WEIRD AND CRAZY DEATHS

IN THE BOSTON MOLASSES DISASTER OF 1919,

TWENTY ONE PEOPLE DIED WHEN A HUGE TANK

OF MOLASSES EXPLODED SENDING A LARGE

WAVE OF SWEETENER THROUGH THE CITY

SIGURD THE MIGHTY, A VIKING CONQUEROR,

WAS KILLED BY A MAN HE HAD JUST RECENTLY

BEHEADED. HOW? BECAUSE HE HAD TIED THE

MAN'S HEAD TO HIS HORSE SADDLE, HIS TEETH

CUT SIGURD'S LEG AFTER WHICH SIGURD

CONTRACTED A LETHAL INFECTION

HORACE LAWSON HUNLEY WAS A CIVIL WAR

SUBMARINE ENGINEER WHO DESIGNED A NUMBER

OF SUBMARINES, ALL OF WHICH EVENTUALLY SANK.

HE EVENTUALLY MET THE SAME FATE WHILE

HE WAS CAPTAINING HIS LATEST MODEL,

NAMED AFTER HIMSELF

AROUND THE TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN

DOCTOR JESSE WILLIAM LAZEAR TRIED TO PROVE

THAT MOSQUITOS’ TRANSMITTED YELLOW FEVER

BY LETTING HIMSELF BE BITTEN.

UNFORTUNATELY, HE WAS RIGHT

CLEMENT VALLANDIGHAM, AN AMERICAN LAWYER,

SHOT HIMSELF DEAD IN THE MIDDLE OF A COURTROOM

WHILE TRYING TO SHOW HOW A VICTIM MAY HAVE

ACCIDENTALLY COMMITTED SUICIDE.

HE POSTHUMOUSLY WON HIS CASE

CARL WILHELM SCHEELE, A SWEDISH CHEMIST,

WAS KNOWN FOR HIS HABIT OF TASTING THE

CHEMICALS HE CREATED. HE EVENTUALLY DIED

THANKS TO INGESTING TOO MUCH POISON

THE RUSSIAN DOCTOR ALEXANDER BOGDANOV

TRIED TO EXTEND HIS LIFE BY GIVING HIMSELF

BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS. HIS BODY HAD AN ADVERSE

REACTION, HOWEVER, AND THE TRANSFUSIONS

IRONICALLY ENDED UP KILLING HIM

QUEEN SUNANDA KUMARIRATANA OF SIAM

DROWNED IN 1880 WITH ALL OF HER SUBJECTS

WATCHING HER. WHY DIDN'T THEY HELP?

BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO TOUCH HER