# can one really smother someone with a pillow?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-really-smother-someone-with-a-pillow/199989
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 6, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-really-smother-someone-with-a-pillow/199989 "2003-09-06T21:37:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-really-smother-someone-with-a-pillow/199989/1 "2003-09-06T21:37:29Z")
I have tried (on myself!) with most of the pillows on my house. With all of them I either get a poor fit allowing air from the sides, or can actually breathe through the pillow material. Has there been any actual murders this way, or is it a Hollywood invention?
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2003, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-really-smother-someone-with-a-pillow/199989/2 "2003-09-06T21:47:46Z")
I have notified the Moderators about this post.
Don’t worry **scm1001** –you’ll be taken care of. Ho-Ho!
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### Author:  [@Nanoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nanoda)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2003, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-really-smother-someone-with-a-pillow/199989/3 "2003-09-06T21:58:34Z")
I’ve tried that, with [similar results](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=181806&highlight=smother+pillow). Perhaps if you were really weak…
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### Author:  [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2003, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-really-smother-someone-with-a-pillow/199989/4 "2003-09-07T05:30:45Z")
Well, I know that I used to cover my head with a pillow in order to muffle the sounds of people making noise in the next room (or the same room! (and also blocking out the light in that case)) when I was a kid, sharing a house (and a room) with several siblings, and I never ended up smothering myself. Of course, I wasn’t trying to keep the air out, but I did try to mash it down over my head pretty firmly to block out as much noise & light as possible, and sometimes added a blanket over the top, too. And still didn’t smother myself to death.
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### Author:  [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)
#### Post date: [September 7, 2003, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-one-really-smother-someone-with-a-pillow/199989/5 "2003-09-07T10:29:37Z")
To answer your factual question: A google search does come up with incidents where people have died by being suffocated by a pillow.
Further discussion on this topic would probably lead to territory we’d rather not explore on these boards.
I’ll pre-emptively put this thread to sleep.
Thank you for your understanding.
- **xash**
General Questions Moderator