10 Orang Yang Meninggal Dengan Cara Aneh

Banyak kita baca maupun saksikan cara-cara meninggal kebanyakan orang-orang di sekeliling kita. Ada yang meninggal karena sakit, ada yang karena kecelakaan, ada yang bunuh diri, ada juga karena pembunuhan. Berikut ini kita akan menyaksikan beberapa orang yang meninggal dengan cara yang tidak lazim alias aneh, lain daripada yang lain. Pastinya kisah- kisah berikut dapat memberikan gambaran betapa anehnya mereka saat menghadapi kematian.


1. Isadora Duncan, (27 Mei 1877 s.d 14 September 1927)

 

Isadora Duncan merupakan seorang penari yang lahir di San Fransisco. Ia meniti karirnya sebagai penari di Paris dan membuka tiga sekolah tari. Namanya pun diukir di pintu masukThéâtre des Champs-Élysées. Isadora Duncan mati ketika scarf (Syal atau selendang) nya tersangkut di roda mobil yang ditumpanginya, dan mencekiknya sehingga dia mati seketika. The New York Times menulis tentang kematiannya sebagai berikut:

“The automobile was going at full speed when the scarf of h2 silk began winding around the wheel and with terrific force dragged Miss Duncan, around whom it was securely wrapped, bodily over the side of the car, precipitating her with violence against the cobblestone street. She was dragged for several yards before the chauffeur halted, attracted by her cries in the street. Medical aid was summoned, but it was stated that she had been strangled and killed instantly.”

2. Christine Chubbuck, (24 Agustus 1944 s.d 15 Juli 1974)

 

 
Christine Chubbuck merupakan seorang penyiar “Suncoast Digest” yang merupakan salah satu program pada channel WXLT-TV di daerah Sarasota, Florida pada saat itu.
Christine saat itu membacakan berita nasional selama 8 menit sebelum mendadak terjadi kerusakan pada “tape reel” nya. Christine tidak peduli akan hal itu, ia kemudian berkata pada kamera yang menyorotnya:

“In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide.”

Artinya adalah “Sesuai dengan kebijakan Channel 40’s membawa anda terbaru dan ketekunan dalam darah, dan warna dalam hidup, Anda akan melihat lain dari yang pertama: percobaan bunuh diri”

Setelah itu ia mengeluarkan pistol revolver dari bawah mejanya, dan memposisikannya di samping telinga kirinya, lalu menembak dirinya sendiri. Dia lalu terjatuh di depan kamera. Beberapa penonton menelepon 911 dan studio itu untuk menanyakan apakah itu bener-benar terjadi. Faktanya adalah, dia benar-benar menembak kepalanya dan mati saat itu juga.

3. Francis Bacon, (22 Januari 1561 s.d 9 April 1626)

 

Francis Bacon adalah seorang filsafat dan ilmuwan. Ia adalah salah seorang ilmuwan yang mati akibat eksperimennya sendiri. Pada tahun 1625, ia mendadak mendapat sebuah ide. “Mengapa harus mengawetkan makanan dengan garam seperti yang dilakukan orang biasanya? ” Dia kemudian pergi membeli seekor ayam dan mulai menumpukkan salju ke dalamnya. Eksperimen itu ternyata gagal, ayamnya tidak membeku. Karena cuaca pada saat itu begitu dingin, tiba-tiba dia terkena pneumonia. Francis Bacon lalu memanggang dan memakan ayam itu. Kali ini dia juga gagal. Akhirnya matilah ia.


4. Attila the Hun, (406 s.d 453)

 

 
Attila The Hun adalah salah satu ahli strategi, penguasa, dan penjahat besar yang menguasai Asia pada tahun 450 masehi. Ia dikenal akan kebiasaan makan dan minumnya yang aneh. Attila pastilah berpikir bahwa malam pernikahannya pantas dirayakan, ia kemudian menikahi seorang gadis muda bernama Ildico. Pada tahun 453, ia makan dan minum terlalu banyak, dan dari hidungnya mulai keluar darah. Terlalu mabuk untuk peduli, ia terus menerus mimisan sampai dia mati.


5. Aeschylus, (525/524 BC s.d 456 BC)

 
Aeschylus adalah seorang seniman yang karyanya masih bisa diingat hingga kini. Ketika ia mengunjungi Gela di pulau Sicily, terjadilah hal yang tidak biasanya. Seekor burung elang menjatuhkan seekor kura-kura pada kepala botak Aeschylus. Mungkin saja elang tersebut menyangka kepala Aeschylus adalah sebuah batu, hingga ia bermaksud memecahkan batok kura-kura dengan menjatuhkannya tepat di kepalanya. Karena faktor ketinggian dan kerasnya benturan, maka matilah Aeschylus. Beberapa catatan mengatakan bahwa elang itu menyangka kepala botak Aeschylus adalah telur.


6. King Adolf Frederick of Sweden, (14 Mei 1710 s.d 12 Februari 1771)

 

 
Raja Adolf yang biasa dikenal dengan sebutan King Adolf Frederick of Swedenmerupakan raja Swedia dari tahun 1751 hingga 1771. Ia dikenal dengan nama “the king who ate himself to death”. Pada tanggal 12 Februari, 1771, setelah memakan lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, herring panggang, dan meminum champagne, ia bukannya berhenti, tapi malah melanjutkan makan dengan hidangan penutup kesukaannya, Semla (sebuah pudding tradisional yang disajikan dalam mangkuk dengan susu panas). Satu porsi sudah cukup, namun 14 porsi itu sungguh berlebihan. Ia mati beberapa saat kemudian karena masalah pencernaan.


7. Tycho Brahe, (14 Desember 1546 s.d 24 Oktober 1601)

 

 
Tycho Brahe terkenal sebagai seorang ahli kimia dan astronomi. Brahe memprionirkan pengamatan tentang gerakan planet-planet sesuai dengan hukum gravitasi Newton.
Tycho Brahe juga dikenal mempunyai kantung kemih yang kecil dan lemah, sehingga ketika ia hendak buang air kecil di tengah-tengah pesta penting, ia terpaksa menahannya. Untuk memperburuk keadaan, ia malah minum banyak banyak, dan akhirnya kantung kemihnya meledak didalam tubuhnya dan membuatnya mati. Perlu diketahui, di adat kebiasaan masyarakat saat itu, meninggalkan sebuah pesta merupakan perilaku yang tidak beradab, mungkin itulah yang menyebabkan Tycho Brahe menahan kencingnya di tengah-tengah pesta. Ada debat yang mengatakan bahwa dia mati karena hyponatremia (kekurangan kadar sodium dalam darah), dan ada yang mengatakan dia mati karena keracunan merkuri.

8. Grigori Rasputin, (22 Januari 1869 s.d 29 Desember1916)

 

 
Mungkin inilah orang tertangguh di seri cerita kali ini. Grigori Rasputin adalah seorang berkebangsaan russia yang merupakan pewaris Prince Aleksey, yang mempunyai banyak musuh. Banyak yang menginginkan dia mati.

Saat percobaan pembunuhan yang dilakukan oleh musuhnya, pertama-tama, dia diracun dengan sebuah racun yang cukup kuat untuk membunuh 3 orang (Sianida), namun nampaknya racun tersebut tidak berpengaruh pada Rasputin, maka mereka menyelinap dari belakang dan menembaknya di kepalanya. Seharusnya Rasputin sudah mati, tapi ternyata tidak… ketika salah seorang pembunuhnya mengecek detak nadinya, Rasputin malah balik mencekik pembunuhnya. Lalu Rasputin pun berhasil melarikan diri.

Pembunuhnya kemudian melayangkan sebelum berhasil mengejarnya. Lalu mereka membacok dan memukulnya, kemudian melemparnya ke sebuah sungai beku yang dingin. Setelah mati dan diotopsi, ternyata hasilnya adalah Rasputin mati karena tenggelam.

9. Sharon Lopatka, (20 September 1961 s.d 16 Oktober 1996)

 

 
Sharon Lopatka adalah seorang pengusaha internet di Maryland USA, yang dibunuh oleh Robert Frederick Glass. Mula-mula, Sharon memasang iklan seks di situs pribadinya Ia mencari dan meminta seorang sukarelawan yang bersedia untuk menyiksa dan membunuhnya sebagai sebuah pemenuhan nafsu seksual. Akhirnya ia menemukan Robert Glass. Mereka saling bertukar email dan setuju untuk bertemu di North Carolina. Glass menyiksanya selama beberapa hari sebelum akhirnya mencekiknya dengan sehelai benang nilon. Glass kemudian divonis pembunuhan sukarela.


10. Bernd Jürgen Brandes

 

 
Semuanya bermula dari seorang yang bernama Armin Meiwes, seorang jerman yang menderita kelainan. Ia adalah seorang Biseksual yang memasang sebuah iklan di internet mencari seorang biseksual lain yang bersedia untuk dimakan olehnya. Tulisannya adalah sebagai berikut:

“looking for a well-built 18 to 30-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed”.
 
 Setelah banyak balasan yang tidak serius, akhirnya Bernd Brandes mengkontak Meiwes. Mereka kemudian bertemu di villa kecil di Roteburg, pada Natal 25 December 2001. Apa yang terjadi adalah, Meiwes memotong penis Brandes dan keduanya berusaha untuk memakannya. Pertama-tama, Brandes memaksa Meiwes agar meiwes menggigit putus penisnya, namun hal itu tidak berhasil, maka ia pun menggunakan pisau. Mereka memasak penis tersebut sebelum memakannya. Kemudian Barnes dibunuh dan bagian-bagian tubuhnya disimpan dalam rumahnya sebagai cadangan makanan selama 10 bulan. Semua proses itu di rekam dalam video pribadi.

Meiwes akhirnya ditangkap dan dijatuhi hukuman 8 setengah tahun di penjara. Meiwes percaya bahwa ada sekitar 800 kanibal di jerman.

HOBART, Tasmania — Few places seem out of reach for China’s leader, Xi Jinping, who has traveled from European capitals to obscure Pacific and Caribbean islands in pursuit of his nation’s strategic interests.

So perhaps it was not surprising when he turned up last fall in this city on the edge of the Southern Ocean to put down a long-distance marker in another faraway region, Antarctica, 2,000 miles south of this Australian port.

Standing on the deck of an icebreaker that ferries Chinese scientists from this last stop before the frozen continent, Mr. Xi pledged that China would continue to expand in one of the few places on earth that remain unexploited by humans.

He signed a five-year accord with the Australian government that allows Chinese vessels and, in the future, aircraft to resupply for fuel and food before heading south. That will help secure easier access to a region that is believed to have vast oil and mineral resources; huge quantities of high-protein sea life; and for times of possible future dire need, fresh water contained in icebergs.

It was not until 1985, about seven decades after Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen raced to the South Pole, that a team representing Beijing hoisted the Chinese flag over the nation’s first Antarctic research base, the Great Wall Station on King George Island.

But now China seems determined to catch up. As it has bolstered spending on Antarctic research, and as the early explorers, especially the United States and Australia, confront stagnant budgets, there is growing concern about its intentions.

China’s operations on the continent — it opened its fourth research station last year, chose a site for a fifth, and is investing in a second icebreaker and new ice-capable planes and helicopters — are already the fastest growing of the 52 signatories to the Antarctic Treaty. That gentlemen’s agreement reached in 1959 bans military activity on the continent and aims to preserve it as one of the world’s last wildernesses; a related pact prohibits mining.

But Mr. Xi’s visit was another sign that China is positioning itself to take advantage of the continent’s resource potential when the treaty expires in 2048 — or in the event that it is ripped up before, Chinese and Australian experts say.

“So far, our research is natural-science based, but we know there is more and more concern about resource security,” said Yang Huigen, director general of the Polar Research Institute of China, who accompanied Mr. Xi last November on his visit to Hobart and stood with him on the icebreaker, Xue Long, or Snow Dragon.

With that in mind, the polar institute recently opened a new division devoted to the study of resources, law, geopolitics and governance in Antarctica and the Arctic, Mr. Yang said.

Australia, a strategic ally of the United States that has strong economic relations with China, is watching China’s buildup in the Antarctic with a mix of gratitude — China’s presence offers support for Australia’s Antarctic science program, which is short of cash — and wariness.

“We should have no illusions about the deeper agenda — one that has not even been agreed to by Chinese scientists but is driven by Xi, and most likely his successors,” said Peter Jennings, executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and a former senior official in the Australian Department of Defense.

“This is part of a broader pattern of a mercantilist approach all around the world,” Mr. Jennings added. “A big driver of Chinese policy is to secure long-term energy supply and food supply.”

That approach was evident last month when a large Chinese agriculture enterprise announced an expansion of its fishing operations around Antarctica to catch more krill — small, protein-rich crustaceans that are abundant in Antarctic waters.

“The Antarctic is a treasure house for all human beings, and China should go there and share,” Liu Shenli, the chairman of the China National Agricultural Development Group, told China Daily, a state-owned newspaper. China would aim to fish up to two million tons of krill a year, he said, a substantial increase from what it currently harvests.

Because sovereignty over Antarctica is unclear, nations have sought to strengthen their claims over the ice-covered land by building research bases and naming geographic features. China’s fifth station will put it within reach of the six American facilities, and ahead of Australia’s three.

Chinese mappers have also given Chinese names to more than 300 sites, compared with the thousands of locations on the continent with English names.

In the unspoken competition for Antarctica’s future, scientific achievement can also translate into influence. Chinese scientists are driving to be the first to drill and recover an ice core containing tiny air bubbles that provide a record of climate change stretching as far back as 1.5 million years. It is an expensive and delicate effort at which others, including the European Union and Australia, have failed.

In a breakthrough a decade ago, European scientists extracted an ice core nearly two miles long that revealed 800,000 years of climate history. But finding an ice core going back further would allow scientists to examine a change in the earth’s climate cycles believed to have occurred 900,000 to 1.2 million years ago.

China is betting it has found the best location to drill, at an area called Dome A, or Dome Argus, the highest point on the East Antarctic Ice Sheet. Though it is considered one of the coldest places on the planet, with temperatures of 130 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, a Chinese expedition explored the area in 2005 and established a research station in 2009.

“The international community has drilled in lots of places, but no luck so far,” said Xiao Cunde, a member of the first party to reach the site and the deputy director of the Institute for Climate Change at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences. “We think at Dome A we will have a straight shot at the one-million-year ice core.”

Mr. Xiao said China had already begun drilling and hoped to find what scientists are looking for in four to five years.

To support its Antarctic aspirations, China is building a sophisticated $300 million icebreaker that is expected to be ready in a few years, said Xia Limin, deputy director of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration in Beijing. It has also bought a high-tech fixed-wing aircraft, outfitted in the United States, for taking sensitive scientific soundings from the ice.

China has chosen the site for its fifth research station at Inexpressible Island, named by a group of British explorers who were stranded at the desolate site in 1912 and survived the winter by excavating a small ice cave.

Mr. Xia said the inhospitable spot was ideal because China did not have a presence in that part of Antarctica, and because the rocky site did not have much snow, making it relatively cheap to build there.

Anne-Marie Brady, a professor of political science at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and the author of a soon-to-be-released book, “China as a Polar Great Power,” said Chinese scientists also believed they had a good chance of finding mineral and energy resources near the site.

“China is playing a long game in Antarctica and keeping other states guessing about its true intentions and interests are part of its poker hand,” she said. But she noted that China’s interest in finding minerals was presented “loud and clear to domestic audiences” as the main reason it was investing in Antarctica.

Because commercial drilling is banned, estimates of energy and mineral resources in Antarctica rely on remote sensing data and comparisons with similar geological environments elsewhere, said Millard F. Coffin, executive director of the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies in Hobart.

But the difficulty of extraction in such severe conditions and uncertainty about future commodity prices make it unlikely that China or any country would defy the ban on mining anytime soon.

Tourism, however, is already booming. Travelers from China are still a relatively small contingent in the Antarctic compared with the more than 13,000 Americans who visited in 2013, and as yet there are no licensed Chinese tour operators.

But that is about to change, said Anthony Bergin, deputy director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. “I understand very soon there will be Chinese tourists on Chinese vessels with all-Chinese crew in the Antarctic,” he said.