# How can you not know there's a nail in your skull? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 17, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130 "2005-01-17T02:18:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/1 "2005-01-17T02:18:15Z")
[CNN story](http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/16/nailgun.accident.ap/index.html) I see this happen a lot. I find it hard to believe you wouldn’t have noticed a nail being fired into your skull THROUGH YOUR MOUTH! ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/2 "2005-01-17T02:26:14Z")
Amazing. > [@](#): > > “This is the second one we’ve seen in this hospital where the person was injured by the nail gun and didn’t actually realize the nail had been imbedded in their skull,” neurosurgeon Sean Markey told KUSA-TV in Denver. “But it’s a pretty rare injury.” How you wouldn’t know that is beyond me. ::shrugs:: A few years ago, my neighbor shot himself with a nailgun through the hand. My immediate supervisor managed to nail _all four_ of his fingers together with one nail, using a nail gun. The ER doc had to get the _maintenance_ guy to get pliers that would pull the nail out. I’ve never used one, and I probably never will. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/3 "2005-01-17T02:56:58Z")
Before I went into business, I worked as a framer for a guy who could be counted on to bleed within 15 minutes of arrival. _Other framer nudges me-“Look at that meathead-he’s gonna shoot himself with the nailgun.” I look and yes, he’s messing with the nose safety while it’s still on air. A few seconds later, "AARGH! $%_@", and the other framer says, “Told ya.”\* ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/4 "2005-01-17T03:07:27Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > [CNN story](http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/16/nailgun.accident.ap/index.html) > > I see this happen a lot. I find it hard to believe you wouldn’t have noticed a nail being fired into your skull THROUGH YOUR MOUTH! It is not unusual for a head trauma patient to not remember the accident. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/5 "2005-01-17T03:09:27Z")
Growing up on the mean streets of Scranton, Pennsylvania, my brother and I would occasionally come home with cuts, scratches, and bruises which we could not explain. Mom would ask what happened, and invariably, we would say, “I don’t know.” Then she would ask “How could you not know, didn’t it hurt?” Our response of “Uh-uh” would always elicit the same response, which I will now share with you all. “No brain, no pain.” ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/6 "2005-01-17T03:19:29Z")
I find it amusing that the doctor claimed it was a rare accident, yet it was the second one he has seen \* at that hospital\*. Seems rather commonplace to me. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/7 "2005-01-17T03:41:51Z")
> [@ouryL](#): > > It is not unusual for a head trauma patient to not remember the accident. I understand that, but wouldn’t there be some damage to the roof of his mouth that would be fairly obvious? ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/8 "2005-01-17T04:00:42Z")
Believe it or not, I once inadvertently shot myself in the hip with a nail gun, using those small, almost headless finishing nails. When this happened, I didn’t notice (or rather, I might have thought that I bumped the gun painfully against my hipbone or something). It wasn’t until later that evening when I experienced severe pain while walking down stairs that I put two and two together and went to hospital. Surgeons, given the stature of their profession, should really exercise a bit more tact before making comments like: “Holy crap - there’s a nail in there. How the hell did you manage that?” ---
**Author:** ![Tomcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Tomcat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tomcat)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/9 "2005-01-17T09:41:18Z")
Well, the guy _is_ from Littleton…You’ve got to give guys like us, er, I mean, like that, a break. I remember hearing about that happening here with a nail to the skull. No pain, but his co-worker noticed blood in his hair. -Tcat ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/10 "2005-01-17T17:06:46Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > I find it amusing that the doctor claimed it was a rare accident, yet it was the second one he has seen \* at that hospital\*. Seems rather commonplace to me. Depends on how long the doctor’s been at that hospital and the lapse between the two injuries. If the doctor’s been there since before nail guns were invented, and there’s been a total of two injuries from nail guns, then it may be pretty rare. If the commenting doctor has seen two nail-gun related injuries at that hospital since he started working there last week, it might be quite common. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-you-not-know-theres-a-nail-in-your-skull/285130/11 "2005-01-17T17:57:31Z")
I saw the X-ray of this guy’s skull in the paper. There really are no words… …except that there’s _no way_ he could have shot himself with the nail gun and not remembered it (unless, of course, he did suffer traumatic amnesia, like **ouryL** suggested). The angle the nail went in, the only way he could’ve have done it was if he stuck the thing in his mouth and pulled the trigger. _shakes head_