4. A Single Hit Will Knock A Human Being Unconscious
If only such an act were as easy in real life, people would be knocking each other out all the time - and probably just for fun. Science tells us that a direct blow to the top of the head probably won't cause a human being to pass out, and we believe everything that science tells us. What's more likely, then? Well, that a sudden hit to the jaw (which causes the head to snap back) will result in unconsciousness. That's because your brain is being knocked and spun about inside your skull and that's extremely dangerous, apparently. It's also nothing to do with a lack of oxygen, science adds, which is what everybody in the world is walking about saying. Movie-land isn't so scientific about the exact motion that those who like to make people unconscious chose to use when knocking out their victims. They can hit you from any angle with anything they can find - a plank of wood is somewhat popular - and that, sadly, means you're going down, buddy. The "knocking a character out" routine has been popular for decades, of course, because it's so darn handy. You can (in a single act of violence) shift a character from one location to another and nobody ever needs explain what happened. Or maybe just nobody cares, whatever.