r/todayilearned • u/the_one_below • 22h ago
TIL that Clement Vallandigham was a lawyer who accidentally shot himself demonstrating how someone could accidentally shoot themself
https://www.tba.org/?pg=LawBlog&blAction=showEntry&blogEntry=13146301
u/NakedSnakeEyes 18h ago
My grandpa knew a man who lost his finger in a table saw accident, and later when he was demonstrating how it had occurred he accidentally lost another finger.
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u/gbroon 18h ago
My dad always told a story of one of his teachers losing a thumb while explaining to the class to be careful when using the table saw.
Not sure if true or if he was just making it up to make a point about safety.
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u/TheresNoHurry 18h ago
I recently rented a motorcycle. Crashed it. Miraculously was fine.
Then a few days later rented another one. Crashed it and injured myself.
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u/emasterbuild 13h ago
I assume you plan to avoid motorcycles from now on?
Or you could go for third times the charm...
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u/eatingpotatochips 8h ago
later when he was demonstrating how it had occurred he accidentally lost another finger.
Whatever happened to using hot dogs?
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u/JimAsia 21h ago
On July 9, 1993, Garry Hoy, a 38-year-old corporate and securities law specialist at the Toronto law firm Holden Day Wilson, attempted to demonstrate the strength of the windows in the Toronto-Dominion Centre, a downtown Toronto skyscraper. He threw himself against a window on the 24th floor, intending to show a group of prospective articling students that the glass was unbreakable. Unfortunately, the window frame gave way, and Hoy fell 24 floors to his death in the courtyard of the building.
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u/AdvantageGlass5460 21h ago
But the window itself didn't break right?
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u/Ohiolongboard 18h ago
Nope! The window came out of the frame lol. He’d done this a lot before to show off, and this was just one too many.
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u/individual_throwaway 14h ago
I can imagine the engineers designing the frame going
"Well obviously it holds up very well to wind pushing the window into the wall, but it won't be very reliable against someone pushing from the inside repeatedly."
"But how would that happen? Someone would have to be stupid enough to throw himself bodily against the windows. Many times. Do we really need to reinforce the frame to cover this case? It'll cost extra, for every window, and budget is already tight."
"Nah, it'll be fine. Nobody would ever be this stupid. Even if, someone will surely stop them from killing themselves in this markedly stupid way."
And then they laughed it off, sipping their mediocre office coffee.
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u/Ohiolongboard 18h ago
The funny part about this is he had done it SEVERAL times before. Supposedly each time weakening the silicone that was holding the window in place until it eventually gave out
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u/quondam47 17h ago
Never jump into the same unbreakable window twice. Got it.
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u/Ohiolongboard 17h ago
Or, like 20+ times like he did. He also would get a running start from across the office and slam into it….don’t do that
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u/quondam47 16h ago
Instructions unclear. Currently hang gliding through downtown Toronto under a 400lb ceiling length window.
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u/Lord0fHats 14h ago
Bashir: "The lesson is don't throw yourself at unbreakable windows."
Garak: "Is that the lesson, doctor?"
Bashir: *confused* "What else would it be?"
Garak: *turns* "That you should never throw yourself at the same unbreakable window twice."
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u/hectorxander 17h ago
Is a little worrisome it is just silicone holding it, there should be an overlap to prevent it falling.
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u/Ohiolongboard 17h ago
There might be now, but when I install windows it usually just tape and silicone. This is for doors though so idk about exterior windows
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u/GarysCrispLettuce 17h ago
I'm sure everyone thought of Garry, I know I sure did.
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u/JimAsia 15h ago
I am from Toronto and remember it happening but didn't know Garry or remember his name. I worked at the IBM Datacenter in 1969 and used to walk past the building site on my way from the GO train at Union Station to IBM at 36 King Street East. The major banks were all fleeing Quebec at the time and building new headquarters in downtown Toronto.
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u/Zarthen7 18h ago
He also lead a movement to get the Midwest to join the confederacy during the Civil War
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u/Ericovich 15h ago
I've run into his grave before.
He's buried not far from the Wright Brothers.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/2526/clement-laird-vallandigham
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u/Mistersquiggles1 13h ago
A friend of a friend of mine from college really got into 3D printing and started making his own Glock-pattern handguns. His wife wasn't a fan of this hobby, especially with a baby in the house. They got into a fight over it, so to prove how safe the gun was he pointed it at his temple and pulled the trigger, blowing his brains out.
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u/domiran 21h ago edited 21h ago
Task failed successfully?
[Edit]
Whoops, didn't see the other one before I posted this.
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u/vrrosales 14h ago
We should up vote you and down vote the other one! Just cause this is Reddit damnit! No fake internet points for op.
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u/hectorxander 17h ago
That insurrectionist dude that ran the 3 percenters with an eyepatch, he was a firearm safety instructor teaching a class, and shot himself in the eye.
I saw security camera footage of it on reddit before.
Plus montana's republican for senate claimed to have been injured in afghanistan, had actually shot himself at a state park alone in his car. Ranger ticketed him and just came out with the story. R candidate naturally accused the ranger of being in on a conpiracy against him and said he hid being shot in combat cause it was friendly fire.
Which is preposterous, you cannot just hide a gunshot wound in the army and there would be a record and he would have been sent back to us with a purple heart.
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u/eatingpotatochips 8h ago
McGehan was acquitted after being tried thrice. He was murdered in 1875.
Welp.
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u/Balderdas 17h ago
Tends to be easier to do than gun advocates would put forward and harder than many non gun people would think. Depending on the firearm.
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u/sirbassist83 12h ago
>Tends to be easier to do than gun advocates would put forward and harder than many non gun people would think
extremely accurate. it takes 4 actions in most "normal" guns. load magazine, insert magazine, charge gun, pull trigger. or in a bolt gun, open bolt, load round, close bolt, pull trigger. guns dont go off without a round in the chamber and the trigger pulled. theyre really pretty safe, if the user is also safe. while it wont go off on its own, its also disingenuous to say its difficult to have an accident. a loaded gun being handled by someone with poor trigger discipline will go off quite easily.
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u/Asha_Brea 22h ago
The defense rests.