Strange Deaths

[Spookdaddy]

I know there are a few entries on here for Yellowstone National Park deaths but if you want to feel better about never being able to visit this geologic and natural mecca, I'd recommend the book Death in Yellowstone by Lee Whittlesey. OMG, I am so terrified of bears. So many body parts missing. I nearly had nightmares about falling through thin crust into boiling hot springs and dissolving. Just parts of the people would eventually float back up. Gruesome...

The park is also the site of the jurisdictional legal paradox known as the 'Zone of Death' - which is based on an, as far as I know, entirely untested theory that you might just be able to get away with murder in the Idaho section of Yellowstone.

I'm not suggesting that anyone gives it a go, mind - but for those of us who never get to visit, it's another tick in the 'ah well, maybe it's for the best' box.

 

[Spudrick68]

I just googled that, fascinating. It reminds me of being able to shoot a Welshman within the walls of Chester with one shot from a bow after sunset.

 

[Sharon Hill]

In around 18 months we are hoping to travel to either Sri Lanka or the U.S.

If it is the U.S. we start in Denver Colorado, and travel in in a half circle (ish) taking in Mount Rushmore (minus The Donald's face), but also Yellowstone.

I really don't fancy meeting a bear up close and personal, it will be able to run faster and longer than me, climb trees better than me and probably swim better than me. I still remain astonished that people still decide to cross the barriers where the hot springs are.

I also read that black and brown bears are hard to tell apart, so I'm not sure whether to play dead or run...

The black ones are smaller and typically run away from you. Grizzlies are less afraid of people, it seems. Black bears aren't as dangerous. The lessons they give you all around the park are pretty clear: Don't hike alone, make noise, and follow the warnings about bears being around such as staying clear of active areas and not leaving food around.

Mount Rushmore is rather awful - it's natural graffiti. Go to Devil's tower instead.

 

[hunck]

There was a BBC series recently about a Canadian scientist Lynn something who studies Black Bears & spends time getting very close to some in their native habitat. In the programme he focused on a particular mother with a cub who got used to him being around & the sound of his voice - he made a point of talking on approach so they knew it was him & they seemed to accept him as unthreatening & not edible.

He doesn't do it with Grizzlys though.

 

[maximus otter]

In around 18 months we are hoping to travel to either Sri Lanka or the U.S.

If it is the U.S. we start in Denver Colorado, and travel in in a half circle (ish) taking in Mount Rushmore (minus The Donald's face), but also Yellowstone.

I really don't fancy meeting a bear up close and personal, it will be able to run faster and longer than me, climb trees better than me and probably swim better than me. I still remain astonished that people still decide to cross the barriers where the hot springs are.

I also read that black and brown bears are hard to tell apart, so I'm not sure whether to play dead or run...

This seems like an appropriate place to repeat my bear advice from an earlier thread:

“Always attach small bells to your bergen or hiking poles. The noise will ensure that bears have advance warning of your approach, and so will avoid you. Also, carry pepper spray.

You can avoid contact with bears by being alert for the presence of their droppings. You can recognise them easily: they’re full of small bells and smell of pepper.“

maximus otter

 

[Spudrick68]

Thank you. If we do go it will be a flight to Denver and then a coach, so we are on an organised trip. But we do get to see an awful lot in a short time. I have looked at the itinerary and it does include Devil's Tower Sharon Hill.

I've copied and pasted the highlights:

• Entrance to 8 national parks: Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone (including guided tour), Grand Teton, Canyonlands, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Zion and Grand Canyon
• Visit to Fort Laramie
• Entrance to Crazy Horse Memorial
• Visit to Mount Rushmore National Memorial including light show
• Entrance to Devils Tower National Monument

 

[escargot]

Man dies inside waterslide pipe

https://nypost.com/2020/08/17/man-dies-after-getting-stuck-in-arizona-waterslide-pipe/

The victim here wasn't a customer using the waterslide. He was a homeless man who'd got over the fence and climbed onto the slide before somehow falling into the supporting structure and becoming wedged. What a sad and pointless death.

 

[brownmane]

^this^

 

[PeteS]

The victim here wasn't a customer using the waterslide. He was a homeless man who'd got over the fence and climbed onto the slide before somehow falling into the supporting structure and becoming wedged. What a sad and pointless death.

Got to be a few morals to that sad story.

 

[Mythopoeika]

 

[maximus otter]

Massachusetts man dies from eating excessive amount of black licorice

The unusual case was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, detailing how the man consumed a bag and half of the candy every day for two weeks prior to his death.

Licorice contains glycyrrhizic acid, which could deplete potassium levels and contribute to heart rhythm problems, doctors explained.

“Even a small amount of licorice you eat can increase your blood pressure a little bit,” said Dr. Neel Butala, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who described the case in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The man had collapsed inside a fast food restaurant and died the next day. Doctors discovered he had dangerously low potassium, which led to heart rhythm and other problems.

The Food and Drug Administration warns eating only 2 ounces of black licorice a day for two weeks could lead to an irregular heartbeat.

https://nypost.com/2020/09/24/massachusetts-man-dead-after-consuming-too-much-black-licorice/

maximus otter

 

[Spookdaddy]

At least he'll have gone regular.

 

[Mythopoeika]

At least he'll have gone regular.

Yes, it does induce diarrhoea.

 

[Trevp666]

Bah you beat me to it - I was just going to post about the liquorice man.
Let's face it, this guy was probably a cheese-burger munching, obese, couch potato (going by most reports) so I doubt whether he had been near any fruit, especially any bananas, in fact the nearest he had ever been to anything healthy was the 'red fruit flavored candy' that he had been eating before switching to the black ones.

 

[kamalktk]

Woman crushed to death by heavy machinery while asleep on Oceanside beach


https://ktla.com/news/california/wo...ushed-to-death-by-heavy-machinery-police-say/

 

[escargot]

Woman crushed to death by heavy machinery while asleep on Oceanside beach


https://ktla.com/news/california/wo...ushed-to-death-by-heavy-machinery-police-say/

Unavailable in Europe.

Edit - a quick Google brings up news reports including videos.

 

[balding13]

Please can you tell me where I can subscribe to this? Too many results came up when I searched.

 

[FelixAntonius]

You can try this: https://scallywagandvagabond.com/20...-crushed-to-death-heavy-machinery-california/

 

[Mythopoeika]

You can try this: https://scallywagandvagabond.com/20...-crushed-to-death-heavy-machinery-california/

The domain name kinda puts me off clicking on it.

 

[Spudrick68]

That reminds me of the only time I cancelled selling something to someone on eBay.

He had a feedback of 1, which was negative and his eBay name was something like 'callthecops999'. The negative review warned not to deal with him under any circumstances. His page stated that he sold at car boot sales.

I decided that I had lost the said item.

 

[escargot]

Please can you tell me where I can subscribe to this? Too many results came up when I searched.

I googled 'asleep on Oceanside beach' and found lots of reports.

 

[maximus otter]

Anglo-Saxon girl had her nose and lips cut off, and may have been scalped

An Anglo-Saxon teenage girl appears to have had her nose and lips cut off — and possibly her head scalped as well — analysis of an old skull has revealed.

Unearthed in Oakridge, Hampshire, the remains have been radiocarbon dated to 776–899 AD

The disfigurement was given to adulteresses, slaves who stole and criminals guilty of more severe acts, the researchers reported.

British experts who studied the skull - which was dug up in the 1960s - said that it belonged to a 15–18 year old, who likely died directly from her injuries.

Marks included evidence of a cut across the nose that was so deep it had sliced into the surrounding bone, similar signs of a cut across her mouth — and a wound consistent with either an an attempted scalping or aggressive hair removal.

Isotopic analysis of the skull — which can shine a light on a person's sources of food and water — indicated that the teenager was unlikely to have been local to Oakridge.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/science...n-teen-nose-lips-cut-gruesome-punishment.html

maximus otter

 

[Kondoru]

Poor Archaeology!

Where was she from then????

 

[escargot]

There was a BBC series recently about a Canadian scientist Lynn something who studies Black Bears & spends time getting very close to some in their native habitat. In the programme he focused on a particular mother with a cub who got used to him being around & the sound of his voice - he made a point of talking on approach so they knew it was him & they seemed to accept him as unthreatening & not edible.

He doesn't do it with Grizzlys though.

Not Timothy Treadwell, then. Brrr.

 

[hunck]

Not Timothy Treadwell, then. Brrr.

After following the mother & cub for some weeks/months, both disappear. He worries that the mother may've been shot in the hunting season, which is always a hazard for them.

After a while the mother reappears but no cub. Maybe she's abandoned the cub, which sometimes happens. After looking for some days he finds the cub up a tree apparently scared & starving. He coaxes it down after some hours of trying & feeds it up with grapes & nuts which it eats with gusto whilst making chirping sounds.

Some time later the mother turns up & is reunited with cub. It was a heartwarming story.

But no, keep away from grizzlys!

 

[hunck]

After following the mother & cub for some weeks/months, both disappear. He worries that the mother may've been shot in the hunting season, which is always a hazard for them.

After a while the mother reappears but no cub. Maybe she's abandoned the cub, which sometimes happens. After looking for some days he finds the cub up a tree apparently scared & starving. He coaxes it down after some hours of trying & feeds it up with grapes & nuts which it eats with gusto whilst making chirping sounds.

Some time later the mother turns up & is reunited with cub. It was a heartwarming story.

But no, keep away from grizzlys!

The programme was on again today. I slightly misremembered - the mother bear went off for some off-piste shagging leaving the cub. It rained heavily in the next few days & the theory was it washed away the scent for her to get back to the cub.

The scientist Lyn found the cub up a tree & wasn't sure whether to save it or let nature take it's course. This was after about 4 days which is a long time for a cub to survive without it's mother. Opts for saving it & I think next day goes looking for the mother.

It's a 3 parter filmed by Gordon Buchanan & probably on iplayer.

In the first part Lyn also fits a new radio collar to the mother while Buchanan feeds her grapes to distract her.

 

[GNC]

Kirk Jones tried to go over Niagara Falls in an inflatable. He died:
News story

But according to the FT, he may not have died alone. He may have had a BOA CONSTRICTOR with him. Did the snake revolt?! Anyone know more about this story? I'm having trouble accessing foreign sites.

 

[EnolaGaia]

This 2017 Detroit News article is the most detailed biography I've found:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/n...ton-man-niagara-falls-cheats-death/104931426/

All indications were that he had planned to go over the falls a second time in an inflatable ball along with the boa constrictor and using a drone to film the plunge for merchandising purposes. He'd already set up a website for marketing souvenir T-shirts.

The ball was sighted drifting and spinning above the falls - empty. It then drifted into the current and was swept over the brink. The drone was found crashed on an island in the river. Its camera had some footage of the river, but nothing showing Jones or the ball.

No one connected the mystery ball with Jones until his ex-wife contacted Niagara authorities. Jones' van and an empty snake cage were found soon after the cops learned who / what they were looking for.

It would be roughly 6 weeks later that his body was discovered 12 miles downstream from the falls. The boa was never found.

 

[Kondoru]

Perfectly normal, eh?

 

[GNC]

This 2017 Detroit News article is the most detailed biography I've found:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/n...ton-man-niagara-falls-cheats-death/104931426/

All indications were that he had planned to go over the falls a second time in an inflatable ball along with the boa constrictor and using a drone to film the plunge for merchandising purposes. He'd already set up a website for marketing souvenir T-shirts.

The ball was sighted drifting and spinning above the falls - empty. It then drifted into the current and was swept over the brink. The drone was found crashed on an island in the river. Its camera had some footage of the river, but nothing showing Jones or the ball.

No one connected the mystery ball with Jones until his ex-wife contacted Niagara authorities. Jones' van and an empty snake cage were found soon after the cops learned who / what they were looking for.

It would be roughly 6 weeks later that his body was discovered 12 miles downstream from the falls. The boa was never found.

Thanks, @EnolaGaia - seems I could also have posted this in the Great Acts of Stupidity. The maniacal behaviour that goes into getting likes on YouTube!