What a Way to Go: 10 Unusual Ways to Die

5. Death by Helium Balloons

What could possibly be so dangerous about a helium balloon?  On an individual basis, no danger, apart from possible being scared if one should pop… but what about 1,000 balloons?  Adelir Antonio de Carli, a Brazilian Catholic Priest, wanted to try and beat the cluster balloon flight world record of 19 hours.  On 20th April 2008, he attempted to break the world record.  Things got off to a good start, and the priest managed to reach an altitude of almost 20,000 feet.  Unfortunately, his luck didn’t hold, and strong winds blew him 30 miles from the Brazilian coastline.  If Adelir de Carli had known how to use his GPS system, rescuers would have been with him in a matter of hours…  On July 4th 2008, the lower half of the priest’s body was found 100 miles of the Brazilian coastline by a tugboat crew.

6. Death by Chocolate

Rather than this referring to a delicious layered chocolate cake,  this refers to the tragic death of Vincent Smith II, who slipped and fell into an 8ft vat of melted chocolate.  It was not the hot chocolate that killed him, rather than the agitator which was mixing the chocolate, striking him on the head and killing him instantly.

7. Death by Deodorant

Good personal hygiene is normally on the top of most peoples list – after all you don’t want to smell like a wrestlers armpit…  However, if you take your personal hygiene to an almost obsessive level, it can be lethal.  12 year old Daniel Hurley and 16 year old Jonathan Capewell are examples.  Obsessed with smelling clean and fresh, Daniel  & Jonathan used an excessive amount of deodorant spray, which ultimately resulted in respiratory failure.  Daniel had sprayed too much deodorant in a confined space, which caused him to collapse and Jonathan was found to have 10 times the lethal dosage of propane and butane in his blood.

8. Death by Urinating on Train Track

Everyone knows that liquids and electricity are not a good combination at the best of times, so surely attempting to take a leak on a live train track should ring alarm bells..  However, this obviously did not cross the mind of Polish tourist who did just this, at a London train station, resulting in his electrocution.

9. Death by Paper Clip

Throwing erasers, paper planes, paperclip projectiles fired by rubber bands – normal class room activities when the teacher is not around.  A slight health and safety issue maybe, but not normally considered life threatening.  However, on 27th February 2009,  14 year old Adriana Martinez Ruiz, was killed after a paperclip was fired at her head by an elastic band.  It is alleged that said paperclip, resulted in a blow to the head, which caused a seizure, causing her to fall and fracture her skull killing her.

10. Death by Nose Picking

This is a stark warning to those who like to pick their noses!  On 5th September 2008, Ian Bothwell’s body was discovered in his flat.  First impressions were that Mr Bothwell had possibly fallen out of bed and banged his head.  However, upon his post-mortem examination, the coroner determined that he had actually died from years of excessive nose picking (his naval cavity was full of blood).