Ok realizing that PepperMan was not intent on going that deep but his thread about what single event changed history the most is the inspiration for this topic.
Let’s play a little game.
Borrowing roughly from Historian Marc Bloch for this.
A man gets up early one morning and begins following a path up the mountain to retrieve firewood for his family. He trips and falls down the mountain to his death.
Why did he die?
Oh, my goodness, where the hell is Flyp? Sled, you don’t know what you’ve gotten yourself into. See these threads to find out.
Did the man die of natural causes?
Was the man killed by another human?
Was the man killed by an animal?
Was he poisoned? (they’re always poisoned…)
That’s good enough to start you off.
He didn’t trip. He was shot in the head by the owner of that firewood, and the owner pushed his dead body down the mountain.
He died because he was stupid. If he had not followed the path up the mountain to get firewood and just gotten some wood that was nearby, he’d still be a living, productive, tax-paying member of society.
Let’s apply Occam’s Razor to this one, shall we?
Occam? Where are you, and where’s your razor?
My guess is he died due to massive damage to internal organs caused by shock from the fall. Possibly (if he bounced down the mountain) mortal wounds (puncturing of organs, blood vessels) occurred on the trip down. Oh, did you want another reason?
Does it matter who this man was?
Does it matter what mountain (assuming there’s a cliff or something similar that would be amenable to death)?
panama jack
There are some who say the problem goes back to the curse placed on the original couple in the Garden of Eden, others who would say it was necessary that he die to maintain the balance of life, and some who say his death was no death at all, but a release so that he could achieve higher understanding …
Why would anyone go up a mountain for firewood? The higher you go, the fewer trees there are. This man was obviously quite deranged and ,in my opinion, society is better off without his ilk.
We’ll go in reverse order.
ChiefWahoo…
I’ll answer your question when you answer mine about the origin of your name. I asked that in your Ask the Wisconsin Guy thread.
panamajack…
You’re doing good so far. What else contributed to his death? The mountain does not matter, who he is could have some bearing but is really not required to answer the question.
Mr. Cynical…
Occam’s Razor??? Forgive me I don’t understand? please enlighten me and you will have done another deed to eliminate ignorance.
Dragwyr…
Could be… What else contributed to his death?
vandal…
For the sake of this discussion he tripped and fell. Not a bad freelance reason though.
SwimmingRiddles…
Although I have seen you called Swiddles and thought it a cute switch on your name I do not yet feel I should be so emboldened as to use it. However, in answer to your list of questions I say… MAYBE…
Pick one and run with it.
I’m not trying to trip anyone up here. You’re off to a good start.
The only true question is this (apologies to wannabe philosophers):
If a man is alone in the forest cutting wood and dies, and he screams, does the scream make a sound?
Sledman-Occam’s Razor is the proposition that the simplest theory or solution is usually the correct one.
Ahh… My thanks Gazoo.
I have forgotten too much in life. I knew that dangnabit.
Simplest perhaps… but it does not tell the whole story of why he died.
My sig line contains a hint.
He tripped over a vacuum cleaner?
I say: I say Jimmy Hoffa leaped from the bushes, strangled him to death with a twizzler, and jumped back up into his hole.
I called up my father, and he says: Well, he didn’t actually fall. He came back from the mountaintop without any wood, his wife got angry, and he got whacked upside the head with a frying pan. (Can you tell Dad has some unresolved issues about women? 
)
And that’s the way it is.
~Bri
Dragwyr:
Spoken like a true Democrat.
ChiefWahoo:
Spoken like a true Republican.
Agentakbar:
Spoken like Foghorn Leghorn.
He was a lifelong mountain man, used to the thin air of the high altitudes, and he always baked his brownies for an extra ten minutes to compensate. When he fell down off mountain, the greater air pressure crushed down on his body and squeezed him to a bloody pulp.
The firewood thing is only a red herring.
The man died when he fell victim to the evil clutches of gravity. It happens…
Okay, so some more questions seem in order, since you’ve got me a little curious now.
Did the man get up before sunrise?
Before it was light out?
Would this have happened had the path led down the mountain?
Had the man ever traveled this path before?
panama jack
I have a feeling you guys might kill me for this yet but…
panama…
Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
Raven…
Oooh Good One!! :d
What else?
Ukele Ike…
That could work.
What else?
The firewood is not a red herring it does have some bearing on this.
Kat…
You know he just might have tripped over a vacuum cleaner. However that isn’t what I meant.
I promise more info next time at the risk of becoming a social pariah at the Straight Dope.
Ok…um…it has something to do with the firewood…maybe he tripped over the wood, or he dropped it and fell on it or something…or maybe the trees hired a hit man to take care of their ‘little problem’…or…well…um. Did he have to chop down the trees to get this firewood?
I think I can see a spark at the end of the tunnel (maybe).
Unless you interpret morning oddly, the sky was dark when the man went for wood.
(Assuming this is earth)
Was the moon up?
While I’m at it, is it earth?
Was the firewood intended to fuel a fire that had already been lit (whether it was lit now or not), or to create a new fire?
If a previous fire, was that fire still burning?
If not still burning, should it have been ( according to the man and/or any family members)?
If the answer to Raven’s question is no, would he even have been able to chop down the trees?
panama jack