Is a Single Slap Deadly? How the Melee Assault Could Hurt a Person, According to Science

Slapping is a type of assault that could definitely hurt anyone, provided that a high amount of force was used to execute the action. Although not used as much as other physical contact such as punching and kicking, slapping a person's face could injure its receiver.

This week, slapping made it to numerous headlines, as an actor relayed one to a fellow Hollywood performer live on national television.

Superstar Will Smith slapped actor/comedian Chris Rock right on the Oscars' stage following the entertainer's joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Slapping with Right Speed Could Cook a Live Chicken

Although Rock seemed normal and continued to deliver his speech after the surprising drama, the comedian did take a huge and powerful slap from Smith. Now, people are arguing whether a slap like the one in the Oscars could really hurt, and what factors could make a person deliver such destructive force by palm.

From a scientific perspective, many conditions should be met for any melee attacks to work.

Studies have established that just a single slap containing the correct attributes could indeed kill an individual. In one simulation, it was shown that a slap delivered with a speed of over 3,700 miles per hour could not just hurt a chicken, but can also cook them instantly.

Suppose that a particular human head is similar to a whole chicken's mass and other properties, then the outcome would be similar.

Although relatively powerful when observed, Will Smith's Oscar slap would not be sufficient at blowing Chris Rock or any other person's head off.

A previous experiment carried out by the University of Manchester suggests that humans would not match what the said chicken-cooking simulation did, as a boxer in their strongest form could only perform a swing at approximately 32 miles per hour.

Slapping Could Be Deadly

Slapping at almost 4,000 miles is lethal, but a blow with lesser speed could also do damage. In 2017, a case in Georgia confirmed the death of a person that suffered from a fatal brain bleed from ruptured arteries after receiving a single, open-handed slap during a birthday party.

In a separate case back in 2014, a Canadian citizen slapped their 13-year-old daughter in the face with extreme force leading to the girl's death. Later that year, a teen New Yorker also delivered one to an Italian tourist after the man spilled slurs on the suspect.

A study published in the Journal of the Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine discussed how an elderly woman met her demise due to a powerful slap to her cheek.

Some cases of death from slaps are also associated with other causes that led the involved parties to die, like the driver who slapped a bicyclist and a former UK army officer who played a slapping game with his relative.

In conclusion, slapping can appear in the form of a serious assault and could even kill a person. But compared to global fatalities from other physical attacks and effects of violent crimes like shooting, slapping has very little chance of increasing the mortality rate over assaults.

Back to the 2022 Oscars, Chris Rock declined to file a police report against Will Smith's actions, People reported.

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