The toilet probably isn't the worst possible place to expire. The place you actually need to go (if you have to) is the worst possible choice. Many urban legends involve someone dying in the bathroom. Have you heard the one about the guy who was sucked out of the jet when the toilet was flushed with such power that it ripped the door off the plane?
Whereas, have you heard the one about the spider, rat, or alligator that comes out of the toilet and bites the victim where it hurts? Not to let you wait anymore. Scroll down to see the list of the nine
celebrities who died on the toilet.
1. Elvis Presley
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When Elvis Presley's body was discovered on the toilet floor on August 16th, 1977, his doctor said he suspected the singer had died from the physiological phenomenon known as the "Valsalva Manuever," which causes the heart to stop unexpectedly while straining. This caused his blood pressure to spike, leading to a seizure that eventually caused him to choke while lying face down on the soft carpet of the restroom floor. This probably wouldn't have been "The King's" first choice of exit strategies.
2. Lenny Bruce
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The filthy serial junkie and police informant Lenny Bruce was discovered dead on a toilet in the Hollywood hills in 1966 with a needle embedded in his arm. Bruce broke taboos by doing drugs in public, marrying a stripper Honey Harlow, and using profane language in his standup comedy. Acute morphine poisoning due to an overdose was declared the official cause of death.
3. King George II
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The King, a meticulous planner, got up at his usual hour of 6 a.m., had a cup of hot chocolate, and then went to the lavatory, where he died. The autopsy revealed that at the ripe old age of 77 when he was already half blind, deaf, and in poor health overall, his heart had finally given out. Excellent, George, you've reached a respectable age for the year 1760.
4. Lupe Velez
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Lupe Velez was a "Mexican Spitfire" actress in Hollywood in the 1920s and 1930s. Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Gary Cooper, Johnny "Tarzan" Weissmuller, and Jack Dempsey were her lovers. She eventually married Harald Maresch, who pregnant with her. She fell into despair when Maresch, a Catholic, refused to marry her. Velez, 36, adorned her bathroom with flowers and consumed 75 Seconal pills in 1944. She wrote:
5. Lawrence Baker
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Why do so many inmates seem intent on killing themselves by placing headphones over the metal electrodes in their toilets? As a result, it's understandable why people would do whatever in their power to steer clear of criminal activity. Convicted murderer Lawrence Baker sat on his steel toilet while watching television through headphones in his cell in January 1997. Ultimately, it would be the last choice he ever made.
6. Christopher Shale
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Suspected heart attack in a Glastonbury temporary toilet on June 26, 2011. A horrible manner for the 56-year-old Conservative and Cameron ally to go. Christopher's death in 2011 is the most famous recent toilet death.
7. Don Simpson
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The American film producer responsible for such blockbuster movies as Top Gun and Beverly Hills Cop was discovered dead on his toilet on January 19, 1996, while reading Oliver Stone's biography. As was predicted, Simpson, rumored to be a heavy drug user, died of a heart attack.
8. Judy Garland
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Judy Garland, well known for her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, had a difficult adult life. She had five husbands and innumerable medications before her husband found her dead from a barbiturate overdose in 1969.
9. Uesugi Kenshin
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We made Crouching Ninja, Hidden Toilet up. It doesn't exist. In April 1578, legendary Japanese warlord Uesugi Kenshin met the same fate as the Western royals—a ninja crouching beneath his toilet came up and speared him.