7 In ca. 892, Sigurd the Mighty, a leader in the Viking conquest of Northern Scotland, treacherously defeated and beheaded a native ruler, Máel Brigte the Buck-Toothed. In a show of victory, Sigurd tied the severed head of Brigte to the saddle of his horse. As he rode back home, the dead man’s protruding tooth scratched his leg causing an infection and killing him.
Vikings fighting.
Sigurd the Mighty, the Norse Earl of Orkney, challenged Máel Brigte the Buck-Toothed, to a battle. It was decided that each side will fight with 40 men. However, Sigurd the Mighty broke the rule and marched with 80 warriors into the battlefield. Mael Brigte was heavily outnumbered and eventually defeated.
As a sign of victory, the head of the enemies was severed and tied to the saddle of the winning warriors. Sigurd tied the head of Máel Brigte to his saddle and rode back home. However, as if in an act of revenge, a protruding tooth of Máel Brigte grazed his leg. The resulting wound got inflamed and infected and soon enough Sigurd the Mighty was dead. (1, 2)
8 Thornton Jones woke up to find his throat slit open. He cried out for forgiveness and wrote “I dreamt that I had done it. I awoke to find it true” before succumbing to death.
Thornton Jones.
In the year 1924, Thornton Jones, a lawyer from Bangor, England, had his throat cut in his sleep. As he woke up and realized the situation, he asked his wife and son for forgiveness. Then he motioned for a paper and pencil and wrote, “I dreamt that I had done it. I awoke to find it true” and died 80 minutes later.
The man had slit his own throat while unconscious in sleep. The unbelievable accident was attested by an inquest with the verdict “suicide while temporarily insane.” (source)
Advertisements
9 A lawyer in Toronto threw himself against a glass window to prove to a group of students that the glass was unbreakable. The frame gave away, and he fell to his death from the 24th floor.
Gary Hoy was known to demonstrate the tensile strength of windows in office buildings by smashing himself against window panes in front of onlookers.
On 9 July 1993, he was attending a group of visiting law students when he decided to prove the strength of the windows. After successfully performing the stunt, he went again for a second time.
As was his routine, he threw himself against the 24th-floor glass window. But this time he didn’t bounce back; the pane broke off from the frame and he fell to his death into the courtyard of the building. (1, 2)
10 Frederick Jansen Van Vuuren ran across the track of the 1977 South African Grand Prix to douse a lit car. On his way, he was struck by a racing car while the fire extinguisher he was carrying flew and hit the driver. Both died instantly.
On 5 March 1977, in the 1997 South African Grand Prix, racer Renzo Zorzi’s car caught fire. To extinguish the fire, two marshals, William Bill and Frederik Jansen van Vuuren ran across the track towards the lit car. At the same moment, drivers Hans-Joachim Stuck and Tom Pryce were zooming their car over a rise on the track.
To avoid hitting both the marshals, Stuck moved his car to the right, missing Bill by only a few millimeters. However, Pryce was unable to react as quickly as Stuck. His speeding Shadow DN8 hit 19-year-old Frederik Jansen van Vuuren at 180 mph.
The impact threw Jansen van Vuuren into the air and killed him on the spot. The extinguisher he was carrying smashed into Pryce’s helmet, killing him instantly.
The body of Frederik Jansen van Vuuren was so severely mutilated that the race director had to summon all the race marshals so he could identify the missing one. (1, 2)
Advertisements
11 Surinder Singh Bajwa, Deputy Mayor of Delhi, was attacked by monkeys at his house. He tried to fight off the troop with a stick but fell from the first-floor balcony, suffering severe head injuries. He died the next day.
Surinder Singh Bajwa.
On the morning of 20 October 2007, 57-year-old Surinder Sing Bajwa came out on his balcony to pick up his morning newspaper when a gang of rhesus monkey attacked him. In an attempt to defend himself, he grabbed a stick and plunged towards the intruders.
The monkeys swiftly dodged him and he was carried forward with the momentum, hitting the railing and falling 13 feet down. He suffered severe injuries to his head and spine.
He was admitted to the intensive care unit at his local hospital, however, his condition worsened, and he died the next day. (1, 2)
