Something About a Slap

Back of the hand-me-down world.

So, slapping was in the news recently. So it goes. I hadn't paid much attention to the particulars until I saw Jon Christian ask at futurism.com if someone could die from getting slapped too hard.

On the level of pure physics, it almost certainly is possible to kill someone with a sufficiently vigorous slap. Simulations have shown, after all, that a slap delivered at a speed of 3,725 miles per hour would be sufficient to cook an entire chicken in one blow. Needless to say, the chicken — which, give or take, probably has approximately the same physical attributes as a human head — would be completely obliterated by the ordeal.

But --

Even a boxer in top form, scientists have previously found using professional biomechanics equipment, is only able to swing at around 32 miles per hour.

But --

In 2017, for instance, medical examiners in Georgia reported that a man had perished after suffering an open handed slap to the face that ruptured arteries, leading to a fatal brain bleed. In 2014, a Canadian man served prison time for slapping his 13-year-old daughter so hard that she died. 

But --

At the same time, it's important to consider the relative risk. Countless people get slapped worldwide every year, leading to what appears to be only a trickle of headline-worthy fatalities. That's in comparison to other types of violent crime, like shootings — which kill tens of thousands of Americans per year — or blunt force trauma stemming from more conventional physical attacks.

At any rate, all this reminded me of a fictional character being slapped to death, too.  Who?  Seven-year-old Saint Fidgeta. Go figure.