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History's Weirdest Deaths
Tales of weird deaths that will make you shake your head and reconsider the next “I dare you.”
Death comes in many forms—sometimes peaceful, sometimes tragic, sometimes dramatic . . . and at other times just plain weird. In History’s Weirdest Deaths , you’ll read the true stories of more than a hundred people who met their end in a bizarre fashion. Each cautionary tale is unique. Meet the victims of stunts that went horribly wrong, ordinary people who made boneheaded blunders, and famous figures who realized too late that celebrity isn’t a cure for stupidity.
Death comes in many forms—sometimes peaceful, sometimes tragic, sometimes dramatic . . . and at other times just plain weird. In History’s Weirdest Deaths , you’ll read the true stories of more than a hundred people who met their end in a bizarre fashion. Each cautionary tale is unique. Meet the victims of stunts that went horribly wrong, ordinary people who made boneheaded blunders, and famous figures who realized too late that celebrity isn’t a cure for stupidity.
128 pages, Hardcover
Published June 11, 2019
18 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
January 13, 2019
Finished the book and have decided to update it with the only other example of people getting what they deserve, karma, or a taste of their own medicine.
1, A case of really, really bad timing Palestinian terrorists were planning simultaneous attacks on buses in several Israeli cities. The group building them in Palestinian territory has set their devices to Palestinian summertime. The bomb couriers had to co-ordinate their attacks with the bus timetables and had set their watches to Israeli standard time, this was September, end of the summer. The bombs exploded an hour early and three of the four terrorists were killed. .
2. A personal electric chair. In 1989, in South Carolina, Michael Godwin was serving a life sentence for murder after having had the death penalty reduced on appeal. Six years into his sentence he was found dead sitting naked on his metal toilet with a badly burned mouth. He had been trying to fix earphones attached to his tv and had bitten into a live wire and was killed in his own electric chair.
The book was a bathroom book. Ok for whiling away a few minutes - it was very short - and entertaining only in small bursts. There as a lot of blank space and a lot of little drawings. It could almost have been culled from the Readers' Digest (at least as I remember it). 3 stars and recommended only to give as a gift, you can read it first in an hour or so.
1, A case of really, really bad timing Palestinian terrorists were planning simultaneous attacks on buses in several Israeli cities. The group building them in Palestinian territory has set their devices to Palestinian summertime. The bomb couriers had to co-ordinate their attacks with the bus timetables and had set their watches to Israeli standard time, this was September, end of the summer. The bombs exploded an hour early and three of the four terrorists were killed. .
2. A personal electric chair. In 1989, in South Carolina, Michael Godwin was serving a life sentence for murder after having had the death penalty reduced on appeal. Six years into his sentence he was found dead sitting naked on his metal toilet with a badly burned mouth. He had been trying to fix earphones attached to his tv and had bitten into a live wire and was killed in his own electric chair.
The book was a bathroom book. Ok for whiling away a few minutes - it was very short - and entertaining only in small bursts. There as a lot of blank space and a lot of little drawings. It could almost have been culled from the Readers' Digest (at least as I remember it). 3 stars and recommended only to give as a gift, you can read it first in an hour or so.
March 25, 2021
A horrifying and, on ocassion, hilarious little book. There is an 'unusual death' on each page, from ancient times til nowadays, some of them really unbelievable, others beyond horrendous.
Aside the unfortunate accidents and 'karma strikes', two conclusions can be drawn: human imagination has no limits when it comes to torture, and the same can be said about the level of stupidity.
Aside the unfortunate accidents and 'karma strikes', two conclusions can be drawn: human imagination has no limits when it comes to torture, and the same can be said about the level of stupidity.
July 12, 2021
Unusual ways to die is a very casual book with snippets full of people dying either due to stupidity, accident, natural causes or blunder.
The title is self explanatory. It consists of various event that might have been recorded at some point of time and later extracted and recompiled into this book. (Pfft, Who knew!)
Though not very entertaining (Definitely wrong choice of word considering the subject matter), the book has a fair share of weird deaths mostly of people losing their life by sheer acts of stupidity such as Enclosing self in a barrel and asked to be thrown over Niagara Falls!! or Jumping inside an Active Volcano mountain to keep the blood dry !! Really??
Ok, this is a hilarious death (Forgive me, Lord) A guy in Texas died because he used ask his wife to administer alcohol through the wrong end! - Sherry Enema!!!
Some were pure mishaps such as some Palestinian terrorists trying to bomb the streets of Israel set a time bomb with respect to Palestinian time got bombed themselves when they were on route to place them as Israel had switched to standard time!
A poor guy died on his bed because of a cow falling on him through the roof. (Sad, but I couldn't resist)
Some died inventing things in labs or in air experimenting with their planes/cars. There were accidents of almost all professions, Magicians especially who got trapped in their own game!
After every 4th or 5th death the author adds a "Did you know" wherein he adds facts related to death in various provinces and era's!
The title is self explanatory. It consists of various event that might have been recorded at some point of time and later extracted and recompiled into this book. (Pfft, Who knew!)
Though not very entertaining (Definitely wrong choice of word considering the subject matter), the book has a fair share of weird deaths mostly of people losing their life by sheer acts of stupidity such as Enclosing self in a barrel and asked to be thrown over Niagara Falls!! or Jumping inside an Active Volcano mountain to keep the blood dry !! Really??
Ok, this is a hilarious death (Forgive me, Lord) A guy in Texas died because he used ask his wife to administer alcohol through the wrong end! - Sherry Enema!!!
Some were pure mishaps such as some Palestinian terrorists trying to bomb the streets of Israel set a time bomb with respect to Palestinian time got bombed themselves when they were on route to place them as Israel had switched to standard time!
A poor guy died on his bed because of a cow falling on him through the roof. (Sad, but I couldn't resist)
Some died inventing things in labs or in air experimenting with their planes/cars. There were accidents of almost all professions, Magicians especially who got trapped in their own game!
After every 4th or 5th death the author adds a "Did you know" wherein he adds facts related to death in various provinces and era's!
December 16, 2019
Super short and quick read. I love the "trivia" feel of the facts. A few of the incidents I had heard of, most I had not. I love a group of channels on YouTube that does similar topics in a similar style (Today I Found Out, TopTenz, Biographics, etc), so this book was right up my alley.
August 29, 2021
Lame :|
One could literally die of boredom while reading this!
One could literally die of boredom while reading this!
August 29, 2021
A quick and easy read on history's weird deaths. One starts thinking of all the ways death encounters people in day to day lives after readinf this book and it can be very scary .
December 7, 2022
A amusing but also macabre collection of some of some rather unconventional deaths that people either met either by accident or by performing - in hindsight - some rather stupid actions.
Did you know that you could die from drinking too much water? An ancient playwrite that was killed when an eagle dropped a turtle on his head? The man who failed to see his drone aircraft returning straight at him due his looking into the blinding sun? The first person killed in a car accident as well as the first pedestrian. A parachutist so concerned with recording his students/companions making their jump that he forgot to pack his own chute? The sword swallower that tried to swallow a violin bow instead. The college student who jumped into a laundry chute only it was actually to the trash compactor? Then there are the Houdini/escape-artist imitators that only has one chance to get the trick wrong. . . .
You get the idea and there are several that will make you flinch as you have to wonder what the person was thinking beforehand - or perhaps that was the problem.
2022-271
Did you know that you could die from drinking too much water? An ancient playwrite that was killed when an eagle dropped a turtle on his head? The man who failed to see his drone aircraft returning straight at him due his looking into the blinding sun? The first person killed in a car accident as well as the first pedestrian. A parachutist so concerned with recording his students/companions making their jump that he forgot to pack his own chute? The sword swallower that tried to swallow a violin bow instead. The college student who jumped into a laundry chute only it was actually to the trash compactor? Then there are the Houdini/escape-artist imitators that only has one chance to get the trick wrong. . . .
You get the idea and there are several that will make you flinch as you have to wonder what the person was thinking beforehand - or perhaps that was the problem.
2022-271
December 3, 2020
Thoroughly entertaining read, despite the macabre content. Some deaths mentioned have been so sudden and weird that it makes you want to not be obsessed with living a long life. Death will come when it has to come.
August 1, 2021
This is one of those trivia books that I would have read back in school to show off. For the generation which grew up on the likes of Ripley's Believe it or not and Extrordinary.
However, this book does pose a problem on a rather grim topic to make light of it. The only way I would have picked this one up is for a reading challenge.
However, this book does pose a problem on a rather grim topic to make light of it. The only way I would have picked this one up is for a reading challenge.
July 30, 2019
I'm hovering between one and two stars for this one.
Ultimately, the book is not poorly written, nor is it uninteresting... It just isn't really a book? Each page has a little paragraph dedicated to the story of a strange death. The information is scarce and presented with great brevity and humor. Rumors are reported as true (i.e. the story of the tortoise falling from the sky) and there is no real discernible organization to the way the deaths are presented. They're just all... there. Chronological order, at least, would've been nice.
This is a fun little book of trivia, but it left me rather unsatisfied. It's more a curiosity than anything else, but there are better books out there that are more thorough and entertaining. Mental Floss's publications, for instance, come to mind. Or the Book of Lists.
Overall, this book should have been presented a little bit better and been a bit more thorough. Even just more interesting asides would have made the book more enjoyable, or a bit of information regarding some of the more disputed deaths. All in all, not a terrible book if you're giving it to a macabre kid - just disappointing for an adult.
Ultimately, the book is not poorly written, nor is it uninteresting... It just isn't really a book? Each page has a little paragraph dedicated to the story of a strange death. The information is scarce and presented with great brevity and humor. Rumors are reported as true (i.e. the story of the tortoise falling from the sky) and there is no real discernible organization to the way the deaths are presented. They're just all... there. Chronological order, at least, would've been nice.
This is a fun little book of trivia, but it left me rather unsatisfied. It's more a curiosity than anything else, but there are better books out there that are more thorough and entertaining. Mental Floss's publications, for instance, come to mind. Or the Book of Lists.
Overall, this book should have been presented a little bit better and been a bit more thorough. Even just more interesting asides would have made the book more enjoyable, or a bit of information regarding some of the more disputed deaths. All in all, not a terrible book if you're giving it to a macabre kid - just disappointing for an adult.
June 26, 2024
3.25 stars.
it’s more like a bathroom book that you will only pick cause you don’t have other options. overall it’s an okay read and i just kinda wish there’s more detailed illustrations about each case.
it’s more like a bathroom book that you will only pick cause you don’t have other options. overall it’s an okay read and i just kinda wish there’s more detailed illustrations about each case.
July 18, 2019
This book is for those who like trivia and the macabre. While the topic of weird ways people have died isn't my usual read and not one I enjoyed, I'm giving it 3 stars, instead of 2, because it is written well. Read my full review here: https://agoodreid.blogspot.com/2019/0...
March 10, 2020
A fun quick read. I squirmed a bit with the description of the insane ancient punishment killings from Romans, Persians, etc. The best ones were the people killed by their own stupidity and/or pride.
November 30, 2020
A fascinating little book containing a paragraph or so for each of more than 150 unusual deaths, ranging from early history to around 2018 when the book was published. All were rather interesting and some tragically comical.
March 2, 2021
"In October 1998, two soccer teams were in a match in the Democratic Republic of Congo when a bolt of lightening struck the pitch, knocking players off their feet. As the players slowly recovered, they realized the entire away team had been killed, while they had survived unscathed. The local media suggested witchcraft might have been involved. "
That is just a taste of what is in this little book. Death on every page! Some are gruesome deaths, some are gruesome, such as the Hungarian hero who was defeated by the ruling class. A red-hot crown was forced on his head while the iron throne he was tied to was heated up until his body started to cook. Then his fellow rebels were forced to eat his flesh!
Then there was the Greek playwright who was killed by a falling tortoise in 450 BCE. An eagle carrying the tortoise, attempted to crack its shell by dropping it on the ground while flying. It landed on the head of the unsuspecting man and cracked his skull.
This is a very interesting read!
That is just a taste of what is in this little book. Death on every page! Some are gruesome deaths, some are gruesome, such as the Hungarian hero who was defeated by the ruling class. A red-hot crown was forced on his head while the iron throne he was tied to was heated up until his body started to cook. Then his fellow rebels were forced to eat his flesh!
Then there was the Greek playwright who was killed by a falling tortoise in 450 BCE. An eagle carrying the tortoise, attempted to crack its shell by dropping it on the ground while flying. It landed on the head of the unsuspecting man and cracked his skull.
This is a very interesting read!
December 16, 2023
Okay, I admit I am a sucker for a good "list" style book, especially one that is both morbid and funny, at the same time.
Did you know more people die during the first week of the year than any other week on the calendar? You would if you had read this book, which is only 128 pages, but great trivia style information. I will leave you with one fact: You are more likely to die from a champagne cork or a vending machine than a shark attack.
Did you know more people die during the first week of the year than any other week on the calendar? You would if you had read this book, which is only 128 pages, but great trivia style information. I will leave you with one fact: You are more likely to die from a champagne cork or a vending machine than a shark attack.
March 28, 2021
2.5 stars. There's not much to say about this one. It's short and entertaining and could probably be a lot thicker with much more ways to die, but when you're in the middle of a thick novel that's not really doing much for you, it sure helps in taking breaks inbetween and read some random short pieces of text. Might try another James Proud.
December 29, 2021
"unusual" is way more accurate since these deaths are not an everyday occurance, but "weird" is a bit reaching for most of the deaths recounted here. I enjoyed the statistics and factoids that were smattered among the stories. Some deaths made me laugh, some made me recoil in disgust, some I had heard of (as there are quite a few famous and historical deaths retold), and some are just a bummer and make you feel sorry for their lack of luck. All in all it was a fun read, and a nice gift for someone who enjoys irony and the macabre.
June 13, 2023
I don't know what some of these people did to deserve it, but Death sure has one hell of a sense of humor. Very interesting read, though I still suck at pronouncing Russian last names. (Ended up reading this aloud to my husband as I was going along, and I'm absolutely sure I butchered some of the names.)
September 8, 2021
It was like a book version of Stupid Deaths from Horrible Histories (I even recognised a few stories from there)! It was really entertaining, a good read, each death was to the point but not rushed, very informative!
February 18, 2023
Now the title is a little misleading not all the deaths are of historical persons, but of people of more recent times. Still it was interesting to see how death can sneak up a person when least expected. I have to say some of these deaths were in the category of what were they thinking.
April 7, 2023
While all of these were unusual deaths not all of them were interesting which is why I’m only giving it 3 stars. That being said it’s an interesting and enjoyable little book if you are looking to kill some time 😉. 😵🪦☠️
January 9, 2019
Very entertaining, grim and slightly sad. A quick read to cure boredom.
January 28, 2019
Niet echt grappig, beetje simpele uitgave. Aan de verkeerde kant van de balans tussen grappig leedvermaak en tragische ongelukken.
August 13, 2019
Love it.
August 28, 2019
Interesting little book highlighting the strange often outrageous ways people have died.
December 11, 2019
A grippling read. A page turner. Extremely easy to read for all ages.
February 2, 2020
Það er hægt að deyja á svo margan hátt! Úrval af því neyðarlegasta, skondnasta og furðulegasta má finna hér. Allt í lagi afþreying.
November 4, 2021
Not only did this book quench my morbid curiosity, it also showed me many ways that I would prefer NOT to die.
December 21, 2021
Quick little snippets to read with some humor to lighten the dark mood. Though some deaths weren’t unusually for the time they occurred but horrible nonetheless.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews