# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/41 "2016-03-15T15:10:12Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > On the contrary, the very top assassins could _ **punch a wall and kill someone leaning against the other side!** _ It’s well documented that the best assassins were so good they could literally walk through walls! Chronos points out why this is not quite as impressive as it would be in the west. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/42 "2016-03-15T15:49:33Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I mean, Ricky Jay can throw a playing card to stick in a watermelon. Yes, but he has to intimidate the melon first. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/43 "2016-03-15T15:59:17Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > The reality is that even in the heyday of long-bladed bayonets mounted to long-barreled muskets, bayonet charges resulted in relatively few casualties in battle Just curious for a cite on this (my vague recollection is the opposite). Though of course, the aim of a Napoleonic bayonet charge (like a Napoleonic cavalry charge) isn’t to inflict lots of casualties, but rather break the enemy’s tactical organization (i.e. make them break ranks and run away). ---
**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, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/44 "2016-03-15T16:24:19Z")
> [@Pantastic](#): > > It’s well documented that the best assassins were so good they could literally walk through walls! Chronos points out why this is not quite as impressive as it would be in the west. Shall we start a MPSIMS thread for silliest/most implausible martial arts skill? I nominate the Dragon’s Breath Touch: being able to light a candle by flicking the wick. 😛 ---
**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, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/45 "2016-03-15T16:27:58Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Yes, but he has to intimidate the melon first. That would be a sight to see. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2016, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/46 "2016-03-15T17:22:32Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > This two pointed [“shuriken”](http://www.coldsteel.com/Product/80TOR/TORPEDO.aspx) would likely do the job though…😃 Oh, those things are quite fun! I certainly would not want to get hit by one of those hefty pointy projectiles. “Cold Steel” puts out a lot of great products. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/47 "2016-03-16T01:02:36Z")
If you can throw one the way I can, then yes, a ninja star thrown into your xiphoid process will kill you. ---
**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 16, 2016, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/48 "2016-03-16T02:28:11Z")
Ooh, “xiphoid”! That’s a word that I learned for the first time a few months ago on this board, and this is my first time seeing it actually used “in the wild”. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/49 "2016-03-16T02:37:03Z")
> [@Eddie The Horrible](#): > > If you can throw one the way I can, then yes, a ninja star thrown into your xiphoid process will kill you. Oh, do tell. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/50 "2016-03-16T04:18:21Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Oh, do tell. With gravest misgivings I’m not at liberty to divulge said method, lest I employ it, thenceforth. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2016, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874/51 "2016-03-16T05:09:07Z")
“I don’t know what your reputation is in this town, but after the shit you tried to pull today you can bet I’ll be looking into you. Now the business we have, heretofore, you can speak with my aforementioned attorney. Good day, gentlemen; and until that day comes, keep your ear to the grindstone.” Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-thrown-ninja-star-kill-you/748874.md?page=2)