truTV: Not Reality. Actuality.

Boulder Drop

In this classic, ongoing cartoon gag, the Coyote attempts to drop a heavy boulder on the Road Runner but fails miserably.

Our team of engineers locates several giant boulders in the desert and trucks them up a winding dirt road to the top of a cliff. There, they use a heavy crane to hoist each boulder and swing it out over a sheer, 200-foot drop. First, they attempt to drop the boulder onto a stationary target. Then, the hard part: a dummy Road Runner is sent speeding along a track at the base of the cliff. Can the team get the timing just right to drop a boulder directly onto the moving Road Runner?

Pendulum Spear

Hanging from a rope, Wile E. Coyote attempts to swing down on the Road Runner with a spear. The results are disastrous.

Our team suspends a cable from a high wire stretched between two 80-foot towers. The launching point for the "human pendulum" is a steel basket atop the 80-foot arm of a crane. To even consider attempting such a stunt, you’d have to be absolutely fearless...insane...or both. That’s the perfect cue for our dauntless stunt man, Sean Graham! Even after several tests with weights and dummies, the danger level is palpable as Sean hooks himself to the end of the cable, grabs his spear, and dives off the high platform. Besides surviving the leap, Sean’s challenge is to intersect with the Road Runner, which is speeding along the ground.

Model Plane With Bomb

The Coyote attempts to launch a model plane equipped with a grenade. Unfortunately for him, the plane falls apart and the Coyote is the one who gets blown up.

Our engineers hide a powerful explosive in a pile of "bird seed" next to a Road Runner target. Then, from a nearby hill, they fly a computer-controlled plane equipped with an authentic-looking grenade and live triggering device. Once the plane hits the bird seed...kaboom!

Rocket Skates

The Coyote chases the Road Runner while wearing rocket-propelled sneakers.

Student engineers face their biggest challenge as they attempt to turn this space-age fantasy into reality. They must call upon everything they know about physics, chemistry and mechanical engineering to design, create and test this invention. Starting with a simple pair of roller skates, they test out bigger and bigger rockets in order to propel the weight of a man so he can go fast enough to catch the Road Runner. As the time approaches for a human test, stunt man Sean Graham arrives to work out the final details. Will Sean rocket himself into the record books...or just into the closest cactus?

Hot Air Balloon Anvil Drop

The Coyote rides in a hot air balloon and attempts to drop an anvil on the Road Runner far below. But when he releases the weight, his balloon goes out of control. The Coyote free-falls to Earth, and of course the anvil lands on his own head.

Our engineers go up into the sky in a hot air balloon. Although the balloon is tethered, strong winds present a challenge for the anvil drop – especially when it requires the split-second timing and pinpoint accuracy necessary to hit a moving target 500 feet below. To increase their odds, the team devises a bombsight using two closed circuit TV systems. As they attempt to recreate this classic cartoon gag, their chance of success will come down to timing, geometry and luck.

Steel Plates

The Coyote tries to squash the Road Runner between two giant, spring-mounted steel plates.

This is a gag that’s easy to draw in a cartoon but is difficult to pull off in real life. First the team designs and builds the steel plates and a spring mechanism. But when the device is tested, real-world physics may mean that this design can’t provide enough power and speed. The setback doesn’t stop the engineers; they quickly call upon their favorite field of expertise: explosives.