Hysterical Strength: People Who Lifted Cars to Save Someone
A mom lifts a car off her son. A bystander lifts a Camaro off a teenager. Here are the reported cases, what really happens when someone lifts a car, and why scientists still can't test it.
Every few years a story makes the news: someone lifts a car off a person trapped underneath. The name for it is hysterical strength, sudden strength far beyond normal, triggered by a life-or-death moment. The stories are real. What exactly happens is still a mystery.
The reported cases
- Angela Cavallo, 1982, Lawrenceville, Georgia. Her son Tony was working under a 1964 Chevrolet Impala when it fell off the jacks and pinned him. She lifted the car high enough, and long enough, for two neighbors to put the jacks back and pull him out.
- Tom Boyle, 2006, Tucson, Arizona. A Chevrolet Camaro hit 18-year-old Kyle Holtrust and pinned him underneath. Boyle ran over and lifted the car while the driver pulled the teen out.
- Lydia Angiyou, 2006, Ivujivik, Quebec. A polar bear came at her 7-year-old son and his friends playing hockey. She fought the bear off until a hunter arrived with a rifle.
- Nick Harris, 2009, Ottawa, Kansas. A slim man lifted a Mercury sedan off a 6-year-old girl.
- Newport, Wales, 2009. Three people together lifted a Renault Clio off an 8-year-old boy.
- Danous Estenor, 2011. A college football player lifted a Cadillac off a tow truck driver who was trapped under it.
- Two teenage sisters, 2013, Oregon. They lifted a tractor off their father.
Did they really lift a whole car?
Usually not, and that's not taking anything away from them. A car's weight isn't spread evenly. Lifting one end or one corner only means raising part of the total, often a few hundred pounds, not 3,000. Exercise physiologist Robert Girandola has pointed this out.
A few hundred pounds is still far more than most people can lift on a normal day, in an awkward position, with no warm-up. That's the remarkable part.
What science thinks is going on
- Adrenaline. Fear floods the body with adrenaline, which raises heart rate and blood flow and blunts pain. But lab research suggests adrenaline alone doesn't add much raw muscle force.
- The brain's brakes come off. One leading idea is that your brain normally keeps a lot of strength in reserve to protect muscles and tendons from tearing. In a true emergency, it may let more of the muscle fire at once.
- No pain, no hesitation. People in these stories often don't notice injuries until later.
Why it can't be tested
You can't ethically put someone's child under a car in a lab. So almost all the evidence comes from news reports and eyewitnesses. Scientists are honest that it's never been measured. That's why most researchers call it plausible but unproven.
What isn't in doubt is the courage. Most people in these stories say the same thing afterward: they didn't think, they just moved. For a recent example of ordinary people stepping in, read about the detective and deputy who pulled a driver from a burning truck.