Top 5 Brutal Facts About Getting Shot
Are men more likely to die from their wounds? Will Kevlar save you? Is getting shot good for you? (No, of course it's not, stupid.)
Lock and load, and duck and cover. Incoming!
#5: Women Are More Likely to Survive a Gunshot
A 2010 study found that women are 14% more likely than men to survive a traumatic injury than men. The researchers say that this appears to be the result of female sex hormones. However, a 2005 study found that women experience more pain than men, owing to the fact that they have – on average – double the density of nerve fibers. So, while ladies may do better in the long run, it’s gonna hurt a heck of a lot more in the meantime. Not that you can do anything with that info… Maybe you just shouldn’t have gotten shot.
#4: Tiny Details Make a Big Difference
Obviously, getting shot in the hand is not as dangerous as getting shot in the chest. But even the tiniest changes in the speed of the bullet, its bearing, and its type can have a major impact on the resulting injury. For instance, getting hit on the left side of the heart will cause much more internal bleeding than getting hit on the right side, but the opposite is true of the liver. And of course, a high velocity bullet, like one fired from a rifle, may do more damage than a lower velocity bullet from a handgun. But, that slower bullet could have some wobble to its trajectory, making it do more damage as it passes through tissue. Either way, you should maybe avoid being shot?
#3: Nanotechnology Could Have Saved You
Oh, you were wearing a bulletproof vest! Well, that’s better than a windbreaker. Just keep in mind: kevlar doesn’t block the force of the bullet so much as spread it out, so you’re still gonna get a pretty strong blast. The next generation of anti-ballistic technology uses carbon nanotubes, which research shows actually have the potential to rebound bullets! So go ahead and get shot! Might not be great for whoever is standing next to you though.
#2: Getting Shot Will Probably Bankrupt You
Movies & TV make getting shot look simple. If you’re tough, and you can find a doctor – or a veterinarian – you’ll be fine in the next scene. However, while filling out insurance papers and paying hospital bills doesn’t make great TV, recovering from a bullet wound is really expensive, especially if you live somewhere like the United States. A series investigating the true cost of gun violence found that one victim’s costs were almost $170,000, and though most was covered by his health insurance, he still paid about $20,000 out of pocket. You may need to pay $40,000 for wheelchair modifications to your home, or thousands of dollars for therapy and antidepressants. And how would things like taking time off for reconstructive surgery hurt your ability to earn money – or to even get a job in the first place? If you weren’t convinced already, we think you’ll agree now: keep bullets out of your body.
#1: There Are Worse Things to Get Shot with than a Gun
Can you imagine getting shot with something like that? Okay, those probably don’t exist, and the closest thing we do have would be something like this . Particle accelerators like this make the smallest amount of matter you can imagine travel at about the speed of light. In 1978, Soviet scientist Anatoli Bugorski was trying to fix a particle accelerator when it zapped him in the face. As you can imagine, the protons instantly burned a hole right through his brain. We’ll spare you the gory details, but doctors expected him to die, as that should have delivered about 200 or 300 hundred times the lethal dose of radiation. However, not only did he survive, he actually finished his PhD, continued working in the same lab, and is still alive and kicking. Next time you can’t just walk off a simple bullet wound, remember Anatoli Bugorski. But, again: don’t get shot-- you know what? You’re all adults; do what you want.
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