I agree with pretty much everyone who has posted a reply ahead of me (I haven't read everyone's).
It is absolutely possible to leave a very lasting imprint in someone's flesh - In the past I've had one on my thigh shaped liked a celtic knot from a paddle (I'm kinky, if you hadn't guessed). It wasn't permanent, because the goal was pain not harm.
Anyway, I agree that the pig skin covered skull was not the best Mythbusters idea I've ever seen, but, since the flesh needs to be alive to create a bruise and leave a mark (I think/assume), I also am unsure how they'd really be able to re-test this - unless they can find an extreme Mythbusters fan who also happens to be a masochist and is willing to get hit with a skull ring in order to make a mark.
Sorry, guys, I'm a huge fan, but even *I* have my limits.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: <mythmod>,
Yes, the ring of a superhero can leave an impression - and the proof is in Tory's fist. At the end of the episode, Tory complained that his fist was swollen after hitting the pressure/impact sensor. That's the key! His body responded to the damage caused by the impact by swelling up. Exactly the same kind of swelling that a villain's head would experience due to the same impact. As a kid, I have seen this evidence first-hand as I watched one kid punch another kid square in his forehead. The kid throwing the punch had a ring on his middle finger in the shape of an 'X'. After the kid that was hit stopped crying, we all noticed that he had an 'X' on his forehead, not an impression, but a swelling in the shape of an 'X'. (P.S.: Kari, the term you were looking for is laceration, not contusion.)
I agree with those who say that the Phantom gave his foes something closer to an instant tatoo which, as far as I know is permenant. The mark looks more like an ink mark than a scar.
I see this one going into the "Myths Revisited" bin. Not even anything to mimic adipose tissue -- just a slab of pork skin and a skull. And like some have mentioned, the type of ring was just WRONG to make an instant impression.
posted this to the wrong section. So here it is correctly placed:
first let me say I love the show. Me and My husband watch it faithfully, thru the wonderful invention of TVO I might add.
I want to comment on the imprint with punch. Anyone who went to high school at some time has seen the imprint of a class ring in someones forehead. I think this one should be redone. Pig skin for one is a lot thicker than human skin, not to mention, there is muscle, tissue, and etc between human skin and the skull, that helps hold that indention. I would say that maybe in the real world it might not actually leave an imprint but it definitely will swell up in the shape of the ring and bruise in that shape as well. Also, the second shot at heavy weight strength on the slow mo it did not make direct contact with the forehead, it went at the top of the head and sorta slid off. Anyway, I would like to see this one redone.
Hey you teenagers out there that are going to do something stupid anyway, why don't you test this myth on video with your friends
ok for the ring thing, when it was done, you needed fat behind the skin because that allows for room for the impression to be made. Also when the skull was hit, it was not done on an area big enough to do the correct impact. And make sure the ring u had has spaces in it to allow the flesh to push into them to create the impression
I will posit myself as an expert on this one. All the comments about the use of dead skin are right on...think of the difference between live skin and leather. The dead and likely dessicated pocine skin will be much more resistant to any injury. Furthermore the use of a dry skull is not correct as live bone is much more elastic than dead. This was also a flaw in the show about the dummy and the testing of the femur. Think of a dry leaf compared to a live green one. I agree with the points made about the size of the ring. More tissue beneath the skin especially fat would have the exact opposite effect and would NOT make a mark more likely. Subcutaneous bleeding would likely not leave a mark with any reliability the comments above not withstanding. The degree to which a person makes scar would also be a variable. Keloid formers would likely have a much higher chance of a permanent scar. I agree with the point about the use of the cheekbone (zygoma) as the anvil to the ring "hammer"...much more resistant than the front wall of the frontal sinus. That is only millimeters thick. My design for a ring that would leave a mark would be a sharp one with a thin layer of smallpox vaccine...that would certainly leave a mark once the localized infection resolved in all cases. Likely only skull-like if you use your imagination.
for the human analog i would have used a slice of a pigs side, warmd up a bit and placed around the skull, this would have the best properties that they could hope for when hitting it because it would be firm but still give enough leeway to the hit, but the angle of the hit and the place of it would also still be key to it
I do neurosurgery for a living and have operated on a lot of folks with a lot more than a ring against, or usually in, their heads. I have seen a lot of scars on the forehead and elsewhere.
first of all, the ring they used would never have left an imprint, even if they did it to sum1 who was alive. 2nd, i DO believe that they should have tried the myth on each other, but thats just me. the part about the living tissue, it doesnt need to b living if they use the right ring, the right ring would b rly hard, and have several raised areas, not engraved areas. this type of ring would leave an imprint on leather! i suggest a friggin retest with different angles, different target medium, and they should punch it themselves, that way they get it to actually hit the target, instead of sliding off, and most importantly, USE THE CORRECT RING!!!
Originally posted by llynok: You've gotta be kidding me.
Most humans have a few things that the analog didn't.
I.E...Muscles, fat, necks and shoulders.
Skin and bone don't show impressions. Muscle tissue and fat are more prone to absorb marks and show dents.
Also, the analog didn't have a neck or shoulder attachment. It was just a head on a stick, and flew backwards on both hits, not absorbing a full hit.
i definitely agree with the above post. i have actually seen a ring impression left on a buddy of mine after a fight. the muscle and fat tissue have to be accounted for as they would slow the blow and allow for the impression to be left on the skin. i smell a myth revisited episode.
Originally posted by captainsc: you need the ring to have the skull facing out not in and that is the way the ring was that you were talking about.
captainsc has a great point. you need a ring that has a raised surface. combined with the proper analog it would produce an imprint on the unfortunate victim.
I’m totally not an expert on this subject, but is there maybe some kind of animal carcass that could be hit? Like instead of using just the pig skin, what about a whole one? Ya’all will whip dead pigs with a rope to try and cut them in half, why not try punching one? Or will it not work properly because the blood is not pumping? That and a ring with a more rounded shape on it should give us a result that’s more believable.
"I’m totally not an expert on this subject, but is there maybe some kind of animal carcass that could be hit? Like instead of using just the pig skin, what about a whole one? Ya’all will whip dead pigs with a rope to try and cut them in half, why not try punching one? Or will it not work properly because the blood is not pumping? That and a ring with a more rounded shape on it should give us a result that’s more believable."
they are not using the whole pig because the myth is on a face, that is on a head, not really on a body
Originally posted by fatherofinvention: "I’m totally not an expert on this subject, but is there maybe some kind of animal carcass that could be hit? Like instead of using just the pig skin, what about a whole one? Ya’all will whip dead pigs with a rope to try and cut them in half, why not try punching one? Or will it not work properly because the blood is not pumping? That and a ring with a more rounded shape on it should give us a result that’s more believable."
they are not using the whole pig because the myth is on a face, that is on a head, not really on a body
Cause pigs don't have faces, huh?
Hit the head then?
There's gotta be some way to simulate veins pumping with blood.
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