List of unusual deaths; of inventors killed by their own inventions; of chess related deaths; of entertainers who died during a performance.
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 10, 2011 - 56 comments

Euthanasia Coaster is a hypothetical euthanasia machine in the form of a roller coaster, engineered to humanely kill a human being.
posted by Brandon Blatcher on Jun 24, 2011 - 64 comments

Chen Sah is an unlikely good samaritan, a gruff man who cajoles would be jumpers into the Yangtze River to rethink their plans of suicide. [more inside]
posted by reenum on Jan 26, 2011 - 18 comments

'If I die,' Brandon Franklin had said, 'I want all the bands at my funeral.' As Franklin’s family filed out of the eastern New Orleans church and the hearse waited, nearly 300 current and former band members performed a final salute. Via.
posted by ColdChef on May 24, 2010 - 32 comments

Hannah Jones is a terminally ill 13 year old who has won a court battle in Britain allowing her to die peacefully instead of undergoing the major surgery that could prolong her life.
posted by grapefruitmoon on Nov 13, 2008 - 111 comments

Never Say Die: Why We Can't Imagine Death. Why do we wonder where our mind goes when the body is dead? Shouldn’t it be obvious that the mind is dead, too? Examining self-consciousness and mortality.
posted by amyms on Oct 16, 2008 - 219 comments

A photo-essay of life in a Cambodian Aids Ward. [images are distressing] [more inside]
posted by hadjiboy on Sep 23, 2008 - 7 comments

Can you say that again? you gurgled it the first time... ...Or it's simply the language of the zombies via, often full of groans. Since death rattle is a fairly difficult language to understand by word, it is common to understand through body language, and volume. For example, a loud angry "Rahhr!" will usually mean "I'm going to kill you." A soft "Bhrr." with hands in front will usually mean "Please, don't hurt me, I didn't know she was your girlfriend."
But more commonly, over-used to describe movies or fading trends and Russian Death metal...Hear the Rattle!
...otherwise possibly boring FPP's on terminology.
posted by greenskpr on Nov 23, 2007 - 12 comments

What does it feel like to die?
posted by Jimbob on Oct 11, 2007 - 77 comments

Oscar the cat. Harbinger of death. (more info available behind registration at the NEJM)
posted by revmitcz on Jul 25, 2007 - 95 comments

BardoThodal the tibetian book of the dead, a way of life.This is what happens on the 49th day of our being dead. If you do not escape the Matrix, the day after you are inside a woman's womb. part one part two (Google video)
posted by hortense on Oct 31, 2006 - 6 comments

"He spent much of his life recovering from the misadventures that plagued him even in the womb." A most unusual obituary that illuminates the life of a Denver-area man with unusuably horiffic bad luck.
posted by huskerdont on Sep 26, 2006 - 40 comments

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: Part One. Part Two. [YouTube videos] [more inside]
posted by nickyskye on Jul 28, 2006 - 20 comments

Columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning author Art Buchwald is dying. On today's The Diane Rehm Show on NPR, he was interviewed in the Washington hospice he has moved to, about many topics, including his decision to suspend treatment for his advanced kidney disease, and live out his life in hospice.[more inside]
posted by paulsc on Feb 24, 2006 - 18 comments

Kearl's Guide to Sociological Thanatology, covering such topics as How We Die, The Politics of Death, Bids for Immortality and Longevity, and so much more!
posted by OmieWise on Jan 19, 2006 - 7 comments

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, the pioneering psychologist who devoted her life to studying death and dying, has moved on.
posted by moonbird on Aug 25, 2004 - 13 comments

"MyLastEMial.com is a unique online service, which allows you to leave messages for those you care about – to be emailed after your death." Oh. My. God.
via - would you believe? - Yahoo's Daily Links
posted by wendell on Nov 17, 2003 - 28 comments

Afterlife Telegrams. For a fee of $10 per word (5 word minimum), our customers can have a telegram delivered to someone who has passed away. This is done with the help of terminally ill volunteers who memorize the telegrams before passing away, and then deliver the telegrams after they have passed away.
posted by Wet Spot on Nov 24, 2002 - 27 comments

Prop me up beside a jukebox is one option. Some think you'd be better off in a pinebox, there's always an Eternal reef. But now, there's an ecofriendly way to spend eternity, or at least a short time.
posted by SuzySmith on Oct 24, 2002 - 11 comments

With the daily bloody death counts in the dozens and propagandists rooting for more, perhaps it's appropriate to pause and take into consideration the pain and suffering each individual death creates. Studs Terkel's interviews with a paramedic, a social worker, an undertaker, and a mother about their experiences with death and dying. (more great links on the site)
posted by semmi on May 12, 2002 - 6 comments

Beyond Indigo is a site devoted to death and dying. Includes channels on funerals, caregiving, and sudden death, as well as quizzes, stories, memorials, products and more.
posted by swift on Jan 30, 2002 - 6 comments

"Man's Body Left on Front Porch After Funeral Home Isn't Paid for His Cremation." Ah, American Death Inc.--gotta love 'em. Any other stories like this out there? Not that all funeral homes are so um efficiently run.
posted by aflakete on Oct 9, 2001 - 20 comments