9 People Who Died Laughing

From The Book of Lists by David Wallenchinsky and Amy Wallace, here is the 9 People Who Died Laughing. For example:

1. CALCHAS (Greek soothsayer, c. 12th century BC)

Calchas, the wisest soothsayer of Greece during the Trojan War, advised the construction of the notorious wooden horse. One day he was planting grapevines when a fellow soothsayer wandered by and foretold that Calchas would never drink the wine produced from the grapes. After the grapes ripened, wine was made from them, and Calchas invited the soothsayer to share it with him. As Calchas held a cup of the wine in his hand, the soothsayer repeated the prophecy. This incited such a fit of laughter in Calchas that he choked and died. Another version of Calchas’ death states that he died of grief after losing a soothsaying match in which he failed to predict correctly the number of piglets that a pig was about to give birth to.

Link – via grow-a-brain

Previously on Neatorama: 30 Strangest Deaths in History