History is littered with bizarre deaths that really ought to have been avoided.

From evil, child swinging clowns to drunken donkeys comically eating figs and poets trying to kiss the moon, the list of strange ways to die is impressively long and varied. 

Bizarre Deaths List

Laughing to Death

Bizarre Deaths and the drunken donkey

Strangely, I found a couple of several bizarre deaths relating to laughing too much. The first one happened when the Greek philosopher Chrysippus got his donkey drunk on wine and fed it figs. I guess the lack of good reality shows meant that you had to make your own entertainment back in 207 BC but this home-made comedy show was just too funny and old Chrysippus literally giggled himself to death. Another case happened in the 1970s when Alex Mitchell from the UK laughed so much at the Ecky Thump episode of a TV show named The Goodies that his heart gave up the ghost.   

Killed While Fixing a Truck in Motion

Bizarre death while fixing a truck in motion

The Darwin Awards are an annual celebration of stupid and ridiculous ways to meet your maker.  One of the first winners was James Burns, who died in 1995 while he was under his truck trying to fix it. What´s so weird about that? Umm, the fact that the truck was being driven on the highway at the time. It isn’t clear if this is a true story or an urban legend but the story goes that his clothes got caught on something while under the truck and he ended up wrapped in the drive shaft.    

Death By Clown

Bizarre Deaths and the Clown

If you suffer from a fear of clowns then you might want to not read the bit below this. Oh, and the bit above where it says “Death by Clown” in big letters next to the picture of an evil clown. The only reported case of death by clown (there´s that phrase again) that I could find is related to William Synder of Cincinnati. He died in 1854 after being swung around by the heels by a circus clown. He was only 13 at the time, so we are left to wonder what the heck the guy with the big shoes was trying to do. 

Killed By a Robot

Bizarre Death by a Robot

In the future we will almost certainly all die at the hands of evil robots, or robotic clowns. However, who was the first person ever to be killed by a robot? That dubious honor goes to a chap called Robert Williams. He worked on an assembly line in Ford when a robot arm hit him and killed him in 1979.

Death by Wedgie

Bizarre Deaths and the Atomic Wedgie

One of the bizarre deaths in recent times happened when former US marine Brad Davis allegedly gave his stepdad an atomic wedgie and killed him. The two had been fighting when Davis apparently punched Denver St Clair unconscious and then pulled his pants up over his head, leading to suffocation.

A Golfing Death

Bizarre Deaths and Golf

If you still don’t believe that golf is the root of all evil in the universe then check out the story of Edward Harrison. Back in 1951 he was enjoying a quiet round of golf at Inglewood in Washington State when his driver broke and somehow got stuck in his groin area. The unlucky golfer bled to death after staggering for a hundred yard or so.

Excuse Me, While I Kiss the Moon

Bizarre Death by Kissing the Moon

This is another historic case of a strange death that might or – hey –might not be true. In any case, poet Li Bai is said to have tried to kiss the reflection of the Moon in the water and, err, drowned. Apparently he liked a tipple or two and had earlier written a poem called Alone and Drinking Under the Moon. None of that is even remotely true, is it?