September 20th marks the date for the "Storm Area 51" event. A supposed joke that may soon become reality, the facebook page that started this event lists 2.1 million going and another 1.5 million interested in surrounding the Area 51 airforce base and infiltrating in an effort to see the supposed extraterrestrial organisms held within. To overcome the base's defenses, the organizers proclaim, "If we naruto run, we can move faster than their bullets." Therefore, the purpose of this experiment is to explore the bullet dodging potential of the naruto running style, the method of running of the anime character Naruto Uzumaki that features a heavy lean forward and arms held firmly behind the runner. Scientific Ameriken will now use the power of science to give these brave souls the confidence they need to find some aliens or otherwise create the evidence that could save potentially 3.6 million lives.
Intriguingly, despite that there are no videos on YouTube of Naruto Uzumaki actually dodging bullets. Research on the Naruto forums indicate that extremely skilled ninjas are capable of supersonic speeds, which may indicate the possibility for survival exists. Despite the 3 individuals participating in this trial not being extremely skilled ninjas, the hypothesis of this experiment is that naruto running will be noticebly faster than standard sprinting and ultimately aid in avoiding a water gun.
In addition to Scientific AmeriKen, two volunteers were recruited to this study including Scientific AmeriKen's son, SciKid, and a friend (Kid #2). In the first experiment participants were asked to run from home plate to first base (~60 ft) by first sprinting as fast as they can (Figure 1) and second by using the naruto running style ( Figure 2).
In the second experiment the particpant would attempt to run through a water cannon defended territory using a naruto run. Success was determined as having no signs of water on the individuals.
A single trial was used as participants were not motivated by the scientific need for multiple trials. Experiments were performed outdoors on a little league baseball field in approximately 73F degree weather. Video details the first experiment:
Participant SciKid Kid #2 SciAmeriKen
The second experiment featured an attempt of the Naruto runner to get past a water cannon defended area unscathed. The video details these attempts:
Following the attempt, success or failure was determined based upon the presence of water on the participant.
In the first experiment the data reveal that the Naruto running style was faster for only one of the three runners. Interestingly, another group that examined runners of all types also found Naruto was better in some than in others. They claim that for inexperienced sprinters that Naruto tended to be better. Although Scientific AmeriKen can find this explanation plausible, these data do not bode well for the hordes about to descend upon Area 51. Scientific AmeriKen has also found that the Naruto run did not provide any protection against getting soaked by a water gun. A third group that compared the two runnings styles made a keen observation that in their experiment none of the participants were experienced ninja warriors, and that this may be why the Naruto was slow. This suggests that of the 3.6 million potential area 51 swarmers that a few may actually be trained ninjas and be faster than bullets. However, as most are not trained in the arts of ninjitsu, it is the expert opinion of Scientific AmeriKen that the use of Naruto to see them aliens will likely not end well.
Special thanks to Brandon (SciKid) and Guiseppe (Kid #2) for their participation.
