# Movie deaths vs. reality **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114 "2018-12-14T12:40:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/41 "2018-12-15T22:37:38Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Yeah, but after Laquon McDonald, I’m a lot less convinced about knife vs gun stories the cops tell. Yeah, but the police were scared that it might have been a [knifegun](https://www.riflegear.com/p-4881-arsenal-rs-1-hybrid-knifegun-22-short.aspx). Possibly he could have even been carrying a blowgun pen or a chewing gum shark launcher. Thinking of the footage of that shooting brings to mind Tarpman, [who did drop like a rock when he was shot](https://crooksandliars.com/2016/01/fbi-releases-video-lavoy-finicum-shooting). (Link contains footage of Tarpman getting shot.) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/42 "2018-12-16T07:45:53Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > He would probably have died anyway, from induced type 1 diabetes, as his pancreas was pretty much obliterated, and the discovery of insulin was 20 years in the future. Yes, but he might not have died from the bullet, even though the damage done to his internal organs pretty much ensured sepsis. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/43 "2018-12-16T16:38:08Z")
Found the ax head wound episode of [“Forensic Files”](https://youtu.be/D6QnbdA_mVY)…the head wound discussion is around 2:45. (Warning: reenacted violence and gore.) I forgot that the guy’s wife survived the attack. :eek: Following its initial run on CourTV, I thought “Forensic Files” ran on HLN at one point as “Cold Cases” or something similar, but I can’t find anything to back this up right now. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/44 "2018-12-16T17:13:20Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Found the ax head wound episode of [“Forensic Files”](https://youtu.be/D6QnbdA_mVY)…the head wound discussion is around 2:45. (Warning: reenacted violence and gore.) I forgot that the guy’s wife survived the attack. :eek: > > Following its initial run on CourTV, I thought “Forensic Files” ran on HLN at one point as “Cold Cases” or something similar, but I can’t find anything to back this up right now. Cold Case Files was A&E. CourtTV is now ID, isn’t it? I know I’ve watched Forensic Files on Headline. Also, CCF last season was 2006. Last year they made a 6 episode season with Danny Glover as the narrator for the first 6 episodes. Oh my, I’ve strayed a bit from the topic, haven’t I? Sorry for the 'jack! ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2018, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/45 "2018-12-16T18:19:01Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Cold Case Files was A&E. CourtTV is now ID, isn’t it? I know I’ve watched Forensic Files on Headline. Also, CCF last season was 2006. Last year they made a 6 episode season with Danny Glover as the narrator for the first 6 episodes. \*Forensic Files \*was originally on TLC and called _Medical Detective_s. At some point, the show moved to Court TV (now truTV) and was renamed _Forensic Files_.Reruns on HLN were called \*Mystery Detectives \*for a period of time and then used the \*Forensic Files \* title. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/46 "2018-12-18T13:35:45Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Hence **Inigo** ’s specification of an eighteen-inch Fairburn-Sykes. Most have a blade length of about [seven inches](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbairn%E2%80%93Sykes_fighting_knife). 🙂 > [@Wiki](#): > > The F-S knife is strongly associated with the British commandos and the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and Marine Raiders (who based their issued knife on the Fairbairn-Sykes), among other special forces/clandestine/raiding units. It features in the insignia of the British Royal Marines, the Belgian Commandos, the Dutch Commando Corps, founded in the UK during World War II, and the Australian 1st Commando and 2nd Commando Regiments, and the United States Army Rangers, both founded with the help of the British Commandos. Kind of a who’s who list of WWII Allied badasses. ---
**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:** [December 18, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/47 "2018-12-18T13:48:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > There was an X-ray machine on display at the 1901 Pan-American Exhibition in Buffalo, NY. If the doctors treating his wounds had used it, President McKinley might not have died of gangrene a week later. It really wasn’t set up to be used, and wasn’t portable. It was tantalizing to have such a device close by, but apparently it wasn’t practical to use it. ---
**Author:** ![txjim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f07891/32.png) [@txjim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/txjim)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/48 "2018-12-18T14:19:02Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > All this talk about whether one would remain standing after being shot in the stomach reminded me of this famous movie death scene: > > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAdniWncWu4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAdniWncWu4) Dear God, I can’t unsee that! ---
**Author:** ![JB99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@JB99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JB99)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/49 "2018-12-18T15:56:57Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Not only did the recoil knock me back a few feet (and I was a pretty big kid), the shock wave from the bullet blew a hole in the mud big enough to lose a watermelon in. It’s hard not to over-emphasize this. Some bullets just pierce you, as if you were stabbed with an ice-pick. Some create an expanding cavity which explodes a crater of meat as it exits. It depends largely on the speed, mass, size, shape, etc etc of the bullet and the impact. I’ve seen war photos where people got shot with a (suspected)7.62x54R and it basically amputed the whole limb. The damage was completely disproportionate to the size of the bullet. Anyway, many people have already mentioned how Hollywood falls look fake, and I can’t over-emphasize this. SF guys who practice headshots (eg SAS) would remark that a person dropped ‘like water.’ The biggest problem with TV is that the actor is still in control of their body. It’s impossible to fake. Their muscles remain tense and they lower themselves to the ground, whereas in real life someone who loses consciousness or gets shot in a critical place just crumples. It’s bad. > [@FairyChatMom](#): > > But in the real world, can being stabbed result in instant death? To address the OP, generally not. A stabby bit can surely incapacitate someone, but they don’t just fall down dead. More often, they will lay there and scream and thrash about as they go into shock. More like Mister Orange in ‘Reservoir Dogs.’ FWIW, warriors in ages past well understood that slashing attacks left gruesome wounds that might incapacitate but were unlikely to kill, whereas piercing attacks that penetrated the chest were almost invariably fatal. The survival rate for stabbings is quite a bit better now, what with our antibiotics and stuff. As others have mentioned, stab wounds from knives are rarely fatal. Research on knife attacks indicates that lethal attacks usually involve repeated stabbings. One or two pokes usually won’t do it. Mostly this is because the knives used in crimes just aren’t large enough to inflict serious damage. They are often pocket knives or eating utensils. If someone got stabbed with a Crocodile Dundee knife, it would most likely incapacitate them quickly. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/50 "2018-12-18T18:15:15Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Hence **Inigo** ’s specification of an eighteen-inch Fairburn-Sykes. Most have a blade length of about [seven inches](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairbairn%E2%80%93Sykes_fighting_knife). :)Kind of a who’s who list of WWII Allied badasses. I need one. As I have tried to explain to psychologists and court personnel, I carry the pen knife on my keychain as a symbol: It has been our birthright as hominids for millions of years to carry edged tools. I am not going to hurt anybody or myself with a crappy $2 pen knife; I’m not sure I even can since I have never managed to get a decent edge on stainless steel and it is made of stainless so bad that we’d have stuck with bronze if it were our first try at iron. A Fairbairn-Sykes is a different story. 😃 My bete noir is throwing stars, beloved of kung fu movies. I assume their RL use (are they actually used IRL?) is as a distraction while our hero reaches for his gun, but movies show them as deadly when thrown at a thug’s chest or forehead. In reality the blades are too short to do much damage: a star to the chest would lodge in the thug’s clothes, pecs, or bones, and a star to the forehead might open the guy’s third eye but not much else. A theatrical but impractical weapon. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/51 "2018-12-18T18:35:34Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > Speaking of movie deaths, what about dim mak? Hit a guy in the right spot and it takes minutes/hours/days/weeks to take effect. :smack: I had a friend (who didn’t study martial arts) claim that a guy he hit in a fight died days later from the blow. Ummm…okay.\* > > \*Yes, I know people die from internal injuries they may not even be aware they’ve received, but dim mak sounds like confirmation bias to me. _Dim mak_ isn’t really a thing. That is, nobody can reliably train to hit someone now, and have them die a week from next Tuesday. Although as you mention, there are things like delayed rupture of the spleen and similar injuries that can cause death later - you just can’t do them at will. It’s based on the same idea as acupuncture, that you are blocking the flow of _chi_ thru the meridians, which is also not a real thing. A related idea is that of pressure point knockouts, where you press on the cardiac meridian (or whatever) and it causes your opponent to fall over unconscious. Also [mostly or entirely BS](https://www.medicaldaily.com/truth-about-pressure-points-which-ones-can-kill-you-and-which-ones-are-just-myths-316528). Plus I never saw the combat utility of killing somebody a few days from now as opposed to, say, right now. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/52 "2018-12-18T18:51:00Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” Do you remember the scene in _ **The Americans** _ where Elizabeth knifed the defector in his kitchen? One upward thrust under the heart, another upward through the throat. One of the most horrific murders I’ve ever seen on TV or in the movies. The his wife got it in the back and across the throat. Yow! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/53 "2018-12-18T19:24:54Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I am reminded of a Cold Case Files I saw once. Mom and Dad were chopped up in bed (by their son we learn eventually). Both had mortal ax wounds to the head but dad didn’t know it. He got up, walked downstairs to the kitchen and was preparing to have his morning coffee when it finally hit him that he had a gaping head wound that was gushing blood all over the place and that he was actually deceased. That episode of “Forensic Files” is on You Tube; there are several links. The episode is called “Family Ties.” I didn't remember the episode until they started talking about the yellow jeep. That part, I remembered. The narrator with the very distinctive voice died a few years ago at the age of - are you ready for this - 95! ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/54 "2018-12-18T19:46:57Z")
Nm ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/55 "2018-12-19T14:59:27Z")
> [@JB99](#): > > The biggest problem with TV is that the actor is still in control of their body. It’s impossible to fake. Their muscles remain tense and they lower themselves to the ground, whereas in real life someone who loses consciousness or gets shot in a critical place just crumples. It’s bad. I’ve been going through _Star Trek: TNG_ and there are several episodes where someone has entered _Enterprise_’s bridge to find the entire crew unconscious – in very comfortable positions. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/56 "2018-12-19T17:28:08Z")
Getting away from guns and knives… I’ve seen someone blown up by a hand grenade at close range. In the movies, people near hand grenades get hurtled through the air (often in slow motion in a swan dive type of body position). Perhaps there are grenades designed to push people through the air. However, the grenade I saw was filled with shrapnel and the guy most certainly did not go flying through the air. He was obliterated. Like he was put in a blender. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/57 "2018-12-19T18:03:09Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > _Dim mak_ isn’t really a thing. That is, nobody can reliably train to hit someone now, and have them die a week from next Tuesday. Although as you mention, there are things like delayed rupture of the spleen and similar injuries that can cause death later - you just can’t do them at will. It’s based on the same idea as acupuncture, that you are blocking the flow of _chi_ thru the meridians, which is also not a real thing. A related idea is that of pressure point knockouts, where you press on the cardiac meridian (or whatever) and it causes your opponent to fall over unconscious. Also [mostly or entirely BS](https://www.medicaldaily.com/truth-about-pressure-points-which-ones-can-kill-you-and-which-ones-are-just-myths-316528). > > Plus I never saw the combat utility of killing somebody a few days from now as opposed to, say, right now. > > Regards, > Shodan Dim Mak is TOTALLY a thing! The utility is the terror of uncertainty it instills in the victim. I put the move on you, and you could drop dead at any time from nearly anything–stroke, aneurism, spontaneous coronary artery dissection, cancer (if I’m really good). And it could happen in 10 minutes or 30 years. You never know, but it will eventually get you. You’ll feel hunted and uneasy for the rest of your life, however long that may be. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/58 "2018-12-19T19:19:09Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > Getting away from guns and knives… > > I’ve seen someone blown up by a hand grenade at close range. In the movies, people near hand grenades get hurtled through the air (often in slow motion in a swan dive type of body position). Perhaps there are grenades designed to push people through the air. > > However, the grenade I saw was filled with shrapnel and the guy most certainly did not go flying through the air. He was obliterated. Like he was put in a blender. And mortar rounds that go off five feet away and don’t kill you. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/59 "2018-12-19T19:21:33Z")
> [@divemaster](#): > > Getting away from guns and knives… > > I’ve seen someone blown up by a hand grenade at close range. In the movies, people near hand grenades get hurtled through the air (often in slow motion in a swan dive type of body position). Perhaps there are grenades designed to push people through the air. > > However, the grenade I saw was filled with shrapnel and the guy most certainly did not go flying through the air. He was obliterated. Like he was put in a blender. Real grenades are not very impressive. I little flash, a little smoke, a boom. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114/60 "2018-12-19T20:23:50Z")
Well, the boom is pretty fucking impressive if you’re not ready for it or if it happens nearby. 🙂 But yeah, no satisfying fireball. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-deaths-vs-reality/826114.md?page=4)