Not all ways to die are created equal. The life (and death) stories of these five people detail the five most hardcore ways to die ever recorded in history. Forget old age, forget overdosing – these people killed it – literally.
Number Five: Empedocles. Ancient Greek philosopher Empedocles decided one day that he wanted to become a deity. To accomplish his goal, he threw himself into an active volcano, hoping that being melted by molten lava would make him one of the gods. Little did he know that he would just burn alive, but he would be remembered forever for the way he went out.
Number Four: JG Parry-Thomas. Racecar driver JG Parry-Thomas wasn’t happy with his run trying to break a world record, so he decided to try again. However, on his next try, an exposed chain that connected the engine to the drive wheels broke, resulting in his partial decapitation. However, he did break the record, so…worth it?
Number Three: Thich Quang Duc. Thich Quang Duc is infamous for his political statement, which he made by committing suicide in public. To protest the president at the time, who oppressed his Buddhist religion, Duc poured gasoline all over himself and lit himself on fire. Burning alive is one of the most painful ways to die, so we can’t imagine this was very pleasant.
Number Two: Audrey Mestre. Audrey Mestre and her husband were both freediving champions, and Audrey had an especially competitive nature. In an effort to beat her husband’s record, Audrey free dove 561 feet down into the ocean without oxygen. Unfortunately, though she beat his record, she lost consciousness on the way up and emerged already dead.
Number One: Sergey Tuganov. Sergey Tuganov literally died of excitement. Two of his female friends teased him by betting him that he couldn’t last in a 12-hour long orgy with the two of them. He agreed to the bet, but first he ingested an entire bottle of Viagra. He ended up winning the bet, but right afterward his heart gave out, and he died of heart failure. Men, take this as a fair warning!