This list of unusual deaths includes unique or extremely rare circumstances of death recorded throughout history, noted as being unusual by multiple sources.
Antiquity
Middle Ages
Renaissance
Early modern period
19th century
20th century
1901–1960
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
21st century
2000s
2010s
2020s
Animal deaths
This section is for the deaths of animals, for whom there are several sources mentioning the deaths as unusual.
See also
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Autoerotic fatality
Autoerotic fatalities are accidental deaths that occur during sexual self-stimulation when an apparatus, device or prop that is being employed to enhance pleasure causes the death. Researchers only apply the term to unintentional deaths resulting ...
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Darwin Awards
The Darwin Awards are a tongue-in-cheek honor that originated in Usenet newsgroup discussions around 1985. They recognize individuals who have supposedly contributed to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool by dying or b ...
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Death by coconut
Coconuts falling from their trees and striking individuals can cause serious injury to the back, neck, shoulders and head, and are occasionally fatal.
Following a 1984 study on "Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts", exaggerated claims spread concer ...
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Death from laughter
Death from laughter is a supposedly extremely rare form of death, usually resulting from either cardiac arrest or asphyxiation, that has itself been caused by a fit of laughter. Instances of death by laughter have been recorded from the times ...
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Execution by elephant
Execution by elephant was a method of capital punishment in South and Southeast Asia, particularly in India, where Asian elephants were used to crush, dismember or torture captives in public executions. The animals were trained to kill vic ...
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Spontaneous human combustion
Spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is the pseudoscientific concept of the combustion of a living (or recently deceased) human body without an apparent external source of ignition. In addition to reported cases, descriptions of the alleged phen ...
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1000 Ways to Die
''1000 Ways to Die'' is an American anthology television series that aired on Spike from May 14, 2008 to July 15, 2012, and also aired on Comedy Central during its run. The program recreates unusual supposed deaths, true events, and debunked ...
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Death during consensual sex
Death can occur during sexual intercourse for a number of reasons, generally because of the physical strain of the activity, or because of unusual extenuating circumstances. There are various euphemisms for death during sex, including "dying in t ...
Lists
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List of association footballers who died while playing
The following is an incomplete list of association footballers who died during their playing careers.
Association football players who died on the pitch or from pitch related incidents
Following an increase in deaths, both during matches and tr ...
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List of causes of death by rate
The following is a list of the causes of human deaths worldwide for different years arranged by their associated mortality rates. In 2002, there were about 57 million deaths. In 2005, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) using the I ...
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List of entertainers who died during a performance
Through history, many entertainers have died while performing live or while recording a performance. The following list excludes deaths involving stunt persons, as they are listed separately.
17th century
*1673: Molière, the French actor and p ...
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List of inventors killed by their own invention
This is a list of inventors whose deaths were in some manner caused by or related to a product, process, procedure, or other innovation that they invented or designed.
Direct casualties
Art
* Luis Jiménez (1940–2006) was killed while crea ...
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List of last words
A person's last words, their final articulated words stated prior to death or as death approaches, are often recorded because of the decedent's fame, but sometimes because of interest in the statement itself. (People dying of illness are frequen ...
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Lists of people by cause of death
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List of people who died on the toilet
Numerous individuals have died while using a toilet facility or in the process of defecation or urination. This includes confirmed or suspected historical figures as well as more recent notable cases.
Pre-20th century
20th century
21st ce ...
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List of people executed for witchcraft
This is a list of people executed for witchcraft, many of whom were executed during organized witch-hunts, particularly during the 15th–18th centuries. Large numbers of people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Europe between 1560 and 1630.Levac ...
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Lists of people who disappeared
Lists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated. Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ''in absentia''. Some of these people were possibly subjected to enfo ...
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List of political self-immolations
This is a list of notable people who committed suicide by setting themselves on fire for political reasons. Non-political self-immolations are not included in the list.
List Before 1900
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s ...
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List of selfie-related injuries and deaths
This is a list of serious injuries and deaths in which one or more subjects of a selfie were killed or injured before, during, or after taking a photo of themselves, with the accident at least in part attributed to taking the photo.
Overview
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Toilet-related injuries and deaths
There have been many toilet-related injuries and deaths throughout history and in urban legends.
Accidental injuries
Infants and toddlers have fallen into toilet bowls and drowned. Safety devices exist to help prevent such accidents. Injuries to a ...
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References
Works cited
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Further reading
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* Dreher, Dale. ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
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John Dunning ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
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External links
Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures Discovery Channel.
Freakish FatalitiesSnopes.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Unusual deaths
Death-related lists
Lists of people by cause of death
Deaths
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...