6 Vera Czermak of Prague contemplated both suicide and murder after learning that her husband was cheating on her. She chose suicide and jumped out of her third-story balcony, landing on her husband who was standing in the street below. Cushioned by him, she survived. But the husband died.

Vera Czermak was infuriated when she discovered her husband’s infidelity. In anger, she contemplated both suicide and murder. Eventually, she decided to end her life by leaping out of her third-floor balcony.

Fatefully, her husband was standing in the street, right below the balcony, cushioning her fall. She safely landed on him. However, the impact killed the husband

The bizarre incident was reported by the United Press and noted in a pocketbook by John Train, the American author, and investor. (1, 2)

7 In August 2019, Barry Fay was checking out his former neighborhood on Google Earth when he discovered the remains of William Moldt, a man who had been missing for 22 years. The satellite images revealed the man’s white sedan submerged in the shallows of a retention pond.

In November 1997, William Moldt, aged 40, called his girlfriend from a nightclub, informing her that he was returning to their Lantana home. He left the club before midnight but never reached home.

He was never found until 2019.

Barry Fay, a former resident of the Grand Isles neighborhood in Florida was checking out the neighborhood on Google Earth when he noticed what appeared to be a car at the edge of a retention pond.

He called the current homeowner who verified the discovery with a drone. The sheriff’s office was informed and deputies arrived at the scene.

A white 1994 Saturn SL coated with thick calcium deposit was removed from the water. The car was opened and inside, skeletal remains were found.

The bones were examined and identified to be of William Moldt. However, the circumstances that drove him and his car into the pond remain a mystery. (1, 2)

8 After the RMS Titanic disaster, Congress passed Seamen’s Act in 1915, requiring passenger vessels to be fitted with more lifeboats. But the added weight made an already top-heavy SS Eastland, too top-heavy. On July 24, 1915, the packed ship capsized before even leaving the dock, killing more passengers than the Titanic.

On July 24, 1915, the passenger ship SS Eastland was chartered to transport workers of Hawthorne Works factory in Cicero, Illinois to Michigan City, Indiana for a picnic.

The vessel was heavily modified over time since its inauguration in 1903. This had made the vessel top-heavy and unstable. The Seamen’s Act was recently signed off as a law and required the Eastland to be retrofitted with 11 lifeboats, 37 life rafts, and 2,570 life jackets.

On the morning of the scheduled departure, 2,572 passengers had packed the vessel and the added weight of the lifeboats made it dangerously top-heavy.

When a  number of passengers moved to the port side, the Eastland capsized, rolling completely into the shallow water of the south bank of the Chicago River.

Passengers who had ventured to the lower decks to warm themselves from the morning dampness were trapped inside, submerged in water. Tables, bookcases, and other furniture had slid from their position with the rollover, crushing some of the passengers on board.

A total of 848 people perished, including four crew members. (1, 2)

9 A 40-acre grassland in Montana was scorched from a fire caused by a hawk clutching a large snake and a pair of power lines. The hawk was flying off with its meal when the snake’s wriggling tale landed on a pair of power lines, electrocuting both the animals. 

In August 2017, a fire in Montana raged for an hour, spreading across 40 acres of grasslands in the town of Great Falls. As the weather was extremely dry, it took several crews to extinguish the flame.

The cause of the fire came to light when a firefighter discovered a toasted hawk clutching a bull snake on the ground. Interestingly enough, both the animals showed signs of electrocution, explaining the chain of events.

The hawk was flying off with the snake clutched in its talons. The wriggling tail of the snake struck a pair of power lines. As it touched two power lines, it formed a complete circuit and both the prey and the predator were electrocuted. Sparks from the shock touched the ground, starting the fire. (1, 2)

10 In 1985, a fully dressed man was found drowned at a party attended by 100 certified lifeguards. As if this wasn’t ironic enough, they were celebrating having made it through the summer without a drowning at a city pool in New Orleans.

Two hundred people were in attendance at an annual lifeguard party at a Recreation Department pool in New Orleans. They were celebrating the first-ever season that ended without a single drowning.

After the party ended, lifeguards began clearing the pool when they found a man at the bottom of the pool.

The drowned man was identified as Jerome Moody. He was a guest at the party attended by 100 certified lifeguards. Additionally, there were four other guards on duty. (1, 2)