Obsessions that cost lives
// February 27th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // General
5. Franz Reichelt, aka “The flying tailor”. This Australian Tailor attempted to defy the law of gravity with his own designed “flying coat” he believed it would make him fly or at least glide to the ground.
So, to prove the (retarded) point, he decided to jump 60 meters from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower with his “flying coat”. Unfortunately, the law of gravity didn’t apply to him.
He fell to his death on February 4, 1912. His jump was captured on film that day, showing his death and the hole his body made in the ground upon impact. Well, what kind of a (retard) person would believe this coat could make him fly, it doesn’t look aerodynamic to me at all, dude. See the video below.
4. Bandō Mitsugorō VIII, a Japanese kabuki actor and a “national living treasure”, died of severe poisoning when he ate four fugu livers (aka “pufferfish” or “deathwish”).
The liver is considered one of the most poisonous parts of the fish, but Mitsugorō claimed to be immune to the poison. The fugu chef felt he could not refuse Mitsugorō and lost his license as a result. I mean, why the hell he thought he was immune to the poison? Just another mental handicap, I assume.
3. American survivalist Christopher McCandless died of starvation near Denali National Park after a few months trying to live off the land in the Alaskan wilderness.
His life and death were researched by Jon Krakauer, who then wrote the novel Into the Wild which was later turned into a movie.
McCandless chose not to buy a map and a compass (items which most people in the same situation would have considered essential) McCandless was completely unaware that a hand-operated tram crossed the otherwise impassable river 1/4 mile from where he attempted to cross. Had McCandless known this, he could easily have saved his own life.
He was somewhat lacking in basic common sense, i.e., venturing deep into a wilderness area on his own without adequate planning, preparation and supplies was almost guaranteed to end in disaster. he was just stupid and inconsiderate.
First off, he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he [had] had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament.
2. Garry Hoy, a great Canadian lawyer for the law firm of Holden Day Wilson in Toronto. He is best known for the circumstances of his death; in an attempt to prove to a group of summer interns that the glass in the Toronto-Dominion Centre was unbreakable, he threw himself through a glass wall on the 24th story and fell to his death after the window frame gave way. He had apparently attempted this stunt many times in the past, having previously bounced harmlessly off the glass.
In the words of Toronto Police Service Detective Mike Stowell:
“At this Friday night party, Mr. Hoy did it again and bounced off the glass the first time. However, he did it a second time and this time crashed right through the middle of the glass.”
Hoy’s death contributed to the closing of Holden Day Wilson in 1996, at the time the largest law firm closure in Canada.
Hoy’s “experiment” has been recreated by Mythbusters in the episode “Vacuum Toilet, Biscuit Bazooka, Leaping Lawyer”.
For his dramatic death, Hoy was recognized with a Darwin Award in 1996.
Although the name was changed to protect his privacy, this death was featured in the American factual television show “1000 Ways To Die” on Spike TV. The video was titled “Habeas Corpse”
1. A desperate mother, she entered a Sacramento-area radio station’s contest in order to procure a Wii. In a stroke of sublime genius which can only be invented by the creative types at a morning show in a mid-sized, American city, the contest was entitled “Hold Your Wee For A Wii”.
The 20-individual contest was composed of the types of individuals you’d expect at what is, in its essence, a game of humiliation. Participants were expected to continually imbibe water while holding it in, until giving up.
Eventually contestants began dropping like out of the contest, unable to consume more water. Jennifer was one of two finalists, but failed in her quest to obtain the Wii for her children.
After returning home, she called in sick to work, and then passed away, only to be found by her mother that afternoon. Jennifer Strange, a 28-year-old woman from Sacramento and a mother of 3, from Rancho Cordova, California, had died of water intoxication.
This type of water intoxication is caused by excessive and rapid consumption of (sodium-free) water. One of Ms Strange’s work colleagues, Laura Rios, said, “She said to one of our supervisors that she was on her way home and her head was hurting her real bad.” and that was the last time anyone had heard from her.
Drinking too much water can eventually cause the brain to swell, stopping it regulating vital functions such as breathing, and causing death. She must have drunk nearly two gallons (7.5 liters), witnesses said.
