this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2023
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[–] seathru@lemm.ee 41 points 11 months ago

Refraction is a harsh mistress.

[–] ArtificialLink@yall.theatl.social 38 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The shockwave kills everything in the barrel.

[–] JoMiran@lemmy.ml 18 points 11 months ago

Also, I Believe the original saying implied "shoot with a buckshot shotgun".

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 16 points 11 months ago

The saying is "shooting fish", not "shooting a fish". Bet it's pretty easy when the barrel's wall to wall fish.

[–] AceQuorthon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Why did Mythbusters never test this

[–] cm0002@lemmy.world 43 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)
[–] AceQuorthon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 11 months ago

Oh shit, my bad homie

[–] burgers@toast.ooo 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

i always thought the point was that even if you miss, you've now shot a hole through the barrel and the water will drain out, killing the fish anyways

[–] smooth_jazz_warlady@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Even if you miss, the shockwaves the bullet makes will kill every fish in the barrel anyway. The Mythbusters tested it.

[–] burgers@toast.ooo 1 points 11 months ago

sure, but i guess what i mean is like, that's why the meaning of the idiom is clear to me even having not tested or watched someone test what the actual effect of firing a gun into a barrel full of fish would be. if you were ever in a conversation, prior to watching that episode, wherein someone used the idiom to describe a task, and you were like "oh, you mean that'll be easy, because the shockwave from a gun shot would kill all of the fish in a barrel at the same time", before you watched the mythbusters episode, i guess you're a lot smarter than me

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

This saying never made sense to me. You already have trapped the fish. If you shoot them, they become inedible. Why not just starve them, or tip the bucket over and a couple minutes later bam, dinner for the whole village.

Who tf was like 'ima blast these little swimming fools' and why in the fuck were people like 'that sounds like a great idea, I can be a real badass now'. Those people just sound like wannabes.

Now who's helping me tip over this barrel?

[–] can@sh.itjust.works 12 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Have you never heard a saying before?

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago (2 children)

That doesn't dismiss the fact that the premise is incredibly stupid.

[–] secondaccountlemmy@lemmy.world 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)

So is a bull in a china shop but that's what sayings usually are.

And who's the fucking asshole that steals candy from a baby??

[–] wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

Hey now, babies shouldn't have candy. It's a choking hazard, I'm doing them a favor!

👶🍬🏃

[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 4 points 11 months ago

No it is not. It means to do something really simple - which shooting a fish in a barrel is. It doesn't need to be the most logical thing people do, it just needs to be easy.

Lethal shockwaves go brrr, actually