# Fireman Saved from Bullet by DVD in his Pocket **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 20, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384 "2008-02-20T16:19:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384/1 "2008-02-20T16:19:30Z")
This story is like that old one about the guy saved by his pocket bible: > [@](#): > > WALTERBORO, S.C. - A South Carolina man is thankful for a DVD that ended up taking a bullet for him. > > Colleton County Fire and Rescue Director Barry McRoy says he was leaving a Waffle House restaurant in Walterboro on Saturday morning when two men ran in fighting over a gun. Police say a bullet hit one of the struggling men, shattered a window and then hit McRoy. > > The bullet hit a DVD McRoy was carrying in his pocket. He suffered a bruise but didn’t realize he had been shot. As he told a police officer what happened he noticed a bullet hole in his jacket, the shattered DVD case and a piece of the bullet [http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/0219bulletproof-dvd0219-ON.html](http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/0219bulletproof-dvd0219-ON.html) My favorite part: > [@](#): > > The DVD was nicked. It was a gift from an employee who had recorded a TV show about fire extinguishers. _ **The DVD was NICKED!!!** _ Not only did it save his life, it wasn’t even severely damaged, apparently. DVDs are made od polycarbonate plastic. I’ve worked on molding polycarb eyeweare. We shot bullets at them without them breaking, and with the bullet just barely penetrating the plastic, if at all. But those were thicker than your average DVD. That’s one TOUGH DVD. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384/2 "2008-02-20T17:16:20Z")
I call bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384/3 "2008-02-20T17:18:58Z")
Well, he was probably saved, but only from a bad bruise. As I recall, Mythbusters did a series on the “saved by a Bible/pocket lighter/deck of cards” thing and any direct shot went pretty much right on through. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384/4 "2008-02-20T17:19:11Z")
Hmmm, do you think the bullet would have had enough speed to do damage if the DVD wasn’t there? I mean, it went through a guy and a window first. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384/5 "2008-02-20T17:38:33Z")
[QUOTE=Flander] Hmmm, do you think the bullet would have had enough speed to do damage if the DVD wasn’t there? I mean, it went through a guy and a window first. [/QUOTE] Exactly… it wasn’t a direct shot. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384/6 "2008-02-20T20:34:47Z")
CDs and DVDs aren’t particularly tough. You can break a CD with your bare hands (be careful if you try this at home, there are jagged shards.) I think a bullet would shatter a DVD. In this case the bullet went through a person, through a window, and then hit the firefighter. It probably didn’t have enough energy to be lethal at that point anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384/7 "2008-02-20T20:51:49Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] In this case the bullet went through a person, through a window, and then hit the firefighter. It probably didn’t have enough energy to be lethal at that point anyway. [/QUOTE] Talk about insulting… shot by a _used_ bullet… an _ineffectual_ used bullet at that. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384/8 "2008-02-20T21:17:26Z")
I’m more impressed he survived the meal at Waffle House. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fireman-saved-from-bullet-by-dvd-in-his-pocket/438384/9 "2008-02-20T22:33:13Z")
> [@](#): > > The DVD was nicked. It was a gift from an employee who had recorded a TV show about fire extinguishers. And they say nothing good ever came from video piracy. I heard this story on the way home and my immediate question was what DVD was it. I’m bitterly disappointed to learn that it was some home-burned thing. So now the question is, what DVD _should_ it have been? [Bullets Over Broadway](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullets_Over_Broadway)? [A Shot in the Dark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Shot_in_the_Dark)? Wonder Woman box set?