When we read news about deaths resulting from accidents, illnesses, or murder, it rarely surprises us. But what if you heard of someone who met their demise from something as seemingly innocuous as laughing, drinking water, or chewing gum? In this article, we delve into the fifteen most bizarre and unusual causes of death from around the world:
Key Points:
1. Carrot Juice
Carrots are renowned for their natural vitamin A content, known for its health benefits. However, there are exceptions to every rule, as the unfortunate case of Basil Brown, a health enthusiast and activist from Croydon, England, illustrates.
Brown was found dead in 1974 at the age of 48 from liver damage after consuming 38 liters of carrot juice in ten days. According to the pathologist who performed the autopsy, this high intake of vitamin A severely damaged Brown's liver, equivalent to that of a person with alcohol poisoning and cirrhosis of the liver, and his skin turned a bright yellow resembling the color of the carrot juice that had killed him.
2. Drinking Water
While drinking water is essential for good health, it can, surprisingly, become a source of disaster, as the tragic story of Tina Christopherson from Florida, USA, illustrates.
After her mother died, Christopherson believed that drinking large amounts of water, sometimes up to 15 liters a day, could cleanse her stomach and prevent her from dying from stomach cancer that had killed her mother. Instead of being useful, this effort actually damaged Christopherson's kidneys due to excessive stress and caused her to die of kidney failure at the age of just 29 years.
A very unfortunate death, considering that with an IQ that is said to have reached 189, Christopherson should have been more than capable of thinking rationally and realizing that her actions were illogical and dangerous. Apparently, excessive worry and fear can sometimes blind logic and turn off common sense.
3. Soft Drink
Enjoying a glass of cold soft drink can feel very refreshing, but if you think this drink can't be harmful, you are wrong. Natasha Harris, a 30-year-old mother of eight from New Zealand, died in 2010 of heart failure after consuming a well-known brand of coke.
From the investigation, it is suspected that Harris was addicted to this drink and could consume up to 10 liters per day. This excessive consumption, equivalent to more than 1 kg of sugar and 970 mg of caffeine, caused a cardiac arrhythmia that made Harris's heart beat too fast or too slow until it finally stopped beating altogether.
Still from New Zealand, and also still from the same city, a similar fate befell Amy Louise Thorpe in 2018. This 34-year-old mother of three died after consuming more than 2 liters of the same branded soft drink every day.
4. Toothpick
Maybe you will laugh and think it's just a joke when you hear that someone has died from a toothpick. Unfortunately, this is not a joke but a fact. In 1941, a man from Ohio, US, named Sherwood Anderson was found dead from a toothpick.
The autopsy found that the death of the 64-year-old author of the American classic 'Winesburg, Ohio' was caused by peritonitis, an inflammation of the lining of the stomach wall and internal organs that is usually caused by a bacterial or fungal infection. Investigate after investigation, the results of the investigation finally found that the toothpick that Anderson accidentally swallowed some time before had become a catalyst for the growth of bacteria and fungi that cause this infection.
5. Laughing
Laughing is healthy, and we tend to laugh when we are happy or something is funny. But not for Alex Mitchell. Laughter actually became the cause of his death. Mitchell, a man from King's Lynn, UK, died after laughing out loud during the TV show 'Kung Fu Kapers,' an episode of the BBC comedy series The Goodies. After 25 minutes of laughing out loud, Mitchell suddenly slumped on the couch and died of heart failure shortly after.
Death from laughing is an extremely rare form of death, usually from a heart attack or asphyxiation caused by intense or prolonged laughter. Here are some other deaths due to laughter that have been recorded in history:
- Zeuxis, a Greek painter of the 5th century BC, is said to have died laughing uproariously telling a funny story when he was asked to do a painting of Aphrodite (the ancient Greek goddess of beauty) by an old woman who then insisted on being the model for the painting.
- Chrysippus, a Greek philosopher of the 3rd century BC, also known as "the man who died laughing at his own jokes," is recorded as having died while laughing at a drunken donkey after eating fermented figs.
- King Martin of Aragon died in 1410 of laughing uncontrollably after hearing a joke told by his favorite court jester.
- Thomas Urquhart, a Scottish aristocrat, polymath, and first translator of François Rabelais' writings into English, is said to have died laughing when he heard that Charles II had ascended the throne in 1660.
- Arthur Cobcroft, a 56-year-old dog trainer from Leichhardt, Australia, died in 1920 after reading an old newspaper and being amused by the prices of some commodities in 1915 compared to 1920. While telling this to his wife, laughing uproariously, Cobcroft suddenly fell unconscious and died. The treating doctor stated that Cobcroft died of heart failure caused by excessive laughter.
- Ole Bentzen, a 56-year-old Danish audiologist, reportedly died in 1989 while laughing out loud during the premiere of the film 'A Fish Called Wanda'.
6. Fasting
There are many reasons why someone fasts, ranging from religious reasons to health purposes. But the reasons for fasting for a man from New Jersey, US, are really hard to understand and lead to death.
Kurt Gödel died at the age of 71 from malnutrition in 1978. Not because there was nothing to eat, but because he refused to eat. After the murder of his close friend, Moritz Schlick, Gödel developed an obsessive fear of death by poisoning, and would only eat food prepared by his wife, Adele. Since Adele was hospitalized in late 1977, Gödel refused to eat and chose to fast completely until he finally died at Princeton Hospital with a weight of only 29 kg. Authorities listed Gödel's cause of death as the result of "malnourishment caused by a personality disorder".
7. Tampon
Tampons are common and safe to use, but using them improperly can be dangerous and invite disaster. Mark Gleeson, a 26-year-old man from Hampshire, UK, was found dead in 1996 after trying to overcome his snoring problem by plugging his nostrils with a tampon.
Gleeson had a serious snoring problem, and due to constant ridicule from his family and girlfriend, Gleeson decided to get rid of his snoring problem. After trying everything and the doctor who treated him gave up, Gleeson's girlfriend, Tracey Lambert, suggested plugging her nose with a tampon as a solution. Regardless of whether this suggestion was serious or just a joke, that night Gleeson slept with a pair of tampons stuffed up his nose and never woke up again.
Dr. Peter Jackson, the pathologist who handled the case, said that the tampon he used caused Gleeson to asphyxiate which caused him to lack oxygen and suffocate in his sleep. A good lesson. Next time, if a family member or friend snores, maybe it's best to just leave it alone and not make a joke of it.
8. Struck by Lightning
While writing this, I suddenly remember a scene from an old horror film where one of the characters dies horribly after being struck by lightning due to a curse. Regardless of what the cause is, a curse or natural causes, in the real world this sort of thing can really happen, as happened to a member of a football team from the Congo.
In 1998, the entire 11-man Bena Tshadi football team in East Kasai, Democratic Republic of the Congo, died after being fatally struck by lightning in the middle of a match. Local investigators believe this tragedy is related to witchcraft and black magic. Although it sounds strange and can make people question the credibility of the investigative team, this assumption is understandable, considering that none of the members of the opposing team who were in the middle of the field at the time of the incident were struck or injured. So, is it caused by supernatural or natural causes? Nobody knows.
9. Deodorant
You are certainly no stranger to this one personal hygiene product. Deodorant has become the choice of many people to maintain body odor because it is practical. But make sure to use it properly, because if you don't it can be deadly.
Jonathan Capewell, a teenager from Oldham, England, died in 1998 at only 16 years old. According to the coroner's team, Capewell died of a heart attack caused by butane and propane poisoning following excessive use of deodorant. The investigation found that Capewell's blood levels of butane and propane were more than 10 times the safe threshold. The investigators suspect that the excessive use of deodorant was triggered by Capewell's obsession with excessive personal hygiene.
10. Bubble Gum
Although chewing gum is widely recommended for its relaxing effects and ability to help maintain healthy teeth, it can turn out to be deadly. Vladimir Likhonos, a man from Ukraine, was found dead from chewing gum. Not because of poisoning or choking, but because the gum he was chewing exploded.
After a loud bang in the middle of the night from her son's room in 2009, Likhonos' mother found her son lying on the floor with his face covered in blood and his jaw dropped. The investigation team found that Likhonos had a habit of adding citric acid to his gum to make it taste more sour. From his desk, the investigation team found around 100 grams of unidentified explosive powder which at first glance looked like citric acid. Apparently, that night Likhonos had mixed his gum with the wrong ingredient.
11. Crushed by a Falling Cow
Right. You didn't read that wrong. In 2013, a 45-year-old man from Brazil, Joao Maria de Souza, was found dead after being crushed by a one-tonne cow while sleeping in his room.
A cow that allegedly ran away from a farm grazed on a small hill right behind Souza's house. Somehow, this cow then climbed onto the roof of Souza's house. Unable to bear the weight of the cow, the roof of the house gave way and the cow fell right on Souza who was fast asleep beneath it.
Although strange, this incident that happened to Souza was apparently not the first time. According to local media, this is the third such incident to have occurred in the area in the last three years, although the previous two incidents did not result in any fatalities.
12. Goal Celebration
Football, the sport of millions of people. Apart from the tension when the ball is brought close to the opponent's goal and the satisfaction when a goal is scored, another thing that you may often look forward to is a unique goal celebration from your favorite player, as long as the celebration doesn't end in death like what happened to the Bethlehem Vengthlang FC player, India.
After netting a goal in the 62nd minute in a local elite amateur league match, the Mizoram Premier League, in 2014, Biaksangzuala performed a series of back-flips in celebration. Unfortunately, on the last back-flip he failed to land properly and collapsed. Biaksangzuala was immediately rushed to the nearest hospital, but after 5 days of intensive care his life was not saved. According to the local authorities, the death of the 23-year-old midfielder was caused by severe damage to the spinal cord from the impact.
13. Hair
For most people, especially for women, hair is often considered very important because it is synonymous with beauty. But there are times when beauty can invite disaster, as experienced by this young girl from England.
In 2017, Jasmine Beever, a teenager from Skegness, UK, suddenly collapsed at school and was rushed to the hospital. After 15 minutes of resuscitation efforts to save her life, Beever breathed her last at the age of 16. The authorities stated that the death of this grade 12 student was due to an infection in the stomach that damaged her internal organs. The infection is believed to have been triggered by a clump of hair found in Beever's stomach during an autopsy. Beever is suspected of having a mental condition in which the sufferer is compelled to chew and swallow his own hair.
14. Kiss
If a kiss is generally synonymous with affection and bringing pleasure, that is not the case with George Spencer Millet, a 15-year-old teenager from New York, US. Instead of feeling happy, the kiss that Millet received actually cost him his life.
Since the first day he worked as an office boy at the Metropolitan Life Building, New York, his polite and pleasant personality immediately made him the favorite of the female employees there. They were so excited about Millet that on his 15th birthday in 1909, the six women agreed to surprise Millet by giving him a kiss as a birthday present. Long story short, at the end of the day, nearing office hours, these six young women came to Millet and immediately showered him with kisses. Startled, Millet tried to escape but fell on his face and screamed in pain while clutching his left chest. As it turned out, a metal ink eraser shaped like a knife in his shirt pocket had been stuck in his chest. Millet, who was badly injured, was rushed to New York Hospital but his life was beyond help and he died on the way.
Millet is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, NY. His gravestone reads: "Lost life by stab in falling on ink eraser, evading six young women trying to give him birthday kisses in office Metropolitan Life Building." Truly the kiss of death, in a real sense, not just a figure of speech.
15. Super Glue
The last most unusual cause of death in the world on this list can be said to be the result of too much "creativity". Salman Mirza, a 25-year-old man from Gujarat, India, died in 2021 after using super glue as a condom.
Unable to find a condom when he was about to have sex with his fiancée at a hotel in Juhapura, India, Mirza chose to smear his genitals with super glue as an alternative. The next day, Mirza was found unconscious in the bushes near the hotel. Immediately rushed to the hospital, Mirza's condition continued to deteriorate rapidly and finally breathed his last in treatment.
An examination found that the glue he used had badly damaged his genitals, and caused internal organ failure due to poisoning which led to death. Still according to the investigation team, Mirza and his fiancée are suspected of being drug addicts who always carry super glue with them so they can inhale its vapors when they are in withdrawal.
