Talk:Hysterical strength

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Orphan
The page Physical strength now links to this. Removing orphaned banner.84.9.13.98 (talk) 23:38, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

Disputed examples
Just a thought, perhaps instead of butchering articles to where they become unreadable just adding a "needs citation" marker at the end of a paragraph? Especially when there is a header to the effect of an article being unsourced? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.132.6.31 (talk) 12:54, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

I think the examples given are absurd. Only if there is some element of evidence that it was indeed "hysterical strength" should something be added. Not just "well that sounds like a large weight to pull so it must be hysterical strength". —Preceding unsigned comment added by Anonywiki (talk • contribs) 00:09, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

I deleted the bear story because if one actually reads the article there is no indication of super strength on the part of the woman, just super bravery and super luck. The bear actually swatted her to the ground twice before it was shot to death. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.235.13.221 (talk) 08:12, 17 June 2009 (UTC)

Isn't there an internal contradiction in the article as it stands? "No verifiable evidence or witnesses" in one place, followed by lists of examples in some of which there were witnesses. 50.46.103.99 (talk) 05:02, 15 September 2015 (UTC)

Fictional superheroes? Not relevant
The section titled "in media" is really just a two-paragraph overview of superpowers in fiction, which has no relevance to an article about cases of ordinary people summoning great strength in life or death situations. If this section is to exist, it needs to contain media depictions of "hysterical strength" rather than a discussion of comic book superheroes. This article is light enough on factual content as it is however so I'm reluctant to delete it. 95.148.112.244 (talk) 15:21, 21 November 2014 (UTC)


 * Good catch, I've removed it. Do you know any media depictions of the actual topic? There's got to be *some*. HCA (talk) 18:43, 21 November 2014 (UTC)

A new nomenclature?
Hysterical strength is a really terrible term, with sexist overtones (see Hysteria). I wonder whether, given that what would have been called hysteria is now called somatization disorder, whether Hysterical strength should be Acute somatization strength or similar. This has the danger that ideas about the pathogenesis of an acute stress-induced increase in strength might be weighted towards more central command models, rather than peripheral sympathetic- or adrenaline-induced models, but perhaps this is a small price to pay. I know that Wikipedia isn't the place for neologisms, but I wonder whether there might be a way of shifting this term, without losing the concept. No, I hadn't intended that this should be an ASS of an idea ... I am trying to be serious! Klbrain (talk) 23:46, 25 August 2015 (UTC)

Opening paragraph conflicting with examples.
It says "Common anecdotal examples include parents lifting vehicles to rescue their children. Such examples, however, have not been proven and have been dismissed by doctors across the world." There are no citations, and not a single quote or source from a doctor dismissing "such examples". It's just a blanket dismissal.

And then the very first entry in the "Examples" section is "In 1982, in Lawrenceville, Georgia, Tony Cavallo was repairing a 1964 Chevrolet Impala automobile from underneath. The vehicle was propped up with jacks, but it fell. Cavallo's mother, Mrs. Angela Cavallo, lifted the car high enough and long enough for two neighbours to replace the jacks and pull Tony from beneath the car.[4]" Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's a parent lifting a car to save their child.

Angela Cavallo's story is not disputed. It's cited all over the place.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2636/supermom

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2011-07/fyi-can-woman-really-lift-car-her-pinned-child

http://www.livescience.com/33336-how-powerful-willpower-adrenaline-rush.html

And counting the list of examples, there are seven other cited stories of people lifting vehicles.

Another good example
Can be found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seyit_%C3%87abuk 188.3.151.200 (talk) 17:01, 5 April 2016 (UTC)

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The Explanation ? Suspension !
Is it worth adding that one simple explanation (for vehicle-lifting) is that the weight of most vehicles is supported by springs.

See Suspension

This means that you can "lift" one (partially) without needing to take its full weight. Often an inch of lift will be sufficient to free someone from underneath - easy. Even the fact most have four wheels means that you only need half the strength to completely lift one side or end that you would need to lift it entirely off the ground! Call me skeptical ... --195.137.93.171 (talk) 08:45, 16 August 2016 (UTC)


 * You're right, it shouldn't say things like "3.5 tons" because 1.75 tons is trivial for an old woman to lift. Not. Telanis (talk)


 * Very true, a relatively modest force can lift a vehicle enough to free someone. In comparison, sitting in a car can drop it enough to jam an open door on a nearby verge. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.6.132.137 (talk) 21:22, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Real or Not?
The blurb at the top states that most experts do not believe anecdotes of people lifting cars to rescue loved ones are accurate. Immediately afterward, we have a long list of people who have lifted cars to rescue loved ones. What gives? -Muga Sofer (talk) 15:23, 26 September 2016 (UTC)


 * Surely if this were real, there would be countless anecdotes throughout history in a military setting, where life and death encounters are the default. Maybe what we're learning is that leveraging a car just enough to pull someone from under it, is a readily achievable feat, that just rarely happens. Surely there's some cellphone videos of these many 21st century rescues? The exact position of the car and victim could be recreated with a dummy, and see if random people could move the car the same way, under calm conditions. vroman (talk) 10:09, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Over-representation
It seems like the majority of Hysterical strength cited are recorded happening in America even though America is only about 4% of the world. This seems bizarre and disproportional. Can we cull the American examples down to one or two (~4% ideally)? They're almost all examples of humans tilting cars expressed in medieval units. The currently level of redundancy is redundant. One well-documented incidence should be adequate to support the idea of tipping cars. 49.180.85.242 (talk) 02:50, 13 January 2024 (UTC)