Can a person die instantly without getting shot in the head?

cynder

even being shot in the head does not guarantee instant death, one guy tried it and the bullet ricocheted out his eye.

i think top marks for squishing (crushing like a 10 ton weight being dropped on your head).

also some car crashes have resulted in instant death

being blown apart by a big bomb in close proximity or a really big bomb and not immediate area (like a nuke)

breaking the neck (a proper break)

decapitation (even though some say the head can still be alive up to 10 seconds after ) i dont wanna try it to find out.....

if you want a little laugh

http://flashpasteurized.blogspot.com/2010/01/touching-wires-causes-instant-death.html

Voodu Child

grindelwald wrote: »

even being shot in the head does not guarantee instant death, one guy tried it and the bullet ricocheted out his eye.

Yeah but I heard that there's a place in your head where if you shoot it at the exact right spot, your head explodes.

cynder

Voodu Child wrote: »

Yeah but I heard that there's a place in your head where if you shoot it at the exact right spot, your head explodes.

you wanna try????

thought not

I think massive heart attack and blood clots are in there too, along with a massive overdose of an opium based drug. i think that a massive dose of insulin would result in a quick death,

This is so morbid why are we talking about it?

think you should take up biology and then get a job in a clinic in switzerland.

Wertz

Faith+1 wrote: »

I wonder how long it takes to die after you eat your own head?

Go for it. We'll time you.

waffleman

Faith+1 wrote: »

I wonder how long it takes to die after you eat your own head?

If you put your mind to it I'm sure you could find out**




**I'll get my coat

Scuid Mhór

aaronh007 wrote: »

Shot to the heart would kill you instantly I would think

i always wondered why people who murder themselves on television shows/in books don't shoot their hearts but instead go for the head. stronger imagery or a misconception that a shot through the temple is the only foolproof way to go?

Tandey

Sure wasn't 50 cent shot 9 times hardy cnut that lad and even got shot in the face and is alive to this day lol

SeaFields

I is no doctor person but i imagine as long as there is oxygenated blood in your brain you would be aware of whats happening around you (as long as you dont fall unconscious). I suppose there is a blury line between truama that causes you to fall unconscious instantly but your technically still alive for a bit and actually being dead instantly.

/what a morbid fcuking post :eek:

Wibbs

grindelwald wrote: »

even being shot in the head does not guarantee instant death, one guy tried it and the bullet ricocheted out his eye.

Yea and even a shot to the base of the brain, might not be instant. It could look like it, but to the person may not feel like it. It might depend on the calibre too. A bigger round would also cause a massive trauma causing instant coma I would have thought.

i think top marks for squishing (crushing like a 10 ton weight being dropped on your head).

also some car crashes have resulted in instant death

Massive blunt force trauma that destroys the entire pain feeling mechanism kinda thing

breaking the neck (a proper break)

decapitation (even though some say the head can still be alive up to 10 seconds after ) i dont wanna try it to find out.....

Or mix both like in a judicial long drop hanging. It's essentially an internal decapitation, but the sudden shock at the end would likely render the person instantly into a deep coma. A neck break on its own may not.

Decapitation like the guillotine may not be instant like you said. One experiment in the late 1800 is france seemed to show that its not and it was more like 30 seconds not 10 where there was some conscious brain activity. :eek::eek:

1 large calibre round to the heart that ripped it apart would be pretty instant though. Under 10/20 seconds anyway.

Tandey

SeaFields wrote: »

I is no doctor person but i imagine as long as there is oxygenated blood in your brain you would be aware of whats happening around you (as long as you dont fall unconscious). I suppose there is a blury line between truama that causes you to fall unconscious instantly but your technically still alive for a bit and actually being dead instantly.

/what a morbid fcuking post :eek:

AYYYEEEEE Ali G

seamus

Giant Squid wrote: »

i always wondered why people who murder themselves on television shows/in books don't shoot their hearts but instead go for the head. stronger imagery or a misconception that a dhot through the temple is the only foolproof way to go?

Probably that, but there are a number of other reasons too:

1. General confusion over the location of the heart. Is it on the left, in the middle, where is it? There's not that much confusion over the location of your brain. That said, a large number of people have managed to "miss" their brain and simply shoot themselves in the side of the face or out the back of their lower skull.

2. Protection: Your heart is mostly protected by ribs and a big feck off sternum. A pistol may not have the punch necessary to go through this and sufficiently damage your heart. Owies-ville. Your brain on the other hand is vulnerable through the roof of your mouth, no protection.

3. Practicality - take a shotgun and try to hold it steady, horizontally, pointing towards your chest and with your thumb on the trigger. Now stick the barrels into your mouth, pointing upwards. Infinitely easier. A pistol too you can hold in the traditional way while pointing towards the roof of your mouth.

In reality, unless your brain is vaporised, crushed or split into chunks then there's no way that we can say someone was killed "instantly". People have managed to remove portions of their brain with a bullet and live to tell the tale, so we've no reason to think that a fatal bullet in the brain doesn't give a couple of seconds of consciousness before expiring. Experiments done in the 16th or 17th century on guillotined convicts proved fairly conclusively that they head does survive independently of the body after being removed. For a couple of seconds anyway.

Any other form of death - massive embolisms, massive heart attacks, aortic aneurysms - will result in a very quick death (matter of seconds) but it's doubtful that you're gone instantly.

Contrary to what FPS's would teach us, a headshot does not necessarily result in guaranteed or instant death.

Iron Hide

Voodu Child wrote: »

Yeah but I heard that there's a place in your head where if you shoot it at the exact right spot, your head explodes.

The medulla oblongata i think is what your referring to, on the back of your head, just above where your head and neck join.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medulla_oblongata

Notorious97

Tandey wrote: »

Sure wasn't 50 cent shot 9 times hardy cnut that lad and even got shot in the face and is alive to this day lol

Tupac was hot in the head first time around also and lived for two more years before somebody shot him again.

Mr Benevolent

What is this piss? Who gives a shit about some made-up gangster?

Tandey

Notorious97 wrote: »

Tupac was hot in the head first time around also and lived for two more years before somebody shot him again.

I reckon fiddy was shot maybe 4/5 times but just added a few extra ones in there when he became a good rapper, ive seen him on Jonathan Ross and only ever seen him show about 3 bullet wounds, just my theory.

Notorious97

Tandey wrote: »

I reckon fiddy was shot maybe 4/5 times but just added a few extra ones in there when he became a good rapper, ive seen him on Jonathan Ross and only ever seen him show about 3 bullet wounds, just my theory.

Lol i don’t know if he made it up, i know after the one in the side of the face he sounds alot different rapping, but could have added a fewin for good measure im sure!

azezil

To quote the Borg: "Biological organism: Human. Sever spinal cord below third vertebrae. Death is immediate."

Dublin_Gunner

Pretty sure a hatchet or any other implement like a sword or even a javelin through the skull would be fairly instantaneous.

Grenade beside head too.

Massive trauma to the head by something like a large weight dropped or a hammer blow etc could also be potentially instantaneous.

I would imagine massive heart trauma like a gunshot or stabbing etc would not result in instant death - at least no more instant than decapitation - probably would survive longer due to the blood not being able to leave the brain as quickly.

humanji

I think it was Steven Wright who said: "We all die instantly. You're alive. You're alive. You're alive. You're dead." So the answer to the OP would be yes.

Wibbs

seamus wrote: »

People have managed to remove portions of their brain with a bullet and live to tell the tale, so we've no reason to think that a fatal bullet in the brain doesn't give a couple of seconds of consciousness before expiring. Experiments done in the 16th or 17th century on guillotined convicts proved fairly conclusively that they head does survive independently of the body after being removed. For a couple of seconds anyway.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillotine#Living_heads

The diffs would come from the track of the bullet and calibre I'd reckon. In the case of the guillotined head the brain itself is untruamatised and has all its apparatus functioning. So in the case of being guillotined you'd probably first feel like your falling(your inner ear would signal that) and you would try to brace your fall with your hands, but you'd have no arms, then the O2 still kicking around in your head would keep you conscious for a few seconds, depending on the individual and youd probably feel pain from the severed neck too. Nasty. I remember reading of some tribe or other who would attach the condemneds head to a springy sapling, so that when they chopped the head off it would feel like the person was flying to heaven. Nasty again. :eek:

With a large calibre round or a shotgun, the apparatus of the brain itself would be damaged instantly so much less chance of conscious thought. Particularly in the case of a surprise shot, rather than a planned self inflicted shot? That's one of the worst aspects of execution, the knowing its about to happen.

draylander

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVq1kvXaMMM
All dead instantly!


after 6:45 things go a bit .....

Voodu Child

Red Storm wrote: »

The medulla oblongata i think is what your referring to, on the back of your head, just above where your head and neck join.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medulla_oblongata

No, im referring to a place in a mans head, that if shoot it, it will blow up.

I saw it in a police documentary..im a little fuzzy about the name though.

KeithM89_old

Im no expert on killing people yet but a knife to the back of the neck is pretty sudden

Sheeps

west side

jimthemental

Well I know that in Call of Duty MW2 if you get stabbed in the toe it's instant. I don't put much stock in video games but I believe it's been scientifically proven to be true.

jugger0

WARNING NSFW

The first shot hits him in the abdomen, he's still alive, as soon as the bullet hits his head its lights out, now he could still be alive just unconscious due to trauma, impossible to tell if he's instantly dead.
Im willing to bet he died soon after anyways....

In short, DONT GET SHOT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Od2BkR6rFU&feature=related

Scuid Mhór

seamus wrote: »

Probably that, but there are a number of other reasons too:

1. General confusion over the location of the heart. Is it on the left, in the middle, where is it? There's not that much confusion over the location of your brain. That said, a large number of people have managed to "miss" their brain and simply shoot themselves in the side of the face or out the back of their lower skull.

2. Protection: Your heart is mostly protected by ribs and a big feck off sternum. A pistol may not have the punch necessary to go through this and sufficiently damage your heart. Owies-ville. Your brain on the other hand is vulnerable through the roof of your mouth, no protection.

3. Practicality - take a shotgun and try to hold it steady, horizontally, pointing towards your chest and with your thumb on the trigger. Now stick the barrels into your mouth, pointing upwards. Infinitely easier. A pistol too you can hold in the traditional way while pointing towards the roof of your mouth.

In reality, unless your brain is vaporised, crushed or split into chunks then there's no way that we can say someone was killed "instantly". People have managed to remove portions of their brain with a bullet and live to tell the tale, so we've no reason to think that a fatal bullet in the brain doesn't give a couple of seconds of consciousness before expiring. Experiments done in the 16th or 17th century on guillotined convicts proved fairly conclusively that they head does survive independently of the body after being removed. For a couple of seconds anyway.

Any other form of death - massive embolisms, massive heart attacks, aortic aneurysms - will result in a very quick death (matter of seconds) but it's doubtful that you're gone instantly.

Contrary to what FPS's would teach us, a headshot does not necessarily result in guaranteed or instant death.

just would like to say thanks for responding so clearly. i respect that post a lot.

i'm just not sure if point number one could really be considered valid. i've just finished the junior certificate science course so i wouldn't consider myself a BIOLOGY EXPERT by any means but surely the heartbeat tells you exactly where the heart is? and even if there was doubt there, it wouldn't be that hard to just google and find out. unless common sense has betrayed me and our heartbeats are actually incredibly misleading and they don't actually pinpoint the exact location of the heart. if you could clarify, that would be nice.

oh god, yeah they do. it's a pretty big decision to make (not whether or not to yourself in the head, i'm not that thick). i mean, 'should i aim the gun at the side of my head and pray that i shatter my skull?' or 'will i let the bullet go upwards through my mouth?' the success ratio (especially if you have shaky hands!) doesn't really sound very high when you put it like that.

also would like to add that the 'practicality' factor could easily be the 'help me extinguish fear' factor as well! pointing a gun at your heart is a pretty climatic, dramatic way to go - if you're looking at what you're doing, you're bound to be somewhat terrified. jamming a gun into your mouth, however, seems to be a much more determined route to take. as if it's the definite end-game, i guess.

anyway, excuse my nitpicking. thanks for your post again! i found it to be a very informative read.

Rycn

jugger0 wrote: »

WARNING NSFW

The first shot hits him in the abdomen, he's still alive, as soon as the bullet hits his head its lights out, now he could still be alive just unconscious due to trauma, impossible to tell if he's instantly dead.
Im willing to bet he died soon after anyways....

In short, DONT GET SHOT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Od2BkR6rFU&feature=related

For fuck sake man.

Degsy

I thoughtthis thread would have more input from wargamers and airsofters.

Bobeagleburger

Buying a house is instant debt