Watch Out for Flying Anvils Premiering on SCIENCE this Labor Day

--Hosted by MYTHBUSTERS' Tory Belleci, FLYING ANVILS premieres on SCIENCE Monday, September 5, at 10 PM (ET/PT)--

SILVER SPRING, Md., Aug. 15, 2011 -- Take two anvils, add a pile of gunpowder and ignite. What might seem like a recipe for disaster is actually the formula for high-flying, explosive fun this Labor Day with the world-premiere special FLYING ANVILS. SCIENCE transforms a 200-year-old tradition into a 21st century extreme competition that tests the boundaries of physics -- and good judgment. As the latest addition to the popular SCI SPORTS franchise, FLYING ANVILS joins the ranks of one-of-a-kind, extreme engineering events including PUNKIN CHUNKIN, LARGE DANGEROUS ROCKET SHIPS (LDRS) and most recently, KILLER ROBOTS: ROBOGAMES 2011. FLYING ANVILS premieres on SCIENCE on Monday, September 5, at 10 PM (ET/PT).

Hosted by Tory Belleci of MYTHBUSTERS, FLYING ANVILS takes viewers to Farmington, Mo.-- the Mecca of anvil launching -- for the 2011 U.S. Anvil Shooting Championship. There, teams from around the country gather to compete in a pyrotechnics playground that seemingly defies both physics and common sense. The annual competition features a marquee event in which contestants fire a 100-pound anvil off another using one pound of gunpowder. In a second, super-modified event, teams use specially engineered anvils with two pounds of gunpowder to send anvils flying in excess of 500 feet in the air.

"I've seen a lot of crazy things on MYTHBUSTERS, but hosting FLYING ANVILS was one of the most intense things I've ever experienced," says Tory Belleci. "This sport is so raw, so explosive and so exciting -- how did I not know about it before?!"

"With FLYING ANVILS, SCIENCE continues its mission of celebrating everyday engineers and backyard geniuses, because not all science comes from men in white lab coats," said Debbie Adler Myers, general manager and executive vice president of SCIENCE. "FLYING ANVILS offers access into a unique American subculture that combines unconventional science with larger-than-life characters and, most important, mind-blowing explosions. It's a world that many may never have imagined even existed."

Serving as host and tour guide, Belleci takes the audience on a wild ride through the behind-the-scenes practices of this addictively bizarre sport, where each team's anvil launch is scored based on height and accuracy. Belleci introduces viewers to an eclectic cast of characters, including 20-year competition veteran Gay Wilkinson, whose house is a veritable anvil-shooting museum, as well as mechanical engineer Mark Bollinger, who relies on a highly scientific approach to take his anvils to new heights.

FLYING ANVILS is produced for SCIENCE by Sharp Productions. Matt Sharp is executive producer for Sharp Productions. For SCIENCE, Joshua C. Berkley is executive producer and Bernadette McDaid is vice president of production.

About SCIENCE:

SCIENCE, a division of Discovery Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), is home for the thought provocateur, the individual who is unafraid to ask the killer questions of "how" and "why not." The network is a playground for those with audacious intellects and features programming willing to go beyond imagination to explore the unknown. Guided by curiosity, SCIENCE looks for innovation in mysterious new worlds as well as in its own backyard. SCIENCE and the SCIENCE HD simulcast reach more than 68 million U.S. households. The network also features high-traffic online and social media destinations, including ScienceChannel.com, facebook.com/ScienceChannel and twitter.com/ScienceChannel.