h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In terms of trying to prevent death: would it be worth addressing condemned criminals who have tried to avoid their deaths, e.g. those on death row in the US or perhaps more historical examples?

I seem to recall reading somewhere that life expectation amongst young black males from some areas actually increases if they are sentanced to death.

Due to all the appeals etc they live longer than they would on the streets or in an ordinary jail.

My father-in-law has just been diagnosed with lung cancer, whilst he recognises the inevitability of his death, he is trying to postpone it by all means possible.

Its certain, its inevitable, but - its not today, or tomorrow, therefore it becomes intangible, after all we're all going to die.

I've read that too, Mckay. Sorry to hear about your father-in-law.

A17216697 - What To Do in the Face of Certain and Imminent Death

Very true, Mckay

Life is the most disease.
But "imminent" is a key word here.

You might like to read A17901254 Close Encounters With Death. Been there very recently.

This is, quite probably, the greatest entry I've seen in PR in a very long time. I love it. It's precisely the sort of thing we need more of.

Humourous, Irreverent, Informative and Perfect.

Psyc.

Thank you

I really like it. And just a bit disappointed that you got there with the Arlo Guthrie bit. So besides ALWAYS knowing where your is at, be sure to have a viable pen with you.

AH, I knew that if I hunted far enough, I would find the perfectly proper prayer to perhaps have laminated and on your person. So that it may be read off by who-ever is handiest, and preferably has a very sincere sounding voice. Written by Roger Zelazny in his novel "Creatures of Light and Darkness", it is suited to anyone of any faith, or total lack there-of:

"Insofar as I may be heard by anything, which may or may not care what I say, I ask, if it matters, that you be forgiven for anything you may have done or failed to do which requires forgiveness. Conversely, if not forgiveness but something else may be required to insure any possible benefit for which you may be eligible after the destruction of your body, I ask that this, whatever it may be, be granted or withheld, as the case may be, in such a manner as to insure your receiving said benefit. I ask this in my capacity as your elected intermediary between yourself and that which may not be yourself, but which may have an interest in the matter of your receiving as much as it is possible for you to receive of this thing, and which may in some way be influenced by this ceremony. Amen."

An excellent read, this entry.

A good link for the "Become Religious Just in Case" section would be the entry on Pascal's Wager - A517646.

I don't know if you'd call them profound or witty, but the last words of physicist Richard Feynman were rather sad: "I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring."

On your writing in blood thing - I agree it is important to be nice and precise, as otherwise other people might be affected. A nice example of this is the Omar Raddad case in France.

Omar was the gardener for a wealthy lady. One day the lady in question was found dead in her garage. Scrawled on the wall in her blood was "Omar m'a tuer". (Omar me to kill). So far so clear one might think. But there was an obvious grammatical error - it should have read "Omar m'a tué" (Omar killed me). Stranger still, the lady in question was a crossword fanatic - her grammar was excellent. So was it the stress of death, or did someone else (eg her actual killer) write the message?

Morale of the story - if you're writing in your own blood, get the grammar right!

And an example for your never give up section - Joe Simpson. Joe's story was made into a movie (Touching the Void) a while back, but essentially he was coming down off a mountain in the Andes. He had already broken his leg when his companion accidentally lowered him into a crevasse and then had to cut the rope, basically leaving him for dead.

Joe had a broken leg, was dehydrated and stuck in a crevasse, several days crawl away from help, his contact lenses were killing him and he had a Boney M song running round his head repetitively. Did he give up? No! he crawled out and arrived just in time (his companions were burning his possessions prior to leaving).

Morale of the story - never give up?

sprout

What about that other mountaineer who cut his own leg off ?

Like the Pascal thing , the stories sound good - I've heard one about a mountaineer cutting his arm off. But taht was in the USA. Wonder if it can be verified?

Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston http://www.amazon.com/Between-Rock-Place-Aron-Ralston/dp/0743492811 tells the autoboiographical story of how Aron, a keen outdoor sports enthusiast, ended with his arm trapped in a rocky cleft, no-one knew where he was, and after exhausting all other avenues, half dead from dehydration, cut his arm off and managed to get rescued before he bled to death.

As I recall he scratched a couple of messages into the rock wall as well as recording a video diary.

From Amazon a quote from Publishers Weekly:
"In a moving account of strength in the face of adversity, Ralston presents the full story behind the 2003 event that became worldwide news: his self-amputation of his right arm after it was caught between a boulder and a canyon wall during what began as a routine day hike in the Utah Canyons. An experienced climber, Ralston, 28, effectively shows he wasn't a risk-taker, and alternates between describing how his jaunt turned into a nightmare when a huge stone suddenly came unstuck as he used it to climb down a ledge, and recalling early experiences that changed his novice attitudes toward hiking, which he admits "were not intrinsically safe." Ralston candidly renders the details of six days of entrapment, using transcribed monologues from videotapes he made while trapped, including his increasingly exhausted thoughts as well as poignant farewells to his family. But his best writing details his self-amputation and his subsequent march to safety, in which he rappelled one-armed down a hill and then hiked six miles before someone found him. Ralston's prose is never gruesome, nor is it used to shock, even as he describes first breaking his forearm, and then slipping "into some sort of autopilot" as he cuts through muscle fibers to detach the arm. It's truly thrilling when he finishes and is free: "A crystalline moment shatters and the world is a different place.""

Certainly an incredible story. I don't think we can really prepare for or predict how we will react in such situations. Very different, and not quite imminent death, when I found myself in the middle of a civil war in Yemen in 1994, my reactions were totally unpredictable. I didn't leave but stayed to watch. The risk of dying was certainly there as it was all totally manic - but the main concern revolved round trying to find where all the beer had gone.

I read Aron's book as well - also a good example of the things people will do to avoid certain and imminent death...

Maybe you need a new technology section - mobile phones with cameras and so on mean that even when death is coming in the next five minutes, you can in theory leave a message for your loved ones, or even call them to say goodbye.

A few people stuck in the twin towers did this, no?

Oh, and you forgot Danton, prior to his execution:

""Show my head to the people. It is worth seeing"

Nice touch I think.

One final thought - if you want to go out on a good note - take your last few minutes to indicate your wish to donate your organs to your doctor or family - it's the only certain way to be sure of life after death, IMO.

sprout

The only problem is that if you are in a state of imminent death, the first thing anyone will steal is your mobile phone.

And on luckily avoiding death, see this story A13793853 - it's in the UG so unfortunately you can't link to it , but it tells the story of John Babbacombe, spared on the scaffold after three attempts to hang him failed...

sprout

That Roger Zelanzy prayer - I can't include it in it's entirety for copyright reasons - does it make sense to just reference it?