15 Dumb (But Real) Ways People Have Actually Died

Jimi Heselden, the millionaire owner of the Segway company, died in September 2010 after riding one of the firm's off-road Segways over a cliff edge and into the River Wharfe on his estate in West Yorkshire, England.

In October 2012, Florida man Edward Archbold died after a "bug-eating" contest in which he swallowed dozens of live cockroaches and worms; an autopsy found he had choked on insect body parts, not suffered an allergic reaction as often reported.

In 2009, a temporary worker at a New Jersey chocolate factory fell from a nine-foot platform into a vat of melted chocolate and was killed instantly by a blow to the head from the vat's mixing paddle.

Swallowing a toothpick is a rare but genuine medical hazard: doctors have documented real cases where an accidentally ingested toothpick punctured a person's stomach or intestine, causing a fatal infection.

Cattle are more dangerous than they look — UK safety data show cows kill several people a year, most often dog walkers who are charged or trampled after startling a protective or aggressive animal.

Vending machines have killed people who rocked or tilted the machine trying to free a stuck snack; the top-heavy units can tip over and crush whoever is standing in front of them.

Taking selfies has caused hundreds of real deaths worldwide since 2011, mostly from falls at height, drowning, getting hit by trains, or getting too close to dangerous wildlife.

Freedivers and swimmers who hyperventilate before going underwater risk "shallow water blackout" — a sudden loss of consciousness from low oxygen that has caused real drowning deaths, even in strong swimmers.

Extreme marathon video-gaming sessions have caused real deaths, mostly in South Korea and China, where players have died from cardiac events or blood clots after playing for days with little rest, food, or movement.

Lawnmowers cause dozens of accidental deaths in the US every year, most often when someone falls onto or reaches too close to the moving blades while trying to clear a jam.

The famous "Ronald Opus" story — a man shot mid-air by his own father while jumping off a building to commit suicide — is one of the most-repeated urban legends in forensic science. It was invented as a hypothetical example in a 1987 speech and was never a real criminal case.

Falling coconuts really can cause serious head injuries and occasional deaths, but the widely repeated claim that coconuts kill more people every year than sharks do is an unverified statistic with no solid data behind it.

Whole grapes are a well-documented choking hazard for both children and adults — their size and shape can perfectly plug an airway, which is why pediatricians recommend always cutting grapes for young kids.

Fear of being buried alive was so common in the 1800s that inventors patented "safety coffins" fitted with bells, flags, or breathing tubes so anyone mistakenly buried could signal for help.

Fatal bear attacks at zoos and wildlife parks are rare but real, and they typically happen when a visitor crosses a barrier or gets too close, since even captive bears keep powerful wild instincts.