Fact of the Day .CA

I’m not particularly morbid, nor do I find death to be funny, except in the manner that we all must sometimes adapt to deal with the harsh reality of our mortality. That being said, there are an enormous variety of ways to expire, and they do fascinate me.

My original curiosity to this subject belongs to Tycho Brahe (the 16th century Danish astronomer, not the alter-ego of Jerry Holkins of the webcomic Penny Arcade), whose cause death, upon further investigation, is not a sure thing. Brahe’s best-known expiration is from a strained bladder, due to his want to maintain etiquette rules during a banquet – leaving the table early would have been rude. Although it is likely he died of uremia (a failing of the kidneys), consistent with early considerations of an overstressed bladder, blockage by kidney stones, etc., investigations in the 20th century have shown Brahe had high levels of mercury in his system that could cause poisoning. Some cry assassination, but Brahe’s frequent chemistry experimentation and possible self-treatments using mercury seem a more likely cause.

A more recent bladder-related death occurred as recently as 2007. Thanks to the punnability of the name of the Nintendo Wii, a radio station offered a contest, “Hold Your Wee for a Wii”, which caused the death of Jennifer Strange due to water intoxication. Water intoxication is a severe imbalance of water and electrolytes in the body. Strange was not even the “winner” of the competition (what happened to the winner isn’t further mentioned), and while her family was awarded damages, and many employees of the radio station terminated, it’s still a tragic story.

Curious deaths range from unfortunate impalings, indigestion, freak accidents, multitudes of suicides, and a variety of cardiac arrests due to excessive laughter. For the sake of not bringing myself or you, dear reader, into a deep depression, I’ve decided to stop here with details, and point further investigation to my source links.

To end on a more encouraging note, not all deaths need be untimely, unusual, or sudden. The longest-lived human on record is Jeanne Louise Calment, who died at the age of one-hundred and twenty-two (122) in 1997. Had she been born but a few years later, she could have spanned two centuries and entered a new millennium, but I suppose Oldest Person Ever is admirable enough to start quibbling over such details.

If this was too depressing a post, I’m going to place the blame squarely on the advent of Finals Week. Dark times cometh.

Sources:

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unusual_deaths
2. http://www.ips-planetarium.org/planetarian/articles/howTychoDied.html
3. http://www.nada.kth.se/~fred/tycho/death.html
4. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16614865/
5. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-5460584-504083.html
6. http://www.demogr.mpg.de/books/odense/6/09.htm
7. http://www.wowzone.com/calment.htm