Suicide Demons Trivia Quiz

Answer: falling on a grenade

A soldier falling on a grenade is generally fatal, the giving of his life to save others. This could also be a reference to anyone taking responsibility to protect others.

There are documented instances of soldiers living through the experience, but they are few.

Answer: assisted suicide

A terminal or long-term illness can cause feelings of despair and hopelessness. The term "assisted suicide" generally categorizes a death where a family member or medical professional provides the means for the suicide. Euthanasia describes the situation where the family member or medical professional is the one to take the patient's life.

In 1992, Dell published a book by Derek Humphry named "Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide for the Dying". The book was written after Humphry assisted in the death of his wife, who was terminally ill from cancer.

Answer: seppuku

Anami was against surrender even after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. After joining in the signing of the surrender document, he committed seppuku.

The seppuku ritual begins with bathing and dressing. A favorite meal is then served, after which the warrior prepares by writing a death poem. The warrior plunges the blade into his abdomen and attempts to move it left and right. The warrior's second, or kaishakunin, would wait for the agreed upon signal and then decapitate the warrior.

Answer: honor suicide

The Werther effect, or many suicides following one of someone well publicized, is named after Goethe's novel "The Sorrows of Young Werther", where the young man kills himself because of unrequited love. A copycat suicide emulates one that the person learns about from personal knowledge, perhaps television or other media. Suicide which spreads through a community, such as a school, is referred to as a suicide contagion.

An honor suicide generally refers to someone taking their life to restore honor.

Answer: suicide pill

Suicide pills generally contain a concentration of potassium cyanide. These are not made to be swallowed, rather it is intended that the pill covering is broken by the teeth to speed the poison's dispersal. There are stories of the pills being stored in rings, bracelets, necklaces or other seemingly innocent adornments.

Answer: Russian roulette

The term appeared first in the short story "Russian Roulette" by George Surdez, published in the January 30, 1937, edition of Colliers magazine. The story included two sequences, one with a gun and five bullets and another when the gun only had one bullet.

Answer: self-immolation

My first recollection of this is the 1963 picture of Thich Quang Duc that was taken by Malcolm Browne. Thich Quang Duc was protesting because of the Roman Catholic persecution of the Buddhists in Vietnam. When negotiations were unsuccessful, several other monks followed his example.

The Indian practice of Sati is also self-immolation, when a woman joins her dead husband on his funeral pyre.

Answer: cult suicide

A tape was found of the final meeting with discussions of "revolutionary suicide". It had been spoken of in the past and members had been given "Flavor Aid", but it had never contained poison before. Over 900 people died, approximately a third of which were children.

Answer: Jauhar

If defeat were a certainty, the suicide customs of juahar and saka were a way for people to avoid dishonor and capture. The self-immolation of women and children, or jauhar, would occur when there was no hope of victory. This would motivate the warriors in a fight to the death, or saka.

Answer: self-defenestration

The tales of a multitude of Wall Street brokers jumping to their deaths is now classed as an urban legend. Though some folk did suicide, there was no significant increase at the end of October or November.

Throwing someone or something from a window is referred to as defenestration.