A couple of weeks ago, there was a new story about how someone “almost” shot themselves in the face on daytime TV with a nail gun. Everyone in the audience gasps when she pointed it at her face, and followup news stories made it seem like a big deal.
In a recent Aflac commercial, the duck fired nails around the studio workshop.
Yes, it is possible for nails to fly through the air, but typically this only happens if 1) a nailer is user-modified – which is never recommended – or 2) if a nail ricochets after hitting a hard nut in wood, another nail, or other object that deflects forward movement.
Nailers are not guns, they don’t fire nails through the air.
Not all TV shows and movies show nailers being used in impossible ways, but too many do. Asking why they do this is more of a rhetorical question, because we all know the answer – nails soaring through the air like bullets is more entertaining than reality, where pressure must be applied to the nose.