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What happens if you leave a penny on a railroad track and a train hits it?

The train flattens the penny and keeps going without a bump.

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  1. The penny gets flattened ✔
  2. The train derails
  3. The penny shoots out like a bullet

Why: A train weighs thousands of tons and a penny weighs practically nothing. The massive steel wheels just crush the soft copper and zinc flat.

Huh, didn't know that: It is incredibly dangerous and illegal to trespass on train tracks to try this.

The dad joke
What do you call a train that eats a lot? A chew chew train.
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References

Answer: The penny gets flattened. A train weighs thousands of tons and a penny weighs practically nothing. The massive steel wheels just crush the soft copper and zinc flat.

  1. West Texas A&M University: Can a Penny Derail a Train? www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2012/12/08/how-does-a-penny-left-on-the-track-derail-a-train
    It is flattened or knocked out of the way by the train.
    Checked 2026-10-09.
  2. Federal Railroad Administration: Trespass Prevention railroads.dot.gov/railroad-safety/divisions/crossing-safety-and-trespass-prevention/trespass-prevention
    It is illegal to access private railroad property anywhere other than a designated pedestrian or roadway crossing.
    Checked 2026-10-09.

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