1 00:00:08,583 --> 00:00:10,750 [pensive music] 2 00:00:14,042 --> 00:00:16,417 What if I told you a safety demo 3 00:00:16,417 --> 00:00:18,125 once killed a man? 4 00:00:19,458 --> 00:00:23,500 - He wants to showcase the resilience of the windows 5 00:00:23,500 --> 00:00:24,625 of the building. 6 00:00:24,625 --> 00:00:27,583 - And he decides to show them his party trick. 7 00:00:29,208 --> 00:00:32,000 - Or tomorrow, you could be brutally attacked 8 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,583 by an out-of-control lawnmower? 9 00:00:36,167 --> 00:00:38,458 - The lawnmower takes off and climbs up in the sky. 10 00:00:39,792 --> 00:00:42,417 - People are huddled around him, blood is everywhere. 11 00:00:44,167 --> 00:00:47,125 - How about dueling with a cactus and losing? 12 00:00:48,167 --> 00:00:50,208 - They drive deep into the park. 13 00:00:50,208 --> 00:00:52,208 Fires at point blank range. 14 00:00:53,500 --> 00:00:56,208 - These are the deaths so surprising, 15 00:00:56,208 --> 00:00:58,875 they are truly unbelievable. 16 00:00:58,875 --> 00:01:01,167 [dramatic music] 17 00:01:11,042 --> 00:01:13,292 The statue of Winston Churchill stands tall 18 00:01:13,292 --> 00:01:15,417 over London's Parliament Square. 19 00:01:15,417 --> 00:01:19,292 Abraham Lincoln sits and keeps watch over Washington DC. 20 00:01:19,292 --> 00:01:20,542 Monuments erected to people 21 00:01:20,542 --> 00:01:23,042 of enduring importance are common, 22 00:01:23,042 --> 00:01:25,125 but in a small town in Austria, 23 00:01:25,125 --> 00:01:28,833 there's one built for a much more unusual hero. 24 00:01:32,875 --> 00:01:34,125 - It's the 16th century 25 00:01:34,250 --> 00:01:37,208 and Hans Steininger is the immensely popular mayor 26 00:01:37,208 --> 00:01:39,042 of Braunau am Inn. 27 00:01:39,042 --> 00:01:40,333 Everyone loves him. 28 00:01:40,333 --> 00:01:43,250 He's elected for six consecutive terms, 29 00:01:43,250 --> 00:01:45,708 but that's not what he's famous for. 30 00:01:45,708 --> 00:01:48,125 - Hans is a sight to see. 31 00:01:48,125 --> 00:01:51,542 He has a beard that's four and a half feet long, 32 00:01:52,625 --> 00:01:54,583 and when it gets to the end, it forks. 33 00:01:54,583 --> 00:01:58,208 It's so long, it reaches all the way to his feet. 34 00:01:58,208 --> 00:02:01,042 - [Dan] Mayor Hans even has his suits custom made 35 00:02:01,042 --> 00:02:02,875 to keep his beard neatly rolled up 36 00:02:02,875 --> 00:02:05,042 and tucked into his breast pocket. 37 00:02:05,042 --> 00:02:09,333 Braunau am Inn flourishes under his leadership for decades, 38 00:02:09,333 --> 00:02:13,208 until one day, when things get a little hairy. 39 00:02:14,375 --> 00:02:19,375 - September 28th, 1576, all mayhem breaks out. 40 00:02:19,375 --> 00:02:23,208 The town of Braunau am Inn catches fire. 41 00:02:24,542 --> 00:02:28,083 It's 1576, there's no such thing as a fire engine yet. 42 00:02:28,083 --> 00:02:30,708 There's no such thing as a fire department. 43 00:02:30,708 --> 00:02:35,375 Now the mayor has an emergency that he has to handle. 44 00:02:35,375 --> 00:02:39,417 - Atop a really long staircase, Hans surveys the scene 45 00:02:39,417 --> 00:02:42,542 and he just sees his entire town in flames. 46 00:02:42,542 --> 00:02:45,292 So to go save the town and direct rescue efforts, 47 00:02:45,292 --> 00:02:49,167 he takes off running, straight down the stairs. 48 00:02:49,167 --> 00:02:51,542 However, in his haste, he forgets 49 00:02:51,542 --> 00:02:55,417 to tuck his beard into his little beard pocket. 50 00:02:55,417 --> 00:02:58,208 - Almost immediately, his four 51 00:02:58,208 --> 00:03:00,667 and a half foot beard tangles up in his feet 52 00:03:00,667 --> 00:03:04,375 and he's just tumbling down these concrete stairs. 53 00:03:04,375 --> 00:03:07,083 - [Austin] Tip over top, over tip over top, 54 00:03:07,083 --> 00:03:08,750 into the town square. 55 00:03:08,750 --> 00:03:10,708 - [Dan] By the time he reaches the bottom, 56 00:03:10,708 --> 00:03:12,500 his neck is broken. 57 00:03:12,500 --> 00:03:15,708 - This is probably the first time in the history 58 00:03:15,708 --> 00:03:20,292 of the world a mayor has been killed by his own beard. 59 00:03:20,292 --> 00:03:22,375 - [Dan] But the people of Braunau am Inn 60 00:03:22,375 --> 00:03:26,375 find an unbelievable way to honor the mayor's legacy. 61 00:03:26,375 --> 00:03:29,750 - Hans may have been lost that day, but not his beard. 62 00:03:29,750 --> 00:03:33,208 His beard is snipped off before he's buried 63 00:03:33,208 --> 00:03:34,542 and is kept by his family 64 00:03:34,542 --> 00:03:37,500 and passed down from generation to generation 65 00:03:37,500 --> 00:03:41,375 until finally in the 20th century, 1919, 66 00:03:41,375 --> 00:03:43,875 the beard is bequeathed to the city. 67 00:03:43,875 --> 00:03:45,292 - And to this day, 68 00:03:45,292 --> 00:03:49,708 it is in a four and a half foot long glass box embalmed 69 00:03:49,708 --> 00:03:52,708 for everyone to remember mayor Hans Steininger. 70 00:03:52,708 --> 00:03:56,792 - And there's even, on the site, a Hans impersonator 71 00:03:56,792 --> 00:03:58,958 with his own four and a half foot beard. 72 00:04:00,500 --> 00:04:02,708 - If getting caught up in your own beard 73 00:04:02,708 --> 00:04:05,292 isn't a strange enough way to die, 74 00:04:05,292 --> 00:04:08,333 here's another tale of a fatal entanglement. 75 00:04:10,542 --> 00:04:13,792 - In the early 1900s, Isadora Duncan 76 00:04:13,792 --> 00:04:18,208 is one of the most famous, world-renowned dancers. 77 00:04:18,208 --> 00:04:23,042 She is known for establishing all kinds of innovative forms 78 00:04:23,042 --> 00:04:27,542 and movements and essentially creates modern dance. 79 00:04:27,542 --> 00:04:31,833 So she is this iconic, glamorous, beautiful woman. 80 00:04:33,333 --> 00:04:35,875 - It's 1927, Isadora is around 50-years-old 81 00:04:35,875 --> 00:04:38,750 and she's retired in the south of France in Nice, 82 00:04:38,750 --> 00:04:41,000 going around and partying with her rich friends 83 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:42,542 in the French Riviera. 84 00:04:42,542 --> 00:04:45,833 - She is noted for her very bohemian style. 85 00:04:45,833 --> 00:04:49,917 She wears flowing dresses and these flowing scarves, 86 00:04:49,917 --> 00:04:53,625 and she's almost famous for that willowy, flowing movement 87 00:04:53,625 --> 00:04:56,000 that is so common in her modern dance. 88 00:04:57,583 --> 00:05:00,875 - So one of Isadora's friends is the socialite Mary Desti, 89 00:05:00,875 --> 00:05:03,458 who gives Isadora a gift of a scarf, 90 00:05:03,458 --> 00:05:06,042 an absurdly long, crimson scarf. 91 00:05:07,375 --> 00:05:09,208 This thing's gotta be at least 15-feet long 92 00:05:09,208 --> 00:05:11,625 and it flows down like a long train, 93 00:05:11,625 --> 00:05:14,792 and follows her as she walks along, it's very dramatic. 94 00:05:15,917 --> 00:05:17,917 - [Dan] Isadora's unique style catches the eye 95 00:05:17,917 --> 00:05:21,542 of a race car mechanic named Benoit Falchetto. 96 00:05:22,500 --> 00:05:24,542 - And Benoit has quite the car. 97 00:05:24,542 --> 00:05:27,167 This is an Amilcar CGSS. 98 00:05:27,167 --> 00:05:28,375 It's a convertible, 99 00:05:28,375 --> 00:05:30,708 and as typical of race cars at that time, 100 00:05:30,708 --> 00:05:34,375 it has a very long hood that contains a powerful engine. 101 00:05:34,375 --> 00:05:35,875 It's so long that the driver 102 00:05:35,875 --> 00:05:38,000 and the passenger are sitting practically 103 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:39,417 on the rear wheels. 104 00:05:40,375 --> 00:05:42,292 - [Dan] In September 1927, 105 00:05:42,292 --> 00:05:45,208 Benoit and Isadora decide to take his roadster 106 00:05:45,208 --> 00:05:47,750 for a spin down the coast. 107 00:05:47,750 --> 00:05:49,458 - Her friend Mary tells her she should be wearing 108 00:05:49,458 --> 00:05:50,958 an overcoat on this trip 109 00:05:50,958 --> 00:05:53,250 because she's driving down the coast in a convertible. 110 00:05:53,250 --> 00:05:54,792 It's gonna be windy and cold, 111 00:05:54,792 --> 00:05:58,500 but all Isadora wants to wear is this long scarf. 112 00:05:59,917 --> 00:06:03,708 - Isadora gets into the passenger seat of this open car 113 00:06:03,708 --> 00:06:05,583 and she's just feeling the breeze, 114 00:06:05,583 --> 00:06:08,000 and this gorgeous crimson scarf 115 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,875 is fluttering out behind her. 116 00:06:11,875 --> 00:06:14,708 - [Chris] And then the wind hits in just the right, 117 00:06:14,708 --> 00:06:16,917 or in this case, just the wrong way. 118 00:06:18,708 --> 00:06:22,042 - The scarf, it gets threaded in between the spokes 119 00:06:22,042 --> 00:06:25,208 of the wheel and before anyone realizes that's happening, 120 00:06:25,208 --> 00:06:27,708 it's tightened around her neck. 121 00:06:27,708 --> 00:06:31,292 - Within about a second, it's wound so tightly 122 00:06:31,292 --> 00:06:33,000 that it pulls her from the seat, 123 00:06:35,667 --> 00:06:37,583 and smashes her to the road behind. 124 00:06:38,958 --> 00:06:41,125 - The New York Times says in its obituary 125 00:06:41,125 --> 00:06:43,917 that Ms. Duncan was hurled from an open automobile 126 00:06:43,917 --> 00:06:47,208 in an extraordinary manner and instantly killed. 127 00:06:47,208 --> 00:06:50,625 - Death by scarf is certainly weird. 128 00:06:50,625 --> 00:06:53,875 But there are other strange ways to die, 129 00:06:53,875 --> 00:06:57,125 like during a halftime show at a football game. 130 00:06:58,417 --> 00:07:01,000 - It's 1979 and we're at Shea Stadium 131 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,042 over in Flushing, Queens, where the Jets are the home team 132 00:07:04,042 --> 00:07:08,583 and they're playing the Patriots who are dismal, terrible. 133 00:07:09,708 --> 00:07:11,708 - A company called the Electronic Eagles 134 00:07:11,708 --> 00:07:14,583 is this model air show organization 135 00:07:14,583 --> 00:07:16,875 and they've been hired to do the entertainment. 136 00:07:18,833 --> 00:07:21,000 They start the show and they send up all 137 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,375 these gas-powered model airplanes and helicopters. 138 00:07:24,375 --> 00:07:26,375 This is super old school. 139 00:07:26,375 --> 00:07:28,583 - Basically what it is, it's hobbyists 140 00:07:28,583 --> 00:07:30,750 flying their airplanes around in circles and maybe 141 00:07:30,750 --> 00:07:33,125 doing some dips and dives and stuff like that. 142 00:07:34,667 --> 00:07:37,042 - [Dan] What every good model air show halftime extravaganza 143 00:07:37,042 --> 00:07:38,958 needs is a strong ending. 144 00:07:38,958 --> 00:07:41,792 But this finale is something no one sees coming. 145 00:07:43,375 --> 00:07:47,833 - A man walks out pushing a full lawnmower. 146 00:07:47,833 --> 00:07:50,042 How is a lawnmower in the middle 147 00:07:50,042 --> 00:07:52,625 of Shea Stadium going to be the grand finale? 148 00:07:53,875 --> 00:07:56,833 [lawnmower starts] 149 00:07:56,833 --> 00:07:59,042 - They are gonna fly this thing. 150 00:07:59,042 --> 00:08:01,667 - Yes, they removed the blades underneath it, 151 00:08:01,667 --> 00:08:03,833 but it had this huge propeller on the front of it, 152 00:08:03,833 --> 00:08:05,792 which arguably makes it more dangerous. 153 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,542 - The lawnmower takes off and it climbs up into the sky 154 00:08:11,542 --> 00:08:14,042 and it's actively flying around Shea Stadium. 155 00:08:17,667 --> 00:08:20,542 - In the stands right now is 20-year-old John Bowen 156 00:08:20,542 --> 00:08:21,875 and his younger brother. 157 00:08:21,875 --> 00:08:23,750 It's their first time in New York City. 158 00:08:23,750 --> 00:08:25,917 They came all the way from Nashua, New Hampshire 159 00:08:25,917 --> 00:08:28,125 to see their beloved Patriots play. 160 00:08:29,708 --> 00:08:32,792 - You gotta imagine, small town guy coming into the big city. 161 00:08:32,792 --> 00:08:36,417 The last thing he expects to see is this ridiculous affair. 162 00:08:36,417 --> 00:08:38,208 This mower flying through the air. 163 00:08:39,583 --> 00:08:40,875 - So Philip Cushman, 164 00:08:40,875 --> 00:08:42,375 he's controlling it with a remote control 165 00:08:42,375 --> 00:08:44,792 and he decides, let's amp it up a notch. 166 00:08:44,792 --> 00:08:46,958 We're gonna do some tricks. 167 00:08:46,958 --> 00:08:49,792 - Philip starts getting a little cocky 168 00:08:49,792 --> 00:08:51,875 with his aerial acrobatics. 169 00:08:52,958 --> 00:08:55,875 After increasingly daring swoops the crowd 170 00:08:55,875 --> 00:08:57,542 where he gets closer and pulls away 171 00:08:57,542 --> 00:09:00,417 and closer and pulls away, Cushman loses control 172 00:09:00,417 --> 00:09:01,875 of his flying lawnmower. 173 00:09:03,917 --> 00:09:05,958 - And it goes directly into the crowd, 174 00:09:09,708 --> 00:09:11,292 right into John Bowen. 175 00:09:12,583 --> 00:09:15,875 - Blood is everywhere, John does not get up. 176 00:09:15,875 --> 00:09:19,167 People are huddled around him trying to assist and aid 177 00:09:19,167 --> 00:09:21,042 and one man can be heard saying, 178 00:09:21,042 --> 00:09:24,708 "It looks like he's been attacked by an axe." 179 00:09:24,708 --> 00:09:26,167 - [Dan] John is carried to the field 180 00:09:26,167 --> 00:09:29,500 where an ambulance rushes him to the hospital. 181 00:09:29,500 --> 00:09:32,042 - Four days later, after multiple surgeries, 182 00:09:32,042 --> 00:09:34,750 John Bowen passes away from the injuries inflicted 183 00:09:34,750 --> 00:09:36,500 by the flying lawnmower. 184 00:09:36,500 --> 00:09:39,583 Needless to say, the NFL has never fielded 185 00:09:39,583 --> 00:09:42,125 a flying lawnmower halftime show ever again. 186 00:09:44,458 --> 00:09:49,125 - Perhaps we know now why most NFL halftime shows today 187 00:09:49,125 --> 00:09:50,667 are musical acts. 188 00:09:54,208 --> 00:09:57,333 - As everyone knows, death eventually comes for us all. 189 00:09:57,333 --> 00:10:00,417 But for one poor farmer in Indonesia, death comes in a way 190 00:10:00,417 --> 00:10:03,292 we can only call unbelievable. 191 00:10:07,875 --> 00:10:10,875 - Near a remote village in Indonesia, acre upon acre 192 00:10:10,875 --> 00:10:13,667 of lush forest has been cut back to make room 193 00:10:13,667 --> 00:10:15,750 for palm oil farms. 194 00:10:15,750 --> 00:10:17,833 This is big business in the region. 195 00:10:19,875 --> 00:10:22,417 - Akbar Salubiro is a worker 196 00:10:22,417 --> 00:10:26,375 in one of these deforested areas, where they harvest palm. 197 00:10:26,375 --> 00:10:29,417 - [Dan] While harvesting palm fruits sounds simple, 198 00:10:29,417 --> 00:10:33,125 the job comes with its fair share of occupational hazards. 199 00:10:33,125 --> 00:10:36,542 - Just steps from where Akbar is working 200 00:10:36,542 --> 00:10:38,792 is a dangerous world of the jungle, 201 00:10:38,792 --> 00:10:42,917 Komodo dragons, saltwater crocodiles, deadly cobras, 202 00:10:42,917 --> 00:10:45,542 and the longest, largest snake in the world, 203 00:10:45,542 --> 00:10:47,000 the reticulated python. 204 00:10:48,542 --> 00:10:51,917 - Unfortunately, the normal prey for pythons, 205 00:10:51,917 --> 00:10:55,375 medium-sized mammals like deer and bush pigs, 206 00:10:55,375 --> 00:10:59,000 tend to become scarce in these cleared areas. 207 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:03,000 The presence of large predators without their normal prey 208 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:05,833 is a bad combination for anything else 209 00:11:05,833 --> 00:11:08,000 in the neighborhood that might be edible. 210 00:11:09,292 --> 00:11:11,333 - [Dan] When Akbar doesn't come home from work 211 00:11:11,333 --> 00:11:13,875 one evening in March 2017, 212 00:11:13,875 --> 00:11:16,750 his wife, Luna, is understandably concerned. 213 00:11:18,542 --> 00:11:19,708 - Luna goes to the police 214 00:11:19,708 --> 00:11:21,375 and they tell her there were reports 215 00:11:21,375 --> 00:11:24,125 of someone screaming in the fields the night before, 216 00:11:25,708 --> 00:11:27,917 which of course is the last thing she wants to hear. 217 00:11:27,917 --> 00:11:30,000 - The search party and police find 218 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:32,958 an abandoned tool of Akbar's. 219 00:11:32,958 --> 00:11:36,125 They find a disruption in palm leaves 220 00:11:36,125 --> 00:11:38,667 and palm fronds all over the place 221 00:11:38,667 --> 00:11:40,917 and the unmistakable prints of what appears 222 00:11:40,917 --> 00:11:42,875 to be a very large python. 223 00:11:44,125 --> 00:11:45,833 - And they follow these snake prints 224 00:11:45,833 --> 00:11:48,458 and eventually reach this large bush 225 00:11:48,458 --> 00:11:50,542 under which they see a python. 226 00:11:50,542 --> 00:11:53,208 It's a big python, I mean, enormous. 227 00:11:54,583 --> 00:11:57,042 - [Dan] 23-feet long, to be exact, 228 00:11:57,042 --> 00:11:59,708 but its massive size is not the only remarkable 229 00:11:59,708 --> 00:12:01,292 thing about its appearance. 230 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:05,708 - It's all bloated and deformed. 231 00:12:05,708 --> 00:12:07,875 - They also see an outline 232 00:12:07,875 --> 00:12:10,208 of rubber boots in the python stomach. 233 00:12:11,833 --> 00:12:14,708 - [Dan] Just what did the python swallow? 234 00:12:16,667 --> 00:12:18,125 - They cut the snake open 235 00:12:18,125 --> 00:12:20,750 and inside, their worst nightmare is true. 236 00:12:22,042 --> 00:12:25,750 - It's unmistakably Akbar covered in digestive juices. 237 00:12:25,750 --> 00:12:28,125 His hair is intact, his clothes are intact. 238 00:12:28,125 --> 00:12:30,042 It's 100% him. 239 00:12:30,042 --> 00:12:32,875 - Python's kill by constriction, 240 00:12:32,875 --> 00:12:35,667 wrapping their bodies around their prey 241 00:12:35,667 --> 00:12:39,375 and then squeezing hard enough to even cause 242 00:12:39,375 --> 00:12:43,625 internal hemorrhaging and cause spinal injury. 243 00:12:43,625 --> 00:12:45,833 They strike with incredible speed, 244 00:12:45,833 --> 00:12:49,500 usually from behind and often at the head. 245 00:12:49,500 --> 00:12:51,000 They are not venomous, 246 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:55,292 but they have recurved fangs like rows of fish hooks 247 00:12:55,292 --> 00:12:56,500 that when they bite 248 00:12:56,500 --> 00:13:00,083 and pull back, are almost impossible to remove. 249 00:13:01,208 --> 00:13:03,333 - Pythons aren't successful predators 250 00:13:03,333 --> 00:13:05,208 because they're slow and lethargic. 251 00:13:05,208 --> 00:13:08,583 They're only slow and lethargic after they've eaten. 252 00:13:08,583 --> 00:13:11,958 Before that, they are deceptively fast 253 00:13:11,958 --> 00:13:14,125 and adept at killing, finding, 254 00:13:14,125 --> 00:13:16,792 and consuming things as large as boars 255 00:13:16,792 --> 00:13:18,250 or water buffaloes. 256 00:13:19,208 --> 00:13:21,708 - The bite of a python is dangerous, 257 00:13:21,708 --> 00:13:24,417 but what happens next is even worse. 258 00:13:26,083 --> 00:13:28,875 - The python slowly extends his jaws 259 00:13:28,875 --> 00:13:31,667 and then squeezes his head inside the mouth, 260 00:13:31,667 --> 00:13:34,083 then his shoulders and then works his way 261 00:13:34,083 --> 00:13:36,458 down the body and finally consumes him whole. 262 00:13:37,917 --> 00:13:40,875 - Python attacks on people are extremely rare, 263 00:13:40,875 --> 00:13:43,708 but it's notable that the last five fatalities 264 00:13:43,708 --> 00:13:47,167 have all occurred in Indonesia where demand 265 00:13:47,167 --> 00:13:50,208 for palm oil is driving deforestation 266 00:13:50,208 --> 00:13:53,333 and leaving behind a lot of hungry snakes. 267 00:13:53,333 --> 00:13:55,458 [dramatic music] 268 00:13:56,458 --> 00:14:01,333 - The odds of being bitten by a python are just 0.0045%, 269 00:14:01,333 --> 00:14:04,042 and even less for being swallowed by one. 270 00:14:05,208 --> 00:14:07,708 But that's nothing compared to the unlikelihood 271 00:14:07,708 --> 00:14:10,000 of another strange animal attack. 272 00:14:13,917 --> 00:14:15,917 - There is a domestic flight 273 00:14:15,917 --> 00:14:18,958 that is happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 274 00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,542 The flight is starting off in Kinshasa, 275 00:14:22,542 --> 00:14:27,042 then heading to Kiri, Bokoro, Semendua and Bandundu. 276 00:14:27,042 --> 00:14:29,625 It's not one of these commercial jet liners. 277 00:14:29,625 --> 00:14:31,208 - The Let 410, 278 00:14:31,208 --> 00:14:33,958 it's a twin engine, passenger carrying aircraft. 279 00:14:33,958 --> 00:14:35,958 You've got 18 passengers 280 00:14:35,958 --> 00:14:37,667 and you've got three crew members that consist 281 00:14:37,667 --> 00:14:39,458 of two pilots and a flight attendant. 282 00:14:42,167 --> 00:14:45,083 - [Dan] Unbeknownst to the crew or other passengers, 283 00:14:45,083 --> 00:14:47,875 someone carries a duffle bag onto the flight, 284 00:14:47,875 --> 00:14:50,542 a bag that will soon upend what should be 285 00:14:50,542 --> 00:14:52,167 a perfectly normal trip. 286 00:14:53,375 --> 00:14:56,708 - A flight attendant notices something a bit odd. 287 00:14:56,708 --> 00:14:59,208 The duffle bag in the rear of the plane, 288 00:14:59,208 --> 00:15:02,375 that's been under the seat the whole time, 289 00:15:02,375 --> 00:15:04,125 starts to move. 290 00:15:06,875 --> 00:15:08,542 - She goes to investigate. 291 00:15:08,542 --> 00:15:11,375 She opens it a little bit and lo and behold, 292 00:15:11,375 --> 00:15:13,958 there's a three-foot long crocodile inside. 293 00:15:14,875 --> 00:15:16,250 - This crocodile locks eyes 294 00:15:16,250 --> 00:15:19,333 on this flight attendant who naturally freaks out 295 00:15:19,333 --> 00:15:21,792 and runs to the front of the plane. 296 00:15:21,792 --> 00:15:23,250 All the other passengers now are trying 297 00:15:23,250 --> 00:15:25,667 to figure out, why is this person screaming? 298 00:15:25,667 --> 00:15:28,000 And they now see this crocodile, 299 00:15:29,208 --> 00:15:31,500 just sauntering through the aisle, 300 00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:34,375 so they all run to the front of the plane. 301 00:15:34,375 --> 00:15:36,875 [dramatic music] 302 00:15:36,875 --> 00:15:39,542 - As that happens, it forces all the weight 303 00:15:39,542 --> 00:15:41,542 in the center of gravity to the front of the aircraft. 304 00:15:41,542 --> 00:15:43,125 So now the aircraft begins 305 00:15:43,125 --> 00:15:46,375 to start tipping over straight nose down towards the ground 306 00:15:46,375 --> 00:15:49,542 and they are unable to recover from that situation. 307 00:15:49,542 --> 00:15:51,125 [explosion booms] 308 00:15:51,125 --> 00:15:53,583 The airplane tragically crashes 309 00:15:53,583 --> 00:15:56,833 into a house about a mile short of the runway. 310 00:15:56,833 --> 00:15:59,208 21 souls perished in this accident, 311 00:15:59,208 --> 00:16:01,042 22 if you count the crocodile, 312 00:16:01,042 --> 00:16:04,000 and one person survives to tell the tale. 313 00:16:05,042 --> 00:16:08,333 In all of my time looking at aircraft accidents, 314 00:16:08,333 --> 00:16:12,583 I have never seen anything remotely close to this. 315 00:16:12,583 --> 00:16:14,125 - Next time you fly, 316 00:16:14,125 --> 00:16:17,917 you might wanna think twice about opening the overhead bin, 317 00:16:17,917 --> 00:16:21,000 but if you think a croc on a plane is strange, 318 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,458 you won't believe what's up next. 319 00:16:26,583 --> 00:16:27,958 - It's time to hit the hay. 320 00:16:27,958 --> 00:16:29,292 You brush your teeth, get into bed, 321 00:16:29,292 --> 00:16:30,833 kiss your wife goodnight, and close your eyes. 322 00:16:30,833 --> 00:16:32,000 But you can't fall asleep. 323 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,458 So maybe you try counting sheep 324 00:16:34,458 --> 00:16:38,958 until you're interrupted by something surprising. 325 00:16:42,042 --> 00:16:45,708 - It's the middle of the night in Caratinga, Brazil. 326 00:16:45,708 --> 00:16:49,042 45-year-old Joao Maria de Souza 327 00:16:49,042 --> 00:16:51,250 is lying in bed with his wife, Len. 328 00:16:52,333 --> 00:16:54,875 - Caratinga is a hilly region, typically known 329 00:16:54,875 --> 00:16:57,292 for dairy production and cattle raising. 330 00:16:57,292 --> 00:17:00,125 And Joao's house butts on the side 331 00:17:00,125 --> 00:17:03,583 of a cattle raising dairy pasture hill. 332 00:17:03,583 --> 00:17:04,917 [cow moos] 333 00:17:04,917 --> 00:17:07,292 - And one of the cows on that farm escapes 334 00:17:07,292 --> 00:17:09,625 and he just grazing across the area, 335 00:17:09,625 --> 00:17:12,208 walking through the hills near the Souza home. 336 00:17:13,292 --> 00:17:16,250 - [Dan] Somehow, the lost and hungry cow 337 00:17:16,250 --> 00:17:20,000 steps off the hill onto the couple's corrugated roof. 338 00:17:21,333 --> 00:17:25,125 - It's a very heavy cow and it's a very thin roof. 339 00:17:26,375 --> 00:17:27,583 Eventually, as the cow puts its full weight 340 00:17:27,583 --> 00:17:30,542 on the thin corrugated roof, it gives way. 341 00:17:30,542 --> 00:17:35,375 - And this 3,000 pound cow falls eight feet right 342 00:17:35,375 --> 00:17:39,500 onto the bed that Joao and his wife are sleeping in. 343 00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:41,958 [dramatic music] 344 00:17:41,958 --> 00:17:45,458 As crazy as it seems, even though Joao 345 00:17:45,458 --> 00:17:48,750 and his wife are sleeping side by side in the same bed, 346 00:17:49,833 --> 00:17:53,583 she is unscathed untouched, but she is awakened. 347 00:17:53,583 --> 00:17:57,375 - Joao's wife wakes up next to her husband under a cow, 348 00:17:57,375 --> 00:17:59,458 immediately calls for medical care. 349 00:17:59,458 --> 00:18:02,542 [intense music] [police sirens] 350 00:18:02,542 --> 00:18:05,083 Unfortunately for Joao, his legs are fractured 351 00:18:05,083 --> 00:18:07,375 and he has massive internal bleeding 352 00:18:07,375 --> 00:18:09,750 and he will eventually pass away. 353 00:18:09,750 --> 00:18:12,458 [heart monitor flatlines] 354 00:18:14,333 --> 00:18:18,500 There's a local news report of the cow disaster 355 00:18:18,500 --> 00:18:21,000 and you just have to see it to understand 356 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,500 how large this hole is 357 00:18:23,500 --> 00:18:27,167 and how massive this cow must be to have caused this damage. 358 00:18:28,500 --> 00:18:30,333 - This isn't actually the first time this has happened. 359 00:18:30,333 --> 00:18:33,208 There have been three other cases of cows falling 360 00:18:33,208 --> 00:18:35,833 through roofs, but this is the only time 361 00:18:35,833 --> 00:18:38,250 a cow fell on a person. 362 00:18:38,250 --> 00:18:40,958 This is a terrible way to go, 363 00:18:40,958 --> 00:18:42,958 not just unexpected, it's terrible. 364 00:18:42,958 --> 00:18:44,958 - It's a tragic and bizarre death. 365 00:18:44,958 --> 00:18:47,333 Joao's brother says, "Being crushed 366 00:18:47,333 --> 00:18:50,083 by a cow is the last way you expect to leave this Earth." 367 00:18:50,083 --> 00:18:51,417 And his mother said, 368 00:18:51,417 --> 00:18:55,458 "I did not raise my son to be killed by a cow." 369 00:18:57,625 --> 00:18:59,042 - [Dan] As for the cow? 370 00:18:59,042 --> 00:19:01,250 - The cow actually escapes unharmed. 371 00:19:01,250 --> 00:19:03,083 There's nothing wrong with the cow. 372 00:19:05,542 --> 00:19:09,875 - If death by a falling cow sounds too strange to be true, 373 00:19:09,875 --> 00:19:13,500 you won't believe what lands on one man in Arizona. 374 00:19:15,292 --> 00:19:17,875 - When you drive in Arizona and go out into the desert, 375 00:19:17,875 --> 00:19:20,167 one of the things you notice are those very unique 376 00:19:20,167 --> 00:19:23,500 and very iconic Saguaro cactuses. 377 00:19:24,792 --> 00:19:28,042 The biggest species of cactus on Earth. 378 00:19:28,042 --> 00:19:30,333 They grow almost to 50 feet, some of these. 379 00:19:30,333 --> 00:19:31,667 I mean, they're huge. 380 00:19:33,042 --> 00:19:35,542 - Saguaro cacti are American treasures, 381 00:19:35,542 --> 00:19:38,875 so they are also protected wildlife. 382 00:19:38,875 --> 00:19:40,292 If you damage or harm one 383 00:19:40,292 --> 00:19:42,708 or kill one, you're looking at 25 years in prison. 384 00:19:42,708 --> 00:19:44,708 - Despite it being illegal, there happens 385 00:19:44,708 --> 00:19:48,208 to be a pastime in the area called cactus plugging 386 00:19:48,208 --> 00:19:49,458 in which you take a shotgun 387 00:19:49,458 --> 00:19:52,417 and you shoot at a Saguaro cactus. 388 00:19:52,417 --> 00:19:56,917 - [Dan] On February 4th, 1982, 27-year-old David Grundman 389 00:19:56,917 --> 00:19:59,083 and his roommate James Suchochi 390 00:19:59,083 --> 00:20:00,958 drive to Lake Pleasant, Arizona 391 00:20:00,958 --> 00:20:03,042 for a little cactus plugging. 392 00:20:03,042 --> 00:20:05,708 - They drive deep into the park, probably far enough in 393 00:20:05,708 --> 00:20:07,333 that nobody's gonna hear the shots 394 00:20:07,333 --> 00:20:09,750 and they won't get bothered by park authorities. 395 00:20:09,750 --> 00:20:12,167 David and his roommate come out with two rifles 396 00:20:12,167 --> 00:20:15,375 and a 16-gauge shotgun they want to test. 397 00:20:15,375 --> 00:20:17,083 - Grundman decides to take aim 398 00:20:17,083 --> 00:20:19,000 at his first target of the night, 399 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,458 a 10-foot tall Saguaro. 400 00:20:23,042 --> 00:20:25,625 [gunfire] 401 00:20:25,625 --> 00:20:28,542 After several rounds of firing 402 00:20:28,542 --> 00:20:31,000 and cactus plugging, it topples over. 403 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:32,250 He turns to his roommate 404 00:20:32,250 --> 00:20:34,583 and he says, "Let's take on a bigger one." 405 00:20:36,833 --> 00:20:39,917 - Next, David chooses a particular cactus 406 00:20:39,917 --> 00:20:42,042 that is 27-feet high 407 00:20:42,042 --> 00:20:46,375 and probably aged about 125-years-old. 408 00:20:46,375 --> 00:20:51,000 - [Austin] From four feet away of a 27-foot tall cactus, 409 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,542 he takes aim with his 16 gauge. 410 00:20:53,542 --> 00:20:55,875 - And he fires at point blank range. 411 00:20:55,875 --> 00:20:57,917 [gunshot] 412 00:20:57,917 --> 00:21:02,458 - And the 23-foot portion of the top starts falling over. 413 00:21:02,458 --> 00:21:04,583 [cactus collapsing] 414 00:21:09,042 --> 00:21:11,083 [eerie music] 415 00:21:11,083 --> 00:21:15,750 David Grudman is crushed by multiple tons of Saguaro cactus. 416 00:21:17,375 --> 00:21:18,708 - A cactus of this size 417 00:21:18,708 --> 00:21:21,208 and weight produces a very unique injury. 418 00:21:21,208 --> 00:21:23,375 While you obviously have blunt force trauma 419 00:21:23,375 --> 00:21:25,708 from just the sheer weight of this cactus, 420 00:21:25,708 --> 00:21:28,708 you also have sharp force injuries 421 00:21:28,708 --> 00:21:32,375 from these long, three-inch, spiky needles. 422 00:21:32,375 --> 00:21:34,833 So while you are being crushed by the weight of this, 423 00:21:34,833 --> 00:21:37,042 you're effectively also being stabbed 424 00:21:37,042 --> 00:21:38,708 by hundreds of needles. 425 00:21:38,708 --> 00:21:41,875 It has to be excruciatingly painful. 426 00:21:41,875 --> 00:21:44,750 - The medical examiner in Maricopa County was quoted 427 00:21:44,750 --> 00:21:48,917 as saying, "I've been at this job for 25 years 428 00:21:48,917 --> 00:21:52,667 and have never heard of someone being killed by a cactus." 429 00:21:56,500 --> 00:21:58,417 - We are all familiar with the old saying, 430 00:21:58,417 --> 00:22:00,375 "Pride goeth before a fall." 431 00:22:00,375 --> 00:22:03,250 But in the case of one very confident safety expert, 432 00:22:03,250 --> 00:22:06,292 this expression becomes quite literally true. 433 00:22:07,917 --> 00:22:11,458 - Garry Hoy is a highly regarded Toronto lawyer 434 00:22:11,458 --> 00:22:14,583 who specializes in building safety and compliance. 435 00:22:14,583 --> 00:22:17,708 On top of that, he also has a degree in engineering. 436 00:22:17,708 --> 00:22:20,708 This is a guy that absolutely loves his job. 437 00:22:22,042 --> 00:22:25,625 - His offices are in the Toronto Dominion skyscraper 438 00:22:25,625 --> 00:22:29,375 and he is oddly house proud when it comes to their offices 439 00:22:29,375 --> 00:22:30,875 because they have these windows 440 00:22:30,875 --> 00:22:33,750 that are the absolute apex of security, 441 00:22:33,750 --> 00:22:36,417 made to withstand anything that can come at them. 442 00:22:37,625 --> 00:22:40,958 - July 9th, 1993, and Garry Hoy is there 443 00:22:40,958 --> 00:22:44,417 at the Dominion Tower skyscraper in Toronto 444 00:22:44,417 --> 00:22:45,875 for an office party. 445 00:22:45,875 --> 00:22:48,958 It's a welcome party for young, college, 446 00:22:48,958 --> 00:22:52,125 soon-to-be-grads applying for apprenticeships 447 00:22:52,125 --> 00:22:53,708 at his law firm. 448 00:22:53,708 --> 00:22:56,708 - Because he is so passionate about building safety 449 00:22:56,708 --> 00:22:58,375 and about engineering structures, 450 00:22:58,375 --> 00:23:01,083 he wants to showcase the resilience 451 00:23:01,083 --> 00:23:04,250 of the windows of the building. 452 00:23:04,250 --> 00:23:06,292 - His offices are on the 24th floor 453 00:23:06,292 --> 00:23:09,708 and he decides to show them his party trick. 454 00:23:09,708 --> 00:23:11,917 [tense music] 455 00:23:11,917 --> 00:23:15,500 - So he tells everybody to step back and they give him room. 456 00:23:16,417 --> 00:23:19,042 He backs up and starts running. 457 00:23:22,042 --> 00:23:24,750 - [Sami] He launches himself at this window. 458 00:23:26,833 --> 00:23:29,875 - And he bounces right off of it and he says to everyone, 459 00:23:29,875 --> 00:23:32,042 to a round of applause, cheers and laughs, 460 00:23:32,042 --> 00:23:33,708 "Look how strong that glass is." 461 00:23:33,708 --> 00:23:35,875 - Feeling the high of the crowd's reception 462 00:23:35,875 --> 00:23:39,042 to his party trick, he goes, "I'm gonna do it again." 463 00:23:40,417 --> 00:23:42,583 - [Dan] Garry backs up and he sprints at full speed 464 00:23:42,583 --> 00:23:44,583 towards the shatterproof window, 465 00:23:44,583 --> 00:23:47,167 24 stories above Toronto. 466 00:23:48,667 --> 00:23:50,667 - The window doesn't shatter. 467 00:23:50,667 --> 00:23:54,458 However, the glass and its entire frame 468 00:23:54,458 --> 00:23:57,333 separate from the side of the skyscraper. 469 00:23:57,333 --> 00:23:59,875 And now Garry, to his surprise, 470 00:23:59,875 --> 00:24:04,792 is riding a full, intact pane of skyscraper glass 471 00:24:04,792 --> 00:24:06,917 down to the ground of Toronto. 472 00:24:10,750 --> 00:24:15,167 - Unfortunately, he's killed, but he's right. 473 00:24:15,167 --> 00:24:20,042 His windows are actually as resilient as he always claimed. 474 00:24:20,042 --> 00:24:22,708 He just isn't taking into account the frame, 475 00:24:22,708 --> 00:24:24,542 which is the failure point. 476 00:24:24,542 --> 00:24:26,667 And that was the ultimate demise. 477 00:24:28,667 --> 00:24:32,125 - Garry's tragic death truly defines the phrase, 478 00:24:32,125 --> 00:24:33,875 a bad day at work. 479 00:24:33,875 --> 00:24:35,333 Well, that's something the victim 480 00:24:35,333 --> 00:24:37,833 in our next story will also experience. 481 00:24:40,750 --> 00:24:44,292 - It's 1980 and Mayor Monica Myers 482 00:24:44,292 --> 00:24:46,625 is in charge of Betterton, Maryland. 483 00:24:46,625 --> 00:24:48,458 - It's a small beach community 484 00:24:48,458 --> 00:24:50,250 across the bay from Baltimore. 485 00:24:50,250 --> 00:24:53,875 Mayor Monica sees herself as a true municipal worker. 486 00:24:53,875 --> 00:24:56,542 - She takes this job extremely seriously. 487 00:24:56,542 --> 00:24:58,667 She feels like if she is gonna be in this leadership 488 00:24:58,667 --> 00:25:01,708 position, she needs to know how everything in the town runs, 489 00:25:01,708 --> 00:25:05,042 especially in those infrastructure type jobs. 490 00:25:05,042 --> 00:25:06,542 - And one of these things 491 00:25:06,542 --> 00:25:09,375 is inspecting their sewage treatment facility. 492 00:25:09,375 --> 00:25:11,375 - One morning, at 6:00 AM like normal, 493 00:25:11,375 --> 00:25:13,417 she goes to test the sewage plant. 494 00:25:13,417 --> 00:25:16,417 - This sounds benign, but it's not. 495 00:25:16,417 --> 00:25:20,417 These are giant 15-foot tall vats 496 00:25:20,417 --> 00:25:22,792 of human excrement and waste. 497 00:25:22,792 --> 00:25:24,458 - She climbs up the narrow stairs, 498 00:25:24,458 --> 00:25:26,708 gets to the catwalk that is above these tanks, 499 00:25:26,708 --> 00:25:29,000 and she slowly leans over the railing 500 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,167 to try to get just a small sample from the top of the vat. 501 00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,875 - But in reaching for it, she loses her balance, 502 00:25:40,417 --> 00:25:44,583 and she falls into disgusting sludge. 503 00:25:44,583 --> 00:25:47,542 - As the sewage is aerated to treat it, 504 00:25:47,542 --> 00:25:49,375 it actually makes it frothy. 505 00:25:49,375 --> 00:25:52,708 So it's not something that you can tread your way out 506 00:25:52,708 --> 00:25:54,333 of or kick your way out of. 507 00:25:54,333 --> 00:25:56,417 - But also the mechanisms are causing 508 00:25:56,417 --> 00:25:57,833 a current at the base of these. 509 00:25:57,833 --> 00:25:59,208 So it's a losing battle. 510 00:25:59,208 --> 00:26:01,917 There's almost no way a human could actually fight 511 00:26:01,917 --> 00:26:05,042 their way out of this foamy sludge. 512 00:26:10,208 --> 00:26:14,333 - About an hour later, around 7:30 AM, a plant supervisor, 513 00:26:14,333 --> 00:26:17,208 Carl Gustafson comes to begin his day on the job. 514 00:26:20,542 --> 00:26:21,917 And he notices on the catwalk 515 00:26:21,917 --> 00:26:24,417 above the vats, Mayor Monica's kit, 516 00:26:24,417 --> 00:26:25,875 but there's no Mayor Monica. 517 00:26:25,875 --> 00:26:27,583 - He quickly starts looking around 518 00:26:27,583 --> 00:26:29,625 and then finally he sees one 519 00:26:29,625 --> 00:26:31,792 of the vats has something in it. 520 00:26:31,792 --> 00:26:33,542 And unfortunately when he gets a closer look, 521 00:26:33,542 --> 00:26:36,333 that's something is Monica's dead body. 522 00:26:36,333 --> 00:26:39,042 - [Dan] The police are called to retrieve the body 523 00:26:39,042 --> 00:26:41,208 and they rule the death an accident. 524 00:26:41,208 --> 00:26:42,750 As part of their official duty, 525 00:26:42,750 --> 00:26:44,875 they issue what must be the strangest cause 526 00:26:44,875 --> 00:26:48,542 of death this town or any other has ever seen. 527 00:26:48,542 --> 00:26:51,292 - They basically have to make a statement that she has died 528 00:26:51,292 --> 00:26:54,042 by drowning in human waste, which has gotta be one 529 00:26:54,042 --> 00:26:57,458 of the absolute most nightmarish scenarios I can imagine. 530 00:26:57,458 --> 00:27:00,208 - And in thinking about the story, one starts to consider 531 00:27:00,208 --> 00:27:02,833 what would be the absolute worst way to go? 532 00:27:03,917 --> 00:27:06,833 No, there's nothing worse than that. 533 00:27:13,667 --> 00:27:15,667 - Being buried alive has long been considered 534 00:27:15,667 --> 00:27:17,458 one of the worst ways to die. 535 00:27:17,458 --> 00:27:22,583 Even scarier, that it could happen nowhere near a cemetery. 536 00:27:24,750 --> 00:27:28,917 - November 24th, 2009, three days before Thanksgiving. 537 00:27:28,917 --> 00:27:31,083 You have a man by the name of John Jones, 538 00:27:31,083 --> 00:27:34,208 his brother Josh, and a couple of friends who are going 539 00:27:34,208 --> 00:27:38,292 to be entering a cave known as the Nutty Putty Cave. 540 00:27:39,583 --> 00:27:42,792 - The Nutty Putty Cave is not what you think of 541 00:27:42,792 --> 00:27:44,333 when you normally think of a cave. 542 00:27:44,333 --> 00:27:47,417 This is not one that you can just walk in and walk through. 543 00:27:47,417 --> 00:27:49,833 You actually have to like worm your way through 544 00:27:49,833 --> 00:27:52,417 these narrow crevices. 545 00:27:52,417 --> 00:27:54,167 - [Dan] From the surface entrance, 546 00:27:54,167 --> 00:27:58,250 the journey takes you a whopping 145 feet below ground. 547 00:27:59,750 --> 00:28:02,375 - Additionally, to be able to pull yourself through one 548 00:28:02,375 --> 00:28:03,917 of these very narrow crevices, 549 00:28:03,917 --> 00:28:06,542 you have to be able to know how to control your breath 550 00:28:06,542 --> 00:28:09,042 because you have to completely exhale all 551 00:28:09,042 --> 00:28:11,542 of the breath outta your body so that you can be as small 552 00:28:11,542 --> 00:28:14,417 as possible to be able to put yourself through that crevice. 553 00:28:14,417 --> 00:28:15,875 You can't be claustrophobic 554 00:28:15,875 --> 00:28:17,333 and enter a type of cave like this 555 00:28:17,333 --> 00:28:19,958 because it's not going to go well for you. 556 00:28:19,958 --> 00:28:23,042 - [Dan] Despite the danger, John and his group of friends 557 00:28:23,042 --> 00:28:27,708 enter the cave at 8:00 PM on November 24th. 558 00:28:27,708 --> 00:28:29,042 - As they're making their way through the cave, 559 00:28:29,042 --> 00:28:31,750 at a certain point, John reaches an area known 560 00:28:31,750 --> 00:28:33,708 as the birth canal. 561 00:28:33,708 --> 00:28:35,292 - [Hakeem] He's at this crossroads, 562 00:28:35,292 --> 00:28:37,208 you could go right or left. 563 00:28:38,292 --> 00:28:40,625 - [Dan] Within minutes, John realizes 564 00:28:40,625 --> 00:28:42,250 he's gone the wrong way. 565 00:28:42,250 --> 00:28:45,208 - So at this point, John is 100 feet underground, 566 00:28:45,208 --> 00:28:48,708 wedged in this tight 8.5 inch passageway, 567 00:28:48,708 --> 00:28:51,458 but he's also pitched forward almost upside down 568 00:28:51,458 --> 00:28:54,917 because of the angle of the passageway, and he's stuck. 569 00:28:57,042 --> 00:28:59,917 - Imagine how terrifying this is. 570 00:29:01,875 --> 00:29:04,875 - Before long, over 100 rescuers are upon the scene 571 00:29:04,875 --> 00:29:06,708 and they are gonna do everything in their power 572 00:29:06,708 --> 00:29:09,375 to see if they can pull John out of the cave. 573 00:29:11,083 --> 00:29:13,583 - The rescuers set up a pulley system 574 00:29:13,583 --> 00:29:16,083 and they tie ropes to John's legs 575 00:29:16,083 --> 00:29:17,833 and they attempt to winch him out 576 00:29:17,833 --> 00:29:19,458 of the place where he's stuck. 577 00:29:19,458 --> 00:29:22,708 But when they pull the pulley, it brings his legs up 578 00:29:22,708 --> 00:29:24,708 to the roof of the cave, creating friction 579 00:29:24,708 --> 00:29:26,083 that stops him from moving. 580 00:29:26,083 --> 00:29:28,333 And because he's been upside down all this time, 581 00:29:28,333 --> 00:29:31,708 he has no feeling in his legs and he can't move them. 582 00:29:31,708 --> 00:29:33,708 - So at one point they think to themselves, 583 00:29:33,708 --> 00:29:35,042 do we just break his legs? 584 00:29:35,042 --> 00:29:36,542 'Cause if we break his legs, we'll be able 585 00:29:36,542 --> 00:29:38,000 to move them however we want. 586 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:39,375 But the problem with that is because he's been sitting 587 00:29:39,375 --> 00:29:41,333 in this position for so long, they're worried 588 00:29:41,333 --> 00:29:43,958 that if they break his legs, the shock 589 00:29:43,958 --> 00:29:46,083 of breaking his legs will kill him. 590 00:29:47,042 --> 00:29:50,292 On top of that, one part of the pulley system 591 00:29:50,292 --> 00:29:51,375 ends up just shattering. 592 00:29:53,417 --> 00:29:55,125 - The situation is dire. 593 00:29:55,125 --> 00:29:57,708 The rescuers are working, his family shows up, 594 00:29:57,708 --> 00:29:59,250 he has his wife there, 595 00:29:59,250 --> 00:30:02,625 and so the rescuers lower a speaker down there 596 00:30:02,625 --> 00:30:06,000 so that his family can tell him, "It's gonna be okay, John." 597 00:30:07,042 --> 00:30:09,542 Even though John can breathe, he has another problem. 598 00:30:09,542 --> 00:30:13,375 Our bodies are designed to pump blood up from our feet 599 00:30:13,375 --> 00:30:16,083 to our brains because we're normally upright 600 00:30:16,083 --> 00:30:20,167 in a gravitational field, so our body works against that. 601 00:30:20,167 --> 00:30:22,708 If you're upside down for a long time, 602 00:30:22,708 --> 00:30:25,208 blood begins to pool in the brain. 603 00:30:25,208 --> 00:30:28,292 The heart has to work extra hard to get it out. 604 00:30:28,292 --> 00:30:32,208 So John is starting to have issues with his brain. 605 00:30:32,208 --> 00:30:34,917 He's hallucinating and things 606 00:30:34,917 --> 00:30:38,792 are getting bad slowly but constantly. 607 00:30:40,208 --> 00:30:43,125 - At this point, it's been over 20 hours 608 00:30:43,125 --> 00:30:45,042 that he has been in this position. 609 00:30:46,250 --> 00:30:49,458 Ultimately, John dies of a cardiac arrest 610 00:30:49,458 --> 00:30:52,583 on November 25th, 2009, shortly before midnight. 611 00:30:54,250 --> 00:30:56,708 - [Dan] Rescuers worry that recovering John's body 612 00:30:56,708 --> 00:30:59,417 from the cave is too risky for their team, 613 00:30:59,417 --> 00:31:00,958 so they decide against it. 614 00:31:02,208 --> 00:31:05,542 - The Nutty Putty Cave will be filled with concrete, 615 00:31:05,542 --> 00:31:09,083 thus intombing John Jones in his final resting place. 616 00:31:09,083 --> 00:31:11,583 A plaque is put up to commemorate him. 617 00:31:11,583 --> 00:31:16,250 And to this day, the cave is forever closed to the public. 618 00:31:19,667 --> 00:31:23,833 - If you're not claustrophobic yet, you might be after this. 619 00:31:26,708 --> 00:31:28,333 - It's New Year's Day 2015, 620 00:31:28,333 --> 00:31:31,875 and this 50-year-old man named Steven Winfrey decides 621 00:31:31,875 --> 00:31:35,333 to go rabbit hunting in Squirrel Woods Scout Camp. 622 00:31:35,333 --> 00:31:38,500 - As a rabbit hunter, Winfrey is gonna bring along a dog 623 00:31:38,500 --> 00:31:40,042 and a couple of ferrets. 624 00:31:40,042 --> 00:31:41,792 - And the ferrets go down in the hole 625 00:31:41,792 --> 00:31:43,208 to flush out the rabbit, 626 00:31:43,208 --> 00:31:45,542 and then once the rabbit comes out of the hole, 627 00:31:45,542 --> 00:31:49,042 the dog goes and catches the rabbit and he's good to go. 628 00:31:49,042 --> 00:31:50,250 Dinner is served. 629 00:31:51,292 --> 00:31:53,042 - [Dan] Steven, the ferrets, and his dog 630 00:31:53,042 --> 00:31:55,958 have some early success catching the rabbit, 631 00:31:55,958 --> 00:31:58,708 but he spots another going into a distant hole 632 00:31:58,708 --> 00:32:00,208 and pursues it. 633 00:32:00,208 --> 00:32:02,417 This perfectly reasonable choice 634 00:32:02,417 --> 00:32:05,625 will unlock a deadly chain of events. 635 00:32:05,625 --> 00:32:07,833 - Steven goes about his routine. 636 00:32:07,833 --> 00:32:10,042 He sends the ferrets into the rabbit hole, 637 00:32:10,042 --> 00:32:11,250 but no rabbit comes out. 638 00:32:11,250 --> 00:32:13,875 So he realizes he has to go to plan B. 639 00:32:13,875 --> 00:32:16,292 - He ties up the dog, takes off his jacket, 640 00:32:16,292 --> 00:32:18,208 and then pulls out a shovel and starts digging. 641 00:32:18,208 --> 00:32:21,000 And his idea here is to excavate the hole 642 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:22,792 so it's deep enough where he can reach in 643 00:32:22,792 --> 00:32:24,708 and grab the rabbit himself. 644 00:32:24,708 --> 00:32:26,458 [dramatic music] 645 00:32:26,458 --> 00:32:29,250 - So he sticks his arm in and he can't find the rabbit. 646 00:32:29,250 --> 00:32:31,250 He's reaching around everywhere, 647 00:32:31,250 --> 00:32:34,042 and he know he saw that rabbit go in that hole. 648 00:32:34,042 --> 00:32:36,167 So he comes up with plan C. 649 00:32:37,500 --> 00:32:40,167 - He gets even further into the hole with his arm 650 00:32:40,167 --> 00:32:43,042 and then decides to stick his head into the hole 651 00:32:43,042 --> 00:32:44,500 to look for the rabbit. 652 00:32:45,583 --> 00:32:48,208 - And he's looking around and he's reaching around, 653 00:32:48,208 --> 00:32:50,167 and he still can't see a rabbit. 654 00:32:50,167 --> 00:32:52,375 So he decides to abort the mission, 655 00:32:52,375 --> 00:32:54,917 but he can't pull out. He's stuck. 656 00:32:56,292 --> 00:32:59,417 His head and his arm are both stuck in this rabbit hole. 657 00:33:01,708 --> 00:33:03,208 - At this point, panic sets in. 658 00:33:04,042 --> 00:33:05,583 [dog barking] 659 00:33:05,583 --> 00:33:07,208 He's got to get his head out of this hole. 660 00:33:07,208 --> 00:33:08,875 He's pushing with his hands. 661 00:33:08,875 --> 00:33:12,083 He's writhing with his body and flailing his legs back 662 00:33:12,083 --> 00:33:14,167 and forth, trying to get some leverage. 663 00:33:14,167 --> 00:33:16,250 And that action is so violent 664 00:33:16,250 --> 00:33:18,500 that he actually throws off both of his boots. 665 00:33:20,167 --> 00:33:21,875 - He is now in an enclosed space 666 00:33:21,875 --> 00:33:24,542 with no oxygen and struggling. 667 00:33:24,542 --> 00:33:26,583 [upbeat music] 668 00:33:26,583 --> 00:33:27,625 Not a good combination. 669 00:33:32,917 --> 00:33:36,917 - [Dan] The next day, on January 2nd, 2015, 670 00:33:36,917 --> 00:33:39,125 a hiker arrives at the strange scene. 671 00:33:40,292 --> 00:33:43,167 - It's a man's body splayed out on the ground 672 00:33:43,167 --> 00:33:46,875 with his head and one arm stuck in a rabbit hole. 673 00:33:46,875 --> 00:33:48,208 The hiker can see that there's 674 00:33:48,208 --> 00:33:50,208 been a lot of violent action there. 675 00:33:50,208 --> 00:33:51,875 - There's scratch marks all around. 676 00:33:51,875 --> 00:33:53,208 You can see his struggle. 677 00:33:53,208 --> 00:33:55,750 His boots are on the ground off of his feet. 678 00:33:55,750 --> 00:33:58,208 His body's twisted 45 degrees 679 00:33:58,208 --> 00:34:00,792 and it looks like he's not breathing. 680 00:34:00,792 --> 00:34:03,083 - And his poor dog is still tied 681 00:34:03,083 --> 00:34:05,958 to the tree patiently waiting for his owner 682 00:34:05,958 --> 00:34:07,750 to emerge from the hole. 683 00:34:09,375 --> 00:34:11,917 - So the hiker calls an ambulance, 684 00:34:11,917 --> 00:34:14,375 but alas, it's too late. 685 00:34:14,375 --> 00:34:18,292 This guy is dead as a doornail laying there 686 00:34:18,292 --> 00:34:20,583 with his head in the ground. 687 00:34:20,583 --> 00:34:22,000 - [Dan] What isn't there? 688 00:34:23,042 --> 00:34:24,500 Any sign of a rabbit. 689 00:34:24,500 --> 00:34:25,958 - The autopsy report 690 00:34:25,958 --> 00:34:28,833 that is ultimately done on Steven reveals that his cause 691 00:34:28,833 --> 00:34:33,583 of death is positional asphyxia in that he is upside down, 692 00:34:33,583 --> 00:34:37,417 locked in a position with not a lot of air circulation. 693 00:34:38,708 --> 00:34:42,042 - And I'm sure somewhere on it, it said, "death by rabbit hole." 694 00:34:48,667 --> 00:34:51,083 - They say it's impossible to have too much of a good thing, 695 00:34:51,083 --> 00:34:53,333 but could something as simple as pure water 696 00:34:53,333 --> 00:34:54,708 turn out to be deadly? 697 00:34:57,417 --> 00:35:00,208 - Sacramento-based radio station KDND 698 00:35:00,208 --> 00:35:03,500 has a morning show called the Morning Rave. 699 00:35:03,500 --> 00:35:05,000 - And the contest that they're holding, 700 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:07,583 it seems innocent enough. 701 00:35:07,583 --> 00:35:10,833 - The contest is called Hold Your Wee for a Wii. 702 00:35:12,083 --> 00:35:14,042 You drink copious amounts of water 703 00:35:14,042 --> 00:35:16,250 and the person who holds their pee longest 704 00:35:16,250 --> 00:35:17,958 wins a Nintendo Wii. 705 00:35:17,958 --> 00:35:21,042 - The 20 contestants are given eight ounce bottles of water 706 00:35:21,042 --> 00:35:23,500 that they have to consume every 15 minutes. 707 00:35:23,500 --> 00:35:25,667 And if they vomit or urinate, 708 00:35:25,667 --> 00:35:27,875 they're disqualified from the contest. 709 00:35:27,875 --> 00:35:29,250 - In that group of 20 710 00:35:29,250 --> 00:35:30,792 is one of the contestants, Jennifer Strange. 711 00:35:30,792 --> 00:35:35,708 She is a young mother and she is hoping to win this Wii. 712 00:35:35,708 --> 00:35:38,792 This is a really hard to get video game system, 713 00:35:38,792 --> 00:35:42,750 so she figures this is her opportunity to get it for free. 714 00:35:42,750 --> 00:35:46,250 - [Dan] Ironically, this free prize will go on to cost 715 00:35:46,250 --> 00:35:47,792 a lot more. 716 00:35:47,792 --> 00:35:52,208 On the morning of January 12th, 2007, the contest begins. 717 00:35:52,208 --> 00:35:54,750 - 90 minutes in, people have to go to the bathroom. 718 00:35:54,750 --> 00:35:56,333 Others are vomiting. 719 00:35:57,583 --> 00:35:59,333 - There's a woman laying on the floor, 720 00:35:59,333 --> 00:36:01,333 her teeth are chattering. 721 00:36:01,333 --> 00:36:03,625 No telling if this is from over hydration 722 00:36:03,625 --> 00:36:06,667 or just the stress of holding it in this long. 723 00:36:06,667 --> 00:36:09,875 - All the while, by the way, the jocks on the Morning Rave 724 00:36:09,875 --> 00:36:11,417 are having a ball. 725 00:36:11,417 --> 00:36:13,542 - Oh, she looks sick. 726 00:36:13,542 --> 00:36:15,792 - They're just taking so much delight 727 00:36:15,792 --> 00:36:17,292 in seeing all these people go 728 00:36:17,292 --> 00:36:20,417 through various stages of pain. 729 00:36:20,417 --> 00:36:22,083 - [DJ] Oh my gosh, look at her belly! 730 00:36:22,083 --> 00:36:25,875 - [Dan] After an agonizing two hours, Jennifer has managed 731 00:36:25,875 --> 00:36:28,375 to make it down to the final two. 732 00:36:28,375 --> 00:36:31,625 - Jennifer has consumed around two gallons 733 00:36:31,625 --> 00:36:33,833 of water at this point without having 734 00:36:33,833 --> 00:36:35,500 gone to the bathroom yet. 735 00:36:35,500 --> 00:36:38,625 - Clearly, the DJs did not read the instructions 736 00:36:38,625 --> 00:36:40,458 on the human body. 737 00:36:40,458 --> 00:36:45,208 One DJ jokes, "Can you, like, die from water poisoning?" 738 00:36:45,208 --> 00:36:46,667 Someone else says, 739 00:36:46,667 --> 00:36:48,583 "I think that guy's gonna die over there." 740 00:36:48,583 --> 00:36:51,042 And one DJ, to uproarious laughter says, 741 00:36:51,042 --> 00:36:52,875 "Make him sign the release." 742 00:36:52,875 --> 00:36:55,583 - [DJ] Jennifer, I heard that you're not doing too well. 743 00:36:55,583 --> 00:36:57,042 - [Jennifer] My head hurts. 744 00:36:57,042 --> 00:36:59,417 - Still not getting the gravity of this situation, 745 00:36:59,417 --> 00:37:01,333 the DJs are looking at her 746 00:37:01,333 --> 00:37:04,208 and making fun of her, saying she looks pregnant. 747 00:37:04,208 --> 00:37:05,667 - [DJ] She said it looks like her belly 748 00:37:05,667 --> 00:37:07,625 like when she was pregnant, look, it's totally sticking out. 749 00:37:07,625 --> 00:37:08,750 - [DJ] Oh my gosh. 750 00:37:08,750 --> 00:37:10,333 - [Dan] Three hours later, 751 00:37:10,333 --> 00:37:13,083 Jennifer's in too much pain to continue. 752 00:37:13,083 --> 00:37:14,583 She quits the contest 753 00:37:14,583 --> 00:37:17,792 and takes what is probably a very long bathroom break. 754 00:37:17,792 --> 00:37:21,708 Then she heads home, but something isn't quite right. 755 00:37:21,708 --> 00:37:23,333 - Because Jennifer's taken in all this water 756 00:37:23,333 --> 00:37:26,125 in a short amount of time and she's unable to urinate, 757 00:37:26,125 --> 00:37:27,750 it runs into the cells, 758 00:37:27,750 --> 00:37:29,708 especially the delicate brain cells, 759 00:37:29,708 --> 00:37:32,500 and you get swelling of the cerebrum. 760 00:37:32,500 --> 00:37:35,417 Some cells may rupture and then the brain itself swells, 761 00:37:35,417 --> 00:37:38,500 and you can have what we call a cerebral herniation, 762 00:37:38,500 --> 00:37:40,667 which destroys your brain stem and that's it. 763 00:37:41,917 --> 00:37:44,458 - Within five hours of the Wii contest beginning, 764 00:37:44,458 --> 00:37:48,375 Jennifer Strange is found dead on her bathroom floor. 765 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:51,625 - There are no criminal charges 766 00:37:51,625 --> 00:37:55,542 because these contestants did enter of their own free will. 767 00:37:55,542 --> 00:37:58,583 But there's a civil suit brought by Jennifer's husband 768 00:37:58,583 --> 00:38:01,042 and the jury awards Jennifer's family, 769 00:38:01,042 --> 00:38:05,250 $16.5 million in compensation for wrongful death. 770 00:38:06,750 --> 00:38:10,917 - Next up, another unique death that costs a fortune. 771 00:38:13,917 --> 00:38:16,042 - It's the second century, BCE 772 00:38:16,042 --> 00:38:21,417 and Manius Aquillius is a very prominent Roman consul, general, 773 00:38:21,417 --> 00:38:26,250 and notoriously greedy and power hungry individual. 774 00:38:28,208 --> 00:38:31,125 - In 89 BCE, he is sent 775 00:38:31,125 --> 00:38:35,417 to quell a rebellion in Pontus, which is modern day Turkey, 776 00:38:35,417 --> 00:38:37,833 led by Mithridates the sixth, 777 00:38:37,833 --> 00:38:40,708 who raised a rebellion against Roman rule. 778 00:38:40,708 --> 00:38:44,042 Manius marches into Pontius with 6,000 men. 779 00:38:44,042 --> 00:38:47,833 As a Roman general, he's thinking, "I've got this, 780 00:38:47,833 --> 00:38:49,375 no problem whatsoever. 781 00:38:49,375 --> 00:38:51,875 I'm going to crush this rebellion." 782 00:38:51,875 --> 00:38:54,458 However, when he gets to Pontus, he finds 783 00:38:54,458 --> 00:38:58,542 that Mithridates has 100,000 men. 784 00:39:00,542 --> 00:39:04,375 And so Manius is seriously outnumbered. 785 00:39:04,375 --> 00:39:06,375 - Upon seeing his insurmountable odds, 786 00:39:06,375 --> 00:39:08,208 Manius Aquillius turns tail. 787 00:39:08,208 --> 00:39:10,750 He's fleeing, he's outta here. 788 00:39:10,750 --> 00:39:14,375 - [Dan] Unfortunately, his plan of retreat also falls short. 789 00:39:14,375 --> 00:39:16,625 After his capture, Manius Aquillius 790 00:39:16,625 --> 00:39:18,333 is ordered to be put to death, 791 00:39:19,625 --> 00:39:22,375 but this is not your normal, everyday execution. 792 00:39:23,458 --> 00:39:26,417 Mithridates has something quite special in mind. 793 00:39:28,708 --> 00:39:31,667 - He is shackled atop a donkey 794 00:39:31,667 --> 00:39:35,958 and paraded back to the city of Pergamum for his punishment. 795 00:39:35,958 --> 00:39:38,375 - [Dan] It turns out watching an execution garners 796 00:39:38,375 --> 00:39:41,542 a pretty good audience in 89, BCE, 797 00:39:41,542 --> 00:39:43,875 and the crowd likes to contribute. 798 00:39:45,167 --> 00:39:47,458 - The whole while, he's being pelted, 799 00:39:47,458 --> 00:39:50,833 just hit with animal innards, probably manure. 800 00:39:52,042 --> 00:39:54,625 - But it's not enough to simply kill him. 801 00:39:56,542 --> 00:40:00,375 This is not a simple beheading or crucifixion. 802 00:40:00,375 --> 00:40:02,542 - [Dan] Mithridates has something 803 00:40:02,542 --> 00:40:04,583 a little richer in mind. 804 00:40:04,583 --> 00:40:07,875 - Mithridates' men hold his throat open 805 00:40:07,875 --> 00:40:11,917 and they pour, from a vat, molten gold down his esophagus. 806 00:40:11,917 --> 00:40:15,042 A truly brutal means of execution. 807 00:40:15,042 --> 00:40:17,917 [Manius screaming] 808 00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:22,375 - And the heat from that molten metal 809 00:40:22,375 --> 00:40:25,542 essentially bursts his organs. 810 00:40:25,542 --> 00:40:27,708 As soon as it hits the soft tissue, 811 00:40:27,708 --> 00:40:30,958 it just splits it like a sausage. 812 00:40:30,958 --> 00:40:33,167 [sizzling] 813 00:40:33,167 --> 00:40:36,542 - [Dan] A death as excruciating as it is costly. 814 00:40:36,542 --> 00:40:38,292 But why gold? 815 00:40:38,292 --> 00:40:40,708 - Lead was commonly used for forms 816 00:40:40,708 --> 00:40:43,208 of execution in the Roman period. 817 00:40:43,208 --> 00:40:46,708 But gold may have been used in this case specifically 818 00:40:46,708 --> 00:40:50,333 as a means of mocking Manius' greed. 819 00:40:50,333 --> 00:40:52,708 - [Dan] While Manius' life is now over, 820 00:40:52,708 --> 00:40:56,208 the strange spectacle of his death is not. 821 00:40:56,208 --> 00:40:58,875 - Mithridates is not about to lose that amount of gold. 822 00:40:58,875 --> 00:41:02,500 And eventually, after his body's cooled a bit, 823 00:41:02,500 --> 00:41:07,458 they dissect Manius' body to excavate the gold 824 00:41:07,458 --> 00:41:10,833 that is in his abdomen and in his throat. 825 00:41:10,833 --> 00:41:12,958 [dramatic music] 826 00:41:14,917 --> 00:41:16,833 - If these stories teach us anything, 827 00:41:16,833 --> 00:41:20,083 it is that death, just like life, 828 00:41:20,083 --> 00:41:22,000 can be full of surprises. 829 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,125 But for those done in by their own beards 830 00:41:24,125 --> 00:41:26,625 or killed by flying lawnmowers, 831 00:41:26,625 --> 00:41:30,542 the end came in ways that were truly unbelievable.