Can getting shot get you pregnant?
Myth: Young Civil War cavalryman gets shot in his tibia, the bullet ricochets through his family jewels, flies out and pierces the womb of a woman 150 yards away.
This is one of their older myths that they have tested, dating back to a 1874 write-up in American Medical Weekly.
Two parts of the myth being tested:
- Can a bullet ricochet like that?
- Could it carry the necessary genetic material?
Elements of the myth: * [minie ball bullet][mb] (likely ammunition used) * rifle with 100ft/s muzzle velocity, can hit target 900 yards away
Sidenote: the term "Son of a Gun", while dating to the same era, actually referred to a child conceived on the gun deck of a British Man of War, as the gun deck was where the sailors lived.
Experiment 1: Can the miniball pass through a leg and still have enough energy to travel the 150 yards (and pierce a belly)?
Setup: Buster given an artificial calf made of a real bones wrapped in ballistics gel and then put into a kneeling position to mimic dismounted shooting stance of a cavalryman.
Result: bullet moving >1000ft/s moving out of the leg -- it would have plenty of velocity for the myth.
Experiment 2: Can a bullet carry the genetic material? (at 200 ft)
Setup: blue-dyed sperm inside a blue trouser bag setup between gunner and petticoat-wrapped ballistics gel ("the womb"). The shot was fired by their Civil War re-enactor/expert Jim.
(First try) Adam: "Bloody hell, I think he did it." Jim made the shot perfectly on the first try (through the sperm-filled trouser bag and into the fake womb).
Could not find any sperm in the ballistics gel after examining under a microscope. Not surprising, considering that there were burns on the petticoat.
Experiment 2: Can a bullet carry the genetic material? (at 50 ft)
Still could not find any sperm in the ballistics gel
Busted
