Chicago Man Dante Autullo Shot Nail into His...

A Chicago man named Dante Autullo was working with a nail gun. He shot an errant nail, which he thought had flown past his head. However, it was actually lodged in his brain, and he didn't know it.

The 3.5 inch nail was in the Illinois man's brain for more than a day before doctor's removed it. Can you imagine shooting a nail into your own head and not even realizing it? How strange.

After the nail gun went off in his garage while he was working out there, Dante Autullo actually searched for the nail, but he never found it. Ultimately, he was not terribly concerned about where it went, so he gave up his search without realizing it was in his own brain.

The man even went to work the next day without realizing he had a nail embedded in his brain. Ultimately, he had to go to the hospital because he felt sick to his stomach and had a horrible headache (um, no kidding).

Finally, an X-ray located the missing nail from the day beforeÂ—lodged in the man's brain! He actually had to get it removed during a four-hour surgery. Imagine what could have happened if he hadn't gone to the hospital though? It seems like this story could have ended much worse. The moral of this story must be, if you accidentally shoot a nail gun and cannot find the errant nail, be sure to check your own head before giving up the search.

Comments: 12

Shannon R. Jan 20, 2012, 4:15pm UTC

wow well thats amazing that he had that happen and it didnt kill him

Rachel Dillin Jan 20, 2012, 4:19pm UTC

That is true. He was rather lucky in a way.

Jennifer Kyrnin Mar 27, 2012, 2:19am UTC

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Ryan Reid Jan 20, 2012, 4:22pm UTC

i guess it makes a little sense, the brain doesnt feel pain like the rest of our body...but still...what kind of nail gun was he using that penetrated his skull after a ricochet....i use nail guns all the time and this is crazy to me!

i will say that i have seen them go into fingers, hands knee caps and so on, but never a brain!

Rachel Dillin Jan 21, 2012, 1:25am UTC

Ouch! Ouch! Yeah, I have no idea how it actually ended up there. It seems like it must have been high powered.

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Amber C. Jan 20, 2012, 4:28pm UTC

lol Check your own head. I love it.

I read about a woman who was stabbed and walked around with a knife in her shoulder all day before a passerby pointed it out. Granted, it was a small knife, but any knife is still pretty sharp.

Rachel Dillin Jan 21, 2012, 1:25am UTC

Goodness. It's hard to imagine this, but I guess until you've experienced it, you never know.

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Lisa C. Jan 20, 2012, 5:07pm UTC

omgosh is my first thought, how could he not realize. but if you think about it, it probably numbed his head where it went in. I once had a small rock (that someone hit from one of those plastic play bats) and the rock went into my jaw. I didnt know what happened and it didnt hurt for a few minutes, i guess cause it went numb.