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Itasca company
glad to offer qauge to science
After "Mythbusters" crew members broke a complimentary
$950 gauge from Itasca-based Shimpo
Instruments, Mason Saltzman, the
company's national sales manager,
wasn't angry, not even peeved. He
just mailed off another one.
"I think of it as PR,"
Saltzman said. "Just seeing the
company's name on the "Mythbusters" credits is getting our name out there."
Manufacturers of force, torque and
speed evaluation instruments and accessories,
Shimpo began working with the show
in 2005.
"They originally called me up
to explode the myth of a train going
by someone very fast, if suction can
pull the person into the train,"
he said. "They wanted to take
one of our force gauges and attach
it to Buster, the test dummy."
Saltzman sent off a 200-pound capacity
force gauge, valued at roughly $950.
A few months later, he got another
call.
"They broke the gauge. Apparently
they used it for something and got
a very high force on it, which I was
shocked by."
So, this time, he sent something more
powerful; a 1,000-pound capacity gauge,
valued at $990.
The instrument was used in the famed "Salami Rocket" episode,
to test the thrust of the salami rocket
they constructed.
"It had over 800 pounds of thrust
- it was really amazing to see. It
is kind of kooky but the gauge really
worked well for their application,"
he said.
Talking with the "Mythbusters"
crew on a weekly basis for the past
year and a half, Saltzman gained a
lot of respect for the show.
"These guys are insane,"
he said. "You really have to
appreciate what they do - they make
proving physics and science a kick."
Saltzman's wife works in the human
resources department at Harper College.
"Our whole family's going to
be there (on April 12)," he said.
"I'm really looking forward to
meeting them in person."
- Kerry Lester |
