The 10 Most Ironic Deaths In History

Ironic deaths are the stuff of legend when it comes to the craziest deaths imaginable. For starters, the owner of the Segway died in a Segway accident and a Green Party candidate was killed by an SUV. Some of the most ironic deaths of recent memory have been gathered here on this ironic death list.

Ironic deaths are both easy and hard to define; unlike the Alanis Morissette song, there's a little more subtlety to calling a freaky death "ironic." Some of the most tragic deaths in history, however, were true cases of irony and life finding a way to turn death into something simultaneously funny and fascinating. These crazy deaths and stupid deaths feature stories of people who died in ways you might not expect.

To see more on the 'Most Ironic Demises' list, go here:

[TakoyakiStore]

A tornado went through my Central Florida hometown in 1998. Only one person died and his name was, and I'm not joking, "Lucky."

[thMandalorian]

Here for all the “where’s the other narrator?” Comments

[Hammerite]

I'll never forget that one dude who won a battle and rode around with the other guys head strapped to his belt.
The motion of the horse cause the head to "bite" into his leg causing an infection and ended up killing him.

[NewMessage]

If you can't be a good example, be a cautionary tale.

[skully]

You had me at "let's put the fun in funeral".

[rappsongs]

If I'm not mistaken, the phrase 'kick the bucket' refers to the bucket one stands on before hanging oneself.

[icewings]

9:06 I remember this story a couple years ago where these bikers were protesting wearing helmets by riding without one. One biker got into an accident, hit his head, pronounce dead at the hospital, and the doctor said that he would have lived if he wore a helmet.

[margaretreefer]

Each time Gary Hoy slammed his body against that window, he probably loosened the glass a little more each time. Apparently he did it successfully for the students at the beginning of his presentation but they asked him to do it again at the end. 😢

[tremorsfan]

Jim Fix was one of the people responsible for making jogging mainstream in the United States. He started jogging to improve his health, but died of a heart attack in the middle of a jog.

[HankPanky]

I would die from embarrassment while falling from the 24th floor.

[QueenetBowie]

Huh, this is like a weird history version of that show “1000 Ways To Die”

I dig it!

[zachbeaudoin]

Just found about this one in my Global History since 1500 class. Thomas Midgley Jr., the inventor of chlorofluorocarbons, who also invented Lead Gasoline, died after contracting Polio and accidentally hanging himself via his homemade Polio-rope-rig attached to his bed… this poor guy couldn’t do anything non-ironically

[y_fam_goeglyd]

@WeirdHistory (and to everyone else!) Thanks for the great video. Despite my guilty feelings, I love the Darwin Awards. I think one of the most ironic deaths was the inventor of the parachute. Except it wasn't that good. He was supposed to attach it to a mannequin and throw it off the Eiffel Tower, but decided to wear it himself...

You'll love the BBC Horrible Histories channel on YouTube, especially the Stupid Deaths skits. The whole set of seasons are on DVD and given that it's extremely accurate throughout (IIRC their history advisor found something like 8 small errors in about 4, 000 facts!), it's a good source of fun.

Although it's aimed at kids, I can guarantee that it's still (despite not being on TV in some years) popular with students and parents (and this grandma!) There are lots of poo jokes and the like - it's aimed at kids as I said - but there are also times when it's really serious, e.g. when talking about slavery and other genuinely horrible histories. It's not just a source of fun but of facts, even their parody songs contain a lot of historical facts. Hope you enjoy it!

[Electric_Funeral]

I would put the deaths of presidents Garfield and Kennedy. Kennedy was wearing a girdle for his bad back that whipped him backwards after the first (non-fatal) bullet instead of slumping forward and out of Oswald’s sights. Just google Garfield, it’s too long a story. Also there was a guy named Ziegler in the 1800’s who someone shot at out side his house, the bullet missed and lodged in a tree in his front yard. A year later Ziegler decided he wanted to remove the tree (which was blocking his view). Dynamite was a new invention and he used that instead of an axe. He used too much and the tree exploded so hard that the bullet dislodged and killed him

[ronaldmartin]

I’m sorry that this narrator had to face so much from the dedicated fans, he’s actually really good.

[MondoProducer]

Irony is hypocrisy with style! - Amusing as always, thanks for chuckles

[halgerson]

Ignore the haters, Michael. You're awesome.

[mikitz]

Not to mention the Viking warlord who was killed by his enemy's head.

[denissetamez]

I can appreciate the improvement of the new narrator. It was new and awkward at the beginning, but now he has his spark too. Stop complaining about everything, both are good narrators.

[adilsongoliveira]

The last history made me remember a few years back when some bikers in California were protesting against helmet laws, two of them colided at very slow speeds, probably pure distraction but one of them fell to the side hitting his head and dying instantly. I feel no pity for this kind of stupidity.