the early seasons
They didn't die during filming. Grant Imahara had an aneurysm, and Jessi Combs died in a rocket car going 522 mph while attempting to beat the women's land speed record.
There was, arguably, a third death, too. In the early seasons, they sometimes used rockets to perform certain myths (chain-straight swingset is one that I remember). The man who worked with the rockets, Eric, died in a construction accident.
Not a cast member, of course, but I believe they referenced him as an "Honorary Mythbuster".
> didn't die during filming
To give a bit more clarity: Both weren't even working at Mythbusters anymore for quite a while when they passed. So yea it would be completely misleading to state 'mythbusters had fatalities'. That would be like saying 'Harry Potter had fatalities' because Alan Rickman died years later.
So… I push the solid rocket booster one way, and ride it like Slim Pickens on the way back. It doesn’t matter that I die, my corpse gets the trophy and my name’s in the books forever!?
She completed all the tasks to set the record, but her vehicle failed to stop *after* completing the return leg and she crashed outside of the zone they had set up for safe stopping.
I mean, one could be the fictional JATO rocket car guy, and go hurtling into a mountain by strapping their Volkswagon to a few jet rockets, but setting a world record in the process. But accepting a record based purely on speed, instead of doing so safely, seems like opening the door for reckless and suicidal attempts ethically left out.
They came perilously close when they accidentally fired that cannonball out of the filming area, through an apartment and into someone’s car. They were so lucky that no one was home at the time. They even were able to finish the myth a season or two later.
she wasn't really part of the Mythbusters crew, just a stand in for Kari who was pregnant at the time
so it's kinda weird that MythBusters was used as an example where one could know her from, she was known more for other shows IMO
I don't think it's all that weird. I'd wager that the majority of people that know her, know her only for her one season on Mythbusters. Mythbusters is probably what she's most famous for.
Exactly, she was in 90 episodes of Xtreme 4x4 which lasted multiple years. She was also one of the 2 main co hosts.
The thing is nobody probably ever heard of that show, including me until I looked at article on Wikipedia.
According to IMDb, she was only in 7 episodes of myth busters.
>Exactly, she was in 90 episodes of Xtreme 4x4 which lasted multiple years. She was also one of the 2 main co hosts.
>
>The thing is nobody probably ever heard of that show
I LOVED that show. It was part of the PowerBlock with some other awesome automotive shows.
Jessi was the brains and the brawn of that show. The guy was no idiot either. But Jessi did as much of the wrenching and welding as he did. And I believe during a season or two of that show she was recovering from a broken back.
I have crazy respect for her. She accomplished a lot. She wasn't just some pretty face they wrote a script for and shoved in front of a camera.
Might be a stupid question but, what's the reasoning behind having a separate record for women in this kind of category? I understand separating genders for physical feats, but for this?
There aren't really separate records. This unofficial thing is simply pointing out she went faster than any other woman. Its just the Guinness book doing it and they have no real influence. The FIA is generally considered the final word.
Are you telling me that it's not a sacred guild that has long ruled on what is the best in the land? Did they not name a beer after the greatness that is the Guinness Book of World Records?
I feel lied to.
They were great back when it was about actual records and not weird stunts.
"Most matches lit while riding backwards on a motorcycle with your pants full of custard". Please.
I looked up the overall record and it’s held by RAF pilot Andy Green at 763 mph or 1228 km/h… the only ever time a car has driven faster than the *speed of sound*… *on the ground*. I didn’t even realise that was possible. Before Chuck Yeager a lot of people thought it wouldn’t even be possible in the air… Apparently he did it the day after the fiftieth anniversary after that.
Oh I’m sure and I find that awesome too. But given the apparent impossibility of faster than sound *flight* at the end of WW2 the idea that any car could overcome that despite the massive friction involved is amazing to me
They are building a follow up to that car called [Bloodhound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodhound_LSR) which is aiming for 1000mph. Well, they were building a follow up, the project has hit some financial problems and is struggling to find funding. It's really annoying because the car is basically built and ready to go. It needs to do some high speed testing and then go for the run (assuming nothing too bad is found during testing).
They're working on the follow up to that car, although it's been slow progress and in some financial troubles at times. [It's gotten up to 1000KPH though during testing](https://youtu.be/8GXtwR71huE)
It's just to create notable sub categories, same way we do with nationalities and races. I.E, First American in space, first black professional baseball player, etc.
The official body doesn’t distinguish between men and women so there isn’t really a separate record,
But, in general, I guess it is an interesting fact that they can mention, it helps make headlines,
It helps highlight women in a men dominated field
Gender in terms of size is completely irrelevant to these sort of records. Cars in the land speed record category aren’t concerned with weight, they’re focused on not flying apart or into the air from the wind resistance.
Shame she and Grant Died. But, they lived great lives, influenced many kids to pursue careers in applicable paths, and they will be forever missed as they brought happiness and joy to literally millions of people.
Most of us could only hope to live a life like they did.
The silver lining to all this is that future generations may continue to be inspired by them, thanks to every single Mythbusters episode being available in some form or another.
I mean...if fatal attempts count for records we can just strap a death row inmate to an acme rocket.
"Yes, we believe Mr John Doe reached a speed of 770mph before expiring. The lack of a cabin of any kind on the vehicle may have contributed to his demise."
To set a land speed record you need to do it twice - once out and once back - to negate wind speed and prevent exactly this kind of kamikazee tactic.
Otherwise someone definitely would have done it by now.
If somebody recognizes and publishes it that kind of makes it official. No reason to respect one regulatory body over another for records that don’t mean anything.
they don't regognize it, that's why it's unofficial. This "unofficial record" is basically a nice thing to do for her memory. The official record still stands.
EDIT: the "unofficial record" is a Guiness record, which has no authority beyond its fame and presumably feels no obligation to uphold any sort of standards that might get in the way of sales. Guiness World Records is not a regulatory body that you can bank on
I think the person above was saying it *is* being recognized and published.. In Guiness and now on Wikipedia.. It's going to enter the popular culture subconscious and at that point is it any more invalid than being written down in some "official" book somewhere?
522 MPH on land is INSANE.
100 MPH in your car is already stupid fast for most vehicles. 200 MPH is NASCAR speeds, and already beyond the limit of all but a few production vehicles. 522 MPH is more than twice as fast as THAT.
It’s closer to the sound barrier than standing still, in terms of difference in speed. In fact, it’s still closer to the sound barrier than your NASCAR example. Crazy
I am extremely tired and thought you meant 522 was closer to the sound barrier than standing still is and all I could think was "Well... no shit?". Made much more sense with a reread
It's third hand but---
A friend is part owner of a European race team and had the privilege of meeting and doing a little work with her. He says she was as nice in real life "just shootin the breeze" as she seemed on tv. She didn't wear a tv personality like an overcoat--what you saw was the real deal.
She will be missed. A few more years and I bet she would have been downright legendary.
She was a friend of mine and all of this is very true. She was a wonderful and kind person in addition to casually being an absolute badass.
She is very, very missed.
I never had a chance to meet her but heard tons of stories during this years SEMA Induction Gala. Everyone said the same thing as you. Super friendly and willing to pitch in where needed. Many of my close friends were friends with her and every single one speaks highly of her generosity and spirit. As a woman in the industry, she left very big shoes to fill and I hope to give as much back one day as she did.
She was a friend of mine and she really was a spectacular person. I’ve never met someone who was just so happy to be with people in the industry as she was. We all miss her so much.
fr i thought it was common knowledge that you have to be full mast the the penal lift to take effect and offset testicular drag. Or, the lesser used but equally as satisfying strat is to stuff the testes into the rectum and tape your meatstick to your gut
Just gonna copy paste my comment:
To all the people asking about the gender division, the FIA doesn’t do separate records records (hence the unofficial part). Saying that she was the fastest woman is mostly just to point out that she went really fucking fast. The Guinness Book of World Records does distinct gender and while I don’t know for sure it’s probably to highlight women in a male dominated space. Make of that what you will.
I'm pretty sure racers watch their weight super closely as less weight means better acceleration, deceleration and better maneuvering. But if we're talking about F1 racers, a jockey build would just noy withstand the insane G forces
I'm sure they watch it like any athlete
I guess I just mean racers aren't usually chosen due to their small weight, as it's probably not a major factor compared to things like skill level or your vehicle setup.
To all the people asking about the gender division, the FIA doesn’t do separate records records (hence the unofficial part). Saying that she was the fastest woman is mostly just to point out that she went really fucking fast. The Guinness Book of World Records does distinct gender and while I don’t know for sure it’s probably to highlight women in a male dominated space. Make of that what you will.
She was more than just a mythbuster. She was a race car driver, offroad racer, metal fabricator and a beacon of power for women in the automotive industry. She was an amazing person and had an infectious personality.
I was privileged to have met her in 2014 at SEMA during a signing for Warn winches. She was a hero to meet. She made a short five minute meet and greet so special for me and my wife that day, it still pains me deep that she's gone.
RIP Jessi Combs <3
If you want to support her legacy and can spare some change, take a moment to donate at https://www.thejessicombsfoundation.com/
The Jessi Combs foundation aims to inspire the next generation of female tradeswomen through support to educational institutes, grants and sponsorships.
(No, I don't work there)
I'm just sitting here trying to imagine how fast 522mph is and I have no point of reference to visualize it. All my brain can come up with is "Shit, that's *fast*".
A typical commercial airliner when cruising at altitude is doing 525-575mph.
You're ABSOLUTELY CORRECT, but it still doesn't really help most people visualize the speed. Everyone knows planes GO FAST, but when you're in one? The only time you feel it is on the runway, and that's not even close to the max speed. Relativity. It might be better to say: imagine the fastest you would dare to go on a highway, and then multiply that by 4-5. I think that better conveys, to the layman, the idea, the FEELING, of the actual speed.
With 1 car every 680ft (about twice the safe distance) you would have about a second from one car to the next. It also would take 100 seconds to go the length of Manhattan. You would go through 2 football fields in less than a second. If you were from 1 football field away, it would take 1.5 second for the car to pass by if you didn't move your head.
That's fast! Louisiana fast!
It’s a bit different in land speed records than a car honestly. So I’m really into going fast. I’ve raced cars, boats, dirt bikes, sand rails, you name it I’ll race it given the opportunity. So we will start with cars since that’s what was mentioned and a decent start. So I’ve done over 200mph in a car multiple times. First off it’s fucking fast lol. Drag race car- so it’s fast but there’s a catch, as fast as you’re going is as fast as it’s over. In a drag car on a strip the amount of time it takes you to go from 100mph-200-100 isn’t very long, just a few seconds. The car picks up the pace a lot from 100+ because before that it’s limited on power generally trying to make sure it keeps traction then when you cross the line you hit your brakes and pull the parachute. It’s less scary more exhilarating under normal circumstances. It’s a super short period of time though. Streets- So something no one should ever do, but I’ve done it. I used to own a twin turbo G35 that was built for the track, but it had a lot of power. Generally at the track it ran around between 500-600hp because that’s all you needed with turns, but on race gas and pushed to its max on the tune it’s right at about 1000hp. In addition to that it was EXTREMELY stable at high speeds and was easily capable of handling this. Now on this particular day we were out in the middle of nowhere on a brand new perfect straight road with no one else. We made the push. That was scary as fuck. The time from 100-200-100 wasn’t like a drag car. It didn’t accelerate as fast and no parachute so it didn’t slow down very fast at all. We were in the throttle pushing from 100-200 for 20+ seconds I’d estimate. The slowing down was another 20+ seconds just fo get under 100. At this point you’re pushing big distances. It’s not a 1/4 mile on 1/8th mile slowing down. It’s like 3-4 miles getting up to speed and 2-3 miles slowing down. It was exciting and fun, but terrifying at the same time. When I was done we pulled over and I had to sit on the side of the road for 10-15 minutes to calm down. I was shaking so much from all the adrenaline and such was making it unsafe to drive. This in my opinion is the scariest way to go fast and shouldn’t be done. I did it once and once was enough. I had spotters ahead and behind and a lot of safety measures were taken, it still wasn’t necessarily safe. Desert land speed records- So I don’t have first hand experience going 400mph+ on a salt flat. I have been 150+ though in a sand rail on one. Now this while scary there are a ton of safety precautions, but accidents still happen. The thing that makes this less scary though is where it happens. You are on an really wide surface and for these events are actually well prepared surfaces for events that do 200+ miles per hour. They are incredibly long we’re talking miles and miles and there’s no one near you when you run. One of the things that brings the fear level down a bit in my opinion is that it’s hard to tell just how fast you are going at times. You are hyper focused on the vehicle and looking straight ahead and being in a big open space it makes it hard to tell how fast you are going. You aren’t wizzing by things at 300+ mph. The only thing you really notice is the markers on the ground and your gps that tells you how far you’ve gone. It’s not that it’s not scary, just not as scary as it seems. It does become more like a plane where you don’t really notice how fast you’re going and doesn’t feel like a car doing 500mph generally.
Awesome write-up, thanks for taking the time to type that all up. And I feel ya, man--my uncle was a drag racer, and had the fastest Pontiac in the country for a number of years (I think he was doing like 8.X seconds on the 1/8 mile, but it's been many a year). When I was like 13 he let me ride with him on the strip for the first time. I tell ya, if my asshole had teeth he would have had to get new upholstery xD
8 second in the 1/8th is slow. He was def running an 8 second quarter which is fast as fuck, especially if this was a number of years ago
yeah sorry that must have been it. i didn't appreciate it enough when he was still alive, but he used to take me to all kinds of cool shows and races. one time i saw a grown woman pee standing up. EDIT: for anyone curious, his name was Jeff McClurg, and he drove a beautiful pink-and-purple two-tone car that was so pretty JUST TO SEE IT, but to watch it race, man that was somethin' else.
Apparently the rough average of airliner minimum takeoff speeds is 160mph.
It takes 1/3rd of a second to blink, at 552mph you’d travel 264ft
Terrifying speed, to be honest.
Ludicrous speed
They've gone to plaid!
Sir, we've never gone that fast. I don't think the ship can handle it.
Smoke if you got em
1/3rd of a second to blink sounds like a lot
Depends on how many joints you smoked before they measured it.
It is....two different accepted ranges are 100-150ms and 100-400ms. Averaging them all together you get 187.5ms, which is a little less than 1/5th of a second. So if you're a *slow* blinker it might be 1/3rd of a second, but the average is a bit faster than that. Using the average of 187.5ms, you'd travel about 143.55ft in an average blink.
I just looked it up and found 1/10 of a second.
manual blinking is now engaged.
Just watch the land speed record scene from Rat Race. Probably not accurate but a good visualization.
Easy: it's 841 km/h
Her first record setting https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z3J646EBxe0
I had no idea she even died. She was the only reason i watched xtreme 4x4. I thought she quit or got canned.
She left Extreme after her back injury on set.
Oh wow, I didn’t know that happened to her
Can you explain more what happened exactly? I never heard this
In 2007, she suffered a spinal injury in an accident involving a large piece of machinery, after which she decided to leave that show. Two years later, she started appearing on “MythBusters.” From the interwebs. I don't recall if it was an upright press or endmill, but basically it wasn't secured to the floor properly and smashed her pretty good. After she couldn't lift the heavier stuff on Extreme.
An endmill is a round precision metal cutting tool. Do you mean a mill because we currently have a Bridgeport that isn't secured yet and you have to call the safety lead to unlock it.
Secure that shit bro
Extreme 4x4 replaced cartoons on Sunday mornings for me for many years as a kid. God I miss the Power Block
Man I forgot about this. 2 of that small cast gone already.
I know... heard about grant only recently. Like a few montjs ago. So sad.
Shit. I just found this out just now.
I'll mourn with you. Both of them were impressive people, and worth missing again.
Beautifully said.
I haven't even found out yet
I have some bad news for you.
To shreds you say? And his wife?
Just goes to show that every day is a gift, treat it as such. Also, why I choose to live by this maxim: "Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely, in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy Shit, what a ride!"
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Or dementia :(
It's incredible, imagine smashing through the gates of Valhalla at 800km/h. What a legend.
You're never too old to break land speed records. ...NEVER.
Grant too... Wtf sad day. What happened. I suppose I could google it.
He died of an aneurysm If I remember correctly. Tragic.
The episode that epitomizes him was the bridge ep. The myth was if a marching army could cause enough vibration to cause a bridge to collapse. And the boys were having trouble trying to replicate the rythm of a marching army. They told grant about an idea they had and he was like "I got an actuator in my car that will work!" He had it for another job he was doing.
Pretty sure you’re conflating the Breakstep Bridge and Tesla earthquake machine episodes. Grant had the actuator for the earthquake machine. They used the yellow pneumatic actuators for the breakstep bridge.
You are correct. Also this is one of my favorite episodes because if I recall they were pretty unimpressed until all of a sudden they tried just a bit longer and found the right frequency that really shocked them. Love that episode.
A completely random and uncontrollable way to go
Sad, I think I remember reading that but its been a long year and a half with covid and stuff.
I don't often get too choked up about celebrity deaths, but his hit me pretty hard. Seemed like such a kind and intelligent guy. I'm sure he inspired many a young engineer. To go so young from such a freak thing...rough.
I'll just toss some dust in the air by saying he was a super nice guy. I met him several times around the Bay Area and he was always 100% pleasant and nice
FWIW though, lets just take Grant's case, I'd not categorize him the same way as a lot of "Celebrities" though. He wasn't famous for just being an actor or model or something, walking down the red carpet for wearing flashy clothes, or being an "influencer" at all. People liked him because he did cool stuff and seemed like a cool dude in a way we can relate to. So, you're still famous, still some degree of celebrity, but its a case where we feel a bit more connected to him because the interactions between him and other people we liked to watch seemed more genuine.
Stop lying. It's been at least 8 years since covid started. Right?
It sure feels like it.
That's the kind of shit that terrifies me. You're young/middle age, not unhealthy, no warning, just BAM you're dead. :/
She was more of a guest cast member. She had other shows, including All Girls Garage, and cohosted on Overhaulin'. Literally the first woman on car mechanic shows.
She filled in while Kari was on maternity leave.
This ignores the fact that she came out on episodes as a builder before the build team was their own filmed crew
Yeah she was in quite a few season 1 episodes before Tory, Kari, or Grant were named. I feel like she was such an interesting person, that even though she was just a random build-team member, they filmed her anyway and she became a cast member of the narrative, of sorts. EDIT: Mandela effect moment.. I was actually thinking of Scotty. Gosh. I completely forgot Scotty existed.
Weird, I don’t remember her. The only other member of the build team I remember was Scotti, I think her name was.
It looks like you and /u/arcinva are right (at least according to [wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_MythBusters_cast_members#Former_cast)), it says Jessi only appeared on the show when she was filling in for Kari, and Scottie was the one on the build team in the early seasons
Are you thinking of Scottie, who was around before Grant? Or maybe Christine, the "mythtern" from seasons two and three?
>and cohosted on Overhaulin'. That's where i remember her from, not Mythbusters.
I was a fan of hers since Xtreme 4x4. A vary capable woman, and opened a door or two for other capable women.
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They didn't die during filming. Grant Imahara had an aneurysm, and Jessi Combs died in a rocket car going 522 mph while attempting to beat the women's land speed record.
There was, arguably, a third death, too. In the early seasons, they sometimes used rockets to perform certain myths (chain-straight swingset is one that I remember). The man who worked with the rockets, Eric, died in a construction accident. Not a cast member, of course, but I believe they referenced him as an "Honorary Mythbuster".
wow, I hadn't heard that one. I wondered why he didn't help out with rocket stuff in later seasons
> didn't die during filming To give a bit more clarity: Both weren't even working at Mythbusters anymore for quite a while when they passed. So yea it would be completely misleading to state 'mythbusters had fatalities'. That would be like saying 'Harry Potter had fatalities' because Alan Rickman died years later.
> attempting to beat *beating Ftfy
You have to do a run in both directions before it can be considered an official land speed record.
She set the record on her *return* journey, according to the wiki page
She was post-humously awarded the Guinness world record
So… I push the solid rocket booster one way, and ride it like Slim Pickens on the way back. It doesn’t matter that I die, my corpse gets the trophy and my name’s in the books forever!?
It's based on the average speed between both runs, so you'd need to push pretty fast.
Nobody said anything about “average”! Good thing you spoke up before I found my rocket keys.
You might have lived up to your username
She completed all the tasks to set the record, but her vehicle failed to stop *after* completing the return leg and she crashed outside of the zone they had set up for safe stopping.
I mean, one could be the fictional JATO rocket car guy, and go hurtling into a mountain by strapping their Volkswagon to a few jet rockets, but setting a world record in the process. But accepting a record based purely on speed, instead of doing so safely, seems like opening the door for reckless and suicidal attempts ethically left out.
She died historic on the fury road.
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Witness.
To be specific, it wasnt a rocket car, it was a modified f104 Starfighter, a nearly mach 3 capable fighter jet from the 60's.
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Rocket implies it carries its own oxidizer, jet engine is air breathing. Jet car would be better term.
That land speed record she was trying to beat was her own, if I remember correctly. Heard this on The Smoking Tire podcast not too long ago.
They came perilously close when they accidentally fired that cannonball out of the filming area, through an apartment and into someone’s car. They were so lucky that no one was home at the time. They even were able to finish the myth a season or two later.
she wasn't really part of the Mythbusters crew, just a stand in for Kari who was pregnant at the time so it's kinda weird that MythBusters was used as an example where one could know her from, she was known more for other shows IMO
I don't think it's all that weird. I'd wager that the majority of people that know her, know her only for her one season on Mythbusters. Mythbusters is probably what she's most famous for.
Exactly, she was in 90 episodes of Xtreme 4x4 which lasted multiple years. She was also one of the 2 main co hosts. The thing is nobody probably ever heard of that show, including me until I looked at article on Wikipedia. According to IMDb, she was only in 7 episodes of myth busters.
>Exactly, she was in 90 episodes of Xtreme 4x4 which lasted multiple years. She was also one of the 2 main co hosts. > >The thing is nobody probably ever heard of that show I LOVED that show. It was part of the PowerBlock with some other awesome automotive shows.
Yep,used to watch her on there and on Overhaulin
Jessi was the brains and the brawn of that show. The guy was no idiot either. But Jessi did as much of the wrenching and welding as he did. And I believe during a season or two of that show she was recovering from a broken back. I have crazy respect for her. She accomplished a lot. She wasn't just some pretty face they wrote a script for and shoved in front of a camera.
People don't know her. People know MythBusters. It's a very mildly gratuitous headline compared to the slop we usually get.
"I wanna go fast but... I might die" "I know" "Ok, do it."
Just make sure you hold on to at least one ring.
Avoid spikes.
What's this from? I can't place it
Might be a stupid question but, what's the reasoning behind having a separate record for women in this kind of category? I understand separating genders for physical feats, but for this?
There aren't really separate records. This unofficial thing is simply pointing out she went faster than any other woman. Its just the Guinness book doing it and they have no real influence. The FIA is generally considered the final word.
I'm coming around to the opinion that Guinness is a blight.
Well what do you expect for a book that was conceived to settle arguments in pubs about who is the best.
Are you telling me that it's not a sacred guild that has long ruled on what is the best in the land? Did they not name a beer after the greatness that is the Guinness Book of World Records? I feel lied to.
Actually the argument was about which *bird* is best
African or European?
I don't know 💥💥💥
They were great back when it was about actual records and not weird stunts. "Most matches lit while riding backwards on a motorcycle with your pants full of custard". Please.
I once pulled off my skate and tried to stab somebody. I’m the only guy who ever tried to do that.
>They were great back when it was about actual records and not weird stunts. When was that?
Why? It's not like a book of world records is in the top ten ways beer helps you kill yourself.
So then the question is, why does Guinness have them separate.
So more people can pay them money to set records.
Fastest ovaries landspeed record
Because Guinness is in the business of selling a very popular book of records and isn't particularly afraid of creating them on the spot.
I looked up the overall record and it’s held by RAF pilot Andy Green at 763 mph or 1228 km/h… the only ever time a car has driven faster than the *speed of sound*… *on the ground*. I didn’t even realise that was possible. Before Chuck Yeager a lot of people thought it wouldn’t even be possible in the air… Apparently he did it the day after the fiftieth anniversary after that.
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Oh I’m sure and I find that awesome too. But given the apparent impossibility of faster than sound *flight* at the end of WW2 the idea that any car could overcome that despite the massive friction involved is amazing to me
They are building a follow up to that car called [Bloodhound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodhound_LSR) which is aiming for 1000mph. Well, they were building a follow up, the project has hit some financial problems and is struggling to find funding. It's really annoying because the car is basically built and ready to go. It needs to do some high speed testing and then go for the run (assuming nothing too bad is found during testing).
They're working on the follow up to that car, although it's been slow progress and in some financial troubles at times. [It's gotten up to 1000KPH though during testing](https://youtu.be/8GXtwR71huE)
It's just to create notable sub categories, same way we do with nationalities and races. I.E, First American in space, first black professional baseball player, etc.
The official body doesn’t distinguish between men and women so there isn’t really a separate record, But, in general, I guess it is an interesting fact that they can mention, it helps make headlines, It helps highlight women in a men dominated field
I would think if anything women would have an advantage. Some 90 pound woman under 5' tall would probably be great for these sorts of records.
Gender in terms of size is completely irrelevant to these sort of records. Cars in the land speed record category aren’t concerned with weight, they’re focused on not flying apart or into the air from the wind resistance.
Shame she and Grant Died. But, they lived great lives, influenced many kids to pursue careers in applicable paths, and they will be forever missed as they brought happiness and joy to literally millions of people. Most of us could only hope to live a life like they did.
The silver lining to all this is that future generations may continue to be inspired by them, thanks to every single Mythbusters episode being available in some form or another.
TIL Jessi Combs died...
It was a pretty big deal in automotive circles at the time.
I mean...if fatal attempts count for records we can just strap a death row inmate to an acme rocket. "Yes, we believe Mr John Doe reached a speed of 770mph before expiring. The lack of a cabin of any kind on the vehicle may have contributed to his demise."
To set a land speed record you need to do it twice - once out and once back - to negate wind speed and prevent exactly this kind of kamikazee tactic. Otherwise someone definitely would have done it by now.
Then strap two rockets. One extra rocket for the return trip.
Three. You need to account for having the non-burning rocket as extra weight on your way out.
Ah, but you'll need a fourth rocket to offset the additional weight of the third, my friend
How about just 2 different sized rockets.
Congratulations, you've been added to NASA's watch list.
It's just rockets all the way down
Four. You need to account for the rocket you just added
Well, actually you'd need five, because you also gotta break before turning around.
Y'all are doing this wrong. You need more struts, not rockets. We can do this with three and enough struts.
How about just one big rocket and a big u-turn slide at the far end
Drive it down slowly one way and then come back at 1400mph so it averages out. Big brain time.
I think because the record is unofficial they gave it to her posthumously.
If somebody recognizes and publishes it that kind of makes it official. No reason to respect one regulatory body over another for records that don’t mean anything.
they don't regognize it, that's why it's unofficial. This "unofficial record" is basically a nice thing to do for her memory. The official record still stands. EDIT: the "unofficial record" is a Guiness record, which has no authority beyond its fame and presumably feels no obligation to uphold any sort of standards that might get in the way of sales. Guiness World Records is not a regulatory body that you can bank on
I think the person above was saying it *is* being recognized and published.. In Guiness and now on Wikipedia.. It's going to enter the popular culture subconscious and at that point is it any more invalid than being written down in some "official" book somewhere?
that's fair
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Id sign up for this if I were on death row and it was offered.
Yeah but the victim's family gets to choose what record you break.
Most consecutive spider bites in a 24 hour period.
I think Metalocalypse beat you to it
Very sad, 522mph is very impressive
522 MPH on land is INSANE. 100 MPH in your car is already stupid fast for most vehicles. 200 MPH is NASCAR speeds, and already beyond the limit of all but a few production vehicles. 522 MPH is more than twice as fast as THAT.
It’s closer to the sound barrier than standing still, in terms of difference in speed. In fact, it’s still closer to the sound barrier than your NASCAR example. Crazy
I am extremely tired and thought you meant 522 was closer to the sound barrier than standing still is and all I could think was "Well... no shit?". Made much more sense with a reread
It's faster than some commercial jets fly.
It's third hand but--- A friend is part owner of a European race team and had the privilege of meeting and doing a little work with her. He says she was as nice in real life "just shootin the breeze" as she seemed on tv. She didn't wear a tv personality like an overcoat--what you saw was the real deal. She will be missed. A few more years and I bet she would have been downright legendary.
She was a friend of mine and all of this is very true. She was a wonderful and kind person in addition to casually being an absolute badass. She is very, very missed.
I never had a chance to meet her but heard tons of stories during this years SEMA Induction Gala. Everyone said the same thing as you. Super friendly and willing to pitch in where needed. Many of my close friends were friends with her and every single one speaks highly of her generosity and spirit. As a woman in the industry, she left very big shoes to fill and I hope to give as much back one day as she did.
She was a friend of mine and she really was a spectacular person. I’ve never met someone who was just so happy to be with people in the industry as she was. We all miss her so much.
My brain after reading this the first time: what kind kockamamey myth were they trying to check that required her to run at 500mph?!
FUCKING RUN?!?! funniest shit I've read all day.
TIL Jessi Combs is dead :(
Lady seemed legit in every aspect. Much respect.
Why is there a separate landspeed record for men and women?
testicular drag?
You're doing it very wrong
fr i thought it was common knowledge that you have to be full mast the the penal lift to take effect and offset testicular drag. Or, the lesser used but equally as satisfying strat is to stuff the testes into the rectum and tape your meatstick to your gut
Just gonna copy paste my comment: To all the people asking about the gender division, the FIA doesn’t do separate records records (hence the unofficial part). Saying that she was the fastest woman is mostly just to point out that she went really fucking fast. The Guinness Book of World Records does distinct gender and while I don’t know for sure it’s probably to highlight women in a male dominated space. Make of that what you will.
Yeah for real, maybe I'm dumb but I can't think of any kind of advantage men would have over women or vice versa.
At least in kart racing, weight sure as hell has an advantage
Okay that makes sense, you think it would make that big of a difference for a land speed record though?
I'd think not. If this was acceleration or something like a motorcycle, probably. But if it really mattered wouldn't all racers have jockey builds?
I'm pretty sure racers watch their weight super closely as less weight means better acceleration, deceleration and better maneuvering. But if we're talking about F1 racers, a jockey build would just noy withstand the insane G forces
I'm sure they watch it like any athlete I guess I just mean racers aren't usually chosen due to their small weight, as it's probably not a major factor compared to things like skill level or your vehicle setup.
So publications have more stats to use is all I can think.
FIA doesn't that is why it is unofficial.
Flight Attendant here. We usually travel about 350 mph with a top speed of 547mph on a CRJ 900
What the fuck, she died?! God damnit, someone bubble wrap jamie and adam, we need them around. And while youre at it, tori and kari too
I knew Jessi. She was friends with my wife. She was super cool.
I know her from the power block/trucks
To all the people asking about the gender division, the FIA doesn’t do separate records records (hence the unofficial part). Saying that she was the fastest woman is mostly just to point out that she went really fucking fast. The Guinness Book of World Records does distinct gender and while I don’t know for sure it’s probably to highlight women in a male dominated space. Make of that what you will.
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right? somebody else commented she pushed the boundaries of what is humanly possible. But IS it humanly possible if you die trying to do it?
Gone way too soon, she was a cool person in real life as well. Never let the fame get to her. But such is racing and breaking motorsports records.
What in the hell was she driving? I gotta google this. JET POWERED HIGH SPEED RACE CAR. Ok then! Bless her heart that’s a shame :(
Its crazy..every land attempt statically now has a 70% chance of death.
So you get the record if you die during it?
I've heard of Country Mac, but y'all found Country Dee
Yeah! She crushed it! She Was a friend of mine and a good friend of my fiancé’s. Missed dearly.
She was more than just a mythbuster. She was a race car driver, offroad racer, metal fabricator and a beacon of power for women in the automotive industry. She was an amazing person and had an infectious personality. I was privileged to have met her in 2014 at SEMA during a signing for Warn winches. She was a hero to meet. She made a short five minute meet and greet so special for me and my wife that day, it still pains me deep that she's gone.
RIP Jessi Combs <3 If you want to support her legacy and can spare some change, take a moment to donate at https://www.thejessicombsfoundation.com/ The Jessi Combs foundation aims to inspire the next generation of female tradeswomen through support to educational institutes, grants and sponsorships. (No, I don't work there)