The slap was heard around the world. The reference is the perfect Fresh Prince. The slappening. Let's go back up. Last night, the Academy Awards took a break from celebrating the world of not-very-popular-films, and treated audiences to some genuine drama when Will Smith took offense at a tasteless joke by host Chris Rock. Anyone who missed the show last night can see this footage. The blow was pretty loud. Was Rock in danger? It depends on who you ask. Judd Apatow, a writer and director, said that the slap could have killed Rock, but later deleted it. One onlooker joked that Will Smith could have killed him with that slap. It's not so funny now. Is it possible that furious bees would bring about Rock's demise? Let's look at the science. It is almost certain that it is possible to kill someone with a slap. Simulations show that a slap at a speed of 3,725 miles per hour would be enough to cook an entire chicken. The chicken would be completely obliterated by the experience, which probably has the same physical attributes as a human head. You can cook a chicken by slapping it at 3725.95 mph, an impossible task by any human means. If you do succeed however, you will not only cook the chicken but also decimate its entire structure, causing a violent explosion.
This is a simulation of a slap.
January 8, 2021.
Smith does appear to be able to dish it out, but he probably can't summon up the strength to blow it up. Scientists have found that a boxer can only swing at a rate of 32 miles per hour using professional equipment.
Rock wasn't going to get cooked on stage. Is it possible that mere blunt force trauma is something?
There is a medical record of people who have died after being slapped.
Medical examiners in Georgia reported that a man died from a fatal brain bleed after he suffered an open handed slap to the face. A Canadian man served prison time for hitting his daughter so hard that she died. A New York teen hit an Italian tourist so hard that he died. A medical case study describes a septuagenarian woman who died after being hit in the cheek.
Sometimeslapping deaths are wrapped up in the controversial world of alternative medicine. Several people were arrested in Britain in 2016 after a woman died at an alternative medicine event that claimed to clean toxins.
Sometimes the circumstances are not normal.
In 2020, for instance, a passenger in a minivan leaned out the window to slap a bicyclist, but also fell out the vehicle's window, meaning that both the cyclist and the passenger died. A former army officer in the United Kingdom died after playing a game with his son, with authorities saying that the blow had knocked the victim to the ground.
The conclusion? Slapping can be a serious assault that can lead to death.
It is important to consider the relative risk. There are a lot of people who get slapped worldwide every year. In comparison to other types of violent crime, like shootings, which kill tens of thousands of Americans per year, or blunt force trauma from more conventional physical attacks.
Rock's probability of death or serious injury from the blow was almost certainly slim, even though Apatow may have technically been correct that there is some mortal risk in the average slap.
While the microphone did pick up a sickening smack, it seemed more from the shock of what had just happened than any serious physical incapacitation.
Smith and Rock seem to be trying to pick up the pieces after the fracas. Page Six is reporting that Rock and his wife are going to work out their issues after the wallop.
The rest of us are going to have to suffer through weeks of takes and meme.
What if you were hit by a fist at the speed of light?
Are you interested in supporting clean energy adoption? At UnderstandSolar.com, you can find out how much money you could save if you switched to solar power. Futurism.com may receive a small commission if you sign up through this link.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
