The Shouting End of Life Trivia Quiz

Answer: submarine

Ray "Chappie" Chapman was the first Major League Baseball player to die from being hit by a pitch. On August 16, 1920, Chapman, a shortstop for the Cleveland Indians, was hit in the temple by a submarine pitch by New York Yankees pitcher, Carl Mays. Chapman collapsed after being hit, and died the next morning at a hospital.
The requirement for batting helmets was not implemented until more than 30 years after Chapman's death.
A submarine pitch is an underhand pitch, and it is an unusual technique. Besides Carl Mays, a few pitchers noted for the technique are Ted Abernathy, Mark Eichhorn and Dan Quisenberry.

Answer: heart

On June 11th, 1963, Thich Quang Duc, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, sat down in the middle of a busy intersection in Saigon, another monk doused him with gasoline, and Quang Duc set himself on fire. He did so in protest of the persecution of Buddhist monks in South Vietnam by the government. His heart survived the immolation.
On June 19th, 1963, he was re-cremated during his funeral, and yet again, his heart remained intact.

Answer: smallpox

Employed as a medical photographer at the University of Birmingham Medical School, Janet Parker often worked in a darkroom located above a lab room where smallpox research was conducted. Estimated to have occurred during the days of July 24-25, 1978, a strain of the smallpox virus is believed to have traveled up through the air duct, into the area where Parker was working.

She began feeling ill on August 11th, and following admission to the hospital, on August 25th her infection with the most deadly strain of smallpox was confirmed.

She died on September 11th, 1978. Although she had had contact with a number of people before being hospitalized, only her mother contracted the disease - and her mother survived.

Answer: exploding lake

Located in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, Lake Nyos is one of three known exploding lakes - the other two being Lake Monoun, also in Cameroon, and Lake Kivu, on the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Each of the three lakes have a unique chemical composition, but all are subject to lake overturn, or limnic eruption.

A limnic eruption occurs when carbon dioxide, or carbon dioxide and methane gas, erupts from a deep lake. The eruption usually happens once the lake is saturated with the gas (gases), creating an unstable environment, and an event such as an earthquake, landslide or even a rain storm triggers the eruption. The displacement of the water by the gases can also cause a tsunami.
The tragedy of 1986 occurred when Lake Nyos had a limnic eruption, releasing a large suffocating cloud of carbon dioxide. The exact cause of that eruption is uncertain, but scientists have theorized that a landslide may have triggered the disaster. In addition to the 1,700 plus human victims of that eruption, approximately 3,500 head of livestock were killed.
A similar disaster is blamed for the deaths of 37 people near Lake Monoun in 1984.

Answer: True

Garry Hoy, a respected law specialist in Toronto, fell to his death during a demonstration of the 'unbreakable' condition of a boardroom window on the 24th floor of the Toronto-Dominion Centre. It was a demonstration he had performed numerous times in the past, always with a positive result. And, his last demonstration seemed to reinforce his claim. The glass did not break - the window simply popped out of its frame.
Before studying law, Hoy had gained an engineering degree.

Answer: lightning

In October, 1998, a soccer match between Bena Tshadi and Basanga was being played in the eastern province of Kasai. Just before half time, with a score of 1 - 1, lightning struck. Eleven players were killed - the entire Bena Tshadi team perished. Approximately 30 others were injured, but the home team, the Basangas, were untouched.

Answer: True

In 2001, 25 year old Chante Jawan Mallard, a former nurse's aide, struck Gregory Biggs, a homeless man, in Fort Worth, Texas. He flew into the air, crashed through the car's windshield, and was trapped. She continued home, parked in her garage, and left Biggs badly injured and trapped in her windshield. Hours later, after he had died, she called a male friend to help her dispose of the body.
Her part in the crime came to the attention of authorities several months later, after she was heard bragging about the deed. Believed to have been driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, Mallard was convicted of murder and tampering with evidence.

Answer: ice hockey

On March 16, 2002 Brittanie Cecil attended an NHL hockey game at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. She was enjoying a game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Calgary Flames, when a shot made by a Flames player, Derek Morris, was deflected by Jackets player Espen Knutsen. The puck went over the glass deflector behind the goal net, and struck Brittanie in the temple. She died two days later.
The Columbus Blue Jackets played the remainder of the season with her initials, "BNC", on their helmets. And, her death prompted the league to require netting installed at each end of the rink before the beginning of the next season.
In 2004, her parents received a $1.2 million settlement for her death.

Answer: collar bomb

In 2003, Brian Douglas Wells was apprehended in the act of robbing a bank in Erie, Pennsylvania. He told the police that three people had locked the bomb around his neck and given him a list of tasks to complete, and if he failed to accomplish those tasks the bomb would be detonated. The first task was the bank robbery, but the bomb was detonated before the bomb squad arrived.
In the ensuing investigation, it was discovered that Wells had actually been complicit in the crime, although he had thought the bomb was to be a fake. Eventually, two of his co-conspirators were sentenced to incarceration - one for 45 years, and one for life plus 30 years.
There have been incidents in which collar bombs have been used, as a means of extortion, and at least one incident where such a device was proven to be a hoax.

Answer: Segway

Jimi Heselden was killed when he accidentally drove off a cliff on a Segway at his estate. He fell into Jackdaw Crag, located on the River Wharfe, in West Yorkshire, on September 26th, 2010. He had just recently purchased controlling interest in Segway Inc., a company which produces the two-wheeled Segway personal transporter.
A former coal miner, who lost his job due to economic cuts after the 1984-1985 miners' strike, he developed a portable wire cage called a Hesco bastion, or 'concertainer', which proved to be a very profitable invention. His success allowed him not only to become a business tycoon, but also a generous philanthropist.