Читать книгу The Pocket Book of Death - Rob DenBleyker - Страница 7
Оглавление‘Always go to other people’s funerals otherwise they won’t go to yours.’
Yogi Berra
Global warming has brought soaring temperatures throughout the world, but you’re still more likely to die from exposure to excessively cold conditions than from excessively hot ones. Give it a few years.
Transportation accidents are still the number one cause of accidental deaths, but don’t discount the power of your own two feet … over 18,000 people died from a nasty fall in 2003.
More pedestrians are killed in accidents every year than motorcyclists.
Venomous snakes and spiders might look more threatening, but you’re still more likely to die from the nasty stinger of a hornet, wasp or bee.
You’re almost twice as likely to die from lightning than from an earthquake.
African Americans have nearly twice the risk of having a first-time stroke compared to whites.
Compared to African Americans and whites who are under 19 years old, Native Americans have the highest death rates for car accidents, pedestrian injuries and suicide.
Native Americans are more than twice as likely to die in motor vehicle accidents than whites and nearly twice as likely as African Americans.
If you’re under 35, you’re more likely to die from some kind of accident than from any medical condition.
A variety of different factors can contribute to your death … smoking, heredity, how frequently you drive, your sex, medical conditions, lifestyle … the list goes on. The breakdown on the next page from The National Safety Council and National Geographic will give you an idea of the statistical average of some of the ways in which Americans died in 2003.
‘OH GOD, THAT WAS MY STINGER!’
‘THAT’S SO UNHEALTHY.’
How Will You Die? Chances Are …
Heart Disease
1 in 5 chance you’ll eat too many burgers and never get on the treadmill.
Cancer
1 in 7 chance you’ll smoke too much, tan to a leathery demise or cop it through bad genes.
Stroke
1 in 24 chance that a stroke will get you if you miss out on the cancer.
Motor Vehicle Accident
1 in 84 chance some idiot will hit you. Or you’ll be the idiot.
Falling
1 in 218 chance you’ll take a fatal spill and cause someone to feel really guilty when their first instinct was to burst out laughing.
Firearm assault
1 in 314 chance you’ll go down in a hail of bullets.
Bicycling Accident
1 in 4,919 chance you’re not Lance Armstrong.
Drowning
1 in 1,008 chance you’ll think the current is ‘not that strong.’
Air/Space Accident
1 in 5,051 chance that it’s not a friendly sky.
Alcohol Poisoning
1 in 10,048 chance you’ll just take the ‘edge off’ – permanently.
Lightning
1 in 62,468 chance you’ll regret saying you wished you had more energy.
Fireworks Discharge
1 in 340,733 chance you’ll take off more than a finger with that M80.
And since no one has yet found a cure for death, you’ve got a 100 per cent chance of dying. You can put money on that one.
Accidents Happen
It’s physically impossible to kill yourself by holding your breath. Well, unless you’re under water.
Oh, and on that note, an average of nine people a day die from drowning in the US.
There are an estimated 4.4 fatalities per year on amusement rides. The biggest offender? You guessed it – rollercoasters. So much for thrill rides.
But before you swear off Disneyworld™, you should know that you’re six times more likely to kick it in an elevator or an escalator. Yep, more than 30 people a year die this way, and that doesn’t include the over 17,000 injuries.
And what about the wonderfully classy world of quad-bikes? Over 7,000 quad-bike-related deaths have been reported between 1982 and 2005.
‘YEP, STARVATION. LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER CASE OF SOME KID PUSHING EVERY BUTTON.’
Don’t Be Blue … Chew!
For every 100 rushes to the emergency room for choking, there is one death.
The Heimlich Institute claims that the infamous ‘Heimlich Manoeuvre’ has saved over 50,000 people from choking to death. But don’t think it’s just a people thing. You can use a modified version of the famed procedure on your pets too.
Eighteen per cent of all choking-related incidents for kids under four were caused by coins.
The sweeter culprit? Confectionary – which was responsible for 25 per cent of the incidents.
‘HE’S CHOKING…DO THE HEIMLICH MANOUEVRE!’
‘CAN’T…REACH…AROUND…’
A Startling Look at Suicide
On average, one suicide occurred every 16 minutes in 2004 in the US.
Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for all US men. Whites, Native Americans, and Alaskan Natives have the highest rates.
Think suicide rates are higher around the holidays? Think again. In the US, the rates are actually lowest in the winter and highest in the summer.
Suicide rates are very high among senior citizens. There were over 5,000 Americans over the age of 65 who committed suicide in 2001.
The male suicide rate is higher in every country except for China.
In the US males are four times more likely to die from suicide, though females are more likely to attempt it.
Women who get breast implants are three times as likely to commit suicide as other women in the US. Similar results were found in Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.
It’s difficult to figure out the actual number of deaths caused by erotic asphyxiation. Many are classified as suicides because the victims’ families are too embarrassed to reveal the details surrounding the death.
Punishment for suicide during the late Middle Ages was pretty tough – you could be denied a burial, your corpse could be tortured and your remaining possessions taken. Actions could even be taken against your remaining family.
Suicide – San Francisco Style
Bridges around the world have a problem with suicides. Maybe it’s the beauty of the water, the romance of the fall, the unlikelihood of survival. It’s just not clear. But the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco is unlike any other bridge. It’s like the Starbucks® of suicide sites. Since 1995, an average of 19 people takes the leap every year. They stopped the ‘official’ count when it reached 997. Two-thirds of the jumpers are men, and more than three-quarters are locals from the Bay area. There has been talk of putting up a ‘suicide barrier,’ but to date nothing has been put into effect. Bridge jumping is far from a graceful demise though. Bodies just aren’t made to fall around 250 feet in four seconds at a staggering 75 miles per hour.
So, what exactly happens?
When you actually hit the water, your ribs will usually break. Sounds harmless enough, but the sharp edges of your newly cracked ribs will puncture a variety of internal organs – heart, lungs, spleen … it all depends on exactly how your body hits the water (feet first, side, etc.).
If you tear your aorta on impact, you’ll be subject to massive internal bleeding.
Your kidneys are generally ripped or torn on impact.
You can break your neck and rupture the disks in your neck and back.
You can break just about everything from your clavicle to your pelvis.
You’ll either die from drowning or from the impact. Sometimes the impact doesn’t kill you right away though, and you could still be alive when you go underwater. If that’s the case, the internal bleeding from your organs will usually get you. It is estimated that 26 people have survived the Golden Gate jump, but it’s a fatal leap 98 per cent of the time.
The Complete Manual of Suicide written by Wataru Tsurumi in Japan has sold well over a million copies since its publication in 1993. It details methods for a variety of different suicide options from hanging and electrocution to self-immolation and rates each one for things like effectiveness, pain, and preparations needed.
According to the manual, the ‘perfect place to die’ is a forest at the base of Mount Fiji called Aokigahara or ‘Sea of Trees.’ Today it’s more commonly called ‘Suicide Forest’ after a record 73 bodies were found hanging in 1998. This record was broken in 2002 with 78 bodies discovered.
Assisted suicide is a crime in every state except for Oregon. The Death with Dignity Act passed by a slim margin in 1994. A re-vote was taken by the citizens in 1997 after an injunction halted the act. No slim vote the second time around though … the Death Act passed with a 60/40 split.
Death With Dignity
What’s the Deal?
The Death with Dignity Act lets Oregon residents with terminal illnesses end their lives by taking lethal medications prescribed by their doctors. So, what’s the catch? There are a lot of small details, but here are a few of the biggies:
You have to be 18 years or older.
You have to be capable of making and expressing a healthcare decision on your own.
Your terminal illness has to have a six-month mark. So if your doctor gives you a year to live, you won’t qualify.
You have to be a resident of Oregon.
Patients must take the medication on their own. It is prescribed by a doctor, but the doctors will not administer it.
Most patients who have chosen to go this route have received prescriptions for an oral barbiturate from their doctor.
Who Lives the Longest?
According to the 2007 life expectancy projections from the CIA, the Japanese live the longest. France, Canada, Australia, Sweden and Switzerland also have citizens that tend to stick around.
Afghanistan 43
Australia 80
Canada 80
China 72
France 80
India 68
Israel 79
Japan 82
Kazakhstan 67
Kenya 55
Lesotho 39
Liberia 40
Madagascar 62
Mozambique 40
Nepal 60
Nicaragua 70
Niger 63
Philippines 70
Russian Federation 65
Rwanda 48
Sierra Leone 40
Somalia 48
South Africa 42
Spain 79
Sweden 80
Switzerland 80
Uganda 51
United Kingdom 78
United States 78
Zimbabwe 39
Did You Know...
Measles and whooping cough are among the top ten causes of death in Pakistan.
Poisonings are the third leading cause of death in Russia and Kazakhstan followed by suicide at number four.
The life expectancy of a baby born in Zimbabwe in 1993 was 61 years. HIV/AIDS has caused that number to plummet to 39 years in 2007.
Fry ’Em!
Thirty-eight states in America allow for capital punishment. Most use lethal injection as their primary means of execution, but there are still a few that can’t seem to let go of tradition and have more than one way to do the deed. Kentucky, for example, will administer a lethal injection to anyone who was sentenced after 31 March 1998. If you were lucky enough to get sentenced on 30 March 1998, you get to choose between lethal injection or electrocution. Ah, the freedom of choice!
