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1001 Ridiculous Ways to Die
We all have to die someday—some people just find more bizarrely hilarious ways to go The woman who drank herself to death with water trying to win a games console by holding in her pee. . . the mechanic who blew himself up while trying to open a rocket-propelled grenade with a sledgehammer. . . a lottery winner killed by the gates of his new luxury home. . . a woman felled forever by a fatal falling lettuce. . . an octogenarian who met his maker while riding a shopping cart. . . a German artist crushed by one of his own sculptures, called "Woman with Four Breasts". . . the convicted murderer who electrocuted himself on the toilet as he repaired a TV—all true reports from across the globe which reveal the silliest ways you can meet your maker. Death may seem like a serious business, but this is a seriously funny book.
315 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
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October 1, 2020I can't help observing that lately Australians have been dying in very odd ways.
There is the girl who died scuba diving in Queensland. Her American husband had evidently been planning this for some time. He'd been hassling her about getting a life insurance policy and so most recently, knowing she hadn't but wanting to say whatever would get him off her case, she said yes she had. And so he murdered her in a way that will never happen to me. Honestly, take note now. If I am ever found dead scuba diving I have been murdered. Please investigate. He is in gaol in Australia but is being extradited to the US, one hopes to a worse gaol term than he got here.
Last week Australian twins were at a shooting range in the US and fell out of their booth simultaneously with gun shots to the head. It turned out to be a suicide pact but one of them took better aim than the other. Because they were identical the authorities couldn't even tell which one was dead. Eventually the one that shot badly came to consciousness in hospital. She is pretty irritated at how things have turned out. The girls were in their late twenties and to all intents and purposes normal, whatever that means. Evidently they had a particular interest in the Columbine massacre.
Zarah, the poor sweet thing. Her mother gave her up early to her husband. Then it was discovered she had serious cancer which resulted in deafness and an artifical leg. Her father met an American woman on the internet, took Zarah with him to take up life with this woman in the US. The step-mother has, I gather, chopped Zarah up into pieces and then pretended to police via a fake ransom note that she was kidnapped. At least the others were old enough to know what they were doing and have some control over their lives. Doesn't your heart go out to Zarah, though? A horrible life followed by a horrible death.
I wonder if it is just coincidence that there is an American connection to all these things?
There is the girl who died scuba diving in Queensland. Her American husband had evidently been planning this for some time. He'd been hassling her about getting a life insurance policy and so most recently, knowing she hadn't but wanting to say whatever would get him off her case, she said yes she had. And so he murdered her in a way that will never happen to me. Honestly, take note now. If I am ever found dead scuba diving I have been murdered. Please investigate. He is in gaol in Australia but is being extradited to the US, one hopes to a worse gaol term than he got here.
Last week Australian twins were at a shooting range in the US and fell out of their booth simultaneously with gun shots to the head. It turned out to be a suicide pact but one of them took better aim than the other. Because they were identical the authorities couldn't even tell which one was dead. Eventually the one that shot badly came to consciousness in hospital. She is pretty irritated at how things have turned out. The girls were in their late twenties and to all intents and purposes normal, whatever that means. Evidently they had a particular interest in the Columbine massacre.
Zarah, the poor sweet thing. Her mother gave her up early to her husband. Then it was discovered she had serious cancer which resulted in deafness and an artifical leg. Her father met an American woman on the internet, took Zarah with him to take up life with this woman in the US. The step-mother has, I gather, chopped Zarah up into pieces and then pretended to police via a fake ransom note that she was kidnapped. At least the others were old enough to know what they were doing and have some control over their lives. Doesn't your heart go out to Zarah, though? A horrible life followed by a horrible death.
I wonder if it is just coincidence that there is an American connection to all these things?
August 25, 2013
This book does exactly what it says on the cover.
It is a compilation of just over a thousand cases where people have died through either stupidity, accident or just plain misfortune.
From what I saw of other people's reviews I read before starting this book, there seems to be a consensus that the author is derisively mocking the people whose deaths are recounted here but that wasn't the impression I got.
The impression I picked up from the book is that death is, like many things, incredibly unpredictable and can happen at any time to any person. There's no such thing as fate, destiny, luck or any such thing as karma, just really unfortunate coincidence or a negative coalescence of random events.
The only negative thing I would say about this book is that, apart from about a dozen brief assorted top ten lists, there isn't any grouping together of any of these deaths, say by location, misfortune, idiocy or timeframe. This leads to the book feeling very much like one really long list that you could easily skip pages and not particularly miss out on much other than a sense of completion.
A pretty strong example of the kind of bathroom/waiting room book that will entertain you for the time it takes you to read it but be prominent enough to cross your mind the rest of the time.
For what it does, great. As a piece of entertainment, okay.
It is a compilation of just over a thousand cases where people have died through either stupidity, accident or just plain misfortune.
From what I saw of other people's reviews I read before starting this book, there seems to be a consensus that the author is derisively mocking the people whose deaths are recounted here but that wasn't the impression I got.
The impression I picked up from the book is that death is, like many things, incredibly unpredictable and can happen at any time to any person. There's no such thing as fate, destiny, luck or any such thing as karma, just really unfortunate coincidence or a negative coalescence of random events.
The only negative thing I would say about this book is that, apart from about a dozen brief assorted top ten lists, there isn't any grouping together of any of these deaths, say by location, misfortune, idiocy or timeframe. This leads to the book feeling very much like one really long list that you could easily skip pages and not particularly miss out on much other than a sense of completion.
A pretty strong example of the kind of bathroom/waiting room book that will entertain you for the time it takes you to read it but be prominent enough to cross your mind the rest of the time.
For what it does, great. As a piece of entertainment, okay.
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August 27, 2021Why oh why, I ask myself, did I pick this book up? Well I have to admit I was intrigued by the cover blurb "The largest ever collection of hilarious true stories chronicling the most ridiculous , bizarre and astonishingly stupid deaths".
It is indeed a list of bizarre & astonishing deaths, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised at it's contents, although I do take issue with the use of the word "hilarious"
I am calling it quits at page 46....I really can't read anymore & I would have (huh maybe should have) dumped it pages back but the short little paragraphs are ideal or dipping in & out of so I plodded unwisely on.
The first few pages were, oh how do I put it? Grotesquely interesting maybe? One or two were anyhow, some are ridiculous & quite a lot are downright bizarre but none are hilarious - NOT ONE! I feel ashamed that I might have almost smiled at one or two but after a couple of pages I couldn't forget the fact people have actually died. However "bizarre" or "ridiculous" the circumstances were, people died leaving loved ones to mourn them, it's not a laughing matter. To add insult to injury some of the comments made by the "author" (I use the term loosely) are downright offensive. Here is a case in point & the reason that I'm reading no further (The book gives names & dates but I won't):
"THIS JOB'LL KILL YOU"
If you can't beat them, join 'em. Psychiatric nurse, ??, 35, from Brighton was so depressed about her work with mental health patients that she poured petrol over her body and set herself on fire. She died from 96 per cent burns on ?/?/????. Having suffered from depression since she was 17, it's possible she was in the wrong line of work....."
Is that something to mock?
Previous entries are in pretty much the same tasteless vein. If you have a different sense of humour to me maybe you'll get through a further 260 odd pages but I'm done with it.....
It is indeed a list of bizarre & astonishing deaths, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised at it's contents, although I do take issue with the use of the word "hilarious"
I am calling it quits at page 46....I really can't read anymore & I would have (huh maybe should have) dumped it pages back but the short little paragraphs are ideal or dipping in & out of so I plodded unwisely on.
The first few pages were, oh how do I put it? Grotesquely interesting maybe? One or two were anyhow, some are ridiculous & quite a lot are downright bizarre but none are hilarious - NOT ONE! I feel ashamed that I might have almost smiled at one or two but after a couple of pages I couldn't forget the fact people have actually died. However "bizarre" or "ridiculous" the circumstances were, people died leaving loved ones to mourn them, it's not a laughing matter. To add insult to injury some of the comments made by the "author" (I use the term loosely) are downright offensive. Here is a case in point & the reason that I'm reading no further (The book gives names & dates but I won't):
"THIS JOB'LL KILL YOU"
If you can't beat them, join 'em. Psychiatric nurse, ??, 35, from Brighton was so depressed about her work with mental health patients that she poured petrol over her body and set herself on fire. She died from 96 per cent burns on ?/?/????. Having suffered from depression since she was 17, it's possible she was in the wrong line of work....."
Is that something to mock?
Previous entries are in pretty much the same tasteless vein. If you have a different sense of humour to me maybe you'll get through a further 260 odd pages but I'm done with it.....
August 12, 2016
A quote on the front of the book described it as "Hilarious" - it wasn't.
But, it was relatively interesting and there were one or two smirks to be had; and I did find it to be an interesting read overall, just not quite what the cover quote would have you believe.
If you do ever read this, please note how many times someone from Wales is mentioned, because (and this may be blue mini syndrome on my part) I'm sure the Welsh featured in a disproportionate number - it'd be nice to get some genuine stats on it, to see if my fellow Welsh people really are that prone to dying/killing themselves in interesting, silly ways..
I'll end this with a snippet from the intro, which I think is entirely sensible given the potentially depressing topic. Rather than focusing on the obvious negativity that talk of death might generate, it enables us to view the matter as enlightening, freeing and ultimately positive - believe it or not...
“…death can always lie just around the corner. The only sane response to this knowledge is to laugh, love and live as much as possible”.
But, it was relatively interesting and there were one or two smirks to be had; and I did find it to be an interesting read overall, just not quite what the cover quote would have you believe.
If you do ever read this, please note how many times someone from Wales is mentioned, because (and this may be blue mini syndrome on my part) I'm sure the Welsh featured in a disproportionate number - it'd be nice to get some genuine stats on it, to see if my fellow Welsh people really are that prone to dying/killing themselves in interesting, silly ways..
I'll end this with a snippet from the intro, which I think is entirely sensible given the potentially depressing topic. Rather than focusing on the obvious negativity that talk of death might generate, it enables us to view the matter as enlightening, freeing and ultimately positive - believe it or not...
“…death can always lie just around the corner. The only sane response to this knowledge is to laugh, love and live as much as possible”.
September 17, 2013
When you find a book published in 2008 that has two people you knew in it, That's a keeper
October 2, 2024
The title gives it away! Ha, ha! Well, as working as a Funeral Director for almost 30 years, including performing Coroner's transfers for those who die suddenly, as a result of an accident, at their own hands, or someone else's, I have seen a lot. I enjoyed reading about all the different (yes, some ridiculous, some not so) ways people have died. Nothing too surprising but I enjoyed a chuckle here and there. Sorry, a Funeral Director not only needs to be kind and compassionate but the good ones often have a wicked sense of humour. Each death is succinctly told in a paragraph or two, so this can be read in small doses or continuously to the very end; you won't lose the plot (puns intended)! Enjoy! I did! Cheers, Mark.
August 4, 2021
It was interesting to read. There were times when the facts were so unbelievable I read them aloud.
But most of these were suicides. And then that just brings it down that I’m just reading about people dying, taking their lives and inconveniently dying.
I wouldn’t really read it again- it was just to pass time.
But most of these were suicides. And then that just brings it down that I’m just reading about people dying, taking their lives and inconveniently dying.
I wouldn’t really read it again- it was just to pass time.
February 8, 2021
Does what it says on the tin, lots of crazy stuff and a few wry smirks, but the inclusion of suicides drags this down. There's no bad luck or wacky mishaps involved in those, even if some of the techniques are bizarre.
January 13, 2025
Some interesting content but noticeably sexist descriptions of men killing their wives for "nagging" and mocking "nutters" who committed suicide. That's not even to mention the frequent formatting errors and spelling/grammatical mistakes.
February 10, 2019
Was an alright book. Nothing really stood out
May 29, 2020
Some are real laugh-out-loud Darwin Awards material but lots are just sad and pathetic.
September 18, 2009
On a par with the Darwin Awards books this was an entertaining collection of tales covering accidental and deliberate ways of meeting your maker. All of the stories have been verified and confirmed which makes some of the stories all the more surprising and morbidly entertaining. The best had to be the death by sprout which is a lesson to everyone to chew your food, thoroughly, or to just not eat sprouts lol. The tale of the man killed by getting stuck to a pool drain was also quite amusing especially when you find out he didn't drown (for those who have seen the new Final Destination movie, you'll have a fair idea what happened). This book basically shows that although Death may not be stalking you the Cosmic Joker certaintly is.
October 30, 2016
Unfinished - I try to finish every book I have started, so this is a big indicator.
As Southwell states in the title, these are rather unbelievable ways for one to die. Moreover, his choice of word "ridiculous" already foreshadows what the tone is like. Unbelievable or not, it is ridiculous to be describing them as "ridiculous", further reinforced by his rather callous, jeering tone in the book, as well as his constant repetition of the word "idiot". The lack of respect is rather appalling.
Moreover, as some would have pointed out in the comments, this is a huge catalogue of deaths, and with such a long list (1001!) it would be better to categorise them instead.
As Southwell states in the title, these are rather unbelievable ways for one to die. Moreover, his choice of word "ridiculous" already foreshadows what the tone is like. Unbelievable or not, it is ridiculous to be describing them as "ridiculous", further reinforced by his rather callous, jeering tone in the book, as well as his constant repetition of the word "idiot". The lack of respect is rather appalling.
Moreover, as some would have pointed out in the comments, this is a huge catalogue of deaths, and with such a long list (1001!) it would be better to categorise them instead.
December 30, 2009
This is one of those morbid and tasteless books on how we manage to top ourselves. I was hoping for something a little like the Darwin awards since there is that schadenfrauden of looking at total idiots and how they meet their end. This, on the other hand (much like 1000 ways to die on TV), had FAR too many accidental deaths. Those were tragic and probably didn't deserve to be made into a joke. To balance those, there were plenty of absolute idiots that leave you wondering WHY they thought their actions were a good idea.
February 14, 2009
Absolutely hilarious! Makes you wonder just why some people do what they do...!
July 14, 2012
Not a book you can read from start to finish, but something you can dip into and laugh at! The number of sex-related deaths in this is ridiculous. Fascinating book with plenty of things to ridicule.
May 17, 2012
y3ni, enjoyed sm stories & sm were boring! but i had a good laugh in some of the deaths :P oopppssss
April 16, 2015
Waste of time
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews