What are the most terrifying ways to die?

[arildno]

Getting castrated.

I think that one's pretty high on any male's list.
If that's only El Hombre's 21. biggest fear, I'd be very surprised..

 

[arildno]

what do i fear? i can honestly say that i don't fear anything.

Really?
Somehow, I don't think so...

 

[Astronuc]

About the only fear is - Loss of a loved one before their time - as it pertains to my children and my wife, siblings and their family members, and various close friends.

I've already lived through the death of my youngest brother. I would prefer not to go through that again.

 

[hitssquad]

When my symptoms improve, I can hopefully live by myself again. :!) My house will be very safe.

Great. Maybe your mom would be willing to cosign for a small empy lot and you could build one of these single-occupant dome homes on it:
http://www.monolithic.com/plan_design/house_plans/1/1008.html

If you figure ~$90-$100 per square foot, an IO-20 would cost you ~$28,000-$31,500 to build, all finished out.

 

[arildno]

All right; just in order not to appear totally self-centred, I'd guess that what I really dread is that someone I hold dear becomes the victim of a debilitating disease where I gradually see how a wonderful person withers away, and that that person senses his/hers inevitable outcome as well.

 

[El Hombre Invisible]

...
21. being castrated;
22. being castrated with a spoon;
23. being castrated with a tea towel;
24. my teeth falling out;
25. finishing up on my visit to the red light district, opening my wallet and... there's nothing in it, then looking up as some big bald dude holding a truncheon opens the door;
26. talking monkeys;
27. sarcastic talking monkeys;
28. courgettes;
29. biting into a clove;
30. opening a can of peaches but instead it's just fill of maggots and lies;
31. premature ejaculation (hasn't happened thus far, touch wood... wait... oh, the shame);
32. being worthless;
33. being worth a lot... DEAD;
34. death by paper cuts;
35. going to kiss my girlfriend and she turns into a green, rotting corpse (I've watched The Shining too many times late at night);
36. sitting down to write a best-selling novel but as I look at what I've written every sentence is like: "100,000 seconds to live. 99,995 seconds to live. 99,990 seconds to live..." [shiver]
37. calling my boss 'mummy';
38. calling my girlfriend 'mummy';
39. men whose eyes point in different directions;
40. the ending of Don't Look Now...

 

[Kerrie]

i fear most any kind of snake, being up high (especially on a ladder), and my car breaking down in the middle of nowhere.

 

[BobG]

...
21. being castrated;
22. being castrated with a spoon;
23. being castrated with a tea towel;
24. my teeth falling out;
25. finishing up on my visit to the red light district, opening my wallet and... there's nothing in it, then looking up as some big bald dude holding a truncheon opens the door;
26. talking monkeys;
27. sarcastic talking monkeys;
28. courgettes;
29. biting into a clove;
30. opening a can of peaches but instead it's just fill of maggots and lies;
31. premature ejaculation (hasn't happened thus far, touch wood... wait... oh, the shame);
32. being worthless;
33. being worth a lot... DEAD;
34. death by paper cuts;
35. going to kiss my girlfriend and she turns into a green, rotting corpse (I've watched The Shining too many times late at night);
36. sitting down to write a best-selling novel but as I look at what I've written every sentence is like: "100,000 seconds to live. 99,995 seconds to live. 99,990 seconds to live..." [shiver]
37. calling my boss 'mummy';
38. calling my girlfriend 'mummy';
39. men whose eyes point in different directions;
40. the ending of Don't Look Now...

I would have put courgettes much higher up the list - right behind heights (especially high things that sway in the wind), rocks (especially the submerged ones that you don't see coming), skunks looking for a warm comfy place to sleep (in your sleeping bag ... while you're in it!), being out in the open during a lightning storm, and getting my tie caught in a paper shredder.

 

[neurocomp2003]

that suicide would hurt your loved ones

 

[Ivan Seeking]

As for dogs, I have never been afraid of dogs having much less body weight than I. But when they weigh 160 - 200 LBs or more... That could be a problem.

One time I was nearly killed or seriously injured by three Great Danes. I was at a neighbor's who had a momma dane, and her two now full grown offspring. I would imagine that they each weighed between 120 - 180 Lbs. with one of the males being very large - possibly in the 200 Lb range. Everyone had gone inside or left while I continued to rough house with the dogs, which had all in good fun, but when the dogs saw that we were alone, all three suddenly became very aggressive. It reached a point that I was literally fighting for my life. I called for help but no one heard my call. They had me backing up and trying to avoid getting cornered, deflecting one attack after another while sustaining cuts and bites, when the owners finally came back out and broke things up. Looking back now, I should have insisted that they have the dogs destroyed. At the time I was in peak condition as an athlete. Anyone with less strength may not have been able to sustain the attacks. I have never trusted any dog since; not as I once did anyway. And there is no doubt in my mind that any pack of large dogs is a disaster waiting to happen. They can revert to a [wild] pack mentality at the flick of switch.

 

[yourdadonapogostick]

Really?
Somehow, I don't think so...

why?

...
21. being castrated;
22. being castrated with a spoon;
23. being castrated with a tea towel;

do you know they can do it with a rubberband and a plastic spork?

 

[brewnog]

My one true fear is going down with a terminal illness and suffering a lot of pain, and being so incapacitated that I couldn't even end my own life. That's what I'm scared of.

 

[Moonbear]

You can't escape if you are sleeping. Your smoke alarm might wake you up. Or not.
http://www.poynter.org/dg.lts/id.2/aid.9596/column.htm

--
"With Lt. Ingram pointing out that fires can spread to an inferno in four minutes or less, parents were unnerved by their children's inability to wake up to the alarm. In every case, smoke detectors rang in the house for at least six minutes, with the children never waking up. Parents then attempted to wake their children by other means.

"With mom shouting, Emily Carlson woke, but was still unaware of the potential danger. Surprisingly, even shouting didn't wake two other children in our (KXAS) tests.

"'I assumed the kids would wake up in two to three minutes. If nothing else, because it's such an irritating sound. I never dreamed it would take the kids so long to respond to that,' Ingram said.

That's something that does worry me. I have slept through fire alarms, and loud ones at that, though fortunately, only a drill (when I lived in dorms). I have an amazing ability to sleep through all sorts of noise (can't get to sleep with noise, but once I'm asleep, it's very hard to wake me). I got smoke detectors for my house that have lights on them (they're supposed to be for lighting stairwells or exits, but I got them hoping the bright light will wake me if the sound doesn't).

Though, I can't say it's my greatest fear; if I never woke up, it wouldn't be a painful death.

I worry more about things like falling down the stairs and being too badly injured to get up and get help, and nobody else being around to know until it's too late.

 

[BobG]

I worry more about things like falling down the stairs and being too badly injured to get up and get help, and nobody else being around to know until it's too late.

Or like that poor hiker who had his arm pinned under a large rock and had to cut his own arm off with a pocket knife. That could be a pretty tough situation if you hadn't sharpened your pocket knife in a while (I forgot about that fear - a dull pocket knife).

I have a pretty good fear of dentist's as well. I seem to have a section where the nerves take a detour and they won't go numb. Once it took shot after shot with the dentist finally assuring me, "This one will work for sure. It's the long lasting novocaine and you've got enough of it to leave your entire jaw numb for the rest of the day." Gee, thanks. And a double thanks when he starts drilling and the tooth still isn't numb! Of course, the silver lining was that, with a hole drilled in my tooth, he could shoot the novocaine directly into the tooth - that one worked.

The novocaine did last a long time. Fortunately, the only thing I had to do was stop at the gas station. I wouldn't even have to talk. I'd just hand her money. Unfortunately, there was a gas leak or something, so the pumps shut off and we all had to walk across the street and stare longingly at our cars sitting in the gas station. After a long wait, we finally had the all clear to get our cars, but no more gas and no one could go in the store. The gas station attendent was pretty helpful, "If you have exact change, you can pay for your gas and go." My pump stopped at $13.57 - who carries exactly $13.57 in their pocket - and no one could even understand me when I complained - they just stared at me! Finally, after a long struggle, I was able to communicate and was able to just give my credit card number and the price to the gas station attendent so I could leave, go home, lay down, and feel miserably violated by having had so many sharp objects stuck in my mouth.

 

[JamesU]

...
40. the ending of Don't Look Now...

what was don't look now? was it that one where the little girl was killed wearing that red raincoat, and there are a bunch of murders around the town? if so, that's a really weird ending.

 

[Evo]

I'm renting from my mom now, so I can't change much. When my symptoms improve, I can hopefully live by myself again. :!) My house will be very safe.
Okay, the ceiling is just like the interior walls- drywall (or possibly plaster) -> wooden joists & isulation -> attic. I'm pretty sure the house was built in the 1970's.

You'd like my mom's house, it is steel framed and brick. The interior walls are sheetrock, the floors are stone over concrete (one floor ranch, no basement due to water tables), the roof is some non-flammable material, covered with crushed marble. There is no wood, no carpets, no drapes (metal blinds). I guess you could set fire to the furniture.

My friend in Italy designed the perfect home for me...all concrete, floors, walls, etc... There will be a drain in the middle of the concrete floor. All of the furniture is attached to chains hanging from the ceiling, when I'm ready to clean, I hit a button and all of the furniture lifts up off the floor, I get out my large hose and hose everything down (water and dirt washes down the drain), blowers turn on and dry everything, then the furniture is lowered back to the floor. House spotless in less than 5 minutes. Perfect for the busy executive lifestyle.

 

[hitssquad]

That is basically how those kiosk automatic-bathrooms on Market Street in San Francisco work, Evo, minus the furniture on chains.

 

[hypatia]

But they do sell furniture with chains in San Francisco..lol

 

[honestrosewater]

Wow, you guys have some good fears.

I've almost slept through a fire drill in a dorm too. I woke up wondering what the heck that loud noise was but figured it out when I went to ask and couldn't find anyone. Heh.
Ivan,
Have you ever seen the show The Dog Whisperer on the National Geographic Channel? It helped me feel more prepared to deal with loose dogs. There's also special dog spray (like pepper spray for dogs) that you can carry for emergencies. I've never tried it but probably will; The alternative, a dog whistle, just doesn't seem to cut it.

 

[Townsend]

Having my throat cut out...it scares the crap out of me. Well, most ways of dying scare the crap out me. I don't want the last thing on my mind to be, oh sh!t this is really it.

Townsend (shivers)

 

[honestrosewater]

Having my throat cut out...it scares the crap out of me. Well, most ways of dying scare the crap out me. I don't want the last thing on my mind to be, oh sh!t this is really it.

Townsend (shivers)

I happen to know someone who had their throat slit and survived. She sustained other serious injuries too. She has said she didn't feel pain and was able to still think rationally. In fact, even though she was attacked in her sleep and was seriously injured, she even thought about which way was safer to run for help (the intruder had cut the phone lines). I've heard many other stories like this, the hiker BobG mentioned, and it amazes me how well people manage to cope with disaster. - If that is any comfort to you.

 

[Townsend]

I happen to know someone who had their throat slit and survived. She sustained other serious injuries too. She has said she didn't feel pain and was able to still think rationally. In fact, even though she was attacked in her sleep and was seriously injured, she even thought about which way was safer to run for help (the intruder had cut the phone lines). I've heard many other stories like this, the hiker BobG mentioned, and it amazes me how well people manage to cope with disaster. - If that is any comfort to you.

I don't know...have you ever watched that Nick Berg video? I saw that and I was like

<----not for me man, no way...

 

[honestrosewater]

I don't know...have you ever watched that Nick Berg video? I saw that and I was like

<----not for me man, no way...

No, in fact we had a discussion here about whether or not to watch it, and I decided not to. His and others circumstances are certainly heart-wrenching. I can't really say anything comforting about situations where shock and panic are not as prominent; I think it depends more on the character of the individual.

 

[hitssquad]

His and others circumstances are certainly heart-wrenching.

They are also head-wrenching.

 

[Townsend]

They are also head-wrenching.

 

[Jelfish]

What about stinging or biting insects? Jungles have some really nasty ant species.

I don't think I'd care too much about ground bugs outside. I can either walk away from them or just.. step on them. I think it's more a matter of them being in my apartment. This is especially true for mosquittos. If I see a mosquitto in my apartment, I will literally hunt it down. I refuse the idea of going to sleep and being an easy target. And yes, I've spent hours hunting a mosquitto when I should be sleeping. I realize now that I should probably seek professional help.

 

[honestrosewater]

They are also head-wrenching.

Dexter, get off of hitssquad's computer! Shame on you.

 

[honestrosewater]

I don't think I'd care too much about ground bugs outside. I can either walk away from them or just.. step on them.

I'd like to see you step on a swarm of a million army ants! Eh, okay, no I wouldn't, and there probably aren't many in NY anyway.

I think it's more a matter of them being in my apartment. This is especially true for mosquittos. If I see a mosquitto in my apartment, I will literally hunt it down. I refuse the idea of going to sleep and being an easy target. And yes, I've spent hours hunting a mosquitto when I should be sleeping. I realize now that I should probably seek professional help.

Hours does seem excessive. Does it really upset you that much, or are you more just being stubborn?

 

[hitssquad]

Dexter, get off of hitssquad's computer!

Please don't lose your head, Rose.

 

[honestrosewater]

Please don't lose your head, Rose.

What's that? You're also afraid of castration? Well, I know one way to solve that problem...