Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image
Topics: Social Media, Animals
Liv Bridge
Do you think 100 men could take down a fully grown silverback gorilla in a fight?
That's what the internet has been fiercely debating this week in another viral storm that's reminiscent of Harambe. (Lest we forget.)
The bizarre question has caused a stir on every corner of social media, from TikTok creators to Redditors as they ponder on this hypothetical beef.
So, the theory goes, could 100 unarmed men take down a fully grown silverback gorilla if the men were able to all collaborate in the fight?
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For context, gorillas are estimated to be four to 10 times stronger than humans and their own strength sits at around 10 times their body weight.
Fully grown silverbacks are the beast of the bunch, able to lift more than 800kg of dead weight which is more than twice as much as a professional weightlifter who has more spent years in the gym than not.
Gorillas are also estimated to be able to lift 1,810 kg in a bench press, far out-shining even the best of man who could lift, by comparison, a mere 885 lbs, according to Kabria Gorilla Safaris.
As a result, it's a real dilemma that few are willing to put to the test.
Still, it's given us some laughs for the past few weeks, as one said: "I’m sorry but this gorilla debacle is as close to old Twitter as we’re getting rn, I’m in tears."
Another joked the 100 men could split up into teams of 20. Explaining the strategy, they said: "If 20 of us grab his arms, another 20 grab his legs, another 20 grab his head, the other 40 can stomp him out in the nuts and his neck."
With a gif of a group pulling their hands in ahead of a game, the Twitter user added: "Gorilla Beaters on three..."
Meanwhile, over on Reddit, others were less convinced it would be possible, as one said: "The hundred humans would never fit around the gorilla, so you’re like 5 people on 1 gorilla max at a time. You can’t punch a gorilla to death. That gorilla would mess up everyone."
Meanwhile, others described the battle as like 'kicking or punching a rock.'
Besides, as one pointed out, the gorilla 'would just need to beat like 30 people before everyone else runs of their lives'.
"Idk man once that gorilla rips people's arms out and beats 'em to death with their arms, and then beats other people to death with their armless friends corpse..." said a third, to which another replied: "This visual had me choking laughing."
Other users said the discourse is exactly 'the type of content we need' on the internet.
Although the quirky debate has gone viral this week, it actually isn't new with its origins stretching way back to the golden days of early online forums where 'who would win' type questions have historically been a good source for a giggle.
Take for instance a 2017 Reddit thread, titled, 'Is there any human alive who could beat a gorilla in these conditions?' where users were prompted to debate whether a single human, even with the advantages of weapons, could defeat such a powerful beast.
And not to burst anyone's bubble, but a silverback stands stronger than 20 adult humans combined, so there's one fifth of your fleet gone instantly.
...I'm on the gorilla's side in this one.