# Lifting Cars off Kids et al. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 20, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816 "2006-01-20T14:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ChrisMullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@ChrisMullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisMullin)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816/21 "2006-01-25T20:56:04Z")
It’s clear from what’s already posted here (and from my own knowledge) that hysterical strength is real. It is also clear that to shift a car far enough off a kid to allow the kid to get out or be pulled out is not **AT ALL** the same as “lifting” the car. The nature of the topic precludes giving any exact figures for what the equivalent force needed to lift of a barbell would be, but it seems safe to assume that in SOME cases (some cars, pressing on kids in some ways), this would be like shifting no more than a 300 pound barbell. Not lifting it overhead, but just shifting it. Look closely at the post by Cheeop in this thread. What you are doing is moving the car’s weight off one wheel and onto the other three. You are pushing it more than you are lifting. So-- Can some Moms do this, in some accidents-- sure! Can all Moms always do this, no matter what the accident? Of course not! Can any Moms actually pick up a whole car off the ground like the Incredible Hulk does? No way! The fact that anybody actually doubts that this is possible is actually what interests me the most. Haven’t the doubters ever actually lifted anything? Or tried to push anything? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816/22 "2006-01-26T04:17:41Z")
> [@UncleBeer](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > This isn’t all that hard to believe if you do a bit of research. Humans normally use from 6% to 8% of the fibers in any given muscle at one time. The rest are recovering, clearing out waste products, repairing damage, etc. > > This sounds suspiciously like that old “Humans only use 10% of their brain” [saw](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_028.html). I don’t know that I buy those exact numbers, but it’s pretty well-documented that motor units are recruited selectively. See pp. 30-32 of “Strength and Power in Sport”, 2e. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816/23 "2006-01-26T08:53:21Z")
> [@rag03](#): > > When I was 4 (1987), my father was out in the parking lot of our apartment complex replacing the universal bolt on the chassis of his Delorean. > > … > > The other people there were my father (the chief of security there) and > > … How many dads do you have, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816/24 "2006-01-26T13:14:20Z")
> [@rag03](#): > > When I was 4 (1987), \ A big truck rumbled by and the car fell from the Jack on him, **piercing his lung with said bolt** , \*\*breaking several ribs \*\* and stabbing him in the shoulder with some other protruding bolt or edge of some sort… > > Anyway, \*\*he remained conscious and managed to call for help loudly enough that my mother and I could hear him between breaks in songs on the radio \*\* \ His entire back was black from the bruises and **he spent nearly a week in the hospital** but came out fine. > > –Bobby So, to recap: - he had a pierced lung - broke several ribs - but remained conscious and managed to call for help loudly - and presumably repeatedly - after nearly a week in hospital, he had recovered sufficiently to go home, despite his pierced lung. Just a WAG, but I think that the story might have been exaggerated some what over the past 19 years or so… ---
**Author:** ![rag03](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9a140/32.png) [@rag03](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rag03)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816/25 "2006-01-29T06:17:04Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > How many dads do you have, anyway? haha, I meant “the only people there” not other. My bad… ---
**Author:** ![rag03](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9a140/32.png) [@rag03](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rag03)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816/26 "2006-01-29T06:23:47Z")
> [@Martiju](#): > > So, to recap: > > - he had a pierced lung > - broke several ribs > - but remained conscious and managed to call for help loudly - and presumably repeatedly > - after nearly a week in hospital, he had recovered sufficiently to go home, despite his pierced lung. > > Just a WAG, but I think that the story might have been exaggerated some what over the past 19 years or so… eh, it was a long time ago, but I remember it happening pretty clearly… at least I clearly remember hearing him, running outside and seeing him trapped, then seeing my mother panic. He didn’t have to yell that loud because he was only just outside the door, which was open; the radio muted him while songs were playing. I also remember being in the hospital with him… the rest has been told and retold to me, so, it’s quite possible that some exaggeration has since occured, but so far as I can tell, every one of the outlined facts is true with the possible exception of length of hospital stay… It wasn’t very long at all, but I don’t recall if it was closer to 2 days or 5… Anyway, those are just details. Point is, a couple guys lifted the car then, but couldn’t do it again later. Crazy stuff… ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816/27 "2006-01-31T20:04:27Z")
> [@howardcrut](#): > > It was rather crazy and totally suprised me that I was able to lift the car. I definately believe it was due to the extreme measures. Hey, Howard, your e-mail address is unavailable - e-mail me at [edzotti@aol.com](mailto:edzotti@aol.com), ideally with your phone number, although we can do this strictly by e-mail if you want. Cecil has asked me to get your story. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816/28 "2006-01-31T21:46:07Z")
> [@Cheeop](#): > > It’s one of the most impressive things you can see someone do, just walk up and get two wheels like 10" off the ground. Can’t vouch for this-comes from a woman bragging about her son’s-in-law physique. But allegedly, when her daughter was ~9 months pregnant with her first child, her rest was being disturbed by some teenagers blaring loud music from a car in the apartment complex parking lot, right under her window. So her bodybuilder husband went out and politely asked them to turn it down, or to move the car a bit farther way. Snotty teenagers refused, of course. So, he calmly picked up one end of their car and dragged it across the lot. Oddly, she says, they never had any problems with the neighboorhood teenagers again. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lifting-cars-off-kids-et-al/340816.md?page=1)