Mustached Mythbuster to Bring Expertise to the US Military

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Jamie Hyneman — the thickly facial-haired, beret-adorned half of the hit TV show MythBusters — has landed himself a new side gig working on a special project for the US Military.

CNET is reporting that the Office of Naval Research is tapping into the special effects expert to develop an ultra-lightweight armor for use on vehicles in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The armor would need to be lightweight so as to maintain a vehicle’s mobility, while providing ample resistance to explosives and shrapnel.

Over the course of his career, Jamie has worked on more than 800 commercials for automakers, athletic equipment, soft-drink manufacturers and more. After earning a degree in Russian languages, Jamie ran a sailing and charter business in the Caribbean before moving into an illustrious career in Hollywood special effects. The owner of M5 industries Inc (a special effects and production modeling studio he purchased 18 years ago) has co-hosted the hit Discovery Channel show with Adam Savage over the course of nine seasons.

The Wednesday night program, though oft criticized for its liberal (but TV-friendly!) applications of the scientific method, has consistently been one of Discovery Channel’s most popular draws, with its last episode pulling in over 1.7 million viewers.

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