Urban Legend

[EarlJam]

Is it true that if you drop a car battery off the top of the Empire State Building, and it hits someone square on the head, that it will kill them?

-EarlJam

[captmojo]

Nah, it's what happened to me. So my advice is to stay off the sidewalk at all costs. That's my story and I'm not sticking to it.

[Stray Gator]

Is it true that if you drop a car battery off the top of the Empire State Building, and it hits someone square on the head, that it will kill them?

-EarlJam

Probably true--unless it lands on Wile E. Coyote, in which case the battery will simply pound him into the sidewalk, make his eyes bug out, and leave a big red bump pulsating on the top of his head...

[EarlJam]

Probably true--unless it lands on Wile E. Coyote, in which case the battery will simply pound him into the sidewalk, make his eyes bug out, and leave a big red bump pulsating on the top of his head...

That brings up an excellent point. Do they even show the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner hour anymore? Or is it considered too violent today? Even back in the day, I thought it kind of odd that a kids show included people being shot point blank in the face with a shotgun and just getting hurt a little. Or being blown up by seven sticks of TNT.

"It's duck season!"
"No, it's rabbit season!"
"It's duck season!"
"No, it's rabbit season!"
"It's rabbit season!"
"No it's duck season!"

BLAM!!!! Cool.

-Earljam

[TillyGalore]

"It's duck season!"
"No, it's rabbit season!"
"It's duck season!"
"No, it's rabbit season!"
"It's rabbit season!"
"No it's duck season!"

BLAM!!!! Cool.

-Earljam

Neither, it's "wabbit" season.

[aimo]

I think there are four out so far. Looney Tune Collections, no editing. As I watched them, I realized some I'd never seen in entirety before.

I remember the one about Jack and the beanstalk, where Elmer Fudd is the giant, was all cut up. They even used to edit the Barber of Seville.

We used to watch 90 minutes of Bugs every Saturday morning. Good times.

[hurleyfor3]

Once when I tried to jumpstart a car i hooked up minus to minus, instead of minus to ground, and I didn't die. If I can survive that I can survive any car-battery malady. Bring it on.

[EarlJam]

I think there are four out so far. Looney Tune Collections, no editing. As I watched them, I realized some I'd never seen in entirety before.

I remember the one about Jack and the beanstalk, where Elmer Fudd is the giant, was all cut up. They even used to edit the Barber of Seville.

We used to watch 90 minutes of Bugs every Saturday morning. Good times.

Cool, thanks. Yes, 90 minutes of Bugs, then Speed Buggy. Or maybe Speed Buggy came on before Bugs. Not sure. And we should never forget Scooby Doo and those "dastardly kids."

Afternoons - ever watch Star Blazers? Activate the Wave Motion Gun!

-Earl "nerd" Jam

[Windsor]

Is it true that if you drop a car battery off the top of the Empire State Building, and it hits someone square on the head, that it will kill them?

-EarlJam

As luck would have it I just put a new battery in my car (I like working on cars - I'm weird that way) I'd happily give up the $12 core refund on the old one if you'd like to test this out...I could start by dropping it on your head say from a two story balcony and we'll see how high I have to get before it kills you...or perhaps you have a neighbor who would like to volunteer for this...for the good of science and all

Seriously though, car batteries are HEAVY you wouldn't have to get very high to have it kill someone if it hit them in the head.

[hc5duke]

Probably true--unless it lands on Wile E. Coyote, in which case the battery will simply pound him into the sidewalk, make his eyes bug out, and leave a big red bump pulsating on the top of his head...

While we're on the subject, I felt this way when I was watching cartoons, too:

[Johnboy]

Cool, thanks. Yes, 90 minutes of Bugs, then Speed Buggy. Or maybe Speed Buggy came on before Bugs. Not sure. And we should never forget Scooby Doo and those "dastardly kids."
-Earl "nerd" Jam

"meddling kids"

From a purported actual script:

I would have gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling punks...and their dumb dog!

[Indoor66]

Once when I tried to jumpstart a car i hooked up minus to minus, instead of minus to ground, and I didn't die. If I can survive that I can survive any car-battery malady. Bring it on.

Try minus to plus. That will solve your dilemma.

(He's only kidding, folks. THIS WOULD BE VERY DANGEROUS.)

[alteran]

Try minus to plus. That will solve your dilemma.

NO NO NO!!! Do NOT try this at home! Or in a parking lot!

You're right about one thing-- connecting minus to plus with car batteries may solve your dilemmas-- ALL of them.

You NEVER hook car batteries up in series (pos to neg, neg to pos). You hook them up IN PARALLEL (neg-neg, pos-pos).

Here's some instructions how do to this properly.

[NovaScotian]

Is it true that if you drop a car battery off the top of the Empire State Building, and it hits someone square on the head, that it will kill them?

-EarlJam

i actually heard about this with a penny, so im guessing a car battery will more than do the job.

[Highlander]

i actually heard about this with a penny, so im guessing a car battery will more than do the job.

The Mythbusters duo actually tested this out with a penny, and determined it to be fake. Essentially they determined the terminal velocity of a penny, then fired it into a gel head with a special launcher. IIRC, the penny never broke the skin, and one of them actually tried it on their own head to prove the point.

A car battery is another story...

[Deslok]

Cool, thanks. Yes, 90 minutes of Bugs, then Speed Buggy. Or maybe Speed Buggy came on before Bugs. Not sure. And we should never forget Scooby Doo and those "dastardly kids."

Afternoons - ever watch Star Blazers? Activate the Wave Motion Gun!

-Earl "nerd" Jam

Hmmm... nope, never watched that show. Certainly wouldn't use it as the basis for my online identity for the last 15 years or anything(of course, these days I've started using Zordar on occassion too, apparently I've always been drawn to the dark side, though of course, Leader Deslok had the kind of noble bad guy thing going). Of course, during my time at duke, I opted for the email address of wecoyote@acpub.duke.edu. But I always was a super genius.

Enemy missles approaching, 500 megameters!

DESLOK... deslok deslok DESLOK! ...deslok deslok(oh, and I own the series on DVD).

[greybeard]

Before most of youz was born, I worked in the City (there is only one) in mid town and was strolling during lunch hour on a sunny, blistery winter day (you could tell I wouldn't make it there, I told you I was strolling), when I look up and see these flashy things fluttering down from the top of a very high building what seemed like a block or two in front of me. These things seemed flat with some length and width, sort of like a bunch of kites, only real glissening and shiny. Fascinating, beautiful, I thought through the haze of the previous evening's brownies.

Then, I got it. "Exit, stage right," as Snagglepuss used to put it. Turned and ran the other way for most of the block before it occured to me that I could, well, duck into a doorway and keep myself from getting crushed. While running did my best Larry Black imitation (if you haven't caught any of his specials, the one he talks about the under-your-desk drills from our (his and my) youths is not to be missed) yelling "run for your lives, we're X$%ed.")

Right then and there I decided NY wasn't for me. And, no, I never did find out what those things were. Probably just silvery kind of kites, wrapping from insulation, etc.

grey "don't try NY if you can't take the risk of getting your head bashed in by a battery falling from on high, is what I've always said" beard