Darwin Award Nominee

[headscratcher4]

http://www.salon.com/news/wire/2003/11/24/kkk/index.html


Here's the teaser: KKK rally, guns fired into the air (in celebration, methinks they saw Saddam doing it on TV), critical injuries occur (apparently, no one thought about Newton). Anyway, thems good 'ol boys shure is smart. I hope big fig wasn't the one hurt....

[Solitaire]

Originally posted by headscratcher4
Anyway, thems good 'ol boys shure is smart.
I hope big fig wasn't the one hurt....

Um, er...
She's down around Nashville I think.
I do, however, live close enough by to occasionally
patch the roof for leaks when a celebration breaks out. :D

Here's a mug shot. (http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/)

[headscratcher4]

Ah yes, a face only a Nazi mother could love....

[Tricky]

Well, to be a real Darwin nominee, you have to injure yourself or a member of your family. Perhaps he will get a special exemption because the victim probably had a lot of genetic overlap.

[headscratcher4]

Point taken, but methinks there should be a special award, Darwin Award 2nd Class (as it were), for an action like this. Not only is there likely some sort of significant genetic overlap -- mother and father were first cousins and siblings kind o' thing -- but, it is also likely that the bullet involved will, shall we say, limit the ability of another fine gene specimen to breed (again, or for the first time). So, the shooter here may not have taken himself out of the genetic pool, but there might be one less breeder in a somewhat dubious genetic pool.

In any event, hopefully the human species will be improved by this somewhat random form of eugenics. As they say, White Power!

:D

[toddjh]

A bullet struck Murr on the top of the head and exited at the bottom of his skull, authorities said.

I wouldn't have thought a falling bullet could do so much damage. Concussion, sure, maybe crack the skull...but yikes!

Jeremy

[Skeptic]

Here's the teaser: KKK rally, guns fired into the air (in celebration, methinks they saw Saddam doing it on TV), critical injuries occur (apparently, no one thought about Newton). Anyway, thems good 'ol boys shure is smart. I hope big fig wasn't the one hurt....

Well, the KKK's main claim is that any black person dumber than THEY are is of subhuman intelligence. Come to think of it, they have a point...

[Tricky]

Originally posted by toddjh

I wouldn't have thought a falling bullet could do so much damage. Concussion, sure, maybe crack the skull...but yikes!

I'm not sure what the terminal velocity (where acceleration due to gravity is matched by wind resistance) of a bullet is, but considering the density of lead, I would imagine it's pretty high. Depends on the caliber too, of course.

[Chaos]

Here in Germany, we have a saying that goes "Alles Gute kommt von oben", or "Everything that´s good comes from above".

This proves it once again. *malicious grin*

[Marc]

Got a friend Bernie down in Miami. He is the kind of guy who seems to have done it all, always with some great stories to share.

He tells us the Cuban population there have a habit of celebrating the new year by fireing off guns into the air. Good day to stay indoors! Bad enough looking out for drunk drivers, but drunk shooters and raining bullets?

[BTox]

Originally posted by headscratcher4
Here's the teaser: KKK rally, guns fired into the air (in celebration, methinks they saw Saddam doing it on TV), critical injuries occur (apparently, no one thought about Newton). Anyway, thems good 'ol boys shure is smart. I hope big fig wasn't the one hurt....

Sounds like a cock-and-bull story to me. Very skeptical that a pistol round at terminal velocity can penetrate the skull once, let alone twice. The army did studies years ago showing that a 30 caliber rifle slug shot straight up was not lethal, and barely able to puncture skin.

[WildCat]

Originally posted by BTox


Sounds like a cock-and-bull story to me. Very skeptical that a pistol round at terminal velocity can penetrate the skull once, let alone twice. The army did studies years ago showing that a 30 caliber rifle slug shot straight up was not lethal, and barely able to puncture skin.
I'm suspicious of this as well, I find bullets on roofs all the time. They just lay there, don't even dent the soft tar. I suspect the bullet ricocheted off something and then hit the racist inbred doofus.

[BTox]

Originally posted by WildCat

I'm suspicious of this as well, I find bullets on roofs all the time. They just lay there, don't even dent the soft tar. I suspect the bullet ricocheted off something and then hit the racist inbred doofus.

My guess is the moron was walking with a loaded (and cocked)gun, couldn't see out of the sheet holes and tripped, the gun went off and hit the other moron in the head. Hence the need to concoct the bullsh!t story.

[WildCat]

Originally posted by BTox


My guess is the moron was walking with a loaded (and cocked)gun, couldn't see out of the sheet holes and tripped, the gun went off and hit the other moron in the head. Hence the need to concoct the bullsh!t story.
I thought of that, but reports are the bullet entered the top of the skull and out the base. He could have been hunched over though, but since he was tied to a tree w/ a noose around his neck (!) it seems unlikely.

Another scenario: Part of the ritual was a mock execution, and the retarded KKK member (oxymoron?) forgot to unload the gun first.

At any rate, I'm sure it didn't just fall back on him.

[Ed]

Seems like they come down at about 300 fps. I suspect that it would smart a tad.

http://www.loadammo.com/Topics/March01.htm

[WildCat]

Originally posted by Ed
http://www.loadammo.com/Topics/March01.htm
Wind can have a dramatic effect on where a vertically fired bullet lands. A 5 mile per hour wind will displace the 150 gr. bullet about 365 ft based on the time it takes the bullet to make the round trip to earth. In addition the wind at ground level may be blowing in an entirely different direction than it is at 9,000 feet. It is no wonder that it is so difficult to determine where a falling bullet will land.

Based on the results of these tests it was concluded that the bullet return velocity was about 300 f.p.s. For the 150 gr. bullet this corresponds to an energy of 30 foot pounds. Earlier the Army had determined that, on the average, it required 60 foot pounds of energy to produce a disabling wound. Based on this information, a falling 150 gr. service bullet would not be lethal, although it could produce a serious wound.

This sure makes the KKK shooters story very suspicious. I'm now leaning towards the mock execution gone awry theory. When the forensic tests come back it will be interesting to see if there are powder traces on the victims head.

[BTox]

Originally posted by WildCat


This sure makes the KKK shooters story very suspicious. I'm now leaning towards the mock execution gone awry theory. When the forensic tests come back it will be interesting to see if there are powder traces on the victims head.

Yeah I like your theory better than mine. Didn't realize the dolt was tied up. And Ed's data is for a rifle slug, I'd think a thicker, shorter pistol slug would have a slower terminal velocity than 300 fps.

[toddjh]

Originally posted by WildCat
I thought of that, but reports are the bullet entered the top of the skull and out the base. He could have been hunched over though, but since he was tied to a tree w/ a noose around his neck (!) it seems unlikely.

As unlikely as it seems, I still think the shot was fired into the air. Nothing I've read has said that the guy who was tied up was the one who got hit. I think it was just another participant.

Jeremy

[BTox]

Originally posted by toddjh


As unlikely as it seems, I still think the shot was fired into the air. Nothing I've read has said that the guy who was tied up was the one who got hit. I think it was just another participant.

Jeremy

Whomever was shot is irrelevant, as opposed to the impossibility of a freefalling bullet penetrating the skull.

And BTW, who knows if the story is even true. Salon is hardly a good source of news, or anything else for that matter...

[toddjh]

Originally posted by BTox
Whomever was shot is irrelevant

No it's not. The fact that the victim was probably standing upright makes an accidental direct shot hard to explain.

as opposed to the impossibility of a freefalling bullet penetrating the skull.

"Impossibility" is too strong a word. It's unlikely, true, but so far we have only anecdotal and common sense arguments against it. I shouldn't have to tell you that both of those are proved wrong every day.

And BTW, who knows if the story is even true. Salon is hardly a good source of news, or anything else for that matter...

It's been reported by lots of sources now.

Jeremy

[Eos of the Eons]

:D
This thread made me laugh harder than I have in long time, thanks for the article and hilarious posts



Freeman fled the ceremony but was arrested near his home, authorities said.


LOL, he runs away

[BTox]

Originally posted by toddjh
"Impossibility" is too strong a word. It's unlikely, true, but so far we have only anecdotal and common sense arguments against it. I shouldn't have to tell you that both of those are proved wrong every day.


Disagree. There have been studies done on the terminal velocity (and resultant impact force) of falling bullets. Simply not possible for a falling pistol round to pierce the skull.

[Eos of the Eons]

The guy ran away, there must be more to the story than a bullet falling back to the earth.

[BTox]

Originally posted by Eos of the Eons
The guy ran away, there must be more to the story than a bullet falling back to the earth.

I bet he was trying to wash the blood splatter residue off his hood and robe ;)

[toddjh]

Originally posted by BTox
Disagree. There have been studies done on the terminal velocity (and resultant impact force) of falling bullets. Simply not possible for a falling pistol round to pierce the skull.

People have mentioned these studies, but does anyone have a cite? It's only anecdotal until we can see it for ourselves, isn't it?

Besides, plenty of "impossible" things happen.

Jeremy

[BTox]

Originally posted by toddjh


People have mentioned these studies, but does anyone have a cite? It's only anecdotal until we can see it for ourselves, isn't it?

Besides, plenty of "impossible" things happen.

Jeremy

One word for you: physics.

"Falling bullets: terminal velocities and penetration studies", by L. C. Haag, Wound Ballistics Conference, April 1994, Sacramento, California.

[headscratcher4]

Originally posted by BTox


Whomever was shot is irrelevant, as opposed to the impossibility of a freefalling bullet penetrating the skull.

And BTW, who knows if the story is even true. Salon is hardly a good source of news, or anything else for that matter...

BTW: you can agree with Salon or disagree with Salon...I think there are good articles and political commentary there. However, whether this story is real or not, the report -- admittedly from the Salon website -- came from Salon's running AP wire...so, question the AP, not Salon.

Oh, in considering how much damage a bullet falling from the sky might do, did anyone consider that the victim might just have an unusually soft skull? Could happen when sibling/cousins breed. Just a thought

[LTC8K6]

Ricochet off of a tree branch?

[arcticpenguin]

How does this sound? The idiot shooter loads his own ammo, and was certain there wasn't enough powder to actually penetrate the skull.

[Sandy M]

A month or two ago, a woman will killed by a shark bite off the Southern California coast. SHE WAS SWIMMING IN THE OPEN SEA WITH THE SEA LIONS. Hmmmm.... and what do sharks like to eat, among other things.... perhaps, SEA LIONS? And how do sea lions swim? quickly, smoothly, gracefully... and how do people swim - pretty much like INJURED SEA LIONS (All that splashing!).....

I'm sorry for the woman and her family, but ya gotta say, "What were you thinking???????" IMHO, definitely a Darwin Award nominee.

[BTox]

Originally posted by toddjh


No it's not. The fact that the victim was probably standing upright makes an accidental direct shot hard to explain.


And another point. What makes you think the victim was standing upright? Could he have been kneeling, or sitting? Or even if standing, could he have been looking down at the moment of impact?

[BTox]

Originally posted by headscratcher4


BTW: you can agree with Salon or disagree with Salon...I think there are good articles and political commentary there.

That's your personal opinion, nothing wrong with that. I'd say it's a liberal attempt at National Review, but comes off more like Newsmax...

[WildCat]

Originally posted by headscratcher4


BTW: you can agree with Salon or disagree with Salon...I think there are good articles and political commentary there.
It's definitely a real story, reported by AP. (http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/11/24/klan.initiation.ap/index.html)