Why dying can be funny (not for the dead ofcourse)

The Weirdest Ways to Die 

While the concept of death is meant to be sad and painful, the death of certain individuals in the past have been a major source of laughter, simply because of the hilarity/absurdity of the way they died. This post is not meant to ridicule the dead (rest in peace folks), but to only 'admire' the different ways that people have adopted to meet their maker.


1. The London Beer Flood 

I can hear the beer lovers shout in excitement - but it wasn't as fun as it sounds. In 1814, a giant vat in a brewery burst open, causing a domino effect that burst the surrounding vats open too. It led to 323000 imperial gallons of beer to flow into the streets, flooding the neighborhood, destroying some homes, crumbling a local pub (trapping an employee inside).

Pic curtsy the Snake River Brewery

8 Londoners died in this beer tsunami, either by drowning or injuries. This catastrophe was called God's displeasure towards the alcohol culture.


2. The Rocking Pool Party

In 1984, the New Orleans lifeguards through a lavish pool party to celebrate their first 'drown-free' swimming season. Sounds lit, right? Well, irony didn't think so. The party was a rocking success, until a non-lifeguard guest at this party, 31 year old Jerome Moody, drowned. There were 4 lifeguards on duty and about a 100 guests were lifeguards themselves, but no one could save the drowning young man.

3. The death of a victor

• If someone asked you to guess how you’ll one day die, chances are you wouldn’t say ‘infection caused by some really trivial minor screw-up’.
• But that’s exactly what happened to ninth-century Norse warrior, Sigurd the Mighty, who, after emerging victorious in combat, strapped his enemy’s severed head to his saddle and rode home. He ended up grazing his leg on the exposed teeth and died from the ensuing infection.
• Moral of the story kids: Pride can kill you.



Viralnova, Pinterest

4. The Dancing Epidemic

• In 1518, a woman stepped into the streets of Strasbourg City and started to dance. Several days later, she was still at it, and hundreds joined in. This was the first of what became Europe’s compulsive dancing outbreaks.
• Authorities believed the affliction would pass if the affected danced it out, Napoleon Dynamite-style, so halls were made available and musicians were hired. Days passed, but none quit. Eventually, people dropped dead of sheer exhaustion.
• It took months for the epidemic to recede, and the afflicted had to be loaded onto wagons and taken to a healing shrine. It’s believed this mass hysteria was caused by extreme famine, disease and spiritual despair.

A 1642 Engraving by Hendrik Hondius portrays three women affected by the plague.

5. My damn cough

Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous French soldier had many a great feats pinned to his collar. However, there are some stupid stains there too. Once, affected by a serious case of cough and cold, he sneezed out loud and cursed, Ma Sacre Toux - which means 'my damn cough'. His officers, however, heard something completely different. They heard him say, "Massacre-tous", which means massacre all. 

This 'misunderstanding' cause the execution of a 1000 soldiers. Oops.



6. The Fatal Beard

Austrian dude, Hans Steininger, was famous for two things: 1) Having the longest beard in the world (then, 4 feet and 2 inches long). 2) Dying due to the long beard.

In 1567, there was a fire in Austria. In his haste, Mr. Steininger, forgot about the length of his beard. He forgot to roll it up, tripped on it, broke his neck, and well, died.


7. Death by a Healthy Diet

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• Basil Brown was a UK health fanatic who managed to drink himself to death with carrot juice. He reportedly drank more than a gallon of the sweet stuff a day, believing it would give him x-ray vision – or just generally make him healthier.
• He ended up guzzling over ten gallons in ten days, which gave him ten thousand times more than the recommended amount of vitamin A and, ultimately, led to fatal liver damage. Moderation, folks.

8. The paradox of Marcus Garvey's death

from George Grantham Bain Collection

Garvey was a proponent of Black nationalism in Jamaica and the United States. On 10 June, 1940, he read a fake obituary of himself which called him "fake, broke and unpopular". He hated it so much that he had a stroke and died.

9. The Kiss of Death

A 20 year old, Myriam Ducré-Lemay went to a Montreal party with her boyfriend back in October 2012. They had a great time, until, well, she died. How? Her boyfriend had enjoyed a hefty meal of scrumptious peanut butter sandwich at the party. Little did he know that she had a severe nut allergy, and his 'little kiss', would end up as a kiss of death. 

10. The Snake Charmer

Cartoon by Darwin Awards

In 1997, Wayne Roth of Pittston, Pennsylvania, was bitten by a cobra belonging to his friend Roger after reaching into the tank to pick the poisonous snake up. 

“I don’t need to go to hospital” Wayne apparently told Roger. “I’m a man. I can handle it.”

Instead, on Wayne’s suggestion, the pair headed to a pub instead. There he proved what a man he was by sinking several pints, boasting about the bite, and promptly dying about an hour later.

Cobra venom is, it seems, a slow-acting toxin which takes several hours to attack the central nervous system.

What a guy.

Which way would you die? :)