Talk:List of unusual deaths/Archive 15

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Does this death merit inclusion?

Does this death merit inclusion? This recent death has been described as a "freak accident":

• NHL leads tributes to Connecticut high school hockey player who died in freak accident;

• Connecticut 10th-grade hockey player dies after collision.

Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 03:02, 9 January 2022 (UTC)

Thoughts? Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:42, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

In this case yes. The second source says that after falling to the ice he was cut on the neck by the skate of another player, which is rather unusual even in this sport. I'm more concerned about the Parvat Gala Baria case who died after a snakebite which is mundane, and a few others. Brandmeister^talk 09:20, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

The text in the first since (as well as the headline) says: "The Connecticut high school hockey player who died in a freak accident on the ice during a game was identified Friday..." So this meets the criterion agreed at the RfC: "...the clear policy based consensus is to keep this list only to those deaths for whom there are reliable sources (as noted by one person, these need to be high quality sources, not tabloid journals who regularly fling around these words for fun) that the death is in someway exceptional." The second source does not meet this criterion. Martinevans123 (talk) 09:30, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Thanks. Well, both sources are -- pretty much -- saying the exact same thing. They are describing the accident / incident / death. One source just happens to use the phrase "freak accident" ... and one source just happens not to. I don't think our consensus is that "pedantic" and nit-picky ... or is it? I am not particularly familiar with this specific article. Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 18:01, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

They are very similar sources, but one has the required synonym for "unusual" and the other does not. I think the outcome of the RfC was deliberately pedantic. It may not be a really logical or scientific criterion. It's just a necessary line in the sand so that it can be easily implemented. Martinevans123 (talk) 18:46, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Thanks. I just added the entry for Teddy Balkind on January 6, 2022. If I were to look, I am sure that I can find many sources that use the "magic words" (e.g., "freak accident"). I found two, immediately. But, I think requiring specific "magic words" is a silly way to determine whether an entry / death belongs on this page. Nonetheless, I added Balkind's death on January 6, 2022. There are two very reliable / reputable sources that describe the death as a "freak accident". Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 18:53, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Many other suggestions were made at the RfC for criteria that may have been less "silly". This was the only one that eventually gained consensus. Many participants wanted the article to be binned altogether as being "untenable". Maybe we're due for another RfC. But things have been remarkably calm here for several years now. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:00, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Thanks for all of your comments, input, and insights. As I said ... I am quite unfamiliar with this page ... its inner workings ... and its "behind-the-scenes" operations. So, I never participated in -- nor read -- that Consensus RfC Page. I assume there were good arguments on all sides ... and that this was the "best compromise" arrived at. No, not perfect ... but, it has its merits. It is "easily" implemented. And, more importantly, -- as you stated -- things have been remarkably calm here for several years now. That's important. I am not here to "upset the apple cart". I just wanted to add my two cents. Overall, I don't see any changes needed for now. Thanks again! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 19:13, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Many thanks for explaining, Joseph. Yes, it is a bit of a dog's breakfast. But seems to work for now. There's also this holding area for items that may be in doubt or lacking suitable sources. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:18, 6 March 2022 (UTC)

Ten people death (November 21 2016) listed in the page. Supplementary Information

The first source identify one of the 10 victims : Clarence Leo. I put it here. I don't know if this merit a change in the "name" column of this entry ? Gimly24 (talk) 21:45, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

In fact, we know 2 other victims names, sex and age. Apollo Papadopoulos, Male, 35 years and Omar-Jamil Moujalled, Male, 18 years (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-25/thunderstorm-asthma-inquest-victims-cardiac-arrest/9907120) Gimly24 (talk) 21:49, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

And this source gives the identity of a 4th person : Hope Carnevali, 20 years old women (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-11-27/sixth-person-dies-from-thunderstorm-asthma-emergency/8061380) Gimly24 (talk) 21:54, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(18)30120-7/fulltext (This study reveals that the gender ratios of the victims was 3 ♀ and 7 ♂) Gimly24 (talk) 21:59, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

Tyre Sampson

I'm not sure Tyre Sampson should be included. While deaths at amusement parks are statistically rare, I don't think they inherently qualify as unusual. No other amusement park deaths appear to be listed. I'm also not sure one can call any death unusual until an investigation is able to be conducted into the death and the circumstances surrounding it. Pastel143 (talk) 05:40, 28 March 2022 (UTC)

Two possible Simons?

Should both Simon Peter and Simon the zealot be listed on here? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.170.61.95 (talk) 20:14, 28 March 2022 (UTC)

Nick Navarro

I have deleted the good faith addition of Nick Navarro (died 28 November 1978). Neither the cited New York Times article nor the St. Petersburg Times article or the passage from American Desperado cited in the Calder Casino article describe Navarro's death as "strange", "bizarre", "unusual", etc. (The link from the Calder Casino article to a Palm Beach Post story results in a 404 error.) Moreover, Navarro was not struck by lightning while on a horse (which would possibly have killed the horse as well); he was jogging across the track at the time. Gildir (talk) 10:58, 11 April 2022 (UTC)

Just for info: "In the UK in the past 30 years (1987-2016), 58 people were known to have been killed by lightning, that is, on average, two people per year.": [1]. 11:03, 11 April 2022 (UTC)

Wynn Alan Bruce

None of the sources that are visible (one is paywalled) describe the death as "unusual", which is the only criterion for inclusion in this article. Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 18:21, 26 April 2022 (UTC) p.s. also struggling to see any claims for how often it occurs at Self-immolation

I found In Buddhism, the ascetic practice of self-immolation -- where one voluntarily takes their own life, typically by setting themselves ablaze -- is extremely rare; it's a controversial practice among some adherents of the Mahayana tradition of the religion (emphasis mine), but that same article also states that More than 100 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 to protest Chinese rule. Apart from those countries, it's a practice that has claimed the lives of hundreds (perhaps even thousands) of activists in India, South Korea and even Kurds protesting in Western Europe, according to sociologist Michael Biggs. The only other source I could find that even came close is this one, which states that Self-immolations in the US are rare but not entirely unheard of... (emphasis mine).

With all this, I'd say it doesn't belong on the page, but if anyone else can find a better source, I'm all ears! NekoKatsun (nyaa) 19:25, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

I have to agree. But some good material there for Self-immolation. I think we need to see a response from User:Antibubbles, even if they have made a grand total of only 31 edits since 2005? Martinevans123 (talk) 20:11, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

I went ahead and took it out. Self-immolation is not unusual. We have an article on it and it's quite usual that one dies when they intentionally set themselves on fire. Prinsgezinde (talk) 10:46, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

If anyone could find sources that describe it as "unusual", it could be re-added. Martinevans123 (talk) 12:11, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

I agree with that general condition, but should we not also apply common sense in some of these cases? If someone drowns in a pool (with no other peculiarities) and some article decides to call that a "freak accident" even though it happens quite often, would that really be enough? Prinsgezinde (talk) 22:04, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

There may be varying degrees of "common sense" that might be fairly applied in any determination, but the RfC decided that a description of "unusual" in some RS source(s) was the only criterion, as described at the top of this page. Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 22:11, 27 April 2022 (UTC)

Primary source tag

I have to say that I agree with the editor who placed the primary sourcing tag on this page. Many of the more recent "unusual" deaths are sourced to lamentably poor tabloid news sources, and not subjected to the proper analysis that constitutes a secondary source. Such analysis would examine whether or not a freak accident is actually unique or at least rare. Tabloid sources violate WP:NOTNEWS, which is a policy. There are quite a number of bad entries on this list which must be removed until better sourcing is provided. It is not the duty of editors who challenge poorly sourced material to provide some sort of proof, per WP:BURDEN. Abductive (reasoning) 02:55, 30 April 2022 (UTC)

Question

What should I do if I want to add a death but the person is only known by their initials? He was an Asian-American activist who accidentally killed himself with a sharpened flagpole during a protest: he stabbed himself in the neck. --62.165.249.126 (talk) 17:05, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

Initials are fine. Some entries do not have any name. You just sources that describe the death as "unusual" etc. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:30, 4 June 2022 (UTC)

Gilbert Tinoso

I propose to remove Gilbert Tinoso's accident. Pinging reverters @NekoKatsun: @HelloAnnyong:

"Gilbert Tinoso, 38, died in Burbank, California after the spare wheel from an oncoming cement truck in the opposite stretch of the freeway broke loose and struck the cab of his Toyota Tacoma."

The reliable source does say it is a 'freak accident', but aren't us Wikipedia editors allowed to make our own judgement instead of blindly listening what the reporter says?

Here's what I found while browsing "wheel loose killed".

Motorcyclist killed by loose wheel on Highway 1 near Revelstoke (Jul 2022)

Man killed after collision with wheel from oncoming vehicle Thursday night (Des 2021)

Woman Killed by Tire Flying Off Truck Ahead of Her (Mar 2021)

Man killed by loose wheel on Highway 401 (Aug 2020)

Gray woman killed after loose tire flies off truck, hits car (Aug 2019)

'The next moment she was gone': Loose tires deadly no matter the size (May 2019)

Woman killed by loose wheel on I-40 (Oct 2018)

100-pound semi wheel hub comes loose, kills pregnant mother of 3 in Illinois (Mar 2018, a wheel hub)

Loose trailer wheel kills Pittsburgh motorcyclist (Aug 2014)

Man killed after loose wheel smashes car on I-93 (Sep 2011)

Tennessee woman struck, killed by loose wheel (May 2006)

And these are only the ones happened in North America, and only the quite recent ones. How about hundreds of other countries, especially non-English? How about from >20 years ago? How about non-wheel debris? It's freak, but not uncommon. No reason to list Tinoso's death here. Geanard (talk) 12:14, 2 August 2022 (UTC)

A freak accident is, quite literally, one that is unusual or occurs in unusual circumstances. There's been a lot of scuffling on the talkpage here historically about whether a particular death 'qualifies' or not, and the important bit from the RfC lives up at the top of the talkpage:

We have a source calling it a freak accident, IAR should not be applied, thus there is no policy-based reason to remove the death. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 14:52, 2 August 2022 (UTC)

To clarify, the fact that you reverted it is not procedurally wrong, I just invited you to this discussion because maybe you would have an opinion on it. So does the fact that the death is included because the source says a freak accident. But I'm currently protesting it based on the reasons I've given (with evidence).

To add an argument, if someone for example added 20 deaths by flying wheels with proper sources that said these are freak accidents, which is possible with Tinoso's death included which creates a precedent, I don't think it will be a proper addition due to the large quantity of cases. Geanard (talk) 17:03, 2 August 2022 (UTC)

I agree that swathes of similar deaths would create clutter, but please note that at the moment, that's not what's happening (and historically is quite rare for this page - the vast majority of additions are one-offs and far more likely to be improperly sourced). In the event of a situation like that, we'd have to have a full-fledged RfC to establish consensus, I suppose.

My understanding of your position - and please correct me if I'm wrong - is that Tinoso's death should be excluded because other people have died by being struck with road debris, including wheels that come off of other vehicles. However, it's been long established that the deaths here don't need to be unique, just unusual, and that the standard for "unusual" is that a reliable source refers to it as such. I wouldn't debate that other people have indeed been killed by road debris (there used to be another one on this very page, killed by a cat's eye reflector), but it's still weird that it happens. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 17:35, 2 August 2022 (UTC)

Addition

Added Henry II of France to the list of unusual deaths of the Renaissance. I have taken the paragraph from the section Death in the main article about Henry II of France. 193.147.165.68 (talk) 11:32, 20 September 2022 (UTC)

Seattle crane deaths

I added two deaths related to a crane collapse that occured in Seattle in 2019. The deaths I added were of two people who were sitting in traffic when the crane collapsed on them. I did not add the deaths of the two crane opperators.

It was reverted. How come?

The Seattle Times article I cited quotes an expert as saying that this sort of accident is "extremely rare". Doesn't this meet the criteria here? https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:List_of_unusual_deaths&oldid=587040688#RfC:_What_qualifies? Rafael 01:44, 4 March 2023 (UTC)

Perhaps @Pbritti: can explain -Neøn (talk) 21:16, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for pinging! Strictly speaking, I reverted the edits on two grounds: that rarity is not synonymous with unusualness and the far more secondary MOS issue with the source being copied-and-pasted across the deaths (which should have been a single entry with a single use of the reference). An example for the first point: fatal great white shark attacks are rare and most reliable sources on such attack will note them as such, but they are not typically described as "unusual" (with exceptions, of course). We have entries on other predatory animals killing humans, but generally there's an unusual context in which they occur (such as a woman dismissing the likelihood of such an event shortly prior and joking about it during her fatal encounter). The not-a-consensus-consensus on policy application that describes what should go on this page makes it clear that the event itself must be unusual and described with synonymous terms. If another editor with experience on placing entries on this page believes the expert analysis of rarity reflects the event being "unusual", I'll defer to their judgement. ~ Pbritti (talk) 21:47, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

Perhaps a more pertinent example of something on this page more approximating the crane incident is the fairly recent death of a pregnant woman crushed by a falling concrete block. My initial judgement would be to exclude this entry as well (neither cited source uses a word translating to "unusual" or synonym thereof; "unfortunate" is used). ~ Pbritti (talk) 21:53, 5 March 2023 (UTC)

Should this be added?

There's a court document from 1995 from Papua New Guinea thats details two male deaths in 1994 from injuries to their testicles, one from being kicked, and the other from having it squeezed hard enough. They died from neurogenic shock and severe pain. Both deaths occurred when they attacked women who fought back in self-defense, and their cases are unrelated. The source, State v Moro; State v Bamire, says that the circumstances of their deaths are "unusual and dangerous form of killing" and "This kind of killing is unusual" (text is a bit garbled in the source but I fixed it). This article says that for a death to be included its needed a source calling it unusual or a synonym thereof.

I don't know if this type of death is common or not, so I might ask someone here for suggestion to whether include it or not. 45.234.155.146 (talk) 01:26, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

No, as the court document is a primary source. If you find a source matching the standards laid out in the Wikipedia policy for reliable sources and it refers to the deaths as "unusual" (or some synonym thereof/in a word that translates to "unusual"), then yes, that would almost certainly qualify. In any case, ouch! ~ Pbritti (talk) 02:02, 3 April 2023 (UTC)

Thomas Anthony Mansfield's Caffeine Overdose

The paragraph for Thomas Anthony Mansfield includes "Mansfield's scale, which he was using to measure the powder, could only weigh between 2,000 milligrams (2.0 g) and 5,000 milligrams (5.0 g), causing him to miscalculate and ingest an equivalent of two hundred cups of coffee."

However, this doesn't quite make sense, as a cup of coffee has roughly 100mg of caffeine. The BBC article this is sourced from also mentions a two hundred cups of coffee equivalent which appears estimated by the amount of caffeine in his blood. Maybe he assumed his scale topped out at 50mg and eyeballed a 4x dose? That's the best explanation I can come up with, but that isn't quite what one would assume from an initial reading of the text. 92.202.143.102 (talk) 14:54, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

inclusion of trevor moore

does anyone think we should add trevor moore? he got drunk and fell of a balcony in the middle of the night, and asked to be refferred to as a sexpot in his will.

in addition, many of his skits joked about a world running conspiracy in the standard style, and as such an unusual death has been refferred to as a joke about the conspiracy killing him to keep the truth. i think this is more unusual than some deaths on this list. DParkinson1 (talk) 20:51, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

Falling off a balcony onto your head, while drunk and on drugs, doesn't sound very unusual. It doesn't matter what you think, just like it doesn't matter what I think. You just need some sources that describe his death as "unusual". I don't see any. 86.187.163.77 (talk) 21:37, 10 June 2023 (UTC)

What a rude and absurd reply. His death was most certainly unusual and many of these individuals do not have source citations. 107.10.129.126 (talk) 02:31, 28 June 2023 (UTC)

Inclusion of Titan submersible?

Given the confirmed deaths of the five passengers about the Titan submersible, it'd be prudent to include the incident onto the list.

Here's at least one article calling it unusual or a synonym thereof. If more are need, I haven't seen them and no doubt believe they can be found.

• https://nypost.com/2023/06/20/james-camerons-titanic-expert-weighs-in-on-missing-sub/
• https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-06-22/titan-submersible-social-media-reaction-cruel

2603:8000:E503:153E:8C53:DD5C:A867:407 (talk) 19:11, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

The New York Post is not a reliable source (and is generally referred to as a tabloid; also it misquotes Stephenson, he said losing contact is unusual, not the sub itself). LA Times is better, but that link is to a commentary piece about social media (said piece is also outdated, factually incorrect, and only refers to the media circus as bizarre, not the sub). I agree that it's entirely possible that the incident will ultimately qualify, but it would be prudent to wait until the frenzy has calmed somewhat and major news outlets have had the chance to create more in-depth writeups. One could just as easily argue that there's nothing at all unusual about five people ultimately dying from an uninspected submersible with "some elements of MacGyvery jerry-rigged-ness" imploding. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 19:51, 23 June 2023 (UTC)

"NY Post is not a reliable source" lol - is that your opinion or has it been deprecated? 107.10.129.126 (talk) 02:32, 28 June 2023 (UTC)

It's been deprecated. I know better than to use my opinions on Wikipedia. :) NekoKatsun (nyaa) 02:33, 28 June 2023 (UTC)

Is -Norbert Tóth (29 May 2023)- worthy of an entry in this article?

this entry is about someone dying of a heart attack, I don't think that's unusual at all. Osw719 (talk) 21:05, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

I don't speak Hungarian, so I can't verify if the source refers to the death as unusual. That's the standard (what the source says), regardless of what us editors think. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 21:40, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

Titan Submarine victims

Should we add the Titan Submarine victims? It is a very unusual/rare death and was highly publicised. 2601:2C7:67F:C8F0:603D:EB6B:F092:5C2A (talk) 21:08, 16 July 2023 (UTC)

There's a section about this already - short version is, we need a reliable source that calls their deaths unusual. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 00:01, 17 July 2023 (UTC)

Add Owen Hart

Owen Hart has had one of the most unfortunate deaths. His death occurred while Owen was performing as the Blue Blazer. Since this was some sort of superhero gimmick, they would have him be lowered into the ring from a harness. But, on May 23, 1999 at the WWF Over The Edge PPV, he was supposed to be lowered down to the ring by the harness. This time, the harness snapped and caused him to fall all the way down into the wrestling ring, nearly hitting a referee. At 8:22 P.M., his death was announced by Jim Ross, an announcer that worked for the WWF at the time. Truly a terrible accident that should’ve never happened. HimynameisAndre (talk) 10:36, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

Article from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/US/9905/24/wrestler.dies.04/ HimynameisAndre (talk) 10:53, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

We need a reliable source that calls the death explicitly unusual (or similar - bizarre, freakish, rare, etc.). If you can find one, I see no reason why Hart's death couldn't be included.

If memory serves, the superhero angle was also supposed to be slightly incompetent, so the original plan was for him to release from the harness just above the ground and pratfall the last couple of feet. This necessitated a quick release harness, but something happened to trigger the release early, hence the 70-someodd foot fall onto the top rope. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 14:02, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2072366-bret-hart-jeff-jarrett-and-more-reminisce-on-owen-hart-15-years-after-his-death

Refers to the incident as "bizarre" and "incomprehensible" if that's close enough? 80.47.229.192 (talk) 18:11, 8 July 2023 (UTC)

I know it's what the source says, but it's not really "incomprehensible", is it? Because simply... "a wire holding him in the air either broke or became disconnected while he was being lowered into the ring". Simple as. I suppose "bizarre" is good enough, except that the use of the word "incomprehensible" kind of casts doubt on that source? It certainly sounds unusual. 86.187.171.22 (talk) 19:20, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Current consensus seems to be that Bleacher Report is not a reliable source; Since abandoning the content farm model in 2010, Bleacher Report has been the subject of continued criticism for its exploitation of unpaid contributors, its blanket policy prohibiting writers from breaking their own news, and its high-volume production of low-quality, search-optimized slideshow content. Looks like it's all self-published content. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 16:48, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

Think I definitely understand the argument that it's not all that unusual - it's about as unusual as a circus tiger going nuts and killing its handler. It's not supposed to happen, it's not part of the show, but it does happen. Except in all of the wrestling matches ever put on, how many wrestlers died in the ring from a demonstrably freak accident, in demonstrably unique circumstances. Owen's death is one of a kind from a certain regard. I appreciate that this is conjecture for the most part and that isn't the Wikipedia way, but think for a second if there are any high profile comparable incidents?

Also, when we're looking at reliability of sources, who is qualified to say what is an unusual death? Only someone that has done the necessary research through global death records into how common that method of death is and has come to the statistical conclusion that this death has a rarity to it.

Do we really hold every death on this article to that strict standard? Or is it all conjecture to a degree? Is Owen Hart's death less unusual than Rasputin for example, who is on this list? He was shot to death after a failed poisoning attempt, and his body dumped in a river. People are poisoned, shot and drowned every day 80.47.229.192 (talk) 18:09, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

All reasonable questions. Most wrestlers don't get lowered into the ring like a circus act. Your second point is even more pertinent. But the list here (currently) uses only one criterion - that a WP:RS reliable source describes the death as "unusual" or a synonym of that (see top of this page). Yes, Rasputin is included, of course - plenty of sources available. Thanks. 86.187.228.204 (talk) 18:35, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

(edit conflict) Per the notice at the top of this talkpage, the clear policy based consensus is to keep this list only to those deaths for whom there are reliable sources (as noted by one person, these need to be high quality sources, not tabloid journals who regularly fling around these words for fun) that the death is in someway exceptional. It's not a matter of whose death is more or less unusual, and it's not necessarily a matter of statistical rarity; some deaths are 'common' (poisoned, shot, drowned, as you say), but the circumstances and reporting point out that there's something unusual about them (can you name a case other than Rasputin where all three happened at once?).

By the same token, people fall from heights every day, wrestlers die in the ring with depressing frequency, and stunts go wrong all the time; what would make Hart's death unusual is that it's all three at once. We need a source that says that, though; any conjecture accepted here should only be on the part of the source, not us editors.

The key thing to remember is that we do not decide what's unusual. We only report what other sources say. If we think something might be unusual, we can go looking for sources, but that's about it. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 18:44, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

It wasn't really "all three at once", was it? And happens all the time in Saint Petersburg anyway, lol. 86.187.228.204 (talk) 18:57, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

https://www.si.com/.amp/wrestling/2019/05/23/wwe-owen-hart-death-20th-anniversary

All points have been taken on board. I was the one who discussed comparing to Rasputin etc so I'll give this one more try and then leave it as reliable source material is proving hard to come by.

Sports Illustrated any good as a source?? TIA 2A00:23C1:EF00:4301:A150:8CF:4935:8D7D (talk) 08:25, 18 July 2023 (UTC)

This is perfect. I've gone ahead and added him to the list, supported by this source. Thank you for finding it! NekoKatsun (nyaa) 14:26, 18 July 2023 (UTC)

Unclear wording in the Joemar Jungco section?

The article currently says "half his body from the head down to the waist was stuck into a meat grinder" whereas the source makes it seem like the wording should be "half his body from the head down to the waist was pulled into a meat grinder" as his hand got caught first and the machine pulled the rest of him in. Not too big of a deal, but the "stuck" version makes it seem to me like he was pushed into the machine (like "stuck a fork in the outlet" to continue the morbidness.) 174.45.135.223 (talk) 01:22, 25 July 2023 (UTC)

I agree completely, and have made the change you suggested.

Also, holy cow, I was not expecting a picture of it when I clicked through to check the source! Fair warning for anyone else, I guess, there's a black and white photo of the poor guy's legs sticking out of the machine. Yeesh. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 14:52, 25 July 2023 (UTC)

My apologies, I should have warned you but I’d been reading this page for too long and I guess I got a bit desensitized. 174.45.135.223 (talk) 03:37, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

Oh no worries at all, I'm not upset, just surprised. I suppose I'm more used to 'slightly distant picture of the building with police tape', 'recent smiling picture of the victim', and occasionally 'picture of ambulance with stretcher visible'. Thank you for your concern, though! NekoKatsun (nyaa) 14:50, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

Guy that died in a cave

I forget his name but he died in a cave in Utah. Very bizarre death. Should be added. 107.10.129.126 (talk) 02:33, 28 June 2023 (UTC)

Are you referring to Nutty Putty Cave? Sadly, spelunkers getting stuck and dying happens far more often than it should, but if you can find reliable third-party sources that call the death unusual or some synonym thereof, you're welcome to add it. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 02:41, 28 June 2023 (UTC)

Yes, I am refering to the Nutty Putty Cave incident. Not sure why jokers are making jokes down below. This most definitely constitutes an "unusual death". 107.10.129.126 (talk) 07:56, 5 August 2023 (UTC)

If this is talking about “snakebitmgee”, The YouTuber that ended up missing. He was in Nevada when he went missing and it isn’t confirmed that he is dead. They found his camera and phone next to an abandoned mine (I think it was). His wife determined that he committed suicide because he battled depression for several years. HimynameisAndre (talk) 10:50, 3 July 2023 (UTC)

That was Kenny Veach in 2014. But it wasn't his wife, who said "I believe he committed suicide"? It was "the woman claiming to be his girlfriend." Was there ever an inquest? But falling down a mineshaft would have probably been less unusual than being abducted by aliens in Area 51. 86.187.171.22 (talk) 19:32, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

What about that girl that fell in the well.... Jennifer something? This was a while ago... did she die? That would be kind of unusual I guess? Or maybe she's still down there, I don't know, I haven't seen anything about it for a while. Herostratus (talk) 19:56, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Seems she is now aged 37. But what about that large rotund guy? That was also a while ago... he allegedly fell from a substantial fortification... did he die? I believe the incident involved cavalry and foot soldiers belong to a famous monarch. That would be kind of unusual I guess? Or maybe he's still in pieces, I don't know, I haven't seen anything about it for a while. Humpty something, I think. 86.187.171.22 (talk) 20:07, 9 July 2023 (UTC)

Vulture getting hit by a space shuttle

I think that a vulture getting hit by a space shuttle launch would be considered quite unusual. However, I only found one source that covered this beyond a single sentence (and even that was from NASA themselves). In addition to this, I also found no reliable sources confirming nor denying that this was fatal for the vulture. If we could find more sources and verify that it was fatal to the vulture, I think it would make a great addition. Horizon206 (talk) 01:59, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

It's worth mentioning that not only is a source needed confirming the incident was fatal, but also that that source must describe the death as "unusual" - or some synonym thereof. That is the criterion for inclusion. Wikipedian's opinions don't cut it, however unusual it may seem. Cheers! Captainllama (talk) 01:07, 10 August 2023 (UTC)

Pyrrhus of Epirus and Henry I of Castile

Henry I is featured on the article, whilst Pyrrhus is not, despite them both being killed by a roofing tile. We ought to include neither or both, considering how similar their deaths are. I personally think both should be included. 194.223.41.155 (talk) 12:59, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

The standard for inclusion is that a reliable source call the death unusual (or some synonym thereof). If you have such a source for Pyrrhus, by all means, feel free to add it! NekoKatsun (nyaa) 14:40, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

Titan Submersible

The Titan submersible has been out of the news cycle for a while and I think there is some good sources for it. There are 2 mentions of it in the talk page which I think were not accepted because there were sources that did not call it unusual. Just for clarification does a source need to explicitly state that a death is unusual or can it just be inferred. Wren (talk) 23:39, 11 September 2023 (UTC)

I feel as if it is an original synthesis to call it unusual if there are no sources which describe it that way. Panamitsu (talk) ^{Please ping on reply} 23:57, 11 September 2023 (UTC)

Longstanding consensus here is that a death must be explicitly referred to by reliable sources as "unusual" or some synonym thereof. Inference won't cut it I'm afraid. Cheers! Captainllama (talk) 00:15, 12 September 2023 (UTC)

Tetsu Shiohara

I question whether this person belongs on the list. Hundreds of people die in falls every year. What makes this death "unique or extremely rare"? CodeTalker (talk) 23:45, 8 October 2023 (UTC)

Typo?

English is not my mothertongue, so I'm not sure whether "round" is a typo or not:

"He was dragged round the walls with sacks of earth and stone on his back"

Shouldn't it be "around" instead? Nakonana (talk) 10:34, 18 November 2023 (UTC)

Probably, so I have changed it. Although I think "dragged around" and "dragged round" are often used interchangeably. "Dragged round" might be seen as slightly more colloquial? There are similar verbs: "go round", "move round", "travel round", "sail round", etc., which can typically be used in both forms. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:49, 18 November 2023 (UTC)

Ok, thanks for confirming, and thanks for the additional information on similar verbs, such information is really helpful for a non-native speaker! :) Nakonana (talk) 11:50, 18 November 2023 (UTC)

Bird killed by pitch at Chase field yet again

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/18/sport/zac-gallen-bird-killed-by-pitch-mlb-intl-spt/index.html

a second bird is killed at Chase field. Coincidentally, the previous time this happened to the Diamondbacks, the Diamondbacks made it to the World Series just as they did this year. 63.151.199.50 (talk) 17:37, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

Yes, the source says it was "... a sad and unusual feat..." So could be added. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:46, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

Bridget Driscoll or Mary Ward?

Was told to bring this up here. In this list Bridget Driscoll is said to be “the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car”. However Mary Ward was actually the first to be killed, in what is referred to in the disambiguation page linked, “by an experimental steam car”. She is variously referred to as either being the first to be killed by a “motor vehicle” on her page or as the “first motor vehicle fatality in the world” on Driscoll’s page. (The difference between vehicle and car I would say is not important, as most places seem to use them interchangeably.)

I do think it should be mentioned, as it is on Ward’s page, that there was a car explosion prior to the accident that caused Ward’s death, which may qualify for the “first motor vehicle fatality in the world”. Regardless, I doubt that Discroll should be listed the first person to be killed in a collision by a motor vehicle, for the reasons I have listed above.

I can see how this might be controversial though, so I would appreciate if anyone could lend their thoughts on the matter.

Thank you kindly, Slamforeman (talk) 20:54, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

So it's Mary Ward (scientist) (died 1869). Whatever is on her article should be reflected at the disambiguation page. Curiously the July 1834 fatal accident, noted at the Mary Ward article, which involved a steam carriage constructed by John Scott Russell, does not name the victim? Martinevans123 (talk) 22:36, 25 December 2023 (UTC)

I am unsure why that is, perhaps it has to do with their notability? I couldn't find anywhere that mention the names of the passengers. Slamforeman (talk) 03:59, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

By the way, I hope it's alright to clarify in Driscoll’s section that she was the first in the UK to be killed by a car. Perhaps Russell and/or Ward’s events should be added later. :) Slamforeman (talk) 05:32, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Does the WaPo articles say it was "unusual"? I can't see it, as it's subscription only. I see that the BBC report says: "Melvyn Harrison, of historical group the Crystal Palace Foundation, says people would have been simply bemused at the sight of these "horseless carriages". ... "It was such a rare animal to be on the roads and, for her to be killed, people would have thought the story was made up," he says." Is this the same thing as saying it was unusual? Obviously the first time something happens it is "unusual", but we still have to meet the criterion for inclusion here? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 10:06, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

I also do not have a WaPo subscription, but when I googled “Bridget Driscoll unusual” it was the first result, (except this time it was not paylocked? Strange.)

In any event the article says “But Driscoll’s death was so unusual that the matter landed in Coroners Court for a full-blown inquest.” So it does qualify for the article, at least in a very broad interpretation of the criterion.

I agree with your point about how, when someone is the first to die from a new technology, it will always qualify as “unusual”. Perhaps there should be a rule against such events being included? Otherwise, this list would probably be much too long, and eventually be retitled to “list of notable factory accidents”. Slamforeman (talk) 20:11, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Yes, good point. Although, to me, all these motor vehicle accidents seem likely to be of interest to the general reader. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:24, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

I wouldn't object if those instances were added alongside Driscoll. Seems they like there is little reason they shouldn't be. Slamforeman (talk) 23:40, 26 December 2023 (UTC)

Taiwanese Woman Dies After Bathing Herself in Alcohol

I won't go ahead and add this on my own but I feel like this is a good contender for the list. https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/30274/20210324/taiwanese-woman-dies-after-bathing-herself-in-alcohol-amid-sars-epidemic-in-taiwan.htm Flzrian (talk) 21:27, 15 January 2024 (UTC)

Clarification: I would be happy to write the section for this but I am bringing forth the suggestion first in case there is heavy disagreement or bathing in ethanol is more common than I think. Of course dying from an alcohol overdose is not uncommon but surely the overdose resulting from someone bathing in it and ingesting it mainly through the skin is? This is the only case of this or something similar I could find. Flzrian (talk) 21:39, 15 January 2024 (UTC)

Hmm. The usual criterion for inclusion on this page is that a reliable secondary source calls the death unusual, or some synonym thereof. Otherwise, as history shows, the page devolves into a slapfight of "this is totally weird enough!" "Nuh uh!", and nobody needs that.

For this, the linked article and the paper regarding the case give us "Alcohol (ethanol) can be absorbed through the skin, but intoxication caused by skin absorption is rare, especially in adults" and "Although this situation is surprising and devastating, serious side effects from alcohol-based skin disinfection are rare." I also found this, which adds "died due to an unusual effort to ward off the virus" and "documented cases of people with a BAC over 1% are rare, but reports of them do exist."

If that second source is deemed reliable, I see no reason why this couldn't be included. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 15:47, 16 January 2024 (UTC)

Recent Death

Is the most chronologically recent (6/5/2024) addition actually unusual? It sounds like a pretty standard incident of automobile death. Quickiepedia User (talk) 16:00, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

It had no source, so it's been deleted anyway. But it was about a railway death. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:25, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

Neither unusal nor sourced. Removed and messaged the editor. Captainllama (talk) 16:26, 6 May 2024 (UTC)

José Luis Abad

I'll post links here to see if this death is qualified for this page.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/03/spanish-porn-actor-arrested-over-fatal-toad-venom-ceremony

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spanish-porn-star-nacho-vidal-manslaughter-arrest-toad-venom-ritual-psychedelic-a9550291.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52920291

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/porn-actor-nacho-vidal-investigated-after-man-dies-in-toad-venom-ritual/QORYEVCWA6YCCIOYEC66PDFK5E/ Cahlin29 (talk) 19:46, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

• The Guardian says: "Vidal’s lawyer, Daniel Salvador, said the death was sad but accidental", but doesn't say it was unusual.
• The Independent does not seem to describe it as unusual.
• The BBC does not seem to describe it as unusual.
• The New Zealand Herald says ""This was a commonly practised activity carried out for therapeutic or medicinal ends, but which posed a serious threat to public health despite being dressed up as what appeared to be an apparently inoffensive ancestral ritual," police said."

So no, it's not eligible with these sources. But it sounds very unusual, doesn't it! Maybe should be added at Enguera? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 20:35, 13 June 2024 (UTC)

Richard Pananian

Richard Pananian was a 20 year old California resident who flew from his seat and landed on a freeway sign after an automobile accident. A few days beforehand, his family sacrificed a lamb to ensure him good health from God. I don’t necessarily have a source that states the death was unusual, but it uses the synonym “bizarre”. https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/losangeles/news/lamb-was-sacrificed-in-protection-ceremony-for-man-killed-in-bizarre-5-freeway-crash/ HimynameisAndre (talk) 21:39, 15 June 2024 (UTC)

The source says "died in a bizarre crash". That might be good enough, but I'd await a second opinion. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:41, 15 June 2024 (UTC)

The same article also has "The unusual nature of Pananian's death is "ironic" considering a sacrifice that was performed for him the Sunday prior, his cousin Armen Kardashian wrote in a GoFundMe page." Given both of these, I think it's a valid entry. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 22:22, 15 June 2024 (UTC)

Treadmill 18. June 2024

Currently the description says the window broke, but that's wrong. The window was open and the referenced article mentions that and the video clearly shows the open window. 81.217.6.16 (talk) 16:52, 28 June 2024 (UTC)

Jim Creighton

Jim was a 19th century baseball player, he died when he swung a home run so hard it ruptured his bladder. Unfortunately, I can't find any reliable sources that directly call his death unusual. Bdblakley29 (talk) 21:40, 16 July 2024 (UTC)

Misused images in article?

User:Rori1911 has recently added images of several people on this list which he just uploaded to Wikimedia Commons as "own work". Not only is this unlikely in most cases, but the images themselves seem misused or incorrectly licensed to me. Most egregiously, the photo which was supposedly of Echol Cole and Robert Walker "moments before they were crushed", as stated in the description of the image on Commons, appears on the National Civil Rights Museum's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NCRMuseum/photos/in-february-1968-echol-cole-and-robert-walker-neither-pictured-two-memphis-sanit/10157916905599417/ with the statement "(neither pictured)" referring to Cole and Walker. I have now removed this image from the list. I have also removed an authentic photo of Ralph Payne-Gallwey mistakenly used to depict his father, Sir William Payne-Gallwey, 2nd Baronet.

Rori1911 uploaded authentic images of Robert Pakington, the objects found inside John Cummings' body, Henry Taylor's death (from The Illustrated Police News), Jane Stanford (which I have replaced with a portrait already on Commons), Julian Carlton, Mary Emma Busch James, Clarence Stagemyer, Gareth Jones, Monica Myers, David Grundman (which looks extremely fake but appeared in The New York Times in 1982), Dick Wertheim's death (I really hoped this one was a fake, but it isn't), Gloria Ramirez, Bliss Scott, Brittanie Cecil (same comment as for Wertheim's death; portrait in article is fair use so can't be reused here), Virginia Graeme Baker, Hitoshi Nikaidoh, Francis Daniel Brohm and Chandler Hugh Jackson, as well as Hisashi Ouchi, Michael Colombini, Abigail Taylor, Isaiah Otieno, Diane Durre's death, Vladimir Likhonos and Gareth Williams. The last seven are already tagged for speedy deletion on Commons as copyright violations (but could conceivably be transferred to Wikipedia at reduced resolution as fair use images), so some of the other images may be improperly licensed as well. Gildir (talk) 06:37, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Most of these images have now been either deleted or nominated for deletion on Commons. Gildir (talk) 17:01, 18 July 2024 (UTC)

Use of primary sources

A single primary source (a news article) does not meet WP:PSTS, which require analysis in in multiple secondary sources. A secondary source must do more than make a claim, it must explain the reasoning. Abductive (reasoning) 17:24, 2 August 2024 (UTC)

Begging your pardon, but per WP:PRIMARYNOTBAD, this isn't necessarily true. The page you cite is specifically the "No original research" policy, which is something that's come up on this page before. The current compromise is that given the clear policy arguments in support of a normal WP:V approach, the clear policy based consensus is to keep this list only to those deaths for whom there are reliable sources (as noted by one person, these need to be high quality sources, not tabloid journals who regularly fling around these words for fun) that the death is in someway exceptional. All other entries (those for whom someone might say "Come on, this is obviously strange") should be removed. (quote from the top of this page)

Nowhere is it required that these reliable high-quality sources must be secondary sources, and I would actually argue that secondary sources are not ideal for this specific page. Using the primary/secondary logic, an article in the New York Times reporting an unusual death would be no good, but that same death appearing on a list of "Ten Weird and Wacky Bucket-Kickers" that sources the article is OK? Perhaps I'm missing something in your point, but this seems backwards to me. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 18:55, 2 August 2024 (UTC)

Per WP:CHALLENGE, I challenge that source on the grounds that it does not WP:VERIFY that a kid suffocating on a balloon is unusual. Karlton Donaghey, age 5, June 2022, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Alexandra Kelly, age 7, 1 October 2023, Tennessee, Jaina McGloghlon, age 8, 1 March 2026, Oregon, and this is just from the first page of Google results. Abductive (reasoning) 19:31, 2 August 2024 (UTC)

Per the source given, the death is referred to as unusual by the coroner, as quoted in the article: The coroner said she was reluctant to make any recommendations in the case as it would suggest the accident might have been predictable. "This case could not have been predicted. It was so unusual and so unfortunate," she remarked. (emphasis mine)

I think we might be talking at cross purposes here - it sounds like you're looking for evidence that the cause of death is generally unusual, which is not actually the current criterion for page inclusion. I agree with you that, generally speaking, a kid suffocating on a balloon is (sadly) not particularly uncommon. That said, this specific case had enough unique elements that the coroner explicitly called it unusual, and that would typically qualify it for inclusion on this page.

Generally speaking, many of the causes of death on this page (gunshot, falling, blunt force trauma, medical misadventure, drowning) aren't unusual in and of themselves. It's the specific circumstances involved that make them unusual enough for a reliable source to comment on them as such, and I believe that's the key point to focus on. Just as we prefer not to include deaths not called unusual, I see no reason why we should exclude deaths that are called unusual, regardless of how we as editors feel about them or how often they appear to happen. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 21:49, 2 August 2024 (UTC)

I agree Bdblakley29 (talk) 00:10, 3 August 2024 (UTC)

Virginia Christine Vinton

https://abcnews.go.com/US/woman-dies-after-caught-baggage-carousel-chicago-ohare/story?id=112686924

Should we add her? Sekundenlang (talk) 12:47, 10 August 2024 (UTC)

If we can find a source that explicitly calls her death unusual (or some synonym of it), then sure. The ABC source here doesn't, though, so we'd need something else. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 15:37, 13 August 2024 (UTC)

William Kemmler

Kemmler was the first person executed via electric chair. The fact that he was the first may qualify him for inclusion on that alone - we haven't really discussed if "first"s are inherently unusual - so I'd like some opinions on that. Of the sources given, the History.com one doesn't refer to the death as unusual at all, while the deathpenaltyinfo.org source has the quote Newspapers called the execution a "historic bungle" and "disgusting, sickening and inhuman." I can't find the actual newspaper quoted as calling it a "historic bungle".

My questions are these:

1. Is the first death of a given type automatically unusual, without further sourced evidence referring to it as such?
2. Is a "historic bungle" enough of a synonym for "unusual" that it could be included on this merit?

Original entry preserved below:

Name	Image	Date of death	Details
William Kemmler		6 August 1890	The 30-year-old killer was the first person executed by electric chair, in Auburn, New York. However, the execution was botched and lasted 8 minutes.

References

NekoKatsun (nyaa) 15:11, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

I'd say no to both. Even if some reliable source calls his particular death unusual, some editorial judgement is warranted (also given the list's current size) - executions by electric chair aren't considered unusual anymore and may routinely appear in the news. Brandmeister^talk 20:23, 6 August 2024 (UTC)

Well true but we could also make the same argument for Bridget Driscoll since being hit by a car is pretty common nowadays. Bdblakley29 (talk) 03:47, 7 August 2024 (UTC)

I'm also torn about this. On the one hand, I feel like the list is starting to fill up with too many "first" deaths; on the other hand, I also thought of Bridget Driscoll, who seems like she belongs on the list in a way the others don't, as is also true of Elaine Herzberg. My feeling about them is a subjective judgment, however, so perhaps we should delete all of these deaths, including Driscoll and Herzberg, unless a source explicitly calls them "unusual" rather than just a first.

Note also that the only space exploration-related deaths on the list so far are the Soyuz 11 crew, who clearly belong because they are the only humans known to have died outside Earth's atmosphere. However, Nazi test pilot Lothar Sieber was the first human to die flying a rocket; Valentin Bondarenko was the first person selected as an astronaut or cosmonaut to die in the line of duty; the Apollo 1 crew were the first humans to die inside a spacecraft; Vladimir Komarov was the first person to die during a manned spaceflight; and Michael Alsbury was the first (and, so far, only) commercial astronaut to die in the line of duty. John Day (carpenter) was the first person to die in a submarine, but the final crew of the H. L. Hunley (submarine) were the first submariners to die in combat. Berry L. Cannon was the first aquanaut to die in the line of duty, and Francisco Lázaro was the first sportsperson to die competing in a modern Olympic event. In other words, including "first" deaths might multiply representatives of certain fields of endeavor to an undesirable extent. It might be possible to make a separate article listing "first" deaths, but are there independent sources discussing such events as a distinct group? And how do we deal with the controversy about whether or not to include Abel? Gildir (talk) 15:12, 11 August 2024 (UTC)

Well, I think the answer to this situation can be very easily solved, delete the ones that are not unusual and keep the ones that are. Bdblakley29 (talk) 16:36, 7 August 2024 (UTC)

User:Rori1911 has added five more "first" deaths today (Thomas Granger. Bridget Bishop, Darius Quimby, Francis McIntosh and Stephen Churchill). I think we need to make a mutual decision about whether to include "first" deaths that are not otherwise unusual (I vote no). Gildir (talk) 00:19, 11 August 2024 (UTC)

I too vote no. The longstanding criterion for inclusion - by consensus intensively hammered out - is that one or preferably more reliable sources explicitly describe the death as "unusual" or some synonym thereof. If reliable sources call a first-of-its-kind death unusual then it belongs, no matter how mundane it may seem. If they don't then it doesn't, no matter how weird, unexpected, or original. This criterion has served well, there is no good reason for expanding it to include deaths merely by dint of their being a first.

By its very nature, death is at one and the same time both unique and universal. It is inevitable to every living thing, yet no individual's death is identical to another's. The scope for arguing that any particular death is the first of some kind is almost limitless.

The current criteria is a simple, clear, unambiguous, and useful tool, and needs no addition or variance. Do reliable sources call it unusual? In it goes. They don't: it doesn't. Captainllama (talk) 18:01, 13 August 2024 (UTC)

I agree with "first" not inherently being an indicator of an unusual death, although I'll also note that "first"s may be unusual, so it's not an automatic rejection - for example, Bridget Driscoll has sources calling her death explicitly unusual, even though in the modern era there's nothing weird about being hit by a car.

I also agree with Captainllama's excellent way of putting it. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 18:02, 13 August 2024 (UTC)

Jennifer Strange

Died of water intoxication during a radio contest ("Hold Your Wee For A Wii"). She was recently added, and I seem to recall she's been added and removed several times in the past. This time, the source seems to say that the idea of dying from drinking too much water is unusual, not the deaths themselves. Would anyone care to weigh in? I'd like a better source, and I'm not sure if just this one cuts the mustard. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 22:46, 14 August 2024 (UTC)

Alice Florence Cereche

The source for Cereche is 9 of the Strangest Victorian Deaths Reported in the Newspapers, which luckily names the paper it sourced this from as the Blackheath Gazette, Oct. 1, 1897. I tracked that down and found on page 5:

Child's Strange Death at Brockley. Mr. Wood held an inquest at the Travellers Rest, Brockley-road, on Monday evening with reference to the death of Alice Florence Cereche, infant child of parents residing at 12. Woodlandvilla, Merritt-road, Brockley. It appeared from the evidence of the mother that last Wednesday evening, she put the child on the floor and shortly afterwards noticed that it had picked up something. The child expired on the following morning at seven o'clock. Dr. Forster said he was unsuccessful in extricating the article from the child's throat. He made a post-mortem examination, and found a brass paper fastener in the windpipe, and this was cause of death. Verdict in accordance with the medical testimony.

The original source does call it strange, but reading the rest of the clipping, it sounded to me more like the fact that she died was strange, not the death itself; it was unexplained (and thus strange) until the post-mortem revealed the fastener. Based on that, and somewhat suspicious of The Lineup's reliability, I've removed her from the list. With all that background, my questions for other editors are:

1. Is this article enough to satisfy the guideline for those deaths for whom there are reliable sources (as noted by one person, these need to be high quality sources, not tabloid journals who regularly fling around these words for fun) that the death is in someway exceptional, or would it fall under the "flings around these words for fun" exception?
2. Does the original newspaper clipping treat Cereche's death as sufficiently unusual?
3. Is choking on a small object worth including, even if supported by sources, or would this be worth applying editorial oversight to?

My thoughts on the above are 1) not really, although it's a good starting point; 2) no, and 3) editorial oversight applies, the list is massive enough already. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 17:17, 19 August 2024 (UTC)

Biblical deaths

The use here of this 2020 Adventist Record source, which lists "The Ten: Most unusual biblical deaths", raises some questions for me:

1. Is this source WP:RS? (although the claims are very easily checked)
2. Should Biblical deaths be included? (and perhaps other fabled/ apocryphal deaths)
3. Are deaths deemed to be "unusual" in the Bible also therefore generally unusual.

What do other editors think? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 06:44, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

The source says it's an "official news magazine of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific", but includes apparent legends among the deaths, like Goliath. I'd say historically confirmed unusual biblical deaths could be included, though I can't recall any such right now. And the relevant caveat could be made in the list's lead. Brandmeister^talk 10:11, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

It doesn't fit with the current chronological sort, but perhaps we could introduce a new section (or split-out article) specifically for unusual deaths in religious literature? There's certainly enough of them, since many are literal acts of god, but the semi-mythical nature of them doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the page. Alternatively, what about a page for unusual deaths in antiquity? This would cover a great deal of the possibly-apocryphal but undeniably unusual deaths already present, as well as create a convenient place to tuck deaths sourced from religious texts (and an easy dodge around the quagmire of "is the Bible a reliable source" which I really really don't want to get into).

As a slight aside, given how absolutely massive this list is, anyone else think we should have another discussion about inclusion criteria? I'm kind of liking the idea of requiring a contemporaneous source to describe the death as unusual, which might help cut down on listicle-sourced deaths, but the problem with that is that the late 1700s-early 1900s used "unusual" and similar for any death with unknown circumstances. I lean slightly towards 1) a reliable source must describe the death as "unusual" or some synonym thereof; 2) a contemporary source (can be the same as #1) must do the same; and 3) a modern reader could reasonably agree the same with said source/s. Opinions? NekoKatsun (nyaa) 15:56, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

I don't think we should include deaths only referenced in religious texts, unless there's other, concurrant historians that collaborate. Deaths in religious texts could be an entire article in itself, and this one is already bloated. Bkatcher (talk) 16:29, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

Martin Flannagan

The entry is supported by this source, which seems to be from a 1902 newspaper. But it is difficult to determine which newspaper this was and if it cab be regarded as a WP:RS. Although the very brief anonymous report is headed "A FARMER'S STRANGE DEATH", the circumstances seem to be entirely mundane. Any other views on this? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 14:53, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

Looks like it was The Argus, which has a bit more info on that site here. Based on that, it sounds pretty reliable to me. Reading the snippet, sounds like two guys were loading hay, and the dude on top of the load fell off when the horse stepped forward. That's... comparatively tame. I feel like this would be one of those "editorial oversight" ones that've come up here before. Yes, by the current standards it does qualify for inclusion, but that doesn't mean it has to be here. In the interests of trying to keep this page to a reasonable size, I think it can be left off. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 16:26, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

I tend to agree. Perhaps Chaliceborn777 could also offer their view on this? Martinevans123 (talk) 16:34, 22 August 2024 (UTC)

In this article I see a lot of sensational newspaper headlines over commonplace deaths like gunshots or car accidents.Bkatcher (talk) 16:30, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

George Murichson

The sources given are these: But they seem to conflict. Which is the more accurate account? Thanks.

References

Martinevans123 (talk) 18:33, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

Might be missing something but I'm not seeing how they conflict, necessarily? They all agree on Murichson's name, age, location, cause of death (haemorrhage), the whole thing where he couldn't seem to stop eating, that his sister yanked the snake out, and that the snake was 14 inches and had a glob of flesh on it. Two of the three mention dosing him for worms and speculate that field sleeping was the cause; the third simply says that physicians were called and that the snake might've slithered down his throat while asleep without specifying location.

The Sun-Journal article is the earliest one written and claims direct quotation of Lewiston Lady; both the Portland Daily Press and The Times and Democrat paraphrase this (in the latter's case, pretty much word-for-word). I'd assume that the other two picked up the story from them. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 19:11, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

Well, that's not as bad as I had thought then. Thanks for clarifying. What would you recommend in terms of sourcing here? Retain all three? Two have "strange" and the third has "almost incredible". I guess they may all be considered WP:RS. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:03, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

Oh, my pleasure. Generally I prefer to have more sources, but given that they all seem equally reliable and Sun-Journal and The News and Democrat are almost identical, we could probably just keep Sun-Journal and Portland Daily Press and trim a teeny bit of pudge out of this behemoth article. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 21:10, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

"Behemoth"!? Whatever are you saying! A little bit a spring-cleaning never hurt anyone... Martinevans123 (talk) 21:25, 26 August 2024 (UTC)

But yes, we now seem to be getting a flood of new entries based on the use of the word "unusual", in a single small anonymous report, published by a single regional newspaper, from the 20th or 19th century. There may be a case for a new WP:RFC to discuss if better and/or multiple sources are required. Martinevans123 (talk) 07:26, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

Recent additions

Chaliceborn777, re: Susan Grace Kelly, Agnes Harley, James Wilson, Romaine Romania and John Banks, I wonder could you possibly discuss these additions, before you add any more similar ones? Many thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 15:24, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

Also James Doyle Jr. and Peter A. Rees? Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:04, 27 August 2024 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of File:Andrew Pontious.png

The file File:Andrew Pontious.png has been proposed for deletion because of the following concern:

Non-free file being used in a decorative manner to illustrate an individual entry in a list article which fails WP:NFCC#1, WP:NFCC#8 and WP:NFLISTS. Non-free images of deceased individuals can be used, but typically only for primary identification purposes in the main infoboxes or at the tops of stand-alone articles about the individual themselves; such images are pretty much never allowed to illustrate indvidual entries in list articles, unless the image itself (not the subject but the actual image) is the subject of sourced critical commentary. If someone feels the subject is Wikipedia notable and want to create an stand-alone article about them, then a non-free image could most likely be used in said article; however, there's really no way to justify its use in this article per Wikipedia's non-free content use policy.

While all constructive contributions to Wikipedia are appreciated, pages may be deleted for any of several reasons.

You may prevent the proposed deletion by removing the {{proposed deletion/dated files}} notice, but please explain why in your edit summary or on the file's talk page.

Please consider addressing the issues raised. Removing {{proposed deletion/dated files}} will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. In particular, the speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and files for discussion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion. Marchjuly (talk) 06:42, 29 August 2024 (UTC)

about 1960s section

i know this sounds more like a demand but i feel like this specific part of the page is just a bit unnoticed. from what i c theres only about 5 deaths in the 1960s. do u think this page should be more noticed? id luv 2 hear ur thoughts on this. Chaliceborn777 (talk) 23:29, 2 September 2024 (UTC)

Just added Victor Prather (4 May 1961). Gildir (talk) 02:35, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

Also added Harold Holt (17 December 1967). Can anyone find sufficient reliable sources to declare the deaths of Valentin Bondarenko (23 March 1961), Dorothy Kilgallen (8 November 1965), Vladimir Komarov (24 April 1967), Jayne Mansfield (29 June 1967) and/or Albert Dekker (5 May 1968) unusual? I have been unable to do so. Gildir (talk) 15:56, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

i found a ranker article that includes valentin but im not sure 4 sum reason. heres the link: https://www.ranker.com/list/bizarre-20th-century-deaths/notable-famous-deaths Chaliceborn777 (talk) 16:35, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

i found an 'all that's interesting' article about kilgalllen but I'm not sure if its reliable or not: https://allthatsinteresting.com/dorothy-kilgallen quote: investigative journalist Dorothy kilgalllen was probing the John f. Kennedy assassination when she suddenly died under strange circumstances on November 8, 1965. Chaliceborn777 (talk) 16:39, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

'the guardian' article about Vladimir komarov: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/20/russia-murder-space-agency-roscosmos quote: the case has shocked russians due to the high profile role yevdokimov has in state space program, as well as the strange circumstances of his death. Chaliceborn777 (talk) 16:42, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

found an article called '12 unusual celebrity deaths you've never heard of...': https://www.vintag.es/2018/02/unusual-celebrity-deaths.html Chaliceborn777 (talk) 16:46, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

cant find anything for Dekker tho Chaliceborn777 (talk) 16:49, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

nvm found a source for dekker and quote: https://www.grunge.com/945472/troubling-details-of-albert-dekkers-unexplained-1968-death/ quote: However, rumors about his unusual death nearly overshadowed his entire acting career. Chaliceborn777 (talk) 16:59, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

ill add all of these rn since I found many sources unless ur doing it already. Chaliceborn777 (talk) 23:23, 3 September 2024 (UTC)

1950s deaths

again ik this sounds more like a demand but there are only 4 deaths that happened in the 1950s. I think this should also be noticed a bit but again let me know what u all think. Chaliceborn777 (talk) 14:32, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

If you'd like to find more - keeping in mind the whole "two reliable sources minimum per entry" as well as the size of the page in mind - you're certainly welcome to. We don't need to collect literally every death described as unusual, though, it's okay if some time frames were apparently less weird than others. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 14:52, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

In the 1950s in the UK things were very dull. So people were not permitted to have unusual deaths, but had to make do with very mundane ones. Martinevans123 (talk) 15:05, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

20th Century 2011

Do you not think it appropriate, to of contacted a family member, before posting my dad and his death on your website? 86.31.239.83 (talk) 15:48, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

To which death does your enquiry relate? Martinevans123 (talk) 17:07, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

Brian Depledge. 2011. 86.31.239.83 (talk) 17:32, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

I am very sorry to hear of your bereavement, which was reported relatively recently. Unfortunately, as far as I know, Wikipedia does not have any policy of consulting with anyone before material is incorporated into an article, provided it is taken from a reliable source. There seem to be two such sources in this case. If you find this report distressing, there may be a route by which you could have it removed. But I'm afraid I don't know what that route might be. Other editors may be able to advise. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:41, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

Please accept my condolences for your loss as well. I went digging a bit to see if there are possible solutions for you, but most of what I found was to request an entire article deletion, or to remove contentious poorly-sourced material. WP:BIODEL briefly mentions that Discussions concerning biographical articles of relatively unknown, non-public figures, where the subject has requested deletion and there is no clear consensus to keep may be closed as delete, and your father would likely qualify as a non-public figure. You may also want to use the contact information for the Wikimedia Foundation to reach out to the people at the top of the food chain.

With that said, though, I see no reason why this needs to remain on the list. A requested removal from a family member is a somewhat unique situation at this page, so it would be prudent to discuss it, but I personally have nothing against its removal. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 19:08, 4 September 2024 (UTC)

Like User:NekoKatsun, I also have nothing against removal. Gildir (talk) 03:30, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Likewise. Most of the editors in discussion above have noted that the article is too long anyway. So any removal should be welcomed. I've also noted that one of the current sources credits the Daily Mail, which is seen as an unreliable source at Wikipedia. So it could be removed on the basis of having only a single source? Martinevans123 (talk) 08:32, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Removed due to insufficient sourcing per Martinevans123's suggestion. Gildir (talk) 09:29, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Thank you 86.31.239.83 (talk) 09:46, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

Sarah Ann Koyton

so I noticed that Ann Koyton was removed from the list. I used two sources but if one of them was unreliable or had the word "sudden/suddenly" then I can understand that. after all I cant tell what's real and what's not on the internet nor can I tell what words mean unusual or strange. Chaliceborn777 (talk) 16:09, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

If you can't tell "what words mean unusual or strange", I'm not sure this is best article for you to be editing. If you "cant tell what's real and what's not on the internet", I'm not sure whether Wikipedia as a whole is really for you. Martinevans123 (talk) 16:16, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

It's important to ensure that the sources actually describe the deaths as in some way unusual. This recent edit for example has two sources, yet while one describes it as bizarre in passing, the other does not describe this incident as unusual in any way, and more importantly the description that was added to the article does not at all match the description in the sources. - Aoidh (talk) 20:55, 6 September 2024 (UTC)

Deleted spaces between citation parameters

Am certainly not going to revert the recent deletion. But is there any central policy on this? Personally I find citations much easier to read with spaces both sides of the parameter dividers! Not sure if the benefit to article size is that great. Many thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 13:29, 16 September 2024 (UTC)

I'm close to total agreement with you, Martinevans123! My personal preference is for a space before the pipe but not after it (e.g., "|newspaper=The New York Times |date=2024-09-16"), and I often add such spaces when I'm editing articles because they make the citations easier to read in the wikitext. I even formerly added such spaces to this article. However, other editors have expressed concern recently about the article's size, and I'm not sure we should be retaining any unnecessary characters. What do others think? Gildir (talk) 16:05, 16 September 2024 (UTC)

If we're talking about removing unneeded characters from markup, how about removing the language subtags (for example, en-AU so as to specify Australian English)?

I doubt many people care all that much about stuff like that, and even if they do, they can figure it out through context clues 99 times out of 100. ZionniThePeruser (talk) 05:08, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

No objections. Martinevans123 (talk) 06:57, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

Saving 320 bytes on a 516,559 byte page (0.06%) is not the solution, and should be reverted. If the article is too big, then one possible solution is to split it by date.   ~ Tom.Reding (talk ⋅dgaf)  11:27, 17 September 2024 (UTC)

Melvina Morford

I found 2 sources about a woman who was found with 800 needles in her body. If these two sources could be viewed for verification, then I think this will do.

Source 1: https://www.loc.gov/resource/sn84031792/1896-07-12/ed-1/?sp=33&st=text&r=0.011,-0.052,0.43,1.047,0

Source 2: https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&d=tdl18960215-01.1.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------- Rori1911 (talk) 19:08, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

The report in the first source is quite long, so could you possibly point out where the death is described as "unusual"? The report in the second source is difficult to locate, so could you describe where it is on that page of the newspaper? Many thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 19:23, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

I think somewhere in the first source I think it calls it "peculiar". Hope that helps, at the very least, a small bit :) Rori1911 (talk) 21:10, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

You'd need to add it as a quote in the ref. Thanks. Martinevans123 (talk) 21:12, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

Maybe I'm missing it, but where does it say that she died? First source has "The girl Is still healthy, her cheeks are still rosy and there is not a particle of the morbid in her temperament or her disposition." The second only says that there were a bunch of needles removed, and that maybe she sticks them in herself. It needs to be both unusual and a death to qualify, and seems like this is neither. NekoKatsun (nyaa) 21:16, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

Oh dear, yes. No sign of "freak needle-based accidental death" in either...? Martinevans123 (talk) 21:25, 20 September 2024 (UTC)

Strange vs unexplained

There seems to have been a recent increase in the addition of deaths, supported by reports in local newspapers for the 1920s and 1930s, that were described there as "strange" because they were essentially unexplained. The lack of explanation may have been because the formal procedures of post mortem examination and/or coroner's court proceedings were not yet complete, or because the scientific methods for investigating these deaths thoroughly were not yet available. In either case, I do not think that the description of "unusual", or similar, in those newspapers, is a valid reason for inclusion in the article. What do other editors think? Martinevans123 (talk) 21:42, 21 September 2024 (UTC)

I agree, largely for reasons I've touched on above. A local reporter using an eye-catching headline or describing something as strange or unusual usually only fits the description of "unusual...for their community at that time" rather than actually unusual from a global perspective. If we're going to be reliant on the assessment of local reporters like this, I think at minimum an entry that includes a local newspaper as a source also should include a non-local source as well, to show that it's actually unusual and not just unusual for that specific area at that specific time. - Aoidh (talk) 15:45, 22 September 2024 (UTC)

Yes, that sounds sensible. An associated issue is that some of these reports are only a few words. Perhaps just two or three short sentences, the briefest possible account. Martinevans123 (talk) 17:08, 22 September 2024 (UTC)