Ever since this movie' release, fans have had quite a suspension of disbelief. Can a man really be hit square in the face with a steam iron and walk away unfazed? What kind of permanent physical damage would a blow torch to the head really do, Dr. Ryan St. Clair of the Weill Cornell Medical College diagnosed each of the injuries in this movie (he apparently had a lot of time on his hands): THE INJURY: B.B. GUN TO THE FOREHEAD "Classic air-powered projectile weapons typically have muzzle velocities of three hundred fifty feet per second or less. A B.B. fired at close range from such a weapon could break the skin, but will not penetrate the skull, and is unlikely to penetrate Harry's scrotum, especially through fabric." THE INJURY: IRON TO THE FACE "Let's estimate the distance from the first floor to the basement at fifteen feet, and assume the steam iron weighs four pounds. And note that the iron strikes Marv squarely in the mid-face. This is a serious impact, with enough force to fracture the bones surrounding the eyes. This is also known as a 'blowout fracture,' and can lead to serious disfigurement and debilitating double vision if not repaired properly." THE INJURY: HANDLING A BURNING-HOT DOORKNOB The Doctor's Diagnosis: "If this doorknob is glowing visibly red in the dark, it has been heated to about seven hundred fifty-one degrees Fahrenheit (four hundred degrees Celsius), and Harry gives it a nice, strong, one- to two-second grip. By comparison, one second of contact with one hundred fifty-five degree (sixty-eight degrees Celsius) water is enough to cause third degree burns. The temperature of that doorknob is not quite hot enough to cause Harry's hand to burst into flames, but it is not that far off ... Assuming Harry doesn't lose the hand completely, he will almost certainly have other serious complications, including a high risk for infection and 'contracture', in which resulting scar tissue seriously limits the flexibility and movement of the hand, rendering it less than one hundred percent useful. Kevin has moved from 'defending his house' into sheer malice, in my opinion." THE INJURY: A BLOWTORCH TO THE SCALP "Harry has an interesting reaction to having a lit blowtorch aimed directly at his scalp. Rather than remove himself from danger, he keeps the top of his skull directly in the line of fire for about seven seconds. What was likely a simple second-degree skin burn is now a full thickness burn likely to cause necrosis of the calavarium (skull bone)." That means the skin and bone tissue on Harry's skull will be so damaged and rotted that his skull bone is essentially dying, and will likely require a transplant. THE INJURY: WALKING BAREFOOT ON CHRISTMAS TREE ORNAMENTS "Walking on ornaments seems pretty insignificant compared to everything else we've seen so far. If I was Marv, I'd be more concerned about my facial fractures." THE INJURY: PAINT CAN TO THE FACE "Assuming the paint can is full (roughly ten pounds) and the rope is ten feet long, Marv and Harry each take a roughly two kilonewton (449.6 pound-forces) hit to the face. That is easily enough to fracture multiple facial bones, and is probably going to knock you out cold. Also, I wouldn't expect either of the Wet Bandits to walk away from this with all of their teeth." THE INJURY: SHOVEL TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD "Seriously? At this point, Marv and Harry have both suffered potentially crippling hand and foot injuries. Harry has proven to be nearly impervious to burns, and both managed to retain consciousness after taking a flying paint can straight to the face. Suddenly, a frail elderly man appears and weakly slaps them in turn with a flimsy aluminum Home Depot snow shovel. And, somehow, this is too much for them, and they collapse. This movie was way more believable when I was eight."