Seven instances where people died in bizarre and wacky ways unlikely to happen to you.

1. Grigori Rasputin

   

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   Rasputin was a very controversial Russian mystic who had some influence over the last Russian Tsar Nicholas II and his family. This influence ultimately led to Rasputin’s weird and legendary death. In 1914, Rasputin had his stomach ripped open and his entrails spilled out when he was attacked with a knife by a former prostitute he had a relationship with. The prostitute screamed she had “killed the antichrist”, but Rasputin survived the attack.

   

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   In 1916 Rasputin was urging the Tsar to withdraw Russian troops from WW I. In December of 1916 Rasputin was allegedly poisoned at a dinner party with enough cyanide to kill 5 men but again he did not die possibly due to the fact that the cyanide may have been burned out of the food when it was cooked. His attackers then shot Rasputin with a pistol and he fell to the ground. When the shooter went over to Rasputin to see if he was dead, Rasputin lunged at him and started strangling him. The other attackers then started firing at Rasputin and shot him 3 more times. He fell to the ground but still did not die. So they beat him severely and then wrapped him in a sheet and threw him into an icy river where he did die. An autopsy was performed and evidence now exists that one of his attackers was a British secret agent who almost certainly delivered a final fatal shot to Rasputin’s forehead. The British wanted Rasputin dead because if Russia withdrew her troops from the Eastern front Germany would have had more troops to deploy against Britian on the Western front.

2. Boston Molasses Disaster

   

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   Also known as the Great Molasses Flood. In January of 1919 in Boston a large tank of molasses burst open and rapidly flooded several streets with a wall of molasses over 10 feet high and moving over 30 mph. People in the area were overwhelmed by this river of molasses and 21 people were killed, many of whom drowned in the molasses. Another 150 people were injured. Some of the dead bodies were not recovered for days and were so glazed over with the dried molasses they could not be recognized.

3. Martha Mansfield

   

   Martha Mansfield was a an actress in silent films. In 1923 she was on the set of the Civil War film The Warrens of Virginia when a fellow cast member flicked away a lit cigarette and it hit Mansfield’s costume causing it to burst into flames. Cast members tried desperately to put out the fire but Mansfeild suffered severe burns and died shortly after in the hospital.

4. Christine Chubbuck

   
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   Chubbuck was a morning talk show host in Florida. On July 15, 1974 she opened her show reading from a script and at the end of the script she said, “In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first — attempted suicide.” Chubbuck then drew a handgun from under her seat and shot herself behind her right ear on live television. Many on the set thought it was a prank but it was not. Chubbuck was rushed to the hospital where she died 14 hours later.

5. Bando Mitsugoro VIII  

   

   Mitsugoro was a famous Kabuki actor in Japan. In 1975 at the age of 68 he went to a restaurant with friends and ordered four pufferfish (fugu) livers. The pufferfish is the second most toxic vertebrate in the world behind the Golden Poison Frog. The liver of the pufferfish is extremely toxic and the fugu chef did not want to serve four of them to Mitsugoro but the renowned Kubuki actor claimed to be immune to the poison and the fugu chef felt he could not say no to such a person. Mitsugoro ate the livers and died of paralysis from the poison 7 hours later. The fugu chef lost his license due to the incident.

6. Jeff Dailey

   
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   In 1981, 19 year old Jeff Daily became what is believed to be the first person ever to die while playing a video game. Daily was playing the multi-directional shooter video Arcade game Bezerk and had just reached a score of 16,660 when he suffered a massive fatal heart attack.

7. Vic Morrow

   

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   Morrow was an actor and in 1982 while working on the set of the film Twilight Zone: The Movie was decapitated by a helicopter blade while shooting a scene. Two child actors also died in the accident. Morrow is the father of actress Jennifer Jason Leigh.

For more see 12 Bizarre and Wacky Deaths and Inventors Who Died From Their Own Inventions.