The Instant Tempura Cannon
A trending video going around the internet shows two Japanese women cooking tempura while launching it through the air. The mythbusters saw this and decided to reenact it to check if it is possible to replicate it in real life. They did this by recreating the machine that was used in the Japanese commercial to check the plausibility of it actually being able to make tempura in 3 seconds.
The goal of the speakers was to educate and entertain the audience who were watching by reenacting and proving if it was indeed possible to cook tempura while in midair for 3 seconds. The primary message of the speakers of the show “Mythbusters” is to prove if you can indeed cook tempura by launching it through the air. The purpose of this show is to prove or debunk theories and scenarios to see if the experiment would indeed succeed or fail. The show “Mythbusters” is widely renowned for testing and proving experiments to see if it was possible for it to work in real life. People from all over the world, in many different countries, of varying ages, tune in just to watch their show. The objective was undeniably achieved as they were able to debunk the commercial by replicating the machine that was used in the Japanese commercial.
The episode was shot in Mare Island Ex-Navy Base Building 271. The show appeals to a variety of people who make use of mass media such as the internet, television, and many more. The demographic isn’t restricted by age, location, gender, interest, etc. The show appeals to everyone who has an interest in watching experiments while having a laugh. It was a very well-known show meaning it had a large number of fans. So much that the show spanned for 16 seasons for thirteen years and gained a reboot since its cancellation in 2016.
The episode opened with a comedic scene which showed Jamie and Adam having a food fight which ended with Jamie shooting Adam in the face with a shrimp that was propelled by a hand-held cannon. This basically showed that the whole episode was going to be an entertaining episode about food myths. The opening is quite memorable as it shows Adam Savage being shot in the face with a shrimp. After the opening played, they then both explained the experiments in a comedic and entertaining way while still retaining its educational value. This did a great job at hooking the attention of the audience as it gained quite some popularity among viewers, even letting it get a few articles online about the episode. The show veritably focused in finding out the feasibility of the tempura canon by authentically replicating the machine in the video with accurate measurements. They had to test the machine multiple times, with each try having a slight adjustment from the previous. They had to keep tweaking the machine to get a similar result to the Japanese commercial. They kept adjusting the pressure of the gun, the temperature of the heat, and continuously measured the temperature of the shrimp after each run. The processes of the experiment were easy to follow as they explained it well without making it seem complicated. The transitions between each process in the experiment were smooth and uncomplicated, with each process being explained simply while it took place.
The conclusion was indeed concise as the reason as to why the experiment failed was explained by the hosts. They explained how more time was needed for the ingredients to settle and for the shrimp to fully heat up. It was rather memorable as they ended it off with one final try by shooting a shrimp that was coated in the ingredients beforehand through three 4 feet long sword forges to give the shrimp a longer time to heat up with the use of a hotter heat source. The shrimp successfully reached the target and landed on the plate but remained uncooked with a temperature of around 66 degrees Celsius or room temperature.
Both speakers enthusiastically delivered the content for they give off a vibe that they were excited to see the experiment come to fruition. The episode was comedic and entertaining while retaining its educational aspect. The message was neither you-and-we focused nor I-and-me focused as the whole episode was focused on the experiments themselves rather than any specific individual or group of people.
As the speakers were acting enthusiastic to demonstrate the experiment, humor was used to keep the episode entertaining to prevent the audience from feeling bored. The humor used was harmless and related to the topic so it would be strange for someone to feel offended by the jokes mentioned unless they were a shrimp. The transitions between the jokes and explanations were so smooth that they fit well together and didn’t feel out of place. Most, if not all, of the humor used were about the experiment which means that it was related and relevant to the topic and the experiment.
The visual aids used were sections of the commercial that were being used as a reference, slow motion footage to show the travel path of the shrimp, and the temperatures. They were all showed in time with the speakers as they were mentioned. An example of this would be when they increased the number of sword forges that they were using. The temperature of the first sword forge used can be seen increasing as they showed the other two sword forges that they were going to add to the experiment. The short clips appearing on time gave off a feeling of satisfaction while increasing the amount of interest in the explanations. This made it easy and simple to understand the explanations as the short clips were easy to understand. Over usage of visual aids can make things complicated to understand, so the amount of visual aids that were used in the episode is satisfactory.
Every time the speakers address their explanation for every stage that they executed, self-confidence and composure are evident in their posture for they actually know and understand what it is they are saying. Their gestures are also applied naturally and sharply that helps in complementing and emphasizing their statements. There were no unnecessary mannerisms shown throughout the entire episode, everything seemed natural and fit perfectly.
The language that the hosts used was appropriate for all audiences. They didn’t make use of ant vulgar words nor did they treat the audience as idiots, they were casual but polite and enjoyed themselves. The explanations weren’t short but it was clear and easy to understand, it was clear to the viewers that the hosts knew and understood what they were talking about. Considering the fact that this is a science show, technical jargon was used. However, the hosts eventually explained to the viewers what it meant which prevented the viewers from feeling confused from the use of the technical jargon. The hosts used rhetorical devices such as onomatopoeia, humor, and expeditio. Onomatopoeia can be observed while the experiment is being performed, humor can be seen on the way the presented their experiment and expeditio can be seen when they show us what other options they can do and still ended up in the same conclusion especially in the shrimp experiment where they tested multiple setups and ended up in the same result.
To summarize everything, the hosts are a good fit for this show as they know and fully understand the things that they are saying. Explanations were long but clear and easy to understand which prevented the audience from getting confused. The hosts focused on the objective and did what they can to prove the possibility of the myth being probable. The episode itself was comedic and entertaining but didn’t lose its educational value. Overall, the speakers did a good job and the show is fun to watch while being easy to understand and educational. The last thing to say about the episode is that it is impossible to cook tempura in midair by launching, preparing, and cooking it in midair.
