>>>>>>>I am only grateful you do not live in one of the many cultures where firing AK47s into the air is a celebratory gesture <g>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Aren't those the places where the Law of Gravity has been repelled and bullets do not come back down?
>>>>>
>>>>>Good point that, Alex. What DOES happen to the bullets once fired into the air? Assuming they travel several 100 meters, then fall back to earth (the latter is not just an assumption :-), I guess they would be pretty lethal landing on your head, made of metal and all - like dropping something off the Empire State Building.
>>>>
>>>>I do remember the MythBusters that was mentioned by someone else. I seem to remember the bullets not being lethal, and I seem to remember the "dropping something off of the ESB" being a myth too.
>>>
>>>http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_225.html
>>
>>That's all very well, citing a tumbling penny, but how about a streamlined bullet, or ball-bearing.
>
>He did say ignoring wind resistance, so in that case, if a penny reached a speed of 280 fps, then so would a bullet or a ball bearing (or a feather).

Hey, I didn't say a wind-surfing penny, I said "tumbling". A penny landing edge-on would exhert a lot more pressure, I'd imagine.