# Can A Thrown "Ninja Star" Kill You **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874 "2016-03-13T17:19:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/21 "2016-03-13T23:48:12Z")
😕 “CQB”? Close quarters battle? ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/22 "2016-03-14T00:08:04Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > It _could_ technically kill you, but that was never its intention (the chances of doing so are so low that it would be a pointless weapon it that was its primary purpose). They were intended to distract the opponent to make fighting them easier (having a metal star stuck in your face tends to be quite a distraction, particularly if it is in your eye). This sort of thing isn’t uncommon in military weaponry. Squad machine guns aren’t generally fielded with the intention of mowing down as many enemy infantry as possible with them, they are deployed in order to keep the enemy down to give your riflemen and snipers time to pick them off. If an enemy is dumb or brave enough to step into your stream of machine gun fire, that’s just a little bonus. That’s an interesting case where an indisputably lethal weapon is intended to be used non-lethally, but needs to be lethal to operate as such. For a very interesting fictional (but plausible) take on a possible non-lethal weapon of distraction, read Heinlein’s _Starship Troopers_ and find the section where the Mobile Infantry uses “grenades” that verbally taunt their opponents in order to distract them. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/23 "2016-03-14T00:12:41Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I can penetrate watermelon skin with my fingernail, and punch straight though one with a closed fist. I shot a watermelon in Reno just to watch it die. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/24 "2016-03-14T00:17:46Z")
The Twenty-Second Bomb wasn’t intended to cause distraction, but panic. It was thrown into a crowded enclosed place that couldn’t be evacuated in that time. And I think I heard somewhere that modern militaries teach bayonet-fighting not because anyone expects any modern soldiers to ever fight with a bayonet, but because it encourages aggression. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/25 "2016-03-14T00:48:51Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > This sort of thing isn’t uncommon in military weaponry. Squad machine guns aren’t generally fielded with the intention of mowing down as many enemy infantry as possible with them, they are deployed in order to keep the enemy down to give your riflemen and snipers time to pick them off. If an enemy is dumb or brave enough to step into your stream of machine gun fire, that’s just a little bonus. That’s an interesting case where an indisputably lethal weapon is intended to be used non-lethally, but needs to be lethal to operate as such. A good example of this is the British Bren light machine gun. During World War 2 the Bren was found to be very accurate, too accurate in fact. Soldiers preferred to use worn barrels because they spread out the cone of fire much wider than new ones and allowed them to spray gunfire over a larger area. Eventually later versions of the Bren had the less accurate but wider cone of fire barrels come standard. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/26 "2016-03-14T07:36:13Z")
> [@dracoi](#): > > Wikipedia shows this collection of stars from a Japanese museum: [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Ninja\_museum\_shuriken.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/Ninja_museum_shuriken.jpg) > Some of those designs are quite capable of being lethal in the right circumstance. One looks like it belongs to a Nazi Ninja… Yes, yes, “ancient Buddhist symbol” blah blah. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/27 "2016-03-14T11:28:20Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Try this experiment; take a fixed-blade knife by itself and thrust it into a sandbag, then firmly affix it to a heavy pipe and do the same thing; you will get greater penetration and more control with the pipe, because of the additional leverage and momentum it provides. > Stranger Which is why a yard of wood weighing only a couple of ounces and with a hard point could be launched from a bow with enough force to penetrate armour. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/28 "2016-03-14T13:53:10Z")
This two pointed [“shuriken”](http://www.coldsteel.com/Product/80TOR/TORPEDO.aspx) would likely do the job though…😃 ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/29 "2016-03-14T16:41:24Z")
There are 4-pointed stars as well. I always heard that (if not poisoned) they were “dipped in sh\*t”, to pcause nasty infections, supporting the idea that they were primarily nuisance weapons. In the documentary series, ‘South Park’, the boys accidentally hit Butters in the eye with a throwing star. He had a few rough moments, but he seems to have come out okay. Lastly, be aware that \*\*anything \*\*that hits you in the wrong place can kill you, or seriously mess you up. I expect that it would be an unlucky strike from a throwing star that would kill you in short order (very unlucky for you, and also for the friend or acquaintance who threw it at you; very lucky for the ninja assassin who was targeting you). ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/30 "2016-03-14T19:36:10Z")
Tornado-force winds can drive a straw through an oak tree. Well and good, but I doubt that even a martial arts expert can muster enough throwing force with one of those stars to penetrate human tissue to any serious degree. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/31 "2016-03-14T20:45:03Z")
Could someone be killed by a baseball thrown by a Major League pitcher? Heck, yeah. And a baseball is only about 5 ounces, and a ninja star could be about the same. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/32 "2016-03-14T21:31:57Z")
Fling a ninja star out of something like a [jai alai](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jai_alai) xistera and you could probably fling it hard enough to pierce a skull. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/33 "2016-03-14T21:36:29Z")
Major leaguers do get hit in the head with pitched balls every season (and batted balls) but there have been no deaths since Ray Chapman in 1920. I know there are cases of Little Leaguers dying after being hit by a pitch, but I believe these were freak cases where the heart stopped because the kid was struck in the chest in just the right way. I don’t think a ninja star could be thrown as hard as a baseball anyway. So you’re back to a freak occurrence. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/34 "2016-03-14T21:51:02Z")
> [@tullsterx](#): > > Could someone be killed by a baseball thrown by a Major League pitcher? Heck, yeah. > > And a baseball is only about 5 ounces, and a ninja star could be about the same. That has happened twice, so far as I know, in the majors: to Ray Chapman (killed) in 1920, and Mickey Cochrane (injured and had to quit playing) in 1937. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/35 "2016-03-14T23:16:58Z")
Just to mention, if you _are_ good with a throwing star, [Japan is hiring ninjas](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35800429). ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/36 "2016-03-15T02:38:48Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > Tornado-force winds can drive a straw through an oak tree. Well and good, but I doubt that even a martial arts expert can muster enough throwing force with one of those stars to penetrate human tissue to any serious degree. On the contrary, the very top assassins could _ **punch a wall and kill someone leaning against the other side!** _ OK, I made that up; but it’s only slightly sillier than some of the myths circulating. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/37 "2016-03-15T04:11:12Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > On the contrary, the very top assassins could _ **punch a wall and kill someone leaning against the other side!** _ > > OK, I made that up; but it’s only slightly sillier than some of the myths circulating. There you are. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/38 "2016-03-15T14:21:15Z")
Well, keep in mind that a lot of walls in Japan are made of paper. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/39 "2016-03-15T14:43:46Z")
Back in the _Deadliest Warrior_ days, they tested throwing stars for some “Ninja vs [whatever]” segment and found them fairly ineffective and non-lethal. The [DW Wiki](http://deadliestwarrior.wikia.com/wiki/Shuriken) (who knew?) says that they could potentially break a bone based on testing but that doesn’t seem like anything you’d want to rely on and I picture that to be more of a cracked rib or collarbone than arm or leg. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/40 "2016-03-15T14:45:46Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > … [machine gun is] an interesting case where an indisputably lethal weapon is intended to be used non-lethally, but needs to be lethal to operate as such… > > > [@Asuka](#): > > > > A good example of this is the British Bren light machine gun. During World War 2 the Bren was found to be very accurate, too accurate in fact. Soldiers preferred to use worn barrels because they spread out the cone of fire much wider than new ones and allowed them to spray gunfire over a larger area. Eventually later versions of the Bren had the less accurate but wider cone of fire barrels come standard. Fascinating. Complicates an already complicated definition and goals (politically and tactically in practice) of non lethal weaponry. > [@Lumpy](#): > > On the contrary, the very top assassins could _ **punch a wall and kill someone leaning against the other side!** _… Chuck Norris could punch a wall and kill the entire family of someone leaning against the other side. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874.md?page=3)