Cryptopygia
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Found this story interesting. A bandit (who uses that term nowadays?) pointed a gun at the face of a store clerk, pulled the trigger...nothing happened. He then pointed it at a wall, pulled the trigger...and it fired.
http://www.local6.com/news/16738767/detail.html
I know of a similar story. Guy steals WWII handgun from retired army general. Guy then decides to hold up a store. He gets what he wants, turns to leave, then decides not to leave a witness. He points the gun at the clerk, pulls the trigger, and... nothing happens. Guy is obviously confused, so he stares down the barrel of his gun to see what was wrong.
What happened was the general also kept his gun loaded with ammo that had been manufactured during the war, 60-odd years ago. The propellant (or primer, I forget which) loses its "spontaneous" nature over time, and smolders in a delayed ignition, known as a hangfire. When the gun eventually fired, it was leveled with the crooks eyeball, with the expected result.