This week, miners in Utah fell victim to a cave-in. As of this writing, six days later, no one knows for sure if they're still alive. It has become more and more improbable that they are.
It got me thinking about how many different types of death there are. We tend to think of all death as scary and horrible, but that's not really the case. Some deaths are beautiful and noble. Others are painful and truly terrorizing. Here are a variety of different ways:
- Best: In old age, at home, surrounded by loved ones. I've known of a few people who have died this way, and it sounds like a transcendent experience for the living participants. Both Allen Ginsburg and Timothy Leary died this way.
- Worst: Shark or bear attack. This is a fear that our great ancestors must have had front and center in their minds, but now it's one that is all but eradicated by technology and civilization. Still, it happens.
- Most embarassing: Death during sex (in delicto flagrante morto). In 1899, the 7th president of the French Republic, Félix Faure, died of apoplexy while receiving a blow job from 20-year-old Marguerite Steinheil.
- Most frequent: Cardiovascular disease. More than a quarter of all Americans (79.4 million) suffer from CVD. In 2004, about 1% of them (872,000) died.
- Most unusual: Death in space. In 1971, The crew of Soyuz 11 suffocated when a valve on their spacecraft accidentally opened after separating from a service module.
- Most tragic: Murder victims. According to FBI statistics, there were 16,692 murders known to law enforcement in 2005, the latest year for which statistics are available.
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