Ways To Die: #67 - #76

1. It’s hard to believe, but sometimes plants take revenge. A 27 year old male discovered this after his friend suggested they do a little “cactus plugging” by shooting a cactus with a shotgun. This young man tried his plugging skills on a 25 foot tall Saguaro cactus. After blasting a large hole in the cactus, the cactus fell on him, crushing him to death!
2. Sometimes you can even die strangely while walking through your own city. Allan Pinkerton, famous for creating the Pinkerton detective agency in the 1800’s, died at age 65 after biting his tongue when he slipped on the sidewalk.
3. It’s hard to believe but there’s actually a case of someone eating himself to death. The unfortunate victim was King Adolf Frederick of Sweden. His favorite dessert was a bun filled with marzipan and milk. He was so hungry that one day he ate fourteen servings of this dessert and subsequently died on the spot.
4. You’ve heard of video game fanatics. Well this young man have had the ultimate game addiction. A 28 year old Korean video game lover died at an internet cafe after playing Starcraft for almost 50 hours straight. At least he died doing something he enjoyed.
5. This may be the most nauseating death of all. In the early 1980’s, a 25 year old Dutch woman arrived at the home of a classmate who had invited her to dinner for an intellectual conversation. The conversation must have turned bad because she was killed and eaten by her dinner companion.
6. Celebrities have been known to die in strange ways also. The author, Sherwood Anderson, died after developing an abdominal infection when he swallowed a toothpick at a party.
7. It pays to write down the combination of your safe. In 1911, the famous Jack Daniel, who founded the Tennessee whiskey company, died of blood poisoning after kicking his safe in anger because he couldn’t remember the combination to open it.
8. Sometimes it just pays to stay at home. In 1972, Leslie Harvey, guitarist of Stone the Crows, was on stage performing for a crowd of fans. Unfortunately, he was electrocuted by his microphone and died at the scene.
9. It pays to use the best materials when you construct your laboratory. In 1277, Pope John XXI was killed after his scientific laboratory collapsed on him.

Thanks to socyberty.com for info!

Ways To Die: #55 - #66 (The Manliest Ways To Die)

We're all going to die anyway, so at least do it like a man. Meet ten manliest ways to die.

1. Steve Irwin: Impaled by a Stingray
   Is it even possible to start a manly list about anything without the Crocodile Hunter? Steve died as manly as possible on 2006, while filming a documentary entitled "Ocean's Deadliest" in Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. His heart was impaled by nothing less than a short-tail stingray barb. Of all the different ways to die, we can't think of a manliest; his legacy will impale us forever.
   
2. Eleazar Maccabeus: Crushed to death by a War Elephant
   Here's a guy with balls of steel, just like his whole family. During the Maccabean revolt, where Jewish people revolted against Seleucidic and Syrian rulers, Eleazar identified a war elephant that he believed to carry the Seleucid King Antiochus V --due to the special armor the elephant wore-- so he decided to endanger his life by attacking the elephant and thrusting a spear into its belly. Yes, the dead elephant then collapsed upon Eleazar, killing him as well, but remained a hero for eternity.
   
3. Empedocles: Jumped into a Volcano
   Diogenes Laërtius records the legend that pre-Socratic philosopher Empedocles died by throwing himself into an active volcano (Mount Etna in Sicily), so that people would believe his body had vanished and he had turned into an immortal god; however, the volcano threw back one of his bronze sandals, revealing the deceit. Another legend has it that he threw himself in the volcano to prove to his disciples that he was immortal; he believed he would come back as a god among man after being devoured by the fire. Ok, it didn't work, but here we are talking about him, which makes him inmortal in a way.
   
4. J. G. Parry-Thomas: Died breaking a Speed Record
   In 1927, the Welsh racing driver J. G. Parry-Thomas was trying to regain his own world land speed record that had been broken just weeks earlier by Malcolm Campbell on the same beach of Pendine Sands. His car, Babs, used exposed chains to connect the engine to the drive wheels while the high engine cover required him to drive with his head tilted to one side – the right. On his final run the right-hand drive chain broke at a speed of 171 mph (270 km/h), setting a new record, but partially decapitating him as well.
   
5. Thích Quang Duc: Lit himself on Fire to make a point
   Ok, we agree this wasn't the best way to protest, but he made his point. On 1963, Thích Quang Duc, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, sat down in the middle of a busy intersection in Saigon, covered himself in gasoline, and lit himself on fire, burning himself to death. He was protesting President Ngo Dinh Diem's administration for oppressing the Buddhist religion.
   
6. Kenji Urada: Killed by a Robot
   After working on a broken robot at a Japanese Kawasaki plant, 37-year old Kenji Urada forgot to turn it off. Big mistake! The Robot woke up, said "hasta la vista", and pushed him into a grinding machine with its hydraulic arm. Ok, he died, that's awful, but we'll always remember him as the man who second man ever to be killed by a Robot. And by the way, the first ever, Robert Williams, went to hit himself with the robot; not manly enough for our list.
   
7. Les Harvey: Killed by Rock and Roll
   Out of all music styles, only Rock and Roll is manly enough to kill you. On 1972, scottish guitarist of Stone the Crows, Les Harvey, was rocking his guitar on stage with his band at the Top Rank Bingo club in Swansea, and then, rock and roll took his life: he was electrocuted by touching an unearthed microphone with wet hands.
   
8. Félix Faure: Killed by Sex
   In 1899, French president Félix Faure died of a stroke while in his office. That's the official story, but it is popularly believed that he died in the arms of his 30-year-old mistress Marguerite Steinheil, while receiving oral sex. Au revoir!
   
9. Georg Richmann: Killed by a Ball Lightning
   Yeah, that's right. Richmann was a German physicist living in Russia. On 1753, created a kite flying apparatus similar to the one built by Benjamin Franklin a year earlier. He was attending a meeting of the Academy of Sciences when he heard thunder, and ran home with his engraver to capture the event for posterity. While the experiment was underway, ball lightning appeared and collided with Richmann's forehead. He died, but we'll always remember him as the man who stood manly in the way of electricity.
   
10. Franz Reichelt: Fell to his death from Eiffel Tower while testing his invention
    For being man enough to test his own invention and for giving us that AWESOME video, Franz Reichelt is number ten in our list. Reichelt (alias the flying tailor) designed an overcoat to fly or float its wearer gently to the ground like the modern parachute. To demonstrate his invention he made a jump of 60 meters from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower, at that time the tallest man-made structure in the world. The parachute failed and Reichelt fell to his death. But we'll always remember him for this video.

Thanks to www.oddee.com for the info!

Ways To Die #49 - #54

1. Too much of a good thing – Water Intoxication


In June of 2007 Jennifer Lea Strange joined a short list of people who drank themselves to death with water when she fatally consumed an overdose of H2O during a radio contest called “Hold Your Wee for a Wii”. The young wife and mother agreed to drink as much water as possible as part of the contest in order to win a Wii game player for her family. Contestants competed to see who could go the longest without stopping to urinate. After the contest Strange collapsed and died resulting in a civil lawsuit against the radio station. Water intoxication which is also known as hyper-hydration can cause a fatal disturbance in the brain when the electrolytes in the body are thrown off their normal balance. Other famous deaths from water intoxication include artist Andy Warhol whose family claimed he was given too many fluids following gallbladder surgery in 1987.


2. Jumping into a Volcano

In 430 BC Empedocles a Greek philosopher who is best known being the originator of the cosmogenic theory of the four classic elements threw himself into the very active Mount Etna either to convince his followers, he was a god, or because he believed himself to be immortal. He might also have thought he would be reincarnated. The volcano put a quick end to any more hypotheses on his part.

3. Laughter isn’t always the best medicine

In 1599 when Burman king Nanda Bayin was informed by a visiting Italian merchant that Venice was without a king and therefore a free state he started to laugh. Unfortunately, for him he couldn’t stop laughing. His death was more than likely a result of brain hemorrhage brought on by the strain of his giggle fit. Thomas Urguhart a Scottish aristocrat and diplomat is said to have died in the same manner in 1660 after hearing that Charles II had been made king.


4. What a way to go – Death by Overeating

After drinking champagne and consuming a meal of lobster, smoked herring, caviar, sauerkraut, and over a dozen servings of a favorite dessert Swedish king Adolf Frederick understandably complained he didn’t feel well. He died a few hours later. Sadly, Adolf’s favorite pastimes as ruler had been to make snuff boxes and not much else. He’s therefore remembered only as “the king who ate himself to death” in his own homeland.


5. A great demonstration – Lawyer proves his case by killing himself

In 1871 while representing a defendant in a murder case lawyer Clement Vallandigham a United States Congressman and one time political opponent of Abraham Lincoln wanted to prove the supposed murder weapon could have accidentally been fired by the victim. Taking the gun from evidence Vallandigham tried to demonstrate to the jury how the victim might have shot himself. His mistake was in not checking to see if the gun was loaded. Just as Vallandigham had speculated the firearm discharged and just as he’d conjectured the result was a mortal wound. On an upbeat note at least the defendant was acquitted.


Thanks to Kacey Stapleton – content from  www.weirdworm.com

Ways To Die #38- #48: 10 Manliest Ways to Die

We're all going to die anyway, so at least do it like a man. Meet ten manliest ways to die.

1. Steve Irwin: Impaled by a Stingray
   Is it even possible to start a manly list about anything without the Crocodile Hunter? Steve died as manly as possible on 2006, while filming a documentary entitled "Ocean's Deadliest" in Queensland's Great Barrier Reef. His heart was impaled by nothing less than a short-tail stingray barb. Of all the different ways to die, we can't think of a manliest; his legacy will impale us forever.
   
2. Eleazar Maccabeus: Crushed to death by a War Elephant
   Here's a guy with balls of steel, just like his whole family. During the Maccabean revolt, where Jewish people revolted against Seleucidic and Syrian rulers, Eleazar identified a war elephant that he believed to carry the Seleucid King Antiochus V --due to the special armor the elephant wore-- so he decided to endanger his life by attacking the elephant and thrusting a spear into its belly. Yes, the dead elephant then collapsed upon Eleazar, killing him as well, but remained a hero for eternity.
   
3. Empedocles: Jumped into a Volcano
   Laërtius records the legend that pre-Socratic philosopher Empedocles died by throwing himself into an active volcano (Mount Etna in Sicily), so that people would believe his body had vanished and he had turned into an immortal god; however, the volcano threw back one of his bronze sandals, revealing the deceit. Another legend has it that he threw himself in the volcano to prove to his disciples that he was immortal; he believed he would come back as a god among man after being devoured by the fire. Ok, it didn't work, but here we are talking about him, which makes him inmortal in a way.
   
4. J. G. Parry-Thomas: Died breaking a Speed Record
   In 1927, the Welsh racing driver J. G. Parry-Thomas was trying to regain his own world land speed record that had been broken just weeks earlier by Malcolm Campbell on the same beach of Pendine Sands. His car, Babs, used exposed chains to connect the engine to the drive wheels while the high engine cover required him to drive with his head tilted to one side – the right. On his final run the right-hand drive chain broke at a speed of 171 mph (270 km/h), setting a new record, but partially decapitating him as well.
   
5. Thích Quang Duc: Lit himself on Fire to make a point
   Ok, we agree this wasn't the best way to protest, but he made his point. On 1963, Thích Quang Duc, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, sat down in the middle of a busy intersection in Saigon, covered himself in gasoline, and lit himself on fire, burning himself to death. He was protesting President Ngo Dinh Diem's administration for oppressing the Buddhist religion.
   
6. Kenji Urada: Killed by a Robot
   After working on a broken robot at a Japanese Kawasaki plant, 37-year old Kenji Urada forgot to turn it off. Big mistake! The Robot woke up, said "hasta la vista", and pushed him into a grinding machine with its hydraulic arm. Ok, he died, that's awful, but we'll always remember him as the man who second man ever to be killed by a Robot. And by the way, the first ever, Robert Williams, went to hit himself with the robot; not manly enough for our list.
   
7. Les Harvey: Killed by Rock and Roll
   Out of all music styles, only Rock and Roll is manly enough to kill you. On 1972, scottish guitarist of Stone the Crows, Les Harvey, was rocking his guitar on stage with his band at the Top Rank Bingo club in Swansea, and then, rock and roll took his life: he was electrocuted by touching an unearthed microphone with wet hands.
   
8. Félix Faure: Killed by Sex
   In 1899, French president Félix Faure died of a stroke while in his office. That's the official story, but it is popularly believed that he died in the arms of his 30-year-old mistress Marguerite Steinheil, while receiving oral sex. Au revoir!
   
9. Georg Richmann: Killed by a Ball Lightning
   Yeah, that's right. Richmann was a German physicist living in Russia. On 1753, created a kite flying apparatus similar to the one built by Benjamin Franklin a year earlier. He was attending a meeting of the Academy of Sciences when he heard thunder, and ran home with his engraver to capture the event for posterity. While the experiment was underway, ball lightning appeared and collided with Richmann's forehead. He died, but we'll always remember him as the man who stood manly in the way of electricity.
   
10. Franz Reichelt: Fell to his death from Eiffel Tower while testing his invention
    For being man enough to test his own invention and for giving us that AWESOME video, Franz Reichelt is number ten in our list. Reichelt (alias the flying tailor) designed an overcoat to fly or float its wearer gently to the ground like the modern parachute. To demonstrate his invention he made a jump of 60 meters from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower, at that time the tallest man-made structure in the world. The parachute failed and Reichelt fell to his death. But we'll always remember him for this video. 

Thanks to http://www.oddee.com for the info!