# How Easy Is It To Sever A Head? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2008, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505 "2008-08-01T16:08:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/21 "2008-08-02T01:09:37Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Look, has anybody here besides me actually removed a human head from its body? Wish **Gabriela** was still here. She did it all the time.. [/QUOTE] No, I remove animal ones (horses, ruminants, exotics, but mostly dogs and cats). For me it is easier than what others have said. I look for the atlanto-occipital joint, cut through to the cord, and then sever the joint. Not too hard, and quick, if you have leverage and a sharp knife. But to be honest, the animals are already dead, and deplucked (meaning no trachea, esophagus, muscles, or any other tissue). Blast you, now I’m curious about how the human way works… ---
**Author:** ![Ducktail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/43a26b/32.png) [@Ducktail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ducktail)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/22 "2008-08-02T01:37:45Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Look, has anybody here besides me actually removed a human head from its body? [/QUOTE] As much as I’d like to (legally, y’know, like that of a cadaver), I’m afraid I don’t have the people skills and love of chemistry for med school, and that’s really the only avenue I can think of where people get to do that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/23 "2008-08-02T02:00:30Z")
[QUOTE=Ducktail] As much as I’d like to (legally, y’know, like that of a cadaver), I’m afraid I don’t have the people skills and love of chemistry for med school, and that’s really the only avenue I can think of where people get to do that stuff. [/QUOTE] Working with doctors for many years, I can say that it doesn’t seem like people skills are a pre-req to be one. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ntcrawler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/34f0e0/32.png) [@ntcrawler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ntcrawler)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/24 "2008-08-02T02:46:10Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Look, has anybody here besides me actually removed a human head from its body? Wish **Gabriela** was still here. She did it all the time.. [/QUOTE] Not something I’d want to put on my resume :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/25 "2008-08-02T03:44:40Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Wish **Gabriela** was still here. She did it all the time.. [/QUOTE] Well, not all the time. At some points she posted. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/26 "2008-08-02T05:03:42Z")
Well, think about the guillotine, a machine specifically designed to remove human heads. That puppy generated some _force_! From the guillotine article on Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > In the case of decapitation, it also sometimes took repeated blows to sever the head completely, and it was also very likely for the condemned to slowly bleed to death from their wounds before the head could be severed. The condemned or the family of the condemned would sometimes pay the executioner to ensure that the blade was sharp in order to provide for a quick and relatively painless death. Yeah, I’d say that if even a trained executioner couldn’t always do it so well, it would be pretty hard for some crazed lunatic in the cramped confines of a Greyhound bus. But apparently not too hard for **QtM** to do with a good scalpel, good light, a good work surface, and a compliant decapitee. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/27 "2008-08-02T07:55:27Z")
[QUOTE=Szlater] Why would you watch those? [/QUOTE] To quote Emperor Palpatine, _“To feel the power of the hate **flow** thru you…”_😃 There’s a difference between **slicing** and **chopping**. Executioners that chop with a sword or axe are trying to do it in a fraction of a second, and that can be difficult. Slicing with a sharp blade is considerably easier. I forced myself to watch nearly all of the terrorist execution videos (see above reason) and they took at most 90 seconds, most under 60. Graphic TMI:The reports about the interior of the bus being covered in blood are no exaggeration. The heart keeps pumping during the entire grisly act and blood pours everywhere. So if you’re so inclined, it can be done rather quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/28 "2008-08-02T10:32:21Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Look, has anybody here besides me actually removed a human head from its body? [/QUOTE] Zing! ---
**Author:** ![T\_SQUARE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@T\_SQUARE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T_SQUARE)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/29 "2008-08-02T11:17:15Z")
While I’ve never done it myself, I’ll back up those who have said it doesn’t take more than a minute, unless the Iraq videos have been edited, which is very possible. As volleyballer said, my understanding is that a good piece of Japanese steel could lop a head in one swipe pretty easy, although a three foot blade with a full swing is a lot differnt than a shitty rambo knife on a bus. (I know that the exploits of Japanese swords are greatly exagerated in lore, but I think taking a head off with one is pretty well documented) ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/30 "2008-08-02T11:53:43Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Look, has anybody here besides me actually removed a human head from its body? [/quote] Does it have to have been dead first? ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/31 "2008-08-02T12:19:51Z")
[QUOTE=Qadgop the Mercotan] Look, has anybody here besides me actually removed a human head from its body? Wish **Gabriela** was still here. She did it all the time.. [/QUOTE] Actually, in her contribution to the old [How can I weigh my own head?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=373363) thread (the 2nd post), she only appealed to her experience in weighing heads where it had arrived decapitated. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/32 "2008-08-02T13:43:03Z")
[QUOTE=Green Bean] But apparently not too hard for **QtM** to do with a good scalpel, good light, a good work surface, and a **compliant decapitee.** [/QUOTE] Now those are an adjective and a noun that I never thought would be used together ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/33 "2008-08-02T19:38:21Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] Now those are an adjective and a noun that I never thought would be used together [/QUOTE] All I was gonna say is, that’s going in the list for the next time someone wants new user name suggestions. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/34 "2008-08-06T21:41:46Z")
[QUOTE=Green Bean] Yeah, I’d say that if even a trained executioner couldn’t always do it so well, it would be pretty hard for some crazed lunatic in the cramped confines of a Greyhound bus. [/QUOTE] One thing to keep in mind is that medieval executioners were not selected for their ability to get the job done quickly. An execution that required several attempts to take off the head was preferred to one that got it over in a stroke, because it would be more painful and because it made for better theater. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505/35 "2008-08-07T03:32:00Z")
I sharpen knives to the point that they will shave hair. It would take no effort at all to cut straight through a turkey with a few strokes of a long knife. And as a side note, if I see a group of Mohammed’s unholy servants coming at me with a knife the last thing I expect to hear is Allah Ackbar spoken in a very high pitch. I intend to go down with someone’s nuts in my mouth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-easy-is-it-to-sever-a-head/458505.md?page=1)