Killer Decks

Devantè · 2006-08-06 05:02:24

The Mythbusters set out once again to prove something - Is a card from an ordinary deck of playing cards lethal? Could it cause serious damage? No, it couldn't...but it can cause some damage. To the skin, that is...and pretty hurtful.

The Mythbusters had one man - And that man could throw an ordinary playing card from a deck of cards at around 40 kph. His father, however, could throw one at 80 kph, and over a distance of 60 metres! Back at the lab, though, they set out to figure out if an ordinary playing card could be lethal if thrown at someone. They used a material that are very similar to skin, and yes, it did penetrate the skin - 2mm deep. Their results were laughable when they compared their result to their prediction. However, they weren't done yet. They set out to build a machine capable of throwing a playing card at over 200 mph. They built it - And it penetrated the skin - 6mm deep, this time. They tested it on one of their team members, and yes, it hurt them - And they saw that their subject was showing some minor bleeding. It wasn't serious, though.

So, the Mythbusters proved that an ordinary playing card can, in fact, pierce the skin.

Ricky · 2006-08-06 07:35:20

Anything can pierce skin, when accelerated to fast enough speeds. That a playing card can do this is no surprise.

But 6mm should be enough to cut the carotid artery, causing death. So if you were extremely lucky (or perhaps unlucky), it could in theory kill a person.

Zhylliolom · 2006-08-06 08:25:12

I'd love to see that scenario in some movie, a guy loses a poker game so he throws a card and kills his opponent.

Devantè · 2006-08-24 05:55:57

I just love throwing cards. There are two ways to actually hurt someone, and actually cause quite a sting without drawing blood.

The first is the Thurston Method. Hold the card between the index finger and the middle finger, grasping the card tightly right at the corner. Do this while holding the card lengthwise (obviously) instead of widthwise, and lengthwise will get you more distance and spin. Place your thumb lightly on the side of your hand, then throw.

But some more information on this first. Firstly, never try this on anyone - Seriously, it stings. And if you're new to this and trying it on something, then the card is likely to miss your target by a few feet. Also, use the best cards you can afford. It works OK with cheap cards, but not well enough. Get some proper cards.

Another bit of advice. When you want to get serious with this kind of stuff, then get yourself some loose wrists (no, you can't buy these at the store). To get these 'loose' wrists, squeeze some sort of stressball filled with a load of sand for a few weeks. The advantage of having 'loose' wrists is obviously that they're more flexible than normal wrists. The main factor of the technique used to throw cards is flexibility. You need to bend your wrist right back when throwing, otherwise you are just going to end up with an ordinary fluttering card.

Work on your skills of throwing cards, and you'll surprised how good you can get with throwing ordinary playing cards. Try it yourself. If you have any questions on the technique of throwing playing cards, just ask me.

One more thing - When throwing the card, hold it at an angle, and hold it straight. Don't grip it too tight. And also, it's all in the wrist. No matter how strong you are, you still won't be able to throw a card very far. It's wrist that does the trick, not build.

And for more information, Click here.

Last edited by Devanté (2006-08-24 18:09:07)

Devantè · 2006-09-05 06:18:00

There is also another technique of throwing I invented called the 'card boomerang'. Simply throw the card with your left hand (if you are right-handed) using the curve-technique, and hopefully after some practice you will have mastered it. It is extremely hard, but it is also extremely fun. This will help make you better at the ambidextrous technique, in which you throw two cards at once, one in each hand. If used as a form of defence, this can be extemely useful, and painful.

espeon · 2006-09-05 06:21:51

lol if anything can hurt someone at a accelerated speed then what about a tissue?

Devantè · 2006-09-05 06:28:39

That's not my point. The reason I have posted that long post is to show you how to throw cards, and the technique behind them. I know that anything can cause some damage at speeds accelerated to a fast enough level.

Maybe you could try it yourself. Tell me how you get on, and see if it works.

And I think tissue can cause a little damage, but I doubt it...it's just hard to think of it causing damage. :\

But I understand what you mean.

mathsyperson · 2006-09-05 06:53:17

While you're right that anything can cause damage if thrown fast enough, I think that for tissues to be fast enough to cause pain they'd need to be travelling much faster than anyone could throw them.

Cards are different because they are flat. This means that air resistance doesn't slow them down too much, and that when they reach their target, all the force of the throw is directed to a very small area, which means more pressure which means more pain. Tissues would slow down quickly when thrown and only be a mild annoyance to anyone they hit.

Ricky · 2006-09-05 08:19:06

lol if anything can hurt someone at a accelerated speed then what about a tissue?

Even a couple of protons traveling near the speed of light will have the impact of a softball. Of course, protons would be more likely to pass straight through you like knife would, and thus, not an actual impact. But if you can get a tissue to a high enough velocity, it can kill you.

What's high enough? I would imagine 5000km/s would be sufficient.

Devantè · 2006-09-06 07:13:56

First person on this forum to get a tissue up to that speed gets a prize.

luca-deltodesco · 2006-09-06 07:18:49

Ricky wrote:

Of course, protons would be more likely to pass straight through you like knife would, and thus, not an actual impact.

the thing is, if the proton just so happened to strike one of your bodys atoms, even at that speed, its very very very very very very very very very very very unlikely that you would ever notice it, and its very likely that it might never strike a single atom of your body.

lol it would be funny if it started a chain reaction and blew you up like a nucleur bomb (yes i know thats not possible)

Math Is Fun Forum

#1 2006-08-06 05:02:24

Killer Decks

#2 2006-08-06 07:35:20

Re: Killer Decks

#3 2006-08-06 08:25:12

Re: Killer Decks

#4 2006-08-24 05:55:57

Re: Killer Decks

#5 2006-09-05 06:18:00

Re: Killer Decks

#6 2006-09-05 06:21:51

Re: Killer Decks

#7 2006-09-05 06:28:39

Re: Killer Decks

#8 2006-09-05 06:53:17

Re: Killer Decks

#9 2006-09-05 08:19:06

Re: Killer Decks

#10 2006-09-06 07:13:56

Re: Killer Decks

#11 2006-09-06 07:18:49

Re: Killer Decks

Board footer