# "The number one killer is domestic disputes is a frying pan." HUH?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 24, 2004, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907 "2004-02-24T16:02:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/21 "2004-02-25T05:58:10Z")
I don’t know if this is any kind of measure, but I’ve been watching “Cops” for years and I’ve seen lots of stabbings and shootings, but I can’t think of any frying-pannings. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Starguard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Starguard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starguard)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/22 "2004-02-25T08:10:01Z")
Here in my neighborhood, Hot Grits seem to be the choice of weapons for most women :eek: ---
**Author:** ![aeropl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@aeropl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aeropl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 8:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/23 "2004-02-25T08:11:06Z")
Go to [this government page](http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/intimates.htm), and scroll all the way down to the bottom. You’ll see that blunt objects were responsible for 2-5% of " homcides (depending on relationship), while guns were responsible for 47-71%. Of course, this assumes frying pans are considered blunt objects… ---
**Author:** ![Innanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecd19e/32.png) [@Innanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Innanna)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/24 "2004-02-25T12:05:45Z")
> [@Hokienautic](#): > > Anyway, I went to lunch with some friends on Sunday. There’s one girl in there who likes to think she’s knows everything and is always peppering us with stories and little factoids to show off. > > Sunday she throws this little nugget out: In domestic killings, the number one weapon used is NOT guns, but frying pans. > > This can’t be true, can it? Anyone heard this before? It sounds like something that Saturday Night Live would have the NRA saying in a skit. You should ask her (assuming she hasn’t been panned between now and then) whether the stat refers to worldwide domestic deaths or simply US ones. I can’t imagine that a lot of people are whacked with a pan in the US, but maybe there are more incidents in countries where there are a) more cast iron frying pans and b) fewer guns? Personally, I think the woman is just messing with you (or not getting her info from a reliable source), but it is a slight possibility. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/25 "2004-02-25T12:31:17Z")
> [@Innanna](#): > > I can’t imagine that a lot of people are whacked with a pan in the US, but maybe there are more incidents in countries where there are a) more cast iron frying pans and b) fewer guns? Many Asian nations list “wok-whack” as a leading cause of death. ---
**Author:** ![Chak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Chak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chak)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/26 "2004-02-25T12:52:15Z")
Germany is a country with strict gun control but I cannot find any statistic where they break down the domestic crimes to weapon of assault. I can only say there are very few deaths. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/27 "2004-02-25T12:59:58Z")
I thought you Yanks called a frying pan a ‘skillet’? Which is of course an anagram of ‘killest’, which proves it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Milton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6bbea6/32.png) [@Mr.Milton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Milton)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/28 "2004-02-25T14:08:12Z")
Jjimm: In the south, frying pans are occasionally called “fry-pans” or “spiders” in addition to “skillets”. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/29 "2004-02-25T14:20:43Z")
> [@seaworthy](#): > > 1. it would be the funniest thing ever to whack a guy in the face with a frying pan Did you use to watch the TV show [Dinosaurs](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0101081/)? “This pan is pretty good!” -Baby Sinclair ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/30 "2004-02-25T14:23:37Z")
So if a critic “pans” your performance, I guess she’s given you a very bad review, eh? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/31 "2004-02-25T16:03:19Z")
I went over to the range to check out my new Calphalon yesterday. Sweet. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/32 "2004-02-25T16:24:56Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > I found this in a 2000 article from the journal “Law and Order” > [@](#): > > According to the 1998 Department of Justice Report on the National Violence Against Women Survey, 36% of the victims of domestic violence are men. In addition, in 1995, the Michigan State Police reported men were 46% of the murder victims. The statistics help break the myth that women are, not capable of domestic violence. > > The paradox is that many studies demonstrate that wives and girlfriends assault, seriously injure and kill men. The fact that men are larger and stronger is not significant, especially when a woman’s weapon of choice is a gun, or death by poison. > > Women can be just as violent as men, they simply do not fit the cultural stereotype and media image. According to researchers Sniechowski and Sherven, domestic violence is a two-way street. When you examine the dark side of abuse by women the statistics are revealing. Women are involved in 41 % of the spousal murders and 33 % of the family murders. Do they say how many of those female murderers or beaters did it in self-defense? ---
**Author:** ![netscape\_6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8c91f0/32.png) [@netscape\_6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/netscape_6)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/33 "2004-02-25T20:01:38Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > _Frying pans don’t kill people, saturated fat kills people._ you can have my beacon when you pry it out of my cold dead greasy hand. :wally ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/34 "2004-02-25T22:39:34Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Do they say how many of those female murderers or beaters did it in self-defense? Or the other way around? ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/35 "2004-02-25T23:07:41Z")
Actually, my sister’s best friend’s mother killed the father with a frying pan. The best friend (let’s call her Suzy) was sitting on her bed when her father came in and told her that he didn’t feel really good (it was only a few minutes after her mother had hit him). He passed out and died before the ambulance got there. Everyone in the family knew what happened, but they didn’t tell the police. I bet this kind of thing happens a lot. The EMTs wrote it down as a heart attack, because no one told them it was head trauma. Suzy’s family is VERY strange, and her mother was abusive to her and her siblings. My mother tried to go to the police when she found out, but my sister cried all over her and told her not to, that it would destroy her friendship with Suzy. Just typing this makes me feel sick to my stomach. No one has done a damned thing, as this abused man was allowed to die and NO ONE CARED. ☹ :mad: Sorry…I know this is a lighthearted thread, but it makes me so sad and angry. ---
**Author:** ![Beltane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@Beltane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beltane)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/36 "2004-02-25T23:07:53Z")
A couple of years ago me and my BF were switching channels on cable and we happened upon a “christian” network. The preacher ( I don’t know who it was- I’d never seen him before) was ranting on about something. The part that drew me in was “I hope that she takes a Frying Pan and hits you right between the eyes”. I almost fell out of the chair laughing. Evidently he was advocating women solving there own problems with abusive men. I realize that this is a serious subject, but the circumstances (and his contrived way of speaking) was just too much ---
**Author:** ![Elysian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c77e96/32.png) [@Elysian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elysian)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/37 "2004-02-25T23:09:46Z")
Oh, and I didn’t go to the police for two reasons: 1. The family would have denied my story and 2. I found out about this several months afterward I’m going to go try to calm down now. ---
**Author:** ![Marvel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marvel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvel)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/38 "2004-02-26T01:51:43Z")
> [@Elysian](#): > > Oh, and I didn’t go to the police for two reasons: > > 1. The family would have denied my story and > 2. I found out about this several months afterward > > I’m going to go try to calm down now. FYI - I don’t think there’s a statute of limitation on murder. Maybe drop the coroner a letter about checking the remains for head trauma? How long ago was this, anyway? Even if nothing comes of your efforts, doing something now might make you feel slightly less pissed-off. Patty ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/39 "2004-02-26T03:37:29Z")
My wife still owns the frying pan whose handle broke off when her mother hit her second husband with it (although no fatality occurred). ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907/40 "2004-02-26T04:20:18Z")
**Elysian** , do you know why the police/EMTs and the coroner never noticed any fatal head trauma? They overlooked a blow from a frying pan to the head and instead concluded heart attack? How is it that they were that incompetant? If you’re sure about this, and you really, really need to be sure, you need to inform the authorities. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-number-one-killer-is-domestic-disputes-is-a-frying-pan-huh/230907.md?page=3)