Staple Gun

Staple gunning of the forehead

Stapling Newspaper to the chest

Medical

In different circumstances during surgery, doctors will use a surgical stapler to close wounds instead of the more traditional suture method. It is quite different from a "staple gun" in design, and stapling a wound closed is faster than traditional sutures and can also be a stronger hold, although removal is more difficult and requires a specialized tool.

Sideshow

Staple guns are also becoming very common in sideshow acts, in which the performer will liberally staple things, such as playing cards, to themselves.

Whilst not usually a dangerous act (if care is taken with placement, of course) there are parts of the anatomy ideally suited for use during such an act; the outside of the arms and the biceps, chest, legs, and abdominal area are all fine, and, perhaps surprisingly so, is the skull. The average puncture wound depth of the staples more commonly used varies between four to six millimetres, though it should be noted that a six millimetre deep staple tine will often bend when it comes in contact with the skull and can staple into the sternum and be difficult to remove. In contrast, a four millimetre tine will look just as effective, but will rarely grab hold strongly enough to attach an object to the body (including paper).

Both the staples and staple gun are very hard to sterilize and some staples themselves are coated in a light layer of oil. Due to these concerns, it is advised that they should not be left in the skin for extended periods of time.