Death is one of life’s great mysteries and our fascination with it only deepens when we stumble down a rabbit hole like strangest deaths of the 21st century. Whether you believe in fate or prefer the old saying of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, these 13 stories of people crossing beyond the jurisdiction of earthly courts will make you glad you’re alive (and leave you in awe of the strangeness of existence). And let’s be honest, you’ll probably freak out a little bit too. Because life is short and you never know when a goat is going to land on your head. Make the most of it while you can.
Photo: ferrantraite (Getty Images)
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Strange Deaths
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Death by Python
It's true, snakes can kill. In 2017, the first reported case of a full-grown man being swallowed whole by a reticulated python happened in Indonesia. Word of the incident must have spread fast, because later that very same year, another python ate a woman.
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Death by Cooking
In other snake-related news, a chef in China was preparing dinner one evening in 2014 when the severed head of a cobra he had killed 20 minutes earlier reanimated and bit the man. And that's why we only ever eat bagels and french fries.
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Death by Straw
Not long after the debut of Stranger Things 3, a woman was sipping a beverage in her kitchen when she suddenly collapsed. The 10-inch straw just happened to enter her eye socket when she landed.
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Death by Rabbit Hole
We all know the dangers of going down a rabbit hole (this list is case in point). But in 2015, a 50-year-old man actually died while rabbiting near Doncaster, England, when he decided to stick his head down a rabbit hole and got stuck. With no one around to help him out, the poor guy asphyxiated.
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Death by Cell Phone Slip
While enjoying a night at the movies, a 24-year-old man dropped his cell phone on the theater floor. As he searched the darkness for his lost mobile, he somehow got his head wedged underneath an electronic footrest. The ensnarement brought on such a panic that the man died from cardiac arrest. The movie he went to see: Avengers: Infinity War.
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Death by Segway
Touted as the transportation of the future, it wasn't long before this invention became passé. But not before it claimed the life of (ironically) the owner of a Segway manufacturing company, when he accidentally road his Segway off a cliff.
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Death by Fire Hydrant
While taking a joyride on his 89th birthday, Florida resident Robert Dryer crashed into a fire hydrant on the side of the road. The resulting gush created such a deluge that a sinkhole formed and swallowed him up.
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Death by Wine Glass
It turns out that wine glasses are not what they appear. Every year, dozens of people injure themselves on broken shards and in 2017, a San Jose woman died when she fell out of a golf cart and landed on two wine glasses she'd been holding. This may be why double-fisting is illegal in Hawaii.
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Death by Video Games
South Korean Lee Seung Seop entered an internet café in 2005 and never emerged. After playing StarCraft for nearly 50 consecutive hours, Seop stood up to leave and collapsed from heart failure due to exhaustion.
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Death by Foul Ball
For the first time in 50 years, a foul ball killed someone during a baseball game. We're tempted to say something here about foul play or the game being over, but that would be insensitive, so we won't.
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Death by Slug
Slugs really are slow. Eight years after Sam Ballard ate a garden slug on a dare, the 29-year-old died after he developed angiostrongyliasis, an infection caused by roundworm. Needless to say, the next time your friends double dog dare you to do anything, just walk away.
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Death by Taco Bell
It wasn't the questionable hot sauce that did it. A 75-foot Taco Bell sign in Nebraska broke and fell during a powerful windstorm, landing on a truck passing by and killing the woman inside.
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Death by Viagra
After ingesting an entire bottle of Viagra so he could win a sexual stamina contest, 28-year-old Russian Sergey Tuganov suffered a heart attack after collecting $4,300 on the bet.
