[Pseudoscience-is-malarkey (OP)]

Dueling became illegal in the U.S. in 1859, and throughout the British Empire in 1819.

Let's say we have two adults that have a strong beef with each other, consent to a duel after someone(s) honor was violated, and cannot settle their issue(s) with words or gestures.

[alancalverd]

Old Jewish story (like most of mine). Two friends had played cards together for years. Then one day Joe discovered that Fred had also been having an affair with his wife. They decided to settle the matter with a game of pinochle, winner takes the lady. The whisky is poured, the cards are dealt, then Joe says "Just to make it interesting, how about a dollar a trick?" 

[Bored chemist]

Dueling became illegal in the U.S. in 1859, and throughout the British Empire in 1819.

Let's say we have two adults that have a strong beef with each other, consent to a duel after someone(s) honor was violated, and cannot settle their issue(s) with words or gestures.

P I M and I were playing cards last night.
I said he cheated so I challenged him to a duel.
He lost.

There are no witnesses.

I'm a county level  competition marksman; he wasn't.
But it isn't murder; honestly.
It was a duel.

And now you know why they made it illegal.

[alancalverd]

The duel would have been against the rules anyway. If you accused him of cheating, it is for him to defend his honor by challenging you to a duel. You then have choice of weapons so you would have won anyway.

Had it been the other way around, you could have challenged him, he chooses weapons, and as an Olympic swordsman, he would have cut you into pieces.

Business is business. Just play by the rules.

Moral: always make a side bet, like Joe said.

[alancalverd]

PS - apropos Joe and Fred

Man gets on a train on Monday morning, turns back to a bloke on the platform and says "Thank you for a marvellous weekend! Your cook is outstanding, your ghillie is a genius, and your wife is the best little romp in the county!"

As he sits down, another passenger says "Did you really mean what you said about his wife?" 

"Actually she's not particularly good, but he's a very old friend".

[Bored chemist]

The duel would have been against the rules anyway. If you accused him of cheating, it is for him to defend his honor by challenging you to a duel. You then have choice of weapons so you would have won anyway.

Had it been the other way around, you could have challenged him, he chooses weapons, and as an Olympic swordsman, he would have cut you into pieces.

Business is business. Just play by the rules.

Oops, I got muddled; he accused me of cheating so I shot him.
Obviously, if there had been any witnesses, they could have reminded me.
That's OK isn't it?
Nothing like murder, obviously.

[evan_au]

In countries with a public health system (eg not the USA), the health system consumes a large fraction of the taxation income.
- Dueling will only increase load on the health system, since it your taxes that pay to patch up the people who partially survive the dual.
- If there is no real public health system (eg the USA), gun violence is rife, and people are encouraged to get more guns to protect themselves from the idiots with guns. There is no incentive for the government to do much about it, because repairing the damage doesn't really come out of their pockets.

It was ironic to hear Donald Trump criticizing the mayor of London on a night when 3 people were killed in stabbings, when the homicide rate in New York was twice as high (you are much more likely to die from a gun attack than a knife attack).
See: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-48651131

There is a branch of mathematics called Galois Theory, applied in 4G mobile phones and cable TV, among many others. Galois documented this in a letter at age 20. He had foolishly challenged a soldier to a duel, and died of gunshot wounds received the next morning.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89variste_Galois

[alancalverd]

We also pay to patch up skiers, sky divers, skateboarders and smokers. But I don't see much evidence of the Brits being less risk-averse than the Yanks.

The advantage of duelling over the other methods that people use to settle scores is that the rules limit the action to two opponents and one shot or "first blood". Hence no gang wars or family feuds, which do a lot of damage to people with no particular interest in the outcome.

[Bored chemist]

In countries with a public health system (eg not the USA), the health system consumes a large fraction of the taxation income.
- Dueling will only increase load on the health system, since it your taxes that pay to patch up the people who partially survive the dual.
- If there is no real public health system (eg the USA), gun violence is rife, and people are encouraged to get more guns to protect themselves from the idiots with guns. There is no incentive for the government to do much about it, because repairing the damage doesn't really come out of their pockets.

It was ironic to hear Donald Trump criticizing the mayor of London on a night when 3 people were killed in stabbings, when the homicide rate in New York was twice as high (you are much more likely to die from a gun attack than a knife attack).
See: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-48651131

There is a branch of mathematics called Galois Theory, applied in 4G mobile phones and cable TV, among many others. Galois documented this in a letter at age 20. He had foolishly challenged a soldier to a duel, and died of gunshot wounds received the next morning.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89variste_Galois

The relevant difference between the US and the UK is that neither of them allow duelling.

[alancalverd]

True. In the US, everyone is encouraged to shoot everyone else without the tedious formality of a duel, or even an argument, and the absurd single-shot pistol has been successively replaced by the revolver, the tommy-gun, and more recently the AK47 and Uzi. You don't even need to buy a whole new gun to keep up with fashion: you can get a bump conversion to turn most repeating rifles into burst weapons and take out a whole schoolroom in a few seconds - no skill required.