While going through a sidebar article on Facebook titled “25 Deadliest Animals to Humans” (yes, occasionally I get suckered into these things), I came across this fine bit of information:
Deer have antlers that can fatally kill humans. However, most deer-associated deaths are caused not by these antlers but by accidents on highways. Deer often cross highways and stop right in the middle of roads, causing collisions among vehicles. It is estimated that around 120 people die every year because of deer.
While deer causing collisions “among vehicles” invites some interesting visualization, the first sentence is the one that gets my instant attention. It implies that a person can be nonfatally killed, a fascinating concept. In my experience, nonfatal killings are exceedingly rare. I myself have never witnessed one. Perhaps they are only associated with deer antlers. I picture the following scene:
Godfather: Didja rub out Luca?
Nicko: Yeah, Luca’s dead.
GF: How you do it?
N: Used a deer antler.
GF: A deer antler! You idjit! What if ya killed him nonfatally!
N: I stuck it troo his ribs inta his heart. He sure looked fatally killed to me.
GF: No, no, no! How many times I tell yous guys: you want da job done right, never, ever use a antler. Oh, sure, a deer antler can fatally kill a human. But don’t count on it. Nonfatal killings happen. Now, you take a gun and go back and take care-a Luca proper.