DailyDirt: Ironic Deaths

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

There are the Darwin Awards and the list of inventors who were killed by their own inventions. Death is always a serious topic, but sometimes the circumstances are just too bizarre not to be a bit amusing in some way. Here are just a few examples. If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.
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Filed Under: bizarre, darwin awards, death, eating contest, heart attack, segway


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  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2013 @ 5:21pm

    A few years ago a certain band recorded a song called "If I Die In A Car Crash". One of their members later died in a car crash.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it
    identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2013 @ 6:09pm

    they would call them the "swartzies"

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Jesse (profile), 12 Feb 2013 @ 6:18pm

    Number 1 and 2 are not ironic. Irony means it's unexpected. It's fully expected that someone who eats lots of fatty foods will die of a heart attack. There is nothing ironic about choking on cockroaches, unless it was a fundraiser for raising awareness of the benefits of eating cockroaches or something.

    The last one is probably ironic, because he likely advocated for the safety of segways or something.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Adam Wasserman (profile), 12 Feb 2013 @ 7:55pm

    Definition of irony. Anyone? Anyone?

    None of those deaths are ironic. And irony does not mean it's simply unexpected. Unexpected means it's unexpected.

    Irony means the use of words to express the opposite of the literal meaning, or an incongruous result - something that turns out the exact opposite of what one would naturally assume.

    John Alleman living to be 100 years old while some notable health guru died at 50 would be ironic.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • icon
      btr1701 (profile), 13 Feb 2013 @ 10:43am

      Re: Definition of irony. Anyone? Anyone?

      > Irony means the use of words to express
      > the opposite of the literal meaning, or
      > an incongruous result - something that
      > turns out the exact opposite of what one
      > would naturally assume.

      Yes, but so many people use the word 'irony' incorrectly these days, that *you* are actually wrong for telling them they're wrong. Apparently if a mistake becomes pervasive enough, the word suddenly doesn't mean what it used to anymore.

      'Decimate' is a prime example of this. Masnick constantly uses it in his articles here to mean 'to completely destroy' (as did Obama in last night's State of the Union), when it actually means 'to reduce by 10%'. Since that leaves 90% intact, being decimated really isn't that serious of a blow.

      However, the couple of times I've pointed it out, I've been told that I'm the one who's actually wrong because no matter what the real definition of 'decimate' may be, most people think of it as a synonym for 'annihilate', so that's what it now means.

      I suspect a similar fate has befallen 'irony'.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

      • icon
        Gwiz (profile), 14 Feb 2013 @ 2:09pm

        Re: Re: Definition of irony. Anyone? Anyone?

        I suspect a similar fate has befallen 'irony'.

        I blame Alanis Morissette. I knew nothing good would ever come from all that angry chick music in the 90's.

        link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 12 Feb 2013 @ 8:10pm

    irony....opposite of wrinkly

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 13 Feb 2013 @ 2:52am

    Irony....rather like an iron

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 13 Feb 2013 @ 5:21am

    Irony tends to become rusty

    link to this | view in chronology ]


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