For hundreds of years, the fabled ‘bullet catch’ has been widely considered the most dangerous magic trick. Since it first appeared in the 1500s, the illusion, which usually takes the form of a performer appearing to catch a bullet fired directly at him or her in their teeth, has led to the deaths of at least fifteen magicians, most notably American stage magician William “Chung Ling Soo” Robinson, who was fatally injured onstage in 1918 when a rigged gun malfunctioned. Still, illusionists like Criss Angel and Penn & Teller continue to perform the trick regularly, despite the opinion held by some magicians that the illusion should be permanently retired — even Harry Houdini was dissuaded from adding the bullet catch to his routine due to the inherent danger of performing any illusion involving a live firearm.

Despite the legendary magicians’ code of silence, few practitioners of stage magic would try to persuade even the most gullible of people that the feat the bullet catch trick appears to create could be duplicated in reality without gimmickry. However, an amazingly similar incident actually happened late in 2003, when a US Army reservist in Iraq was shot in the face and managed to survive because the bullet hit one of his front teeth, knocked it out, ricocheted off, and lodged in his upper lip! Other than a small wound below his nose and the need for a dental implant to replace his missing tooth, the soldier was almost completely unscathed.

So keep brushing, flossing, and getting dental checkups and cleanings regularly — you might not be able to catch bullets in your teeth, but still, you never know when healthy teeth could save your life!