“Dropping a penny from the Empire State Building could kill someone”

The idea that a humble penny, dropped from the dizzying heights of the Empire State Building, could become a deadly projectile is a persistent urban legend. This misconception likely stems from our natural awe of great heights and the powerful force of gravity. It's easy to imagine that something falling for so long would gather incredible, dangerous speed, turning a small coin into a lethal weapon upon impact.

However, the laws of physics tell a different story. While gravity continuously pulls objects downward, another force, air resistance, acts in the opposite direction. For a small, light, and relatively flat object like a penny, air resistance quickly becomes significant. As the penny falls, it accelerates, but the drag from the air increases until it balances the force of gravity. At this point, the penny stops accelerating and reaches its terminal velocity, a constant speed at which it can fall no faster. For a penny, this terminal velocity is surprisingly slow, typically between 30 and 50 miles per hour.

People commonly believe this myth because our everyday experience often doesn't involve objects falling from such extreme distances, nor do we always intuitively grasp the impact of air resistance. We know that falling objects can be dangerous, and the greater the height, the greater our perceived risk. Without understanding terminal velocity, it's natural to assume that a greater fall simply means a greater speed, rather than a maximum speed being reached relatively quickly.

In reality, being hit by a penny falling from the Empire State Building would feel more like a flick on the head than a fatal blow. It might sting a little, but it certainly wouldn't be enough to penetrate skin or cause serious injury, let alone be lethal.