Punkin Chunkin 2011: Rooting for Team Chunk Norris

It’s Thanksgiving, which means the return of Punkin Chunkin, the annual event that finds backyard “engi-nerds” building homemade contraptions to see who can hurl a pumpkin across a cornfield the farthest. MythBusters‘ Kari Byron, Grant Imahara, and Tory Belleci host this year’s TV special, airing tonight at 8 p.m. ET on both Discovery and SCIENCE. If the first time you heard of this kind of competition was on last night’s Modern Family, know that the real event is in its 26th year.

We endorse rookie catapulters Team Chunk Norris, if not for their name, then for the proud father who walks around wearing chain mail, carrying a sword, and saying things like, “$200,000 worth of engineering degrees, and this is what they do” and “I shall slay them if they lose.” Meet the team in the clip below.