We’ve all heard the urban legend: if you drop a penny from the top of the Empire State Building, it could slice through the pavement or even kill someone walking below. Sounds terrifying, right? But is it actually true? This video puts the famous myth to the ultimate test, and the results are both surprising and fascinating.
Hosted by Derek from Veritasium and featuring MythBusters legend Adam Savage, the experiment takes place with a helicopter, buckets of pennies, and one brave volunteer standing directly under the fall zone. From the tension of pennies raining down to the big reveal of what really happens when physics meets freefall, this video keeps you hooked from start to finish. Along the way, you’ll also learn why air resistance matters, what “terminal velocity” really means, and why everyday objects like raindrops or hailstones behave so differently when they fall.
We chose this video because it perfectly combines science, suspense, and myth-busting fun. It’s not just about answering a question you’ve probably wondered about since childhood, but also about showing how physics explains the world in ways that are both mind-blowing and practical. Plus, who doesn’t love seeing Adam Savage drop stuff from the sky?
