Plot Device

[R. Richard]

I have used a plot device in two of my novels. The basis of the plot device is called 'hysterical strength.' Hysterical strnegth isn't considered a proven medical fact, but here's a story that couldn't have happened any other way.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48449955/ns/today-good_news/t/woman-lifts-bmw-dad-saves-his-life/

A woman lifts a nearly 4,000 pound car off her father. The woman doesn't look like an Olympic shotputter. Hystrerical strength is the only way it could have happened. Comments?

 

[mynameisben]

I have used a plot device in two of my novels. The basis of the plot device is called 'hysterical strength.' Hysterical strnegth isn't considered a proven medical fact, but here's a story that couldn't have happened any other way.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48449955/ns/today-good_news/t/woman-lifts-bmw-dad-saves-his-life/

A woman lifts a nearly 4,000 pound car off her father. The woman doesn't look like an Olympic shotputter. Hystrerical strength is the only way it could have happened. Comments?

You're right about one thing. She certainly looks like an average build. She has no obvious signs of possessing superhuman strength. But there could be an explanation other than pure "hysterical strength."

First of all, the story says the BMW weighs "a ton and a half." That puts the weight of the car at 3,000 pounds, not the 4,000 pounds you've stated.

Second, the story claims the woman "moved," which is quite a bit different from "lifted," the car.

Third, the woman was clearly in a panicked state when she discovered her father with his life hanging in the balance. She was in no state of mind to mentally record the situation accurately.

The jack, though reported to have slipped, may have still been supporting some of the weight of the car. If that were the case, the woman could easily have overlooked the presence of the jack (before, during and after the incident). Moreover, a partially supporting jack could have left the car in a highly unstable position of rest, allowing the car to be shifted to a new position of stability with a force that was within the woman's normal physical abilities. That new position of stability could have been only a foot or so of displacement, which may have been all that was needed to move the car off her father. The story reports that she still had to drag him out from under the car after she had moved it, so we know it wasn't moved very far.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

Interesting story. Though if one part of the car was on her father, presumably three wheels were still on the ground taking up 3/4 of the weight.

 

[estragon]

Reminds me of something I saw in a newspaper some 45 years ago. In 1966 there was a fire aboard the USS Oriskany on Yankee Station. It was the worst shipboard fire in years. A Lieutenant named Keightly (IIRC), who weighed 130 pounds, picked up several 250-pound bombs, one after another, and threw them overboard to prevent the fire from reaching them and blowing up the ship. An example of hysterical strength.

 

[sun_sea_sky]

Also if it was the rear of the car on her father, the bulk of the weight would be at the front, where the engine is. Since she both lifted the car clear of her father and then subsequently dragged him out, it sounds probable that she managed to lift/knock the car sideways enough that it was no longer resting on her father (but was resting on the wheel hub say) and she could drag her father out of a gap.

 

[mynameisben]

The car could have been parked on top of an active geyser, which erupted at the exact moment the young woman pushed the car. The geyser alone could have provided sufficient lift to move the car.

 

[R. Richard]

From a Motor Trend road test BMW 535i:
Curb weight 2010: 3844 lb
Curb weight 2011: 4100 lb
Weight dist. 2010: f/r 50/50%
Weight dist. 2011: f/r 50/50%

The car weighs at least 3844 pounds. The weight is evenly distributed front and rear. Modern cars have a fairly stiff frame, to promote handling. BMW is a 'handling car.' Even if the girl only had to lift the rear of the car, it would have been something like 1922 pounds, minimum. That's a lotta weight!

Woman's world record 198+ pounds, deadlift:
Deadlift Kilos Lbs
Chaney 227.50 501.55

The girl certainly didn't weigh 198+ pounds and she would have had to lift about four times the world record. In addition, the world record was set with a standrad bar bell. Lifting a car is somewhat more difficult.