There are those who think it’s wrong to ever laugh at the death of another. And there are the rest of us who sometimes need humor in order to cope. Of course there is that small group who truly have a sick and twisted sense of humor and really enjoy laughing at the misfortune of others. Most people tend to die in stereotypical ways, of cancer, heart disease, natural causes, complications after a fatal accident. But luckily for us with a dark sense of humor, there were people throughout the ages who had a hilarious death.

Let us start in 620 BC with Draco, an Athenian law-maker. You might be familiar with Draconian law, which offered some pretty harsh punishments. So it’s okay that he died in a crazy way. He as smothered to death by a gift of cloaks showered upon him by citizens. It’s amazing that the citizens actually had any appreciation for this jerk. But at least he died knowing people loved him. Another great way to go, which I did not know was even possible, is dying of laughter. The Greek philosopher Chrysippus is “believed” to have died of laughter after giving his donkey wine and watching it attempt to eat figs. I don’t see the humor in that but I do see the humor in his death.

Some dead celebrities deserve a good laugh at their deaths because they are just plain stupid and it was their own fault. For example Henry Hall died after lead fell into his throat while looking up at a burning lighthouse. That reminds me of turkeys who supposedly look up at the sky during a rain storm and drown. Another idiot of the century award goes to Gouverneur Morris who stuck a piece of whale bone through his urinary tract to relieve a blockage. Ouch! People really enjoy hurting themselves because Sherwood Anderson, a writer, died after swallowing a toothpick at a party. That was totally on an episode of House, except the boy lived on the television show. Thank goodness for keen foresight and excellent screenwriters.

Sometimes I feel terrible laughing at these dead celebs. Because if the laws of the universe and karma have taught me anything, all this laughter at the misfortune of others will come back to haunt me. I can only hope that I am not added to the Wikipedia page for unusual deaths, but at least I can live in infamy and give someone else a good chortle.

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