Vulcan nerve pinch
In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Vulcan nerve pinch is a technique used by Vulcans to render another lifeform unconscious by pinching the base of the victim's neck with all four fingers opposing the thumb. Normally this is done with other humanoids, but there is at least one instance of Spock using a nerve pinch on a horse-like creature — which was seen in Star Trek V:The Final Frontier.
Leonard Nimoy conceived the maneuver in the early days of Star Trek: The Original Series. At least one early script called for Mr. Spock to pistol whip another character, but Nimoy felt that such an action would be undignified for a Vulcan — he therefore invented an alternative.
As the series progressed, the technique was seen to be widely-known among Vulcans. It appears to be less known among non-Vulcans: in the episode "The Omega Glory", Spock comments that he has tried and failed to teach it to James T. Kirk.
It has never been explained in on-screen canon exactly how the pinch works. Over the years fans, as well as writers in the Star Trek Expanded Universe have made a number of suggestions as to how it works.
One conjecture is that, due to the telepathic nature of Vulcans, as well as their incredible control over their own bodies, they are able to send a burst of neural energy into another being and overload its nervous system, rendering it unconscious, although the pinch does not work on all species. This explanation was rendered moot by the fact that many non-telepathic characters have used it.
The alternate conjecture is that it can be done by applying very strong and surgicaly precise pressure over baroreceptors of the carotid sinus at the base of the humanoid neck.
Commander Data, (an android,) Emergency Medical Holograms as well Changelings (Odo) can perform this technique as well. Humans known to have mastered the skill are Jean-Luc Picard and Jonathan Archer. It is assumed that Seven of Nine, being a former Borg, also possesses the skills and knowledge to perform this technique, but to date has not.
The book The Making of Star Trek by Stephen E. Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry offers a simpler explanation: the pinch simply blocks blood and nerve responses from reaching the brain. In this earliest of Star Trek reference books, the pinch is referred to as the Spock Pinch.
The Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Enterprise Incident" makes reference to a Vulcan "Death" Grip, which is supposedly a more powerful, and usually lethal version of the nerve pinch. Spock pretends to use it on Captain Kirk in order to complete a mission, but it is later stated that the Death Grip is a myth, and this is confirmed by Kirk. Spock did, however, do something to Kirk that simulated death to such a degree that Romulan doctors certified him dead. It is unlikely that this was simply a more powerful version of the Nerve Pinch as Spock was seen grabbing Kirk's face and not his neck. Kirk stated that Spock used a nerve pinch to simulate his death, but what Spock did exactly is not explained.
In the stage direction in Star Trek scripts, this action is referred to as FSNP, for Famous Spock Nerve Pinch.
It is not known if this technique has been used on Vulcans, but the USS Voyager's Doctor has been seen daydreaming about using it against a borg infected Tuvok.
Other references of the Vulcan Nerve Pinch
- Xena on the series Xena Warrior Princess had somewhat lethal version known as the Death Pinch.
- In the song "Intergalactic," first appearing on their 1998 album "Hello Nasty," the hip-hop group Beastie Boys makes reference to this, but gets it wrong by singing "like a pinch on the neck ON [instead of FROM] Mr. Spock."
- On an episode of "Kung Fu: The Legend Continues", Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine) uses the Vulcan Nerve Punch to defeat several enemies, once reaching out of a large truck to administer it.
- In the Mel Brooks comedy, Spaceballs, Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) attempts to knock-out a Spaceball guard using the technique, prompting the following dialogue:
Guard: What the hell are you doing?
Lone Starr: The "Vulcan Neck Pinch"...
Guard: No, no, stupid. You've got it much too high. It's down here were the shoulder meets the neck.
Lone Starr: Like THIS?
Guard: YEAH! (Faints)
- In the film Look Who's Talking Now, Kirstie Alley's character loses her job and takes a temp job playing an elf in Santa's Workshop in a mall. A bratty child asks scornfully if she is an elf. She replies "No, I'm a Vulcan. How would you like a little death grip?" This has a double meaning as Kirstie Alley played Saavik in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
- Pulp hero Doc Savage was known to use a similar technique several decades before Star Trek aired.
Computing terminology
- Vulcan nerve pinch is also hacker slang for a keyboard combination used to reboot or otherwise interrupt a computer. A common example of this is Control-Alt-Delete for IBM PC compatible computers (see also three-finger salute).