Don't you just love this party? Everything's so fancy, and there's some kind of hot cheese over there.

Kaylee ,'Shindig'


Natter 39 and Holding  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Nutty - Oct 26, 2005 9:07:48 am PDT #8908 of 10002
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."

Well, I mean, if you are willing to have a bloody splat (or really good aim for the medulla), you can have a skull fracture that is quickly fatal. But it seemed like Susan was not interested in splatting.

For non-splat brain injuries, it's likely to take long enough for edema to kick in, which is like, what, 15 minutes?


§ ita § - Oct 26, 2005 9:13:29 am PDT #8909 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I have another fucking migraine.

That does it.

If you're cutting stuff out of your diet to test its effects on migraines, how long do you have to go to make sure it's effective? A week? Two weeks? Month? Three months?


flea - Oct 26, 2005 9:14:23 am PDT #8910 of 10002
information libertarian

We clearly need a trauma doctor on the board to help with these little things. I think you can be killed instantly - or at least rendered unconscious instantly with death following quickly - by a well-placed blow to the temple. I freely admit that I learned this by reading Dorothy Sayers (specifically, both Murder Must Advertise and The five Red Herrings). Now, you just have to get someone to fall off a horse and hit himself on the head with an appropriate rock.


beth b - Oct 26, 2005 9:15:23 am PDT #8911 of 10002
oh joy! Oh Rapture ! I have a brain!

I gave in and turned on the heat. to a toasty 66 degrees.

cliffs are good things to fall off of t not helpful


tommyrot - Oct 26, 2005 9:17:25 am PDT #8912 of 10002
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

Now, you just have to get someone to fall off a horse and hit himself on the head with an appropriate rock

I volunteer Dick Cheney.


Nutty - Oct 26, 2005 9:18:09 am PDT #8913 of 10002
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."

I think if it happens twice in literature that somebody can recite off the top of their head, then it might be exactly the cliche that Susan is hoping to avoid. I don't know whether it's true or not -- there is no "required to live" brain function located at either temple; and it's still probably the edema that kills you -- but it sounds like the kind of thing that happens in novels.

Like how action heroes have artistic cuts through eyebrows, but never have, like, half a nostril sheared off or four broken fingernails and a broken cheekbone.


tommyrot - Oct 26, 2005 9:18:46 am PDT #8914 of 10002
Sir, it's not an offence to let your cat eat your bacon. Okay? And we don't arrest cats, I'm very sorry.

cliffs are good things to fall off of

Can he ride his horse near a cliff, and a rock falls and hits him on the head?

Yeah, pro'lly sounds too improbable.


Jessica - Oct 26, 2005 9:19:42 am PDT #8915 of 10002
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

To me, it seems like the difficulty is getting the guy off the horse in the first place. Once he's been thrown, voila, broken neck, dead. Getting the horse to throw him while moving relatively slowly seems to be the tricky part.


§ ita § - Oct 26, 2005 9:20:02 am PDT #8916 of 10002
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Like how action heroes have artistic cuts through eyebrows

Those are really easy to get, though, for the record. I know lots of real people (martial artists and not) who had them. It's a bonus that they're hot.


Nutty - Oct 26, 2005 9:20:11 am PDT #8917 of 10002
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."

He could ride the horse off the cliff!

...but then Susan would have to come with a reason why he would do that.

It could be Evel Knievel's many-generations ancestor!!

...maybe not.