Most people have never encountered a firearm in their lives, and all our knowledge of its use comes from movies.
Unfortunately, it is very rare to find productions that accurately reproduce what actually happens on the battlefield - realism is not as effective and does not sell well.
That's why it's important to address some of the most frequently repeated myths about guns in movies.
Here are 8 of the biggest gun myths that most of us believe thanks to movies.
Grenades throw people into the air
Grenades are most often shown in two situations. The first is to create a large explosion so that an impressive fireball can appear behind the hero, and the second is to literally throw as many enemies into the air as possible.
The peculiarity of grenades in films is that the force of their explosion can throw the enemy up to 5 meters up (or to the side), which is unlikely in real life. Grenades were not intended for such purposes.
Their job is rather to neutralize enemies with shrapnel. Of course, sometimes such a charge can tear someone to shreds, but this only happens when someone is literally lying on a grenade without a pin - for example, to protect others from the destructive effects of the explosion (another popular scene from movies).
A warning shot in the leg
Many movies feature this scene. The warning shot is not always aimed into the air, sometimes the police shoot the criminal in the leg, which does not happen in the real world. Police are not trained to fire warning shots at the legs of their opponents. There are several good reasons for this.
First of all, aiming and hitting any specific body part of a fleeing target is nearly impossible. Few police officers could accomplish such a feat. However, if any lawman can do it, he is simply too good for his job and should become a sniper instead.
If you throw a lit cigarette into a puddle of gasoline, it will ignite.
Another very effective movie scene straight from Hollywood. The hero pours gasoline on the area around him, effectively throws a lit cigarette into a puddle, and the gasoline catches fire. This is absurd. To understand this, let's start with the theory.
A cigarette burns at a temperature of 400 to 600 °C, and the ignition temperature of gasoline is only 250 °C - everything should work perfectly, so why doesn't it? Because it is not the gasoline itself that is flammable, but its vapors. Liquid gasoline is quite difficult to ignite, and the temperature of the cigarette itself drops significantly when no one draws air through the mouthpiece. Many people have debunked this myth and posted the results of their experiments on the Internet.
Breaking a lock with a pistol shot
When the heroes of the film are faced with an obstacle in the form of a locked door, one of them usually says to the other: "Move away," and then shoots the lock, and the way opens. If only it were that simple.
The firepower of a standard pistol used by police and detectives is too weak to deal with the new padlock.
This trick could be achieved with a large shotgun, but in movies this role is usually performed by the most simple "pistol" - which, of course, is complete nonsense.
The shot causes almost immediate death.
When someone gets shot in a movie, you usually have to write the hero off and say goodbye to the character. In real life, things are a little different.
A single bullet from a gun does not always mean a death sentence for the victim. Of course, it depends on many factors and such a bullet has a certain chance of sending someone to the next world, but in most cases it is a wound that can be treated with appropriate and prompt help.
Mines click when you step on them.
Another very common absurdity. In fact, this myth has become so widespread that an entire movie was made called “The Landmine Starts Ticking.” However, one basic question must be asked here: why do the makers of anti-personnel mines design their work in such a way as to warn the enemy every time they step on one? It defies logic.
Mines usually explode as soon as someone steps on them and do not make a characteristic "click" at all. Their purpose is to inflict as much damage as possible on the squad patrolling the area. However, there are some exceptions.
Some types of mines are used only to disable enemy units and render soldiers incapable of fighting. These mines can click and cause relatively little damage. However, they are rare.
Treatment of wounds with hot instruments
This is a real classic action movie! The main character - a scary tough guy - is seriously injured, but does not pay much attention to it and instead of proper medical care, he uses only a heated instrument to prevent infection.
In the end, that's how it should be: burnt skin and tissue = burnt bacteria. Too bad that in real life, this behavior will do more harm than good. In fact, it's better not to do anything with such a wound.
Cauterizing a wound will actually completely destroy any active pathogens present. However, severe burns caused this way can introduce even more serious bacteria into the wound, which will not benefit the victim.
This behavior can be useful only in one situation: when the wound is bleeding heavily and there is no other way to stop the bleeding.
The car explodes when it is shot at
Here's another stupidity often repeated in movies - cars explode after being hit by a pistol bullet. Even shooting into a car's gas tank can't produce such an effect. The reason is very simple: pistol bullets do not ignite gasoline.
Yes, there may be a fire and a vehicle may suddenly burst into flames, but these are far from the kind of movie explosions that action movie masters have accustomed us to.
Earlier we wrote about 8 habits of women that men do not understand.
