# Death by . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 23, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165 "2007-09-23T03:34:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/1 "2007-09-23T03:34:06Z")
In how many different ways can humans die? How many different things can happen to a human body that would, without intervention, be fatal? For example: Being burned alive Drowning Getting shot in the head Getting shot in the heart Heart attack Starving Brain aneurysm Decapitation Electrocution Poisoning Strangulation Dehydration Suffocation Falling from a great height Bleeding to death Boiled alive Getting blown up Ruptured appendix Gangreen What others can we add? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/2 "2007-09-23T03:47:03Z")
We just saw death by carrot in _Shoot 'em Up._ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/3 "2007-09-23T03:59:31Z")
Some of your categories seem arbitrary. What’s the difference between strangulation and suffocation for example? Both are death caused by a lack of oxygen. I’d say all deaths are caused by either the loss, stoppage, or malfunction of a vital organ. The particular organ that goes first (because all the others will immediately follow) or the cause of that organ’s problem are minor details. A blood clot in the brain, a bullet in the heart, a cancerous tumor in the liver, or a liter of water in the lungs will all cause death equally. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/4 "2007-09-23T04:03:45Z")
I remember reading once that there were only five main official categories of death: Natural causes, homicide, suicide, accident and undetermined. I’ve always been fond of the term “Death by Misadventure” myself. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/5 "2007-09-23T04:12:12Z")
I remember a quote ( but not where from) that; when you get right down to it, every death can be classed as ‘heart failure’. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/6 "2007-09-23T04:16:32Z")
Death by ugh goo ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/7 "2007-09-23T04:18:15Z")
You could always be hit by a speeding ice cream truck. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/8 "2007-09-23T04:20:02Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Some of your categories seem arbitrary. What’s the difference between strangulation and suffocation for example? Both are death caused by a lack of oxygen. [/QUOTE] Strangulation is the constriction of the windpipe so that air cannot pass through it. Suffocation can occur by blocking the air’s entry through the mouth and nose or simply by the absence of oxygen in the breathable atmosphere, as when someone runs a car engine in a closed garage. IIRC, all deaths ultimately result from lack of oxygen-rich blood to the brain. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/9 "2007-09-23T04:30:33Z")
There’s always [chichi](http://backwardsforwards.blogspot.com/2006/03/my-brother-told-me-this-joke.html). ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/10 "2007-09-23T05:11:13Z")
[QUOTE=Beware of Doug] There’s always [chichi](http://backwardsforwards.blogspot.com/2006/03/my-brother-told-me-this-joke.html). [/QUOTE] Pssst. Look up to post #6 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/11 "2007-09-23T05:12:53Z")
> [@](#): > > IIRC, all deaths ultimately result from lack of oxygen-rich blood to the brain. Jump headfirst off a thirty story building. Your heart and lungs will be working fine and your brain will be full of oxygen-rich blood right up until the moment of impact and you’ll be dead less than a second later. Sometimes people die too quickly for their oxygen to give out. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/12 "2007-09-23T05:53:16Z")
You missed death by crushing. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/13 "2007-09-23T06:41:02Z")
Death by [stereo?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXiioWI7m3E) ---
**Author:** ![cookeze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@cookeze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cookeze)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/14 "2007-09-23T06:58:44Z")
There’s sudden unexpected death. Hoo boy—there’s a lot of them: [http://poptop.hypermart.net/sudden.html](http://poptop.hypermart.net/sudden.html) ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/15 "2007-09-23T07:03:54Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Jump headfirst off a thirty story building. Your heart and lungs will be working fine and your brain will be full of oxygen-rich blood right up until the moment of impact and you’ll be dead less than a second later. Sometimes people die too quickly for their oxygen to give out. [/QUOTE] So should we then say that all death is either caused by a lack of perfusion in the brain or by the compromised physical integrity of the brain itself? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/16 "2007-09-23T07:08:36Z")
Death by chocolate ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/17 "2007-09-23T07:55:50Z")
all death is by lactic acidodsis ---
**Author:** ![Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5fc32e/32.png) [@Juliette\_Culture\_Junkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juliette_Culture_Junkie)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/18 "2007-09-23T12:05:11Z")
Death by snusnu! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/19 "2007-09-23T14:08:36Z")
[QUOTE=Juliette: Culture Junkie] Death by snusnu! [/QUOTE] Okay, but just this once. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165/20 "2007-09-23T14:35:16Z")
Run over by badgers. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/death-by/420165.md?page=2)