# Is this a common method of suicide? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411 "2010-08-25T16:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/1 "2010-08-25T16:05:05Z")
Last May, Erica Blasberg died in her home in the Las Vegas area. Erica was a young struggling pro-golfer trying to make it on the Ladies pro golf tour. This week, the coroner finally came out with his official report. She [died of a suicide](http://www.thegolfchannel.com/tour-insider/coroner-rules-blasbergs-death-suicide-39146/). Toxicology reports that she had an assortment of prescription drugs in her system but the cause was: > [@](#): > > According to the coroner, Blasberg’s suicide was caused by asphyxia and toxic levels of prescription medication in her system. There was also this item in the article > [@](#): > > Police report that she was found with a plastic bag over her head. Is “putting a plastic bag over the head” a common suicide method? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/2 "2010-08-25T16:06:51Z")
Yes. It’s a common planned suicide method - you take the pills first, obviously. I believe it’s actually recommended by one of those suicide societies. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/3 "2010-08-25T16:11:16Z")
That’s the last way I’d do it, I’ve had issues with my throat closing and I was unable to inhale, and those were literally the most horrible panic-inducing moments of my life. I’m sure that’s what the pills are for, but why not just OD on the pills? ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/4 "2010-08-25T16:14:31Z")
The theory being that the pills knock you out but either don’t kill you or worse, cause damage to kidneys/liver/whatever leaving you alive but far worse off than you were. But unconsious with a bag over your head, you will suffocate before waking up. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/5 "2010-08-25T16:19:29Z")
Yeah, tons of people don’t manage to get the job done with just the pills. ---
**Author:** ![GHO57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df788c/32.png) [@GHO57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GHO57)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/6 "2010-08-25T16:26:13Z")
It’s a basically suicide insurance; if you happen to take too little (or throw up some of the pills), you’re still going to asphyxiate before you wake up. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/7 "2010-08-25T16:26:37Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > That’s the last way I’d do it It’d be the last way you’d do _anything_. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/8 "2010-08-25T16:51:15Z")
The downers and plastic bag routine got a large dose of publicity when it was used by the [Heaven’s Gate](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven%27s_Gate_%28religious_group%29#Mass_suicide_and_aftermath) cult. From the Wikipedia link: > [@](#): > > The suicide was accomplished by ingestion of phenobarbital mixed with applesauce or pudding, washed down with vodka. Additionally, plastic bags were secured around their heads after ingesting the mix to induce asphyxiation. Authorities found the dead lying neatly in their own bunk beds, faces and torsos covered by a square, purple cloth. Each member carried a five dollar bill and three quarters in their pockets. Compared to a lethal overdose, it doesn’t require nearly as many pills, and I imagine it would be more “reliable.” ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/9 "2010-08-25T17:23:54Z")
Many do the overkill just to be positively sure they won’t fail. Last year here there was a case of a man, put a bag over his head, tied a rope around his neck, tied the rope to a bridge railing and jumped off the side. The macabre bit (if so far it wasn’t bad enough) is that the rope nearly severed the neck on the first bounces so the body swung a few times splattering the side of the bridge with blood, finally the neck gave up and the body fell 25 or 30 meters while the rope tightened around the plastic bag closing it; so the scene to be found was a head in a plastic bag hanging from the side of a bridge sprayed with blood. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/10 "2010-08-25T17:27:22Z")
It was demonstrated in the movie _House of Sand and Fog_ and used as a plot device in an _NCIS_ episode, “Sub Rosa,” I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/11 "2010-08-25T17:45:46Z")
[QUOTE=Heaven’s Gate Wikipedia article] Each member carried a five dollar bill and three quarters in their pockets. [/QUOTE] They were planning to play Bunco in heaven? ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/12 "2010-08-25T17:59:10Z")
Yes, what was the significance of the $5.75? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/13 "2010-08-25T18:05:03Z")
> [@limegreen](#): > > Yes, what was the significance of the $5.75? I think they were big haiku fans. ---
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/14 "2010-08-25T18:15:19Z")
> [@limegreen](#): > > Yes, what was the significance of the $5.75? That’s how much it costs to get ferried across the River Styx (adjusted for inflation). ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/15 "2010-08-25T19:13:56Z")
Apparently it was a reference to–of all things–Mark Twain. > [@](#): > > Some of (Heaven’s Gate)'s sources included the possible association with writings from Mark Twain. Don Lattin, religious writer for the San Francisco Chronicle April 6, 1997, came up with this discovery. As you recall each member of Heaven’s Gate had a 5 dollar bill, and three quarters in their pockets. Why? Twain was very cynical about religion, and once wrote that, > > ``` > "The fare to get to heaven on the tail of a comet was $5.75." > > ``` From [this article on the cult](http://www.earthportals.com/heavengate.html). ---
**Author:** ![komolono](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/komolono/32/532_2.png) [@komolono](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/komolono)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/16 "2010-08-25T19:37:32Z")
I had a little accident with engine exhaust gases - nitrogen, CO and CO2 mainly I guess. First you get paralyzed and if you survive, what a headache and stress afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/17 "2010-08-25T20:15:43Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Yes. It’s a common planned suicide method - you take the pills first, obviously. I believe it’s actually recommended by one of those suicide societies. There are suicide societies? How long do they operate before they run out of members? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/18 "2010-08-25T20:25:52Z")
Evidently they have newsletters and subscribers, which strikes me a lot like bridal and pregnancy magazines - who (who isn’t a midwife or a wedding planner) on earth _subscribes_ to them? How many issues do you need? How long are you going to need that to keep coming in? I imagine the editorial boards have a lot of turnover and that they make fun of their long-term subscribers as pansy-ass weaklings. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/19 "2010-08-25T20:40:39Z")
Also, who advertises in such a magazine? Probably just a lot of cigarette and alcohol ads that amount to, “hey - why not, right?” ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411/20 "2010-08-25T21:03:19Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > > [@Zsofia](#): > > > > Yes. It’s a common planned suicide method - you take the pills first, obviously. I believe it’s actually recommended by one of those suicide societies. > > There are suicide societies? How long do they operate before they run out of members? 😉 They tend to be fairly short-lived … ba da bomp. Try the veal, I’ll be here til Thursday:D [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-a-common-method-of-suicide/551411.md?page=2)