Editing MythBusters (section)

== Warnings and self-censorship ==
Many of the myths tested involve purported household scenarios, so all episodes begin with a disclaimer against attempting the experiments seen on the series; most episodes also feature a second warning halfway through the running time. These disclaimers are not broadcast on SBS in Australia, in the Netherlands, Discovery Mix in Sweden, Samsung TV plus MythBusters channel in the United Kingdom, Select DVDs in the United States, the Discovery Channel in Denmark, or on the Prime and Sky Discovery Channels in New Zealand. Often, they are presented with an element of humor, such as Savage wearing a padded suit as Hyneman hits him in the chest with a baseball bat, or Hyneman explaining that Savage and he are professionals before Savage slides into view and crashes into a barrier, while saying, "Don't try this at home!"

The series employs various degrees of safety- or courtesy-related [[censorship]]. Vulgar language is censored, as the show is considered family friendly, and most such language occurs spontaneously when the team is surprised or overexcited; at other times, a deliberate effort is made to keep the scripted material clean. In addition to the standard [[bleep censor|bleep]], the show often uses a relevant or humorous sound effect. [[Euphemisms]] and scientific terminology are used for potentially offensive terms.{{efn|group=note|For example, when testing myths about flatulence, the crew called the phenomenon by its scientific designation (e.g. "flatulence" or "''flatus''"), while the word "fart" was bleeped out.}}

In the "Peeing on the Third Rail" myth, the show censored the valve used to release urine from the dummy. The names of ingredients used in the production of [[hazardous materials]] and some explosives are usually censored to prevent amateurs from recreating potentially dangerous substances. For example, in the "[[LZ 129 Hindenburg|Hindenburg]]" special, Savage ignited [[thermite]] with a [[hypergolic]] mixture of "blur" (a syrupy, pale blue liquid) and "blur" (a dark powder). In a [[American Civil War|Civil War]]–themed episode, the ingredients for making a form of homemade [[gunpowder|black powder]] were censored in similar fashion.

In one extreme instance of self-censorship, the team explored an urban legend stating that a widely available material could be used to create an explosive. To their surprise, the seemingly unlikely legend proved true, but the material was so easy to obtain, and the resulting explosion so powerful, that the production team decided allowing such information to reach the general public would be irresponsible, instead electing to destroy all footage of the experiment and agreeing never to speak of the incident. Several years later, when [[DARPA]] solicited advice from the public regarding potentially unknown bomb risks, Savage contacted them about their discovery.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Walsh|first1=Michael|title=Mythbusters Destroyed All Evidence of an Easy-to-Make Explosive|url=http://nerdist.com/mythbusters-destroyed-all-evidence-of-an-easy-to-make-explosive/|at=32:25–33:15|website=The Nerdist|access-date=September 20, 2017}}</ref>

In [[MythBusters (2006 season)#Episode 59 – "Crimes and Myth-Demeanors 2"|another episode]] that focused on myths surrounding electronic security devices, a segment was aired on defeating [[biometric]] [[fingerprint reader]]s using various methods. One of these techniques involved creating a fake three-dimensional fingerprint from a two-dimensional image of the authorized print. After some trial and error, the team successfully cast a viable [[ballistics gel]] reproduction using a copper-coated [[printed circuit board]], a picture of the fingerprint printed on [[transparency (projection)|acetate]], and a [[photochemical machining|photochemical]] [[Printed circuit board#Chemical etching|acid etching]] process.

After the reproduction was shown to defeat both fingerprint scanners, and although the chemicals used during the etching process are never identified, the narrator still hints at an important step having been edited out and discourages viewers from trying it themselves. None of the other techniques that successfully defeated the fingerprint scanners or the other security devices tested in the episode were censored or obfuscated, perhaps because the rest were all fairly simple and straightforward methods, such as holding up a bedsheet or moving extremely slowly to hide from [[ultrasonic sensor|ultrasonic]] [[motion detector]]s or holding up a pane of glass to defeat [[Passive infrared sensor|thermal motion detectors]].

Brand names and logos are regularly blurred or covered with tape or a ''MythBusters'' sticker. Brand names are shown when integral to a myth, such as in the [[MythBusters (2006 season)#Diet Coke and Mentos|Diet Coke and Mentos experiment]] or [[Pop Rocks]] in [[List of MythBusters pilot episodes#Pop Rocks|the first pilot episode of ''MythBusters'']].

The Diet Coke and Mentos experiment is also an outlier regarding their safety warnings, as Savage and Hyneman stated on-air that this myth was perfectly safe for viewers to replicate on their own. Another example of this is the "[[MythBusters (2008 season)#Phone Book Friction|Phone Book Friction]]" episode, in which they investigated the difficulty of pulling two telephone books apart after their pages had been interleaved. One episode from the 2014 season, "''DO'' Try This at Home?", classified several myths as safe or unsafe for testing by viewers.