Oh What A Time... - #119 Daft Deaths (Part 2)

Episode Date: June 16, 2025

This is Part 2! For Part 1, check the feed!This week we’re turning to history to find people unfortunate enough to have had a really daft death. We’ve got sixteenth-century Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, Alexander Pushkin’s totally avoidable end and we’ll hear all about the sad but, in some respects, happy demise of Greek philosopher Chrysippus. Plus we’re chatting Stonehenge this week. Got a crackpot theory on what it is? Got a good fact? Ever been there for a rave? Well, we’re desperate to hear more: [e-mail] you fancy a bunch of OWAT content you’ve never heard before, why not treat yourself and become an Oh What A Time: FULL TIMER?Up for grabs is:- two bonus episodes every month!- ad-free listening- episodes a week ahead of everyone else- And much moreSubscriptions are available via AnotherSlice and Wondery +. For all the links head to: ohwhatatime.comYou can also follow us on: X (formerly Twitter) at @ohwhatatimepodAnd Instagram at @ohwhatatimepodAaannnd if you like it, why not drop us a review in your podcast app of choice?Thank you to Dan Evans for the artwork (idrawforfood.co.uk).Chris, Elis and Tom xSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to episodes of Oh What A Time early and ad free. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts. Keep people and pets safer. Always keep your dog on a leash in public. Learn more at toronto.ca slash leash your dog. A message from the city of Toronto. This is part two of Daft Deaths. Let's go on with the show. ["The Star-Spangled Banner"]

So, lovely boys, I am going to talk to you now about the truly unfortunate death of an ancient Greek philosopher called Chrysippus. Now, just a bit of background. Chrysippus, okay, he's born in what is now Turkey in about 279 BC. As a young man, he moves to Athens, where he studies Stoicism

with a boxer turned philosopher, Cleanthes, which is much like UL as a boxer term philosopher. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, the thoughtful boxer. Exactly, exactly. And in time, Chrysippus went on to be considered Cleanthes' greatest ever pupil, okay? So he's a real philosopher of note, this guy. Had skills in ethics, logic, physics. Instead, he wrote – this is amazing, look at this for being this proactive – he wrote 500 lines of prose every day. So every day he would write 500 lines of prose. And the process wrote hundreds of books and essays, including Proofs that the Wise Man Will Not Hold

Opinions, which is one of them, Definitions of a Morally Intermediate, another book, The Handbook of arguments and moods. Sounds like something you'd get in, you know, like the gifting section at Waterstone. Yeah, you're just like, oh, I need something to throw in. Yeah, exactly. Does this work for Mother's Day? Exactly. One thing on Chrysippus, he's writing 500 lines a day, but that's not that impressive if he's working out of an A5 notepad. Yes, that's true.

And he's got big writing. Yes, very good point actually. That big bubble writing you do on birthday cards when you're about 12. Yeah, stop showing off me. The work that survives the most is called On Passions, in which he argued that keeping calm was the only way to eradicate bad judgments. So I think that's a fair appraisal. Yeah, yeah I would say so. calm was the only way to eradicate bad judgments. So I think that's a fair appraisal.

Yeah, I would say so. When football managers go to their UEFA badges, they are taught to not show any emotion when goals go in. Oh really? So that would back up old Chrysippus. Well there you go. Maybe that's where they got the idea. Chrysippus lived a long, I imagine calm life until his 70s dying around 206 BC and

there are two possible versions of his death. The first one, not particularly interesting, that he got drunk and he fell over. That's what some people believe. Option two, far more interesting. The story goes that one day Chrysippus was walking along and he comes across a donkey and the donkey is busy getting drunk by eating fermented figs. We've all seen that and not a day goes by I don't see a donkey getting drunk while eating fermented figs. Chrysippus turns to his friend he says that donkey should have some unmixed wine so unmixed wine is wine that's not been watered down. He says that donkey should have some unmixed wine to wash those down with. And then Chrysippus

finds this idea of a donkey drinking wine so funny that he starts to laugh at his joke and he laughs more and more. Eventually he laughs so much that he falls down dead. Okay. He finds his joke so funny that he dies on the spot. I don't even get the joke. Which I think is huge. That's why you're gonna live forever. Yeah. Yeah. Chris, thoughts on that, do you think,

how do you think about that joke and whether it's possible to tell a joke that's so funny you immediately die? What are you dying of? You're not breathing. Are you laughing until all the oxygen drains from your being? Or are you having a heart attack with a strain? Well, I can give you the scientific explanation

for this, if you like. The scientific explanation of why you could die from laughter, and it's interestingly is possible, is it's a rare form of asphyxiation, basically. A lack of oxygen can also induce heart attacks and instead as the convulsions become too much to handle, basically, the body then shuts down from a lack of oxygen, along comes the reaper. But as you say, El, what a way to go. So he tells his joke, the rumour is that he finds it so funny he keels over and dies. And this death... I mean, I still don't really get it.

No, absolutely not. The joke is, let me just make sure I'm understanding this, the joke is let's get a donkey drunk. Imagine if we got the donkey drunk. I mean because this is before you've even got four channels on the telly. The joke is that the donkey is already enjoying some liqueurs and maybe he'd like some wine to go with that basically. That's what the idea is I think. I think essentially there's a certain punning with the fact that his old master was referred to as the donkey but I think really it's mainly a joke about the fact that this drunkie's getting donkey's getting pissed and he's finding it funny the idea of drinking wine as well. I've never felt more alive.

I think this may back up a point you've made both of you in earlier episodes which is that if you went back to like the court of Henry VIII, or basically any point in the past, you could turn up and just smash stand-up. Oh my god, I'd destroy those gigs. There is such a lower bar for what is funny. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I would destroy those gigs. Yeah.

Imagine doing crowd work in the court of Henry VIII. But your stuff's all about living in mid Wales. Growing up in Carmarthen. West Wales. OK, right, yeah. I don't know how that's going to... No, I just do some gear on stuff in the room. Yeah. They're funny leggings. Nice codpiece.

Yeah, exactly. OK, maybe there's stuff in it. Hey! So we wouldn't have heard about this death, okay, if it wasn't for the Romans, interestingly. So it wasn't the Greeks who wrote about it. It was the Roman biographer and historian Diogenes Laertius, who wrote in his book, The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers, establishing in Roman literary tradition, this is quite interesting, writing about this, established the tradition, the idea of literally dying from laughter. That's where the idea comes from, from this apparent death. Now some argue that the retelling of this death of the Greek philosopher was

actually a Roman joke at the Greeks' expense, basically sort of like a ruling powers sort of thing, this idea of a jab at another civilisation. Again, not living it. Absolutely not. This is what they think think possibly it was just a jab in their direction. In fact Chrysophis was not the only ancient Greek celebrity who the Romans claimed died in this way. They claim the Greek painters Aixus keeled over with giggles after painting an old woman and laughed at the work he created so they claimed that his famous Greek painter did a painting that he found so funny he looked at it then laughed himself to

death and it's also not just an ancient phenomenon there's more recent examples the Victorian civil servant novelist Anthony Trollope he fell into a coma after reading a comic novel and had a stroke in 1975 Alex Mitchell who was a bricklayer from Kingslin, died after laughing continuously for 25 minutes while watching an episode of The Goodies. In 1989, a Danish audiologist called Ole Benson died from laughter while watching a film called – do you remember what this film was? Because they used it, I remember it, as part of the marketing soon after it sort of became

a thing – A Fish Called Wanda. So this Dane died watching that. In situations other than death, in 1962 in modern day Tanzania, a laughter epidemic broke out in a girls boarding school in a village near Lake Victoria. Oh what, a laughter epidemic? Yeah, it saw pupils laugh uncontrollably for up to 16 days.

That sounds horrible. And by the end of the epidemic some 14 schools had shut and 1,000 pupils had been affected. So just like constant laughter. But as I said earlier, it is actually scientifically possible to die from laughter. So it is possible that Chrysippus did die inside that from this. It seems ridiculous but there is a chance that he found his donkey joke so funny that he self-affixiated essentially. My kids are at the sleepover stage. Yeah. Oh my daughter is and that laughter epidemic thing I can totally see how that would happen. I don't know what

they're laughing up they're having an incredible time. All right, now let's go back to Russia in the early 1800s And let's talk about Alexander Pushkin, a poet, a rebel, a romantic, the least liked man in the sixth form common romantic. I feel like we all know a guy like Alexander Pushkin, a poet, rebel, romantic. What are they doing now? It was me, their podcasting, Chris.

I was that guy. Alexander Pushkin, he is a poet, a rebel romantic, but he's also quite likely to be the most dual happy man in Russian history. So he was born in 1799 Pushkin and immediately he was a literary prodigy, the Wayne Rooney of literature in Russia. Remember the name! Alexander Pushkin! You can't quite burst onto the scene as an author in the same way you can as a footballer. It's just kind of word of mouth over months. No one's running into the Russian equivalent in the 1800s of waterstones. Have you seen this? Look at this! He's 16! Alexander Pushkin published his first poems at just 15. What's he writing about? What's he got to talk about at 15?

His sats. Let's not dig too deep into that, I think we can guess what it is. By his 20s. So he starts writing at 15, remember the name, by his twenties he's already considered Russia's greatest poet. But behind the pen was a man with a very short fuse and a razor sharp sense of humour, which is, let's say, a dangerous combo in an age where arguments were settled with pistols at dawn. I'm going to say this now, you will

never catch me in a duel. Not interested. Yeah. You didn't need to say that. I know you used the sentence, I'm going to say that now but I think it's up there with the most you didn't need to say something. You can accept that as a given. I've never thought once in my life I wish we could settle this with a duel. Nope. I just, it blows my mind duels. I just can't wrap my head around it.

It blows my mind and also I just don't care enough about my honour. Someone said you sir a liar. I'm like yeah fine, whatever. Don't make me shoot you at dawn for god's sake. Is a duel just shooting? Can it also be swords? I think a bit of both. Yeah, because I did fencing until I was about dawn, for God's sake. Is a duel just shooting? Can it also be swords? I think a bit of both. Yeah, because I did fencing until I was about 10.

So maybe I would. Oh, so you might have an advantage. Yeah, I'm just saying, if the three of us had to duel and it was sword base, I wouldn't fancy a chance. Do you remember any bit? I do remember a little bit, yeah. I remember the stance. I remember the movement of the hand.

I remember giving it up quite quickly. But yeah, there's some of the hand. I remember giving it up quite quickly But yeah, I do I do I there's some of the things I do remember yes some of the movements I think you might be honest something though crane If I'll be up for a jewel if you can pick how the jewel is happening, so not necessarily gunfire Maybe I go fumble game of Monopoly Yeah, a fun jewel exactly N. Yeah, a fun duel, exactly. Noughts and crosses, but I go first. Connect Four.

Pushkin got into his first duel in 1816 when he was just 17 years old. And the target was his uncle, what a name on this guy, Pavel Hannibal. Wow. Imagine his poor mum. What have you been doing? Oh I'm getting, I'm dueling Uncle Pavel tomorrow. About dawn. Yeah. Me and Uncle Nobby had been shooting at each other. Yeah. What did Pushkin and Pavel Hannibal row about, it was of course a spat over a girl. But in this instance, it was called off before shots were fired. Possibly, I don't know, Pavel's sister, Pushkin's mum got in the way and went, get in the house

now you two. Yeah. Enough. But it set the tone, although that duel was called off, Pushkin was hooked on the thrill of dueling and he would go on to challenge people to duels over just about everything. I don't think I like Pushkin but he would challenge people to duels over well women, writing, slights over dinner, games of billiards, card games. Cheating at card games, he even once had a row with Russia's Minister of Education. Estimates vary, but he may have taken part in as many as 29 duels, though not all of them actually ended in gunfire.

Imagine being his editor, by the way, having to give notes, just thinking, what is going to happen if I give something he doesn't like?, I can't, it's going to be such a sugar-coated talk. Yeah, it's basically perfect, it's fine. Yeah, there's that second paragraph, would you? No, that's my favourite paragraph as well, yes. Can't help but notice you're reaching for the gun there. No, I think it's great. Yeah, yeah. Another perfect book. Well done. Another perfect book. Well done. Jeweling in the 19th century in Europe was technically banned in most places, including Russia. But that did not stop it. Jewels were surrounded by rules and etiquette. The idea was to give the parties every chance to back out or apologise.

Pushkin, however, rarely took the off-ramp. He was what you might call a dual addict. I feel like we all went to school with someone like Pushkin. I don't know. Difficult. Yeah, I know what you mean. Creative genius, but real propensity to not necessarily violence, but to bring things to a head. Yeah. Muhammad Ali?

Yes, yeah, that's the best example. I was just trying to think of the great poets, like poet scrappers from history. Charles Bronson? You know that famous prisoner? He's an artist, isn't he? He's an artist and a scrapper. Oh yes of course he is. Yeah, just does push-ups all day and paints.

And everyone tells him his painting's really good because I don't know if it is or not, but it feels like you're probably going to get a thumbs up, aren't you? The artist scrapper is one of the most dangerous, scarier than your regular scrapper. The intellectual scrapper. I tell you who tried to market themselves as that through claiming he loves the Smiths was Joe Barton. Remember that? He went through his age deciding that he was actually an intellectual. And speaking with a French accent. Oh man, yes the Smiths. A great example of the poet scrapper Joey Barton. I'm interested in more poet scrapers. Hello at owhatatime.com.

So he was a dual addict like old Alexander Pushkin. In his most famous work, the verse novel Eugene on a Ginn, he wrote a tragic duel scene where the hero kills his friend Lenski. That moment went on to inspire everything from War and Peace to Dostoevsky to the Hornblower stories. It was a literary masterstroke. However, it was also a dark omen. There is a sense that Pushkin wrote this dueling scene where the hero kills his friend and began to, like Pushkin himself wanted to mirror this. In fact his own life did start to mirror the fiction he had created. He was exiled by the Tsar for his political writings including a bold Ode to Liberty and later put under surveillance by the secret police. He needed permission to travel and he was seen as a threat to authority.

However, he kept writing, he kept challenging and of course he kept dueling. I'm sure you can… this is an episode on daft deaths, I'm sure we can all see where this is going. So it's either going to be a duel or like a really bad paper cut isn't it? One of the two. It's either a writing based death, he slipped on his Parker pen, or it's a duel. In the last year of his life alone Pushkin challenged three men to duels. The third one that year was the one that killed him. Now check out this guy. The trouble started with a handsome French military officer called Georges de Anthe. Now this guy is basically straight out of Bridgerton. Let me describe George de Anthe to you. He is suave, he is charming,

he's a favourite in St Petersburg society and he's got a dangerous interest in Pushkin's wife Natalia. Here we go. So this guy, he's cock of the walk, George de Anthe. Rumours flew, anonymous letters circulated, one mockingly declaring Pushkin the grand master of the order of cock-olds. Pushkin was absolutely humiliated, he was furious. I mean that's like he's on social media about a year ago. That was the big one that the sort of alt- right would use, isn't it, Cuckold? Yeah. Yeah. Here it is showing up in Russia in the 1800s. Yeah, so Pushkin was absolutely humiliated. We know what his temperament's like at this point. De Anthe tried to dodge the scandal. How would you try and dodge the scandal with you being linked to Pushkin's wife, Natalia?

try and dodge the scandal with you being linked to Pushkin's wife, Natalia. Would you do what De'Anthe did, which is marry Natalia's sister, your Caterina? So he became Alexander Pushkin's brother-in-law. And did that stop him flirting with Natalia? Absolutely not. He did keep flirting with Natalia, Pushkin's wife, and the tension never really cooled. So it was, on the 8th February 1837, then at dawn, because duels were illegal and secrecy was key, Pushkin and Deanth faced off outside St Petersburg. Oh my god. This is interesting in terms of the rules around dueling because they tossed a coin. Oh really? Like a cup final. Yeah, they tossed a coin. Oh really? Like a cup final. Yeah they tossed a

coin first to decide who would shoot first. But don't you shoot at the same time? That's what I would have thought. I thought it was 10 pieces and then turn around and shoot. Yeah that's what I thought but how do you... surely there's a massive incentive in shooting first so wouldn't you just take... I'd run that 10 steps. Yeah. That is not a coin toss you want to lose, is it? Big coin toss. Bloody hell. Pushkin coin toss, he loses it. And that means Pushkin has to shoot second.

So here we go, guys. Oh my god. It's February 1837, it's dawn, we're outside St Petersburg, grassy knoll maybe, deaffired first. His bullet struck Pushkin in the stomach. Oh! That's a death sentence in 1800s isn't it? Yeah. A mortal wound. Pushkin is bleeding out, but however he manages to fire back and he hits D'Anthe in the shoulder. Skim Zip. It's just a bruise though, not fatal. Pushkin obviously with this mortal wound shot in the shoulder. Skimzip, it's just a bruise though, not fatal. Pushkin, obviously with his mortal wound shot in the stomach, dies two days later, just shy of his 38th birthday.

Russia was completely devastated. He wasn't just a writer, he was the voice of a generation. Many say the founding father of Russian literature. So what happened to Deanth, right? It's a bit of a spot for his optics, isn't it? He's basically killed Russia's version of Shakespeare. It's going to make family gatherings awkward as well, isn't it? When he's gathering at Christmas with his sister-in-law. Hope someone said, I hope you're proud of yourself. Happy now? One empty seat at the Christmas table and everyone knows why.

Yeah, you did that. Do you think you get an invite to the funeral in the circumstances, D'Amph? Is brother-in-law? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, he's he's benched number one usually in more normal circumstances, isn't he? And to be fair, the deceased is the person who suggested it. So it's like there's a certain responsibility there. So maybe, yeah. Just maybe don't go too mad on the buffet, I think it'd be a bit respectful.

So, D'Anthe, right, so he goes back to his native France and he pivots straight into politics, serving in the French Legislature from 1848 to 1870. So yeah, he killed the Russian Shakespeare and then went to France and became a politician. The 1800s are a mad time. Yeah, ten years ago I said that wouldn't happen now but actually I can't believe it. Pushkin's death wasn't just tragic, it was eerily poetic. His most famous fictional character died in a duel, so did he. It was as though Pushkin wrote his own ending, years before it happened, and never took his own advice. He was brilliant, impulsive, too proud for

his own good, and he lived like a firework and went out, check this out, with a bang. Very nice. Oh my god. What was the name of the book that he wrote? That sounds fascinating. What was it called? Ode to Liberty. Ode to Liberty. There you go. Well, if it's any solace to the man who was struck down and shot in the stomach and died, I'm gonna read your book, mate. And I wouldn't have heard of you if it wasn't for that moment. So in a way, that's all led to this, an extra reader. All right, so that's it for Daft Deaths. Thank you for listening. If we've missed any Daft Deaths, you can... I'm not sure this is a correction, but if you want to contribute with any Darth Deaths of your own, please do send them in.

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