How Does it Feel to Die a Gruesome Death?

Posted by Alex in Medicine on August 24, 2008 at 3:08 pm


You, me, and all living things on Earth will – some day – die. But some deaths are more gruesome than others.

Anna Gosline of New Scientist wrote a morbid yet fascinating article about what some of the worst ways to die feel (or technically, should feel) like. Take for instance, decaptiation:

Quick it may be, but consciousness is nevertheless believed to continue after the spinal chord is severed. A study in rats in 1991 found that it takes 2.7 seconds for the brain to consume the oxygen from the blood in the head; the equivalent figure for humans has been calculated at 7 seconds. Some macabre historical reports from post-revolutionary France cited movements of the eyes and mouth for 15 to 30 seconds after the blade struck, although these may have been post-mortem twitches and reflexes.

Link – via Look at this


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10 comments to "How Does it Feel to Die a Gruesome Death?"

  1. CheeseDuck
    August 24th, 2008 at 4:23 pm

    I'd rather die terrified than live forever.

  2. HollywoodBob
    August 24th, 2008 at 5:20 pm

    I don't want to live forever, a few thousand years might be nice.

  3. Neatoramawontsendmeapassword
    August 24th, 2008 at 6:49 pm

    Macabre.

  4. Gorf
    August 24th, 2008 at 8:19 pm

    @CheeseDuck:
    Well, that wouldn't be difficult to achieve :P .

    "I don't want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve it through not dying" - Woody Allen.

  5. JenKnoll
    August 24th, 2008 at 9:45 pm

    Interesting read. I wish they have more of the "natural" deaths, like cancer, or old age sickness since this is what we'll more likely be experiencing.

    Nothing could prepare me for my father's death five years ago. He died of liver cancer, and for the last few weeks of his life, his health deteriorated rapidly, until he drifted in and out of consciousness. I could tell he still struggled to focus his clouded mind, to no avail. His legs began to swell, and he was jaundiced too. During his final moments, for reasons unknown to me, he snored loudly before dying. This was the most traumatic moment in my life, because I had had no prior knowledge of dying process. The only consolation was all his family was beside him, no matter whether he realized it or not.

  6. ededededed
    August 24th, 2008 at 11:17 pm

    Wow. The 1950s was not a good decade for dogs.

  7. Peeves
    August 25th, 2008 at 2:21 pm

    There was a book I found a long time ago that had interviews with people who went under the worst pains in the world..they described what it all felt like (fire ants, drowning, shark attack, etc) and I've been looking for it ever since. So fascinating.

  8. Emil
    December 8th, 2008 at 4:22 pm

    I wonder whats going on, after life :) ?

  9. CHRISTINE
    January 28th, 2009 at 1:27 am

    my only wish for everyone- just say the name of the LORD OUR GOD JESUS and we will not be afraid of where will going anymore after death . . . .

  10. squingy
    July 8th, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    well um..... i would love to die during sex. that would be sooo cool :)


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