10 Ways to Die

New Scientist magazine has thoroughly explored this subject in its most recent edition, analyzing various ways one might meet their end, from being burned alive to drowning and decapitation. The experts base their findings on advances in medical research and testimonies from fortunate survivors. Regardless of the method, it is typically a lack of oxygen to the brain that delivers the final blow, according to the report. Warning: Contains Graphic Images

10. Drowning

The struggle on the surface for air

Drowning carries a certain tragic allure, evoking images of countless literary heroines who slip beneath the waves, their flowing petticoats drifting around their heads. In reality, suffocating in water is neither graceful nor painless, though it can be surprisingly quick.

The speed at which people drown depends on various factors, including swimming ability and water temperature. In the UK, where the waters are typically cold, 55 percent of open-water drownings occur within just 3 meters of safety. Interestingly, two-thirds of victims are skilled swimmers, which indicates that difficulties can arise within seconds, according to Mike Tipton, a physiologist and marine survival expert at the University of Portsmouth.

Generally, when victims realize they can’t keep their head above water, they panic, triggering the classic “surface struggle.” They gasp for air at the surface, holding their breath as they bob beneath, says Tipton. Unable to breathe and call for help, they flail weakly, arms outstretched as if trying to climb an invisible ladder from the sea. Studies with New York lifeguards in the 1950s and 1960s found that this phase lasts only 20 to 60 seconds.

As victims eventually submerge, they hold their breath as long as they can, typically for 30 to 90 seconds. Afterward, they inhale water, cough, and struggle to breathe again. Water in the lungs blocks oxygen transfer in fragile tissues, and inhaling water causes the airway to shut off in a laryngospasm reflex. 'A tearing and burning sensation fills the chest as water enters the airway, then it shifts to a feeling of calmness and tranquility,' says Tipton, referencing survivor reports.

That sense of calm marks the onset of unconsciousness due to oxygen deprivation, which ultimately leads to the heart stopping and brain death.

9. Heart Attack

One of the most prevalent ways to depart

The 'Hollywood Heart Attack,' which involves sudden pain, frantic chest-grabbing, and an immediate collapse, does occur in some cases. However, the more common 'myocardial infarction,' as it's known in medical terms, is far less dramatic and often develops gradually, starting with mild discomfort.

The most common symptom is chest pain: a tight, pressing, or squeezing sensation, often described as feeling like an 'elephant on my chest,' which may be constant or intermittent. This represents the heart muscle struggling and dying due to lack of oxygen. The pain can radiate to the jaw, throat, back, abdomen, and arms. Other symptoms include shortness of breath, nausea, and cold sweats.

Most victims delay seeking help, waiting an average of 2 to 6 hours. Women are particularly prone to this, likely because they tend to experience less typical symptoms, such as breathlessness, back or jaw pain, or nausea, says JoAnn Manson, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School. Many survivors report not wanting to cause a fuss; to them, it felt more like indigestion, fatigue, or muscle cramps than a heart attack. Others simply deny the severity of the situation.

Delaying help can be fatal. Most people who die from heart attacks pass away before reaching the hospital. The primary cause of death is often heart arrhythmia—essentially, a disruption in the heart's normal rhythm.

Even small heart attacks can disrupt the electrical impulses that control heart muscle contractions, essentially halting the heart. Within about 10 seconds, the person loses consciousness, and within minutes, they are dead.

Patients who reach the hospital quickly have a much better chance of survival; in the UK and the U.S., more than 85 percent of heart attack patients admitted to the hospital survive for at least 30 days. Hospitals can use defibrillators to restore the heart's rhythm, administer clot-busting drugs, and perform artery-clearing surgeries.

8. Bleeding to Death

Different stages of haemorrhagic shock

The rate of exsanguination, or bleeding to death, depends on the source of the hemorrhage, explains John Kortbeek, from the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and chair of Advanced Trauma Life Support for the American College of Surgeons. For example, if the aorta—the major blood vessel connecting to the heart—is completely severed, people can bleed to death in seconds, such as after a severe fall or car crash.

Death may progress much more slowly if a smaller vein or artery is damaged, sometimes taking hours. Such victims experience various stages of hemorrhagic shock. The average adult has about 5 liters of blood. Losing around 750 milliliters causes few symptoms. Anyone losing 1.5 liters, whether from an external wound or internal bleeding, will feel weak, thirsty, anxious, and will be breathing rapidly. Once 2 liters is lost, victims begin to feel dizzy, confused, and eventually lose consciousness.

'Survivors of hemorrhagic shock recount various experiences, ranging from fear to relative calm,' says Kortbeek. 'Much of this depends on the nature and extent of the injuries. For example, a single penetrating wound to the femoral artery in the leg might be less agonizing than multiple fractures sustained in a car crash.'

7. Fire

It’s typically the toxic gases that prove fatal

Once the fate of witches and heretics, dying by fire is sheer torture. The hot smoke and flames singe hair and eyebrows while scorching the throat and airways, making it incredibly difficult to breathe. Burns cause excruciating pain by activating the nociceptors—the pain receptors in the skin. To add to the agony, burns trigger a swift inflammatory response that increases pain sensitivity in the damaged tissues and surrounding areas.

As the severity of burns increases, some sensation is lost, but not much, according to David Herndon, a burns-care specialist at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. 'Third-degree burns are less painful than second-degree burns because superficial nerves are destroyed. But the distinction is academic; large burns are agonizing in any case.'

Some burn victims report not feeling their injuries while still in danger or focused on saving others. However, once the adrenaline and shock subside, the pain sets in quickly. Pain management remains one of the most difficult challenges in treating burn victims.

Most people who die in fires do not die from burns. The leading cause of death is inhaling toxic gases—carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and even hydrogen cyanide—along with the suffocating lack of oxygen. A study of fire deaths in Norway in 1996 found that nearly 75 percent of the 286 autopsied victims had died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Depending on the fire's size and your proximity to it, carbon monoxide concentrations can cause headaches and drowsiness within minutes, ultimately leading to unconsciousness. According to the US National Fire Protection Association, 40 percent of victims in fatal home fires are rendered unconscious by fumes before they even wake up.

6. Decapitation

Almost immediate

Beheading, while gruesome, can be among the fastest and least agonizing ways to die—provided the executioner is skilled, the blade is sharp, and the condemned remains still.

The pinnacle of decapitation technology is undoubtedly the guillotine. Introduced by the French government in 1792, it was considered more humane than other execution methods. When the guillotine was first used publicly, onlookers were reportedly shocked by the swiftness of death.

Although quick, consciousness is believed to persist for a short time after the spinal cord is severed. A 1991 rat study found it took 2.7 seconds for the brain to deplete the oxygen in the blood of the head; for humans, this figure is estimated at 7 seconds. Some eerie historical accounts from post-revolutionary France reported eye and mouth movements for up to 30 seconds after the blade fell, though these may have been reflexive post-mortem twitches.

If you lose your head but aren't fortunate enough to fall under a guillotine or even a sharp, expertly wielded axe, your awareness of pain may last far longer. It took the executioner three strikes to decapitate Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1587, with the final blow delivered by a knife.

A few decades earlier, in 1541, Margaret Pole, the Countess of Salisbury, faced execution at the Tower of London. Dragged to the block, she refused to lay her head down. The inexperienced axeman first struck her shoulder instead of her neck. Some reports say she even leapt from the block and was chased by the executioner, who took 11 strikes before she succumbed.

5. Electrocution

The heart and brain are the most vulnerable organs

In accidental electrocutions, often involving low household voltage, the most frequent cause of death is arrhythmia, which halts the heart. Unconsciousness follows after the standard 10 seconds, according to Richard Trohman, a cardiologist at Rush University in Chicago. A study of electrocution fatalities in Montreal, Canada, revealed that 92 percent likely perished from arrhythmia.

Stronger electrical currents can cause immediate unconsciousness. The electric chair was designed to induce rapid loss of consciousness and a painless death—an improvement over traditional hangings—by passing the current through the brain and heart.

Whether the electric chair fulfills this goal is up for debate. A 1950 study on dogs showed that electrodes needed to be placed on either side of the head to guarantee enough current passed through the brain to render the animal unconscious. There have been several botched executions that required multiple jolts to kill, or instances where flames erupted from a prisoner's head due to a damp synthetic sponge that acted as a poor conductor, overheating and igniting.

A 2005 post-mortem analysis of 43 prisoners executed by electrocution found that the most common visible injuries were burns on the head and legs where the electrodes were attached. William Hamilton, a medical examiner in Florida and senior author of the study, concluded that these burns were post-mortem and that death had indeed been instantaneous.

John Wikswo, a biophysicist at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, argues that the thick, insulating bones of the skull would prevent enough current from reaching the brain. Instead, prisoners may die from the heating of the brain or potentially from suffocation due to paralysis of the breathing muscles—either way, it's a grim and unpleasant end.

4. Fall From a Height

If possible, try to land feet first

A high fall is undoubtedly one of the fastest ways to die: terminal velocity, with no pun intended, reaches around 200 kilometers per hour (approximately 125 mph), attained from a height of about 145 meters (475 feet) or more. A study on fatal falls in Hamburg, Germany, revealed that 75 percent of victims died within the first few seconds or minutes after impact.

The precise cause of death varies depending on the landing surface and body posture. Those who land on their heads—typically from falls below 10 meters or above 25 meters—are especially unlikely to survive. A 1981 study of 100 suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco (height: 75 meters, impact speed: 120 kilometers per hour) revealed multiple causes of instantaneous death, including severe lung bruising, collapsed lungs, ruptured hearts, and damage to major blood vessels and lungs due to broken ribs.

Survivors of significant falls often describe a sensation of time slowing down. The instinctive reaction is to attempt a feet-first landing, which can lead to fractures in the legs, lower spine, and pelvis. The force traveling up through the body can also rupture the aorta and heart chambers. However, landing feet-first is probably the safest method, as the feet and legs create a “crumple zone” that provides some protection for vital internal organs.

Experienced climbers or skydivers who have survived falls often report feeling focused and calm, determined to land in the most controlled manner: relaxed, with bent legs, and, if possible, prepared to roll. While every little bit of preparation helps, the most important tip for fallers is to aim for a soft landing. A 1942 study mentions a woman who fell 28 meters from her apartment building into freshly tilled soil and survived with only a fractured rib and a broken wrist.

3. Explosive Decompression

It takes your breath away

In science fiction, death from exposure to a vacuum is a common trope, whether it's the result of being ejected from an airlock or a spacesuit tearing.

In reality, there has been only one fatal space depressurization incident. This occurred during the Russian Soyuz-11 mission in 1971, when a seal malfunctioned upon re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Tragically, all three crew members died from asphyxiation upon landing.

Much of what we know about depressurization comes from animal studies and the experiences of pilots in high-altitude accidents. When external air pressure drops suddenly, the air in the lungs expands, tearing the delicate tissues involved in gas exchange. This is especially harmful if the victim doesn't exhale beforehand or attempts to hold their breath. Oxygen begins to leak from the blood and lungs.

In experiments conducted on dogs during the 1950s, researchers found that within 30 to 40 seconds of pressure loss, the animals' bodies began to swell as the water in their tissues vaporized. Despite this, the animals did not ‘burst’ due to the skin's tight seal. Initially, the heart rate increased before it dramatically dropped. Bubbles of water vapor formed in the blood and traveled through the circulatory system, blocking blood flow. After roughly a minute, blood circulation effectively ceased.

Human survivors of rapid decompression incidents include pilots whose planes lost pressure, or, in one case, a NASA technician who accidentally depressurized his flight suit while inside a vacuum chamber. These individuals often describe an initial sensation of pain, akin to being struck in the chest, followed by the feeling of air rushing out of their lungs and an inability to breathe in. Loss of consciousness typically occurs within 15 seconds.

In a 1960s experiment by the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory in New Mexico, it was found that a chimpanzee remained conscious for only 11 seconds before a lack of oxygen caused it to lose consciousness.

Surprisingly, despite the severe nature of these incidents, animals that were repressurized within 90 seconds generally made a full recovery without lasting harm.

Contributor: Adam Winkles

Source: New Scientist Magazine via Sky News

Technorati Tags: death, science

2. Lethal Injection

Approved by the US government, but does it truly ensure a painless death?

Lethal injection was introduced in Oklahoma in 1977 as a more humane alternative to the electric chair. The procedure was devised by the state medical examiner and the chair of anesthesiology, who selected a combination of three drugs. First, an anesthetic called thiopental is administered to induce unconsciousness and block pain. This is followed by pancuronium, a paralytic agent that halts respiration. Finally, potassium chloride is injected, which causes the heart to stop almost immediately.

Each drug is intended to be administered in a lethal dose, acting as a fail-safe to guarantee a swift and humane death. However, eyewitnesses have reported that inmates have convulsed, gasped, and attempted to sit up during the procedure, raising doubts about the effectiveness of the drug cocktail.

Leonidas Koniaris from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine suggests that the issue lies with insufficient thiopental. Koniaris and his team analyzed 41 lethal injections in North Carolina and California, comparing the doses of anesthetic to those used in animal models like pigs. They concluded that because the same dose of thiopental is administered regardless of body weight, some heavier inmates may not receive enough anesthesia for adequate sedation.

Koniaris believes that awareness during execution is a real possibility for many inmates. This awareness could involve suffocating due to paralyzed lungs or experiencing excruciating burning pain from the potassium chloride injection. However, the paralytic agent might prevent witnesses from observing any outward signs of pain.

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that lethal injection was a constitutional method of execution in states where the death penalty is active. This decision was reaffirmed in cases in 2015 and 2019.

1. Strangulation

The speed at which death occurs depends on the strangler's proficiency.

Strangulation can render someone unconscious in less than 10 seconds, and death may follow in under five minutes. The pressure exerted on the neck blocks oxygen flow by impeding blood circulation to and from the brain. Additionally, it can compress the trachea, making breathing difficult or impossible. This combination can swiftly lead to asphyxia and unconsciousness.

Strangulation occurs in two forms: manual and ligature. Manual strangulation involves using hands or forearms to apply pressure, while ligature strangulation uses a rope, scarf, belt, or similar objects to constrict the victim's neck. In both cases, the strangulation may or may not be accompanied by visible signs of injury.

Both suicides and traditional ‘short drop’ executions result in death by strangulation. The rope compresses the windpipe and the arteries to the brain, which can lead to unconsciousness within 10 seconds. However, if the noose is improperly placed, death takes longer. Witnesses to public hangings often reported victims “dancing” in agony at the end of the rope, violently struggling as they suffocated. Death might take many minutes, as indicated by the numerous people who were resuscitated after being cut down—even after 15 minutes.

After public executions were banned in Britain in 1868, hangmen sought a less theatrical method. They eventually adopted the “long-drop” technique, which used a longer rope to ensure the victim reached a velocity that would break their neck. However, it had to be carefully adjusted based on the victim's weight, as too much force could decapitate the person, leading to a professional embarrassment for the executioner.

Despite the claims of several renowned executioners in late 19th-century Britain, a 1992 study of the remains of 34 executed prisoners revealed that only around half of the deaths were fully or partly caused by spinal injuries. Only 20% showed the characteristic “hangman’s fracture” between the second and third cervical vertebrae. The rest succumbed, at least in part, to asphyxiation.

Michael Spence, an anthropologist at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, has observed similar findings among U.S. victims. He concluded, however, that even if asphyxiation was a factor, the traumatic impact of the drop would have quickly caused unconsciousness in all of the victims. “What the hangmen sought was a swift end to all movement,” he explains. “And they knew their trade well enough to ensure that outcome. What they feared most was decapitation.”