Lauren Glen

Eventually, the Grim Reaper comes for everyone, and no one ever really knows when, where, or how they will go. Still, most people live a pretty quiet life and pass in the same manner: a sad occasion for their relatives and friends that is relevant but considered a natural part of life. But while most deaths are pretty unremarkable in nature, some carry with them extraordinary tales of unique and unfortunate circumstances that almost seem too odd to be true.

This list features some of the most bizarre death tales in history. While some accidents are so ironic that they seem worthy of a Darwin award, others are are just plain odd. If you find yourself wondering how someone’s cause of death could be an orange peel, a rooster, bubble gum, someone else’s severed head, or the very inventions the deceased invented and owned, you’ll find some truly bizarre answers below.

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• Photo: Arnold Genthe / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

A Free-Spirited Dancer Was On A Joy Ride When Her Scarf Got Caught In The Car’s Wheel, Killing Her Instantly

Isadora Duncan was a talented and beloved dancer. Born in 1877, the starlet broke the mold in the dancing world by trading short tutus, stiff shoes, and extensively choreographed dances for long flowing togas, bare feet, and a knack for improvisation. She carried her free spirit off-stage, too, taking up causes for activism as a feminist, Darwinist, and communist. While Duncan’s free and expressive movements brought joy to audiences, they also caused her sudden demise.

The dancer was 50 when she climbed into the passenger seat of a convertible sports car in Nice, France. As the automobile gained speed and she tilted her head back to enjoy the ocean breeze, her long scarf got caught in one of the rear wheels. Unable to break free from the perilous accessory, the scarf tightened around her neck, dragging her out of the vehicle and onto the pavement, killing her instantly.

Ironically, Duncan was in the process of writing a memoir and had told the press the day before the incident that she was worried that some freak accident would keep her from finishing it.

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• • Photo: Hernán Piñera / Flickr / CC-BY-SA 2.0

A Chemistry Student Died By Chewing Exploding Bubble Gum

Ukrainian college student Vladimir Likhonos loved chewing gum while working, and, being a chemist, he had a habit of dipping it in citric acid to make it extra sour. Unfortunately, this practice literally blew up in his face in 2009.

Vladimir’s mother reported to police that she heard a loud banging noise come from his room on the fateful Saturday night, only to walk in and find that her son’s face was bleeding; his jaw had been completely blown off. The student was known for experimenting with explosives, even creating fireworks in his home during his spare time. Investigators found an unknown (but highly combustible) chemical next to Vladimir’s citric acid after inspecting the scene. Apparently, the student had accidentally dipped his gum in explosives that resembled his beloved sour treat.

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• • Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

A Jockey Won A Horse Race After He Died

A horse named Sweet Kiss delivered former stable hand and stand-in jockey Frank Hayes to the victory of his life – and his death. When he saddled up at New York’s Belmont Park on June 4, 1923, Hayes gave the crowd an initial shock: His horse beat the expected winner, Gimme, in a 20-1 shot. The celebratory excitement from the crowd immediately turned to horror, however, when the jockey’s limp body fell from the horse as soon as it slowed.

The doctor on scene at the race declared Hayes dead immediately, announcing that the young man (no one knows if the unfortunate man was 22 or 35 at the time of his passing) suffered a heart attack mid-race. Modern medical experts believe the pressure to cut weight before the event caused Hayes to suffer from heart failure; he had lost 10 pounds within 24 hours to participate in the event. He is the only jockey in history to win a race after his demise. It was the only victory of his horse racing career.

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• • Photo: DrKiernan / Wikimedia Commoons / CC-BY-SA 3.0

A Viking Died From A Bite From A Severed Head

Sigurd the Mighty was a Viking warrior devoted to protecting the lands and people within his earldom of the Orkney and Shetland Islands. Though his reputation as a combative leader preceded him, that didn’t stop Maelbrigd, a neighboring foe, from trying to seize the land and take Sigurd’s title.

To settle their differences for good, Sigurd and Maelbrigd agreed to fight a battle that would determine who would claim the land and the earldom in 892. The leaders decided on an honorable combative initiative, where each man would bring 40 men to fight against one another. But Sigurd was more concerned with winning than making a grand display of a fair fight. So, on the day of the battle, he showed up with 40 horses – and two men saddled on each. With twice the number of warriors, Sigurd and his 80 men won the battle against Maelbrigd and his 40 warriors.

Sigurd would soon learn that the decision to cheat can sometimes come back to bite the unfair winner. When the battle ended, Sigurd and his men severed the heads of their enemies and placed them on their horses to bring back as part of their post-battle celebrations. To cement his place as the immoral champion, Sigurd kept the honor of carrying Maelbrigd’s head on his own horse. As Sigurd made the journey home, Maelbrigd’s rotten teeth rubbed against an open sore on Sigurd’s leg, causing an infection that ultimately ended him.

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• • Photo: Antonio G Colombo / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

An Austrian-American Logician And Mathematician Starved Himself Out Of Paranoia

Kurt Gödel used to be known as one of the 20th century’s most influential mathematicians. Now, he’s known as the brilliant man who starved himself to death because he refused to eat any food that his wife, Adele, didn’t personally cook up in their kitchen or taste before serving.

Although brilliant, Austrian-born Gödel suffered from mental health issues that ultimately ended his life. The signs of instability first emerged when Germany annexed Austria during WWII, forcing Gödel to marry his childhood friend, Adele, before moving to the United States to avoid being drafted into the German army.

His good friend Albert Einstein helped secure Gödel a position as a Princeton University professor. He led a successful career and published numerous articles concerning Platonism and mathematical systems. Though well-liked, the professor couldn’t shake the idea that someone was trying to poison and kill him. To quell her husband’s fears, Adele made a habit of tasting all of her husband’s food before he ate it.

This plan worked well until Adele became ill in 1977, causing her to spend six months in the hospital. Unable to bring himself to eat anything that his wife hadn’t previously approved, Gödel starved himself. At the time of his passing, he weighed only 65 pounds.

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• • Photo: Anselm Feuerbach / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

An Italian Erotica Author Laughed Himself To Death After Hearing A Dirty Joke At A Party

While Pietro Aretino was well known for angering Roman nobles with his brazen literary attacks, his foes ultimately got the last laugh. On October 21, 1556, the notorious poet, painter, satirist, and blackmailer laughed himself to death after his sister told a dirty joke at a party in Venice.

Aretino was a true rags-to-riches story, born to a shoemaking father who abandoned his family when Pietro was a child. Determined to make something of himself, Aretino journeyed from his hometown to Rome in hopes of attaining a wealthy patron to sponsor his art. He quickly became a hit among the Roman elite, including the two popes he featured as punchlines in his satirical writing.

However, he was eventually asked to leave the city after producing a dirty poetry collection that proved to be too much for even his biggest fans. An enraged bishop even hired a hitman in hopes of taking revenge on the man who penned him so unflatteringly in his works.

The poet traveled all over Northern Italy, hoping to escape assassination until he finally settled in Venice. He lived a luxurious lifestyle there, making a considerable living off of his satirical writing and occasional blackmail. On the night of October 21, Aretino attended one of the many grand parties he was routinely invited to with his sister. Only unlike the previous gatherings, the poet wouldn’t be returning home from this one.

It turned out that the talent for telling lewd stories ran in the family, and his sister presented the crowd with a surprisingly risqué joke. Though accounts disagree on whether Aretino suffocated from giggling or fell out of his chair and perished instantly, all agree that his excessive laughter at the witty quip did him in.

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• • Photo: Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

A Stunt Performer Went Over Niagara Falls In A Barrel Only To Die Because Of An Orange Peel 15 Years Later

Bobby Leach was well known for his dangerous stunts. He was a regular performer in Barnum and Bailey’s Circus, and in 1906, he jumped off the Upper Steel Arch Bridge and parachuted over the Niagara River.

By 1911, Leach had finally worked up the nerve and realized the ingenuity he needed to successfully become the second person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. While it would’ve been safe to assume that these dangerous acts would eventually take his life, he remarkably lived to tell the tale after these perilous plummeting endeavors. Instead, a much shorter fall would bring his untimely demise.

Leach was walking down the street in New Zealand 15 years after his unbelievable waterfall stunt when he slipped and fell on an orange peel. He broke his leg in the incident, and infection eventually set in. Though doctors tried to amputate the leg in hopes of saving the daredevil’s life, he died in surgery.

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• • Photo: Mathew Benjamin Brady / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

A Lawyer Accidentally Killed Himself In Court While Demonstrating How Someone Could Have Accidentally Killed Themselves

Former congressman and lawyer Clement Vallandigham may have lost his life, but he ultimately won his last trial argument.

It was July 1871, and Vallandigham intended to prove the possible innocence of Thomas McGehan, who was accused of murdering a man during a saloon brawl. Vallangidham spent the night before the trial testing ballistic theories to prove a hypothesis that would exonerate his client. Ultimately, the lawyer concluded that it was possible that McGehan’s victim, Tom Meyers, had taken his own life while drawing his pistol in an attempt to shoot McGehan the night of the incident. The night before the trial, Vallandigham set his loaded firearm used for testing his defense next to an empty one that he intended to bring to court the following day.

But before the night was over, Vallandigham was determined to demonstrate his theory to a few of his lawyer friends. When the men made it back to the hotel, Vallandigham invited his peers to witness his findings, removing one of the pistols from the table and placing it in his pocket. He then withdrew it again, pointing it toward his abdomen, and pulled the trigger. Unfortunately for the well-intentioned lawyer, he had grabbed the loaded pistol from the table instead of the empty one. Though Vallandigham accidentally ended his own life, he also proved that Meyers’s death could have also been an accident. McGehan was acquitted of his charges and set free.

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• • Photo: Dave Proffer / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY 2.0

The Owner Of The Segway Company Rode His Own Segway Off A Cliff

After responding to a public call near Segway owner James Heselden’s home, West Yorkshire police found Heselden’s body in a river 30 feet below his property, with an off-roading version of the Segway at his side.

Segway two-wheeled scooters were known to be unreliable. The United States had recalled all 2006 models because they regularly reversed direction, causing the user to fly off the machine. In 2010, the Annals of Internal Medicine was even set to release a study demonstrating the rise in Segway-related accidents days before the owner’s untimely demise. The British government agreed with the safety measures being implemented in the US, making the scooters illegal to use on public roads. Still, that didn’t stop company owner James Heselden from using one to cruise around his estate – and eventually off of a cliff.

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• • Photo: US National Archives / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

Robert Williams Was The First Person Killed By A Robot

The possibility of robots taking over the world – and the workplace – is a common theme in hypothetical conversations about the increased technological advances in today’s society. This perceived threat remains a distant “what if?” scenario for most people. However, the eerie hypothesis took a very sharp turn into horrific reality at a Ford assembly line in 1979. There, a robot not only took over Robert Williams’s job; the working machine also took his life. Ironically, the date, January 25, was the 58th anniversary of the term “robot” – a Czech word meaning “forced labor” – entering into the English language.

Williams was working on the assembly line alongside the robot when he was struck in the head by the machine. A jury later determined that the assembly line’s lack of safety measures, including an alarm announcing the robot’s presence, caused the accident. While the robot technically wasn’t at fault in the incident, Williams still qualifies as the first person to be killed by a robot.

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• Photo: Amshudhagar / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA 3.0

A Man Was Stabbed To Death By A Rooster

In 2011, Jose Luis Ochoa was stabbed in the calf by a rooster. After waiting two hours to get treatment for his wounds, he died in a California hospital.

Ochoa trained roosters to perform in cockfights, an illegal form of entertainment in the United States. Officers who responded to the scene noted that Ochoa had previously been fined for participating in the events. The perpetrating rooster had a knife attached to his leg, giving the bird the upper hand in the fight against his victim. While it’s not unusual for trained roosters to have razors and other weapons attached to their limbs to ensure that the “sport” ends on a bloody note, it’s highly uncommon for one to turn to the crowd to seek revenge.

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• • Photo: Gamweb / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA 3.0

A Man In Texas Mocked Alligators, Jumped In A Marsh, And Was Immediately Eaten By One

It was 2:30 AM on July 3, 2015, when 28-year-old Tommie Woodward reportedly yelled “F*ck that alligator” before ignoring all warning signs and jumping into the Orange, TX, bayou. Minutes later, an alligator attacked and killed him.

Just the week before, officials decided to post a “No Swimming. Alligators.” sign at Burkart’s Marina. Numerous people had recently spotted an 11-foot alligator swimming in the area; the large reptiles are known to be predatory and territorial night hunters. When Woodward first mentioned that he was going to go for a late-night swim, marina employee Michelle Wright warned him that it wouldn’t be wise.

Still, Woodward didn’t seem to mind the threat of becoming food. He pulled off his shirt and dove into the water, only to be eaten almost immediately by the alligator that the people and signs had warned him to stay away from. The incident ended the 179-year streak without a Texas alligator attack-related incident.

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• • Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public domain

A French Tailor Jumped Off The Eiffel Tower To His Demise While Trying To Prove His Homemade Parachute Worked

Intrigued by the rapid technological advances made by the airplane industry at the turn of the 20th century, tailor Franz Reichelt set out to create a suit that would save pilots from crashes.

Reichelt had failed many times while testing his invention on dummies thrown out of his apartment window, and he even suffered a broken leg after trying the suit out himself. Still, the tailor insisted his design for a “parachute suit” would change the world.

However, instead of considering that his design needed alteration, he insisted that the experiments only failed because he and the dummies weren’t falling from a high enough distance. Reichelt was so adamant that his suit would work that he didn’t even bother to consider that there were other fixed-canopy parachutes designed for high-altitude falls available at the time.

To prove his design was superior, he set up a grand spectacle of an event, inviting the press and all of his friends in Paris to watch him leap off the Eiffel Tower in 1912. After a few moments of hesitation, the tailor jumped from a platform on the tower. Reichelt’s suit swiftly wrapped around him to the horror of his friends and onlookers as his body crashed into the frozen ground below.

According to witnesses, he perished almost instantly from a crushed right arm and leg and a broken back and skull.

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