# Movie where someone puts the pin back into a grenade **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 1, 2006, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996 "2006-06-01T10:25:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/1 "2006-06-01T10:25:13Z")
I have a vivid recollection of an action movie where someone pulls the pin out of a grenade (I think in an attempt to commit suicide or something like that) and someone else _calmly_ picks up the pin and puts it back into the grenade. What am I thinking of? ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/2 "2006-06-01T11:45:15Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > I have a vivid recollection of an action movie where someone pulls the pin out of a grenade (I think in an attempt to commit suicide or something like that) and someone else _calmly_ picks up the pin and puts it back into the grenade. What am I thinking of? Well, I doubt this is the movie you’re thinking of, but Nicholas Cage did so in _The Lord of War_, which Himself & I watched over the weekend. Maybe it was _The Rock_ (is Nic Cage stuck in my head, or what?) but I can’t be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/3 "2006-06-01T12:20:40Z")
As long as the spoon is not released, the pin can be replaced and the grenade will not explode. When the spoon is released, the fuse ignites and the grenade will explode. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/4 "2006-06-01T12:22:28Z")
_The Delta Force_ a Chuck Norris “vehicle” I think??? ---
**Author:** ![SurrenderDorothy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/surrenderdorothy/32/1221_2.png) [@SurrenderDorothy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SurrenderDorothy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/5 "2006-06-01T12:24:12Z")
I’m pretty sure there was at least one episode of M_A_S\*H where that happened. A patient pullled a pin out of a grenade and everyone sang to him while they looked for the pin on the ground. Probably not what you’re looking for, but… well, it could be. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/6 "2006-06-01T12:38:43Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > As long as the spoon is not released, the pin can be replaced and the grenade will not explode. When the spoon is released, the fuse ignites and the grenade will explode. Yeah, but sticking the pin back in is not as easy as it sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/7 "2006-06-01T12:41:55Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Yeah, but sticking the pin back in is not as easy as it sounds. The pin is exactly what the name implies: a cotter pin with a ring to make pulling it out easier. Putting it back isn’t any more difficult than putting any cotter pin back in place. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/8 "2006-06-01T14:20:01Z")
I have a practice grenade on my desk at home. Pin comes out, pin goes back in. No problem. ---
**Author:** ![KlondikeGeoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@KlondikeGeoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KlondikeGeoff)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/9 "2006-06-01T15:59:04Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I have a practice grenade on my desk at home. Pin comes out, pin goes back in. No problem. Are you absolutely **sure** it’s a practice grenade? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/10 "2006-06-01T16:01:54Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I have a practice grenade on my desk at home. Pin comes out, pin goes back in. No problem. Sure - NOW it does, after you’ve weakened the sprimng and widened the hole through repetition. Try it with a granade fresh from the box. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/11 "2006-06-01T16:07:26Z")
Joe Friday did that once when he and Gannon wrestled a grenade away from a suicide bomber on the 1967 _Dragnet_ series. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/12 "2006-06-01T16:22:54Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Sure - NOW it does, after you’ve weakened the sprimng and widened the hole through repetition. Try it with a granade fresh from the box. I have. It was like putting any other cotter pin back in place. The pin was slightly sprung and had to be squeezed together to fit back through the hole. It wasn’t particularly difficult. The pin has to fit through the hole during initial assembly of the fuse mechanism and they don’t fit so tightly that something like a hydraulic press is necessary for the process. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/13 "2006-06-01T18:13:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Sure - NOW it does, after you’ve weakened the spring and widened the hole through repetition. Try it with a granade fresh from the box. There’s a joke in here somewhere. (In **Scumpup** ’s version, not quite so much.) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/14 "2006-06-01T19:34:20Z")
It was Lord Of War, thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/15 "2006-06-01T19:36:31Z")
And I’d tend to trust the Israeli about the topic of grenades, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/16 "2006-06-07T13:43:35Z")
> [@Argent Towers](#): > > And I’d tend to trust the Israeli about the topic of grenades, by the way. Why does his nationality give him special expertise on grenades? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/17 "2006-06-07T13:53:52Z")
Heck yeah. They eat them for breakfast over there! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/18 "2006-06-07T14:30:40Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Why does his nationality give him special expertise on grenades? He’s also a veteran of an army that takes such training seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/19 "2006-06-07T14:44:54Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > He’s also a veteran of an army that takes such training seriously. Oh, I see. Apparently other armies, like the one of which I was a part, treat grenade training as more of a lark. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996/20 "2006-06-07T15:14:51Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Oh, I see. Apparently other armies, like the one of which I was a part, treat grenade training as more of a lark. For what it’s worth, I’m with you on this one. The physical effort to replace a pin is negligible. On the other hand, if you’re handling a live grenade, adrenaline rush could cause you some problems hitting the hole. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-where-someone-puts-the-pin-back-into-a-grenade/358996.md?page=2)