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Unusual Deaths: Bizarre Deaths Of The 20th Century
Notable Famous Deaths Here are some very strange deaths that have occurred during the 20th century. The following list includes some the most unusual ways of dying imaginable. There are lots of strange ways to die, but these might be the strangest deaths of all- unique and extremely rare circumstances that you can think of. Do you know someone who swallowed a toothpick at a party and then died of peritonitis? Did you know about an actress who died when she fell down a chimney, thinking it was a balcony? If not, read this list of all the unusual deaths of 20th century people who died in strange ways.
- 1
1873“ A Russian physician, died following one of his experiments, in which the blood of a student suffering from malaria and tuberculosis, L. I. Koldomasov, was given to him in a transfusion. „ - 2
1887“ Suffered a fatal heart attack during an on-air discussion about Adolf Hitler. „ - 3
1923“ A film director, died while shooting the TV miniseries World War III when he walked into the tail rotor blade of a helicopter and was decapitated. „ - 4
1965“ Son of Bruce Lee, was shot and killed by Michael Massee using a prop gun while filming the movie The Crow. A cartridge with only a primer and a bullet was fired in the pistol before the fatal scene; this caused a squib load, in which the primer provided enough force to push the bullet out of the cartridge and into the barrel of the revolver, where it became stuck. The malfunction went unnoticed by the crew, and the same gun was used again later to shoot the death scene. His death was not instantly recognized by the crew or other actors; they believed he was still acting. „ - 5
1940“ An American martial artist and actor, is thought to have died by a severe allergic reaction to Equagesic. His brain had swollen about 13%. His autopsy was written as "death by misadventure." „ - 6
1939“ The State Treasurer of Pennsylvania, committed suicide during a televised press conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Facing a potential 55-year jail sentence for alleged involvement in a conspiracy, Dwyer shot himself in the mouth with a revolver. „ - 7
C.B. Lansing
“ on Aloha Airlines Flight 243, flight attendant, was sucked out of an airliner when the bulkhead tore off in mid flight. „ - 8 1946“ Paid a bush pilot to drop him at a remote lake near the Coleen River in Alaska in March to photograph wildlife, but failed to confirm arrangements for the pilot to pick him up again in August. Rather than starve, McCunn shot himself in the head. His body was found in February 1982. „
- 9 1944“ An American television news reporter, committed suicide during a live broadcast on 15 July. At 9:38 am, 8 minutes into her talk show, on WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida, she drew out a revolver and shot herself in the head. „
- 10 1968“ 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 book Into the Wild which was later turned into a movie. „
- 11
Dan Andersson
1888“ A Swedish author, died of cyanide poisoning while staying at Hotel Hellman in Stockholm, because the hotel staff had failed to clear the room after using hydrogen cyanide against bedbugs. „ - 12
David Allen Kirwan
“ Died after attempting to rescue a friend's dog from Celestine Pool, a hot spring at Yellowstone National Park on July 20, 1981. Kirwan is the only known case of someone dying after deliberately jumping into one of the park's hot springs. „ - 13
David Grundman
“ Was killed near Lake Pleasant, Arizona while shooting at cacti for fun with his shotgun. After firing several shots at a 26 ft (8m) tall Saguaro Cactus from extremely close range, a 4 ft limb of the Cactus that was weakened by the gunfire detached and fell on him, crushing him. „ - 14 1956“ 18, an employee at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, was crushed to death between a moving wall and a stationary wall inside of the revolving America Sings attraction. „
- 15 1880“ Died of radiation poisoning after having consumed large quantities of a popular patent medicine containing radium. „
- 16
Edward Juchniewicz
“ A 76-year-old man, was killed when the ambulance stretcher he was strapped to rolled down a grade and overturned. The ambulance attendants, while speaking to a doctor's staff, had left the stretcher unattended. Juchniewicz suffered a head injury and died a short time later. „ - 17 1969“ Were stranded while scuba diving with a group of divers off Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The group's boat accidentally abandoned them owing to an incorrect head count taken by the dive boat crew. Their bodies were never recovered. The incident inspired the film Open Water and an episode of 20/20. „
- 18
Franco Brun
“ A 22-year-old prisoner at Toronto East Detention Centre, in Toronto, Ontario, died after attempting to swallow and choking on a 6.35 cm. (2.5 inches) by 10 cm. (4 inches) by 1.27 centimetres (half an inch) Gideon's Bible. Brun reportedly had mental deficiencies and as such, the coroner did not label his death as suicide, believing that "the swallowing of the Bible to him was some form of symbolism or allegory as though he was trying to purge himself of the devil by consuming religion". He was only serving a 15-day sentence. „ - 19 1879“ Tailor, fell to his death off the first deck of the Eiffel Tower while testing his invention, the coat parachute. It was his first ever attempt with the parachute and he had told the authorities in advance he would test it first with a dummy. „
- 20
Gareth Jones
1961“ Actor, collapsed and died while in make-up between scenes of a live television play, Underground, at the studios of Associated British Corporation in Manchester. Director Ted Kotcheff continued the play to its conclusion, improvising around Jones' absence. „ - 21 1955“ A 38-year old lawyer and a senior partner at the Holden Day Wilson Law firm in Toronto, Canada, fell to his death on July 9, 1993, after he threw himself against a window on the 24th floor of the Toronto-Dominion Centre in an attempt to prove to a group of visiting law students that the glass was "unbreakable." His first attempt failed to damage the glass at all. On his second attempt the glass still didn't break, but popped out of the window frame, and he fell over 300 feet to his death. „
- 22 1593“ 5th Earl of Carnarvon, became the first to die from the alleged King Tut's Curse after a mosquito bite on his face became seriously infected with erysipelas, which he cut while shaving, leading to blood poisoning and eventually pneumonia. „
- 23 1929“ A Bulgarian dissident, was assassinated in London with a specially modified umbrella that fired a metal pellet with a small cavity full of ricin into his calf. „
- 24
Gloria Ramirez
1963“ In Riverside, California, for complications of advanced cervical cancer. Before she died, her caregivers claimed that Ramirez's body mysteriously emitted toxic fumes that made several emergency room workers very ill. She was dubbed the "toxic lady" by the media. „ - 25 1869“ Russian mystic, was reportedly poisoned while dining with a political enemy, shot in the head, shot three more times, bludgeoned, and then thrown into a frozen river. When his body washed ashore, an autopsy showed the cause of death to be hypothermia. However, there is now some doubt about the credibility of this account. Another account said that he was poisoned, shot, and stabbed, at which time he got up and ran off - and was later found to have drowned in a frozen river. „
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Unusual Deaths: Bizarre Deaths Of The 20th Century at 9/29/2012 10:30 PM
Unusual Deaths: Bizarre Deaths Of The 20th Century at 2/18/2012 11:20 PM
John Bowen at 7/16/2010 11:12 PM
Unusual Deaths: Bizarre Deaths Of The 20th Century at 2/18/2012 11:23 PM
Unusual Deaths: Bizarre Deaths Of The 20th Century at 6/14/2010 1:28 AM