Ten Bizarre Ways to Die
For most people, when Death comes knocking, they want to die peacefully in their sleep with their family around them.
However, for some unfortunate souls, that serene passing just did not happen. Here’s a list of some bizarre ways some people have died.
1. Death by Selfie
According to the UK’s Sun newspaper, more than 330 people have died as a direct result of trying to take a selfie, with India leading the way at 176 selfie-related deaths. That includes young Nirumpama Prajapatie who was standing taking a selfie on some boulders next to a river when a man, who was also taking pictures, bumped into her and made her fall into the swirling water. She drowned.
But India isn’t the only place where this happens. Twenty-one-year-old Madalyn Davis fell 100 feet to her death in January 2020 after climbing over a fence at a beauty spot in Diamond Bay, Australia to take a selfie. A Croatian man was electrocuted after climbing on board an electric train to take a picture with a friend and in 2017, eight men drowned when a boat they were in capsized in India as they went to one side of it to take a selfie.
2. Death by Video Game
Video games appear to be a dangerous past-time for some. There have been several cases of people murdering others after watching games . For instance, in 2007 a 16-year-old teenage boy murdered both his parents after they confiscated his video game. He shot them both then tried to make the deaths look like a murder-suicide by putting the gun in his dead father’s hand. And in 2013, an eight-year-old boy from Louisiana shot his 87-yeard-old grandma in the back of the head after stopping him from playing his game. Due to his age he was not convicted. A 17-year-old English boy was sentenced to life in prison after stabbing a 14-year-old to death. The murderer had been emulating a scene from a video game.
Playing excessively can also have horrible consequences as these people have found out. An 18-year-old Taiwan man died from a blood clot in 2012 after playing for more than 40 hours in the same position. A 23-year-old gamer died of exhaustion following 19 hours playing non-stop in a Shanghai internet café and a 17-year-old Russian teenager died after a 22 day stint playing a game.
3. Death by Marathon,
Marathon running is still a popular sport across the world with many thousands of people taking part every year. However, it’s not without its risks. Sudden cardiac arrest, exercise associated hyponatremia, heat stroke, coronary artery abnormality and hyperthermia can all lead to death.
Here are a few cases: in July 1912, Francisco Lazaro (21) died from an electrolyte imbalance during the Olympic Marathon in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1985, Duncan Kerr (28) took ill whilst doing the Glasgow marathon and died later of pneumonia and the following year Martin Wurst and Edwin Brown died whilst doing the Marine Corps and Dallas Marathons respectively. Fast forward to the 90s and 58-eight-year-old Julius Becza died following a heart attack at the Marine Corps Marathon in October 1993 . A decade later, 29-year-old Rachael Townsend died of mitral valve prolapse when she took part in the Chicago Marathon and 30-year-old Claire Squires died of a heart attack in the London Marathon in 2012. The most recent death was Brun Muenier (41) who succumbed to a heart attack during the Marathon de Liberte in Caen, France in June 2022.
4. Death by Vending Machine
Your mother always told you not to hit or rock the vending machine, but for these poor souls doing just that resulted in an expiry date they didn’t count on.
According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, between 1978 and 1995, at least 37 people have died and 113 injured due to a falling vending machine. What’s more, most of them were men. This resulted in a voluntary campaign from vending machine manufacturers to warn people that rocking or tilting the machine could cause serious injury or death. The problem was so bad within the US military that they starting putting warning labels on machines in the late 80s.
5. Death by Over-eating
We all overeat at times; special dinners and festive occasions can all lead to overindulging. However, there have been quite a few cases of people literally eating themselves to death. In 1981, a 23-year-old model pigged out on 19 lbs of food and died from it. She is alleged to have eaten one pound of liver, two pounds of kidneys and a half a pound of steak as well as one pound of cheese, eggs, milk, bread, fruit and vegetables including a whole cauliflower.
Fast forward to 2013 and psychologist from Florida, who had already just had her stomach pumped for overeating, returned home and began to binge again. She ate so much, she died and an autopsy later revealed that she had eaten a large amount of hot dogs, broccoli, cereal and a mysterious green substance. And in 2015 42-year-old Subhash Yadav, a construction worker from India, took a bet that he could eat 50 hard boiled eggs. He managed 42 and collapsed. He was rushed to hospital where he died.
6. Death by Cow
Cows are normally sweet-natured docile creatures, but can be extremely dangerous especially if they are young bulls or mothers with calves. This is something that’s recognised in the UK where according to the Health & Safety Executive, 74 people were killed by cows between 2000 and 2015. Of the dead, the majority (56) of the victims were farm workers and the rest were mostly lone walkers with dogs. They were either crushed, butted or trampled to death. Cows are now officially the most dangerous large animals in Britain.
They are not so safe elsewhere either! Brazilian man Joao Maria de Souza died in 2013 when a cow crashed through the roof of his house and fell on top of him. The de Souza house backed on to a steep hill and it is thought this is how the cow got access to the roof. The cow and Mrs de Souza (who was in bed with her husband at the time) escaped uninjured.
7. Death by Hot Tub
Yes, this has actually happened, but not in the way you think. In 2021, a man from Bristol, England died after a hot tub fell from a crane and crushed him. The man, in his 70s, was in the Mangotsfield area of the city just before 9.30am when the accident happened.
In Scotland, a seven-year-old girl almost died after an infection she picked up from a hot tub gave her three brain abscesses. The youngster contracted an ear infection in the tub and was given antibiotics. However, within a week she began to complain of dizziness and double vision. She was taken to see an optician who referred her to a local children’s hospital where the brain abscesses were found.
8. Death by Spontaneous Human Combustion
Despite there being quite a lot of scientific research and publicity into spontaneous human combustion, most cases appear to be as the result of the victims being near sources of ignition such as candles and fireplaces and other factors such as heavy drinking and smoking.
However, there are a few cases that still baffle us. This includes Mary Reeser (67) who burned to death in her home in 1951. All that was left was a pile of ash and one leg. Two feet and both legs below the knee were all that were left of widow Margaret Hogan (89) after an incident in her Dublin home in 1970. Following investigations, the cause of the fire was listed as unknown. And in 1980, 73-year-old Henry Thomas was also found burned to death at his home in South Wales. All that was left of him were his skull and both legs below the knee.
9. Death by Bible
Now, one book you don’t expect to have been the ‘blunt instrument’ in a murder is the Bible. However, that’s exactly what it was used for in this story.
A man from Honolulu, Hawaii was beaten to death with a Bible in 1903 after a healing ceremony went wrong. The poor man had been suffering from malaria and his family immediately asked for a local Kahuna (a priest, doctor or local healer) to come to his house to help him. The Kahuna concluded that the man was possessed by devils and that the best way to remove them was by beating them out of the patient. The man died and the Kahuna was charged with manslaughter.
10. Death by UFO
US Pilot Thomas Mantel, a Kentucky Air National Guard, l crashed the P-51 Mustang fighter plane when chasing an unidentified flying object flying in the vicinity of Franklin, Kentucky in January 1948.
Mantell is the first person in the world thought to have been killed whilst chasing a UFO. While the object was never officially identified, some believe it was most likely a US Navy Skyhook balloon which is used for atmospheric research.