You're Dead, Jim, You April Fool.

Someone once said "Jim Bailey was a thrill seeker." Someone also once said "Driving a car without good breaks is like skydiving without a parachute." Unfortunately, Jim Bailey never heard that phrase before. In fact, he didn't think he was about to go skydiving at all when he decided to try out his stunt.

Suspended from an airplane by a flimsy harness, Jim Bailey went from stunt man to stunted man once the damn thing broke. He managed to put up a little fight, hanging from the axle by his hands, but it wasn't enough. There are a few things that made this situation worse. First of all, he had no parachute. Secondly, it's all on video. I wouldn't post the video here if it was full of gore and nasty, but it isn't. Thidly, this was on April 1st, 1981. Tempting the fates of the fools much?

So take it all in and remember, don't do stupid shit. It will kill you.

Jim Bailey (? - 1981)

Sudden Death!

As if the Nintendo Wii wasn’t already dangerous enough, what with flying Wiimotes, low-res graphics (Hello? Ever hear of eye strain?), and loads of shovelware threatening to devour your hard-earned cash, it seems a new threat has emerged in the form of the innocuous looking Wii Fit board.

The first casualty of this no doubt looming epidemic is Lewis Hickin, of Norfolk, England; only 25-years old, a drummer in a rock ‘n roll band, and a scout leader, Hickin was healthy, and could most likely tie a hitch knot.

Nevertheless, after ordering a kebab and sipping a glass of port wine, Hickin stepped onto the Wii Fit board for a little afternoon gaming sesh. While jogging in place, he suddenly collapsed to the floor. His girlfriend and friend phoned an ambulance and tried to revive him, but their efforts were for naught, as he would be pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital.

The official cause of death still remains a mystery, although officials believe it to be a case of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, aka SADS, aka we don’t have a fucking clue.

Here's the part where I usually end with a joke, but I'm a little freaked out by killer Wii Fit boards, and the prospect of being struck dead by SADS, so I think I'll stop typing now and lie motionless in the corner for a while.

Lewis Hickin (1984 – 2009)

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5074714/Fit-and-healthy-25-year-old-died-using-Nintendo-Wii-Fit-game.html

One More Dead Gamer

Sure, we've all had marathon gaming sessions. Hell, I can recall countless sessions over the years where I've basked in the warm glow of my television, without seeing nary a ray of sunlight for days on end.

Some people, of course, take things a little bit too far. And those people are usually from Korea, or China, or...well, you get the point.

Such is the case of a 28-year-old South Korean man, identified only as Lee, who died after playing StarCraft for 50 hours straight in an internet cafe in 2005. According to reports, the man had not eaten or slept properly for the duration of the session, pausing only for short naps and to take trips to the crapper.

The official cause of death is believed to be "heart failure stemming from exhaustion". Wow. I won't deny that Starcraft is an addicting game, but come the fuck on!

I do wonder if Blizzard has plans to unleash StarCraft 2 on the afterlife crowd, because if so, this dude is eternally screwed (assuming it's possible to die twice).

Lee (1977 - 2005)

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4137782.stm