Shooting yourself in the foot: to do something without intending to which spoils a situation for yourself.

We’ve all shot ourselves in the foot at time or another, in the metaphorical sense. But one man has taken the expression a little too literally and quite literally blasted a hole in his foot with a gun.

Why? Because he wanted to know what it would feel like, obviously.

Adam Hirtle is the inquisitive man in question. When investigators quizzed the 30-year-old about where his gunshot wound had come from – as they do when such a patient enters a hospital with an injury like this – he nonchalantly told them he did it because he was curious how it would feel.

Wanting to know what it feels like to be shot ranks right up there alongside ‘I wonder what cyanide tastes like’ and ‘Do you think I could fit my whole head in a tiger’s mouth?’ as a question it’s just best not to know the answer to.

The police were not sure what to do when it turned out that the reported ‘accidental gun discharge’ was anything but an accident. However, 9News.com said that the Colorado resident has been arrested on suspicion of a prohibited use of weapons, reckless endangerment and child abuse, because one or more kids may have been in the vicinity when he fired the gun.

Another news network, Fox News, revealed that Hirtle used a .22 caliber, semi-automatic handgun. He reportedly stood in his garage, took his boot off, shot himself in the foot, put his boot back on, and shot himself in the same foot again. All because of a morbid fascination with how it would feel.

His injuries were not life-threatening but his foot, one would safely assume, is looking a little worse for wear. So there’s your lesson kids – don’t try this at home!

Sometimes Adam, ignorance is bliss. So is the ability to walk and not being in prison. So maybe don’t shoot yourself in the foot, yeah?