Horace Wells:

Pioneered the use of anesthesia in the 1840s

How he died: Used anesthetics to commit suicide

While experimenting with various gases during his anesthesia research,
Wells became addicted to chloroform. In 1848 he was arrested for spraying
two women with sulfuric acid. In a letter he wrote from jail, he blamed
chloroform for his problems, claiming that he'd gotten high before the
attack. Four days later he was found dead in his cell. He'd anaesthetized
himself with chloroform and slashed open his thigh with a razor.



Send this story to a friend

1 


Francis Bacon:

One of the most influential minds of the late 16th century. A statesman, a
philosopher, a writer, and a scientist, he was even rumored to have 
written some of Shakespeare's plays.

How he died: Stuffing snow into a chicken

One afternoon in 1625, Bacon was watching a snowstorm and was struck by 
the wondrous notion that maybe snow could be used to preserve meat in the 
same way that salt was used. Determined to find out, he purchased a 
chicken from a nearby village, killed it, and then, standing outside in 
the snow, attempted to stuff the chicken full of snow to freeze it. The 
chicken never froze, but Bacon did.



Send this story to a friend

2 


Jerome Irving Rodale:

Founding father of the organic food movement, creator of "Organic Farming
and Gardening" magazine, and founder of Rodale Press, a major publishing
corporation.

How he died: On the "Dick Cavett Show", while discussing the benefits of
organic foods.

Rodale, who bragged "I'm going to live to be 100 unless I'm run down by a
sugar-crazed taxi driver," was only 72 when he appeared on the "Dick 
Cavett Show" in January 1971. Part way through the interview, he dropped 
dead in his chair. Cause of death: heart attack. The show was never aired.





Send this story to a friend

3