Could a penny dropped from a skyscraper kill someone?
You take a walk in the downtown areas of your city, having the best time of your life, from an overwhelmed weekend. Ice cream on one hand and change on the other hand. You have three pennies and two quarters. With these in your hands, the glance at the tall buildings, and the drop of the ice cream on the ground, you wonder, could a penny dropped from a skyscraper kill someone?
What is a penny?
A penny is the smallest value in the U.S currency. It is worth 1/100th of a dollar, or one cent. Before 1982, pennies were 95% copper and 5% zinc. Since 1982 and today, pennies are 97.5 % zinc, with 2.5% copper, being the coating. This changed, because copper became too expensive relative to the coin's tiny face value. The penny has been in production since 1795, making it one of the oldest coins in circulation, for the U.S. The current design has Abraham Lincoln on the front, since 1909, marking the 100th anniversary of his birth.
Could a penny dropped from a skyscraper kill someome?
No, this myth is false. A penny dropped from a skyscraper could not kill someone. It would not build up enough speed to kill someone, even if it was dropped from the tallest building. Gravity can pull something down, yet air resistance could push it back up. Resistance gets stronger the faster the object falls. he pushback from air resistance becomes strong enough to cancel out the pull of gravity, and the object stops falling fast. This myth could possibly be formed by some people who taught it might sound true to them and from there it built up.
Fun Facts
Due to the price of zinc, copper, and mining labor, the penny has a value of more than one cent. The US Treasury, announced that they will stop producing pennies, because of the cost issues. In 1943, a penny was made fully out of copper , instead of war-time steel, which made it being sold at an auction for over 1 million dollars.
Sources
Scientific American – "Could a Penny Dropped Off a Skyscraper Actually Kill You?"
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-a-penny-dropped-off/
University of Illinois, Mechanical Science & Engineering – "Lethal pennies and other misconceptions"
https://mechse.illinois.edu/news/blogs/lethal-pennies-and-other-misconceptions
