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Obama to Appear on Mythbusters, Bolster America's Giant-Mirror Capability

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President Obama and Discovery Channel announced today that the chief executive will appear on the Dec. 8 episode of Mythbusters. And surprisingly, the myth being busted has nothing to do with either Islam or Kenyan birth certificates.

On the episode, Obama will ask Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman to test whether it was possible for the Greek scientist Archimedes, as told in story, to have set fire to an invading fleet using a giant mirror and the reflected rays of the sun. Which forces me to ask: What the hell is the government secretly planning to do with a giant mirror weapon? And does this mean there are no hard feelings between the White House and Discovery Communications for giving Sarah Palin a show?

The Discovery announcement, after the jump:

Today at the White House Science Fair, President Obama announced his participation in an upcoming episode of Discovery Channel’s popular series, MYTHBUSTERS.

Said President Obama from the White House, “I’m pleased to welcome Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, known as the MYTHBUSTERS. I can announce today that I taped a special guest appearance for their show, although I didn’t get blow anything up… I was a little frustrated about that.”

The President will be featured in the December 8 MYTHBUSTERS episode, Archimedes Solar Ray, during which he challenges hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman to revisit an ancient and somewhat controversial myth: Did Greek scientist and polymath Archimedes set fire to an invading Roman fleet using only mirrors and the reflected rays of the sun? Prepared to test this myth in a way they’ve never been able to before, will Adam and Jamie be able to pull it off, or will they have to report back to the President that they failed?

Adam and Jamie were present in November 2009 for the President’s “Educate to Innovate” event, which kicked off the Administration’s campaign for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) awareness. The December 8 MYTHBUSTERS episode is part of a sweeping, multi-platform initiative launched by Discovery Communications called “Be the Future,” which also includes such commitments as HEAD RUSH, a commercial-free science block for kids that launched in August on Science Channel, and several initiatives of Discovery Education, which will make this special episode of MYTHBUSTERS available to students and educators across the country through Discovery Education’s curriculum-based digital resources.

MYTHBUSTERS, which airs Wednesdays at 9PM ET/PT on Discovery Channel, aims to uncover the truth behind popular myths and legends by mixing scientific method with gleeful curiosity and plain old-fashioned ingenuity. The show exemplifies that science education can be fun, informative, and inspiring.

Also in attendance at the White House Science Fair will be Liam McCarty of Elm Grove, WI, the winner of the 2010 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge and Raj Raina and Yash Sathe, from Novi, MI, the middle school winners of the 2010 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge.