Ray William Johnson: True Story Podcast - She Died For a Nintendo Wii - The Jennifer Strange Story

Episode Date: July 23, 2025

On January 2007, 28‑year‑old Jennifer Strange, a mother of three, tragically died after participating in a KDND radio station contest dubbed “Hold Your Wee for a Wii,” in which contestants consumed excessive amounts of water—up to around two gallons—without relieving themselves. Her death was caused by acute water intoxication.

Your planet is now marked for death. Marvel Studios The Fantastic Four First Steps is now streaming on Disney Plus. We will protect you. As a family. Light them up, Johnny! Marvel's first family is certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. That is fantastic. And critics say it's one of the best superhero movies of all time.

Oh! Marvel Studios The Fantastic Four First Steps, now streaming on Disney Plus, we did PG-13. What time is it, Ben? It's Clubber Time! So this woman ends up dying in a water drinking contest. Now the woman's name is Jennifer and Jennifer's 28 years old living in California and one day in 2007 she hears about a contest on a local radio station.

And the contest is run by one of those wacky, obnoxious radio morning shows and in this contest contestants have a chance to win a Nintendo Wii. And all the contestant has to do to win is drink gallons of water and not pee for a long as they can. Basically, if you can hold it and not pee longer than the rest of the contestants, you win the Nintendo Wii. And the radio hosts are calling it, hold your Wii for a Wii contest. Now, you might be thinking, well, it's a Nintendo Wii. What do those cost like $200? Why go through all that for a prize worth $200? Well, remember, it's 2007, and the Nintendo Wii was just released the Christmas before. So they are hot during this time. And they're

hard to get. They're apparently sold out everywhere. And Jennifer, I mean, she doesn't game. She has no interest in gaming. However, she does have three kids. And because she's a good mom, she really wants to win this wee for them. And so, on the morning of

the contest, Jennifer shows up to the radio station, and she is ready to win. And there are around 17 other people there, all who are hoping to win as well. And so, boom, the competition starts. And Jennifer and the others, they start chugging all this water. Now, the contest requires them to drink eight ounces of water every 15

minutes. And this is about eight ounces of water. So this is what they have to drink every 15 minutes. And it might not look like much, but it adds up real quick. Not to mention that if she or any of the other contestants pee or throw up, they are immediately eliminated. And so they're all there and they're drinking as much as they can and it doesn't take long before they all start feeling pretty sick. Meanwhile, the radio hosts, they're all joking and they're heckling the contestants because, you know, I guess that's part of the show. And listeners are at home hearing all this going on and some of them are calling into the show saying that they're worried about the contestants because drinking all that water can actually be pretty dangerous. But the DJs, nah, no, they just laugh it off and they say, well, they're not responsible if something bad happens. They sign releases, so we're not responsible. It's okay.

And if they get to the point where they have to throw up, then they're going to throw up and they're out of the contest. before they die. So that's good, right? How come you guys didn't do it? Thanks for looking out, though. We don't want to die. Oh, okay. Let me ask Carter for anybody's dying. We ain't dying. Hey, Carter, is anybody dying in there? We got a guy just about to die. And 30 signs the release. And so, about an hour goes by. And at this point, some contestants have dropped out already.

But Jennifer, she's still there. She's chugging away. But then, the hosts double the water intake. So now they're making them drink 16 ounces every 15 minutes, which this is actually 16 ounces, which again, this looks somewhat manageable, but it adds up real quick. And so at this point, like immediately one of the contestants barfs, and this triggers a couple of others who also barf, and so they're all immediately eliminated. Now, Jennifer, she doesn't throw up, but she's starting to feel sick, and she's feeling drunk and disoriented, and she has a massive headache, which is something that can happen if you drink too much water too quickly. Meanwhile, the station is still getting calls from listeners who are concerned

about the contestants. A nurse even calls in to warn them that this is a bad idea. Our people that are drinking all that water can you speak that possibly die from water intoxication. Yeah, we're aware of that. They say releases, so we're not responsible. It's okay. And so clearly, the DJs just aren't taking these warnings seriously at all. They just keep laving off the contestants getting sick. And at one point, they even put Jennifer on the air and ask how she's doing. It'll tell my head to hurt and then it will make me puke, but... Who told you at the end turn?

And from here, it just all keeps going downhill. At one point, there's a contestant who gets sick and she's on the floor for an hour, like with her teeth chattering. And of course, the DJs are just laughing at her and they're all like cracking jokes about the girl who's spazzing out on the floor. And they're also taking pictures of her and the other contestants throwing up. I mean, these DJs, they're having a great time. While Jennifer, her condition just keeps getting worse.

Like her stomach is all swollen and sticking out with all that water, making her look pregnant, and the DJs are making fun of her for that. And she feels terrible. She feels like she's about to pass out. But the contest keeps going. And people keep getting eliminated. And now it's down to the final few. And so Jennifer, she keeps pushing.

I mean, she knows that a win is within reach. And she really, really, really. wants that we for her kids. And so then, boom, another person gets eliminated. And then boom, another. And at this point, this contest has been going on for four hours. And it's finally down to only two people left, Jennifer and one other contestant. And so she hangs on. And this is painful, but she is not going to give up. Her head is pounding, but she is determined to fight through this and win that we. However, after a few more rounds, Unfortunately, Jennifer just can't stand the pain anymore.

She's drank nearly two gallons of water without going to the bathroom or puking. So ultimately, she gives in and she loses and comes in second place. And so she doesn't win the contest and therefore doesn't win the we. But she does win Justin Timberlake concert tickets, so congratulations? And as sick and as awful as she's feeling, she manages to fake a smile. as they take a picture of her holding up the tickets. And here's another picture. And so now the contest is over,

and no one died on the air like the caller said, and so the contestants they can all recover, and everyone can go home, and everyone is gonna be fine. Until. Unfortunately, Jennifer is still feeling really sick, and she gets into her car, and she's crying because her head hurts so bad, and she immediately calls her work,

and she calls in sick. I mean, there's no way she's going to be able to make it into her shift. And by the time she gets home, her head is still hurting really bad. This is like the worst pain she's ever felt in her life. Now, what she doesn't know is that this is not just a regular headache. I mean, her brain is actually swelling from having too much water in her system because that's what can happen when you overhydrate. It's actually called water intoxication. And as Jennifer's brain swells, it's pushing against her skull and causing a lot of pressure. And then she goes into the bathroom and all this pressure on her brain makes her collapse onto the floor. And she goes into a coma and there she unfortunately dies.

And of course, this is all so sudden and unexpected. They have an autopsy done and the medical examiner rules that the cause of death is definitely water intoxication. And this is not only tragic, but it's a big thing. deal because the DJs at the radio station were warned over and over again. And so the morning show is immediately canceled and like 10 people at the radio station are fired over this, including all the DJs of that morning show. And Jennifer's husband, he ends up filing a lawsuit against the company that owns the radio station.

And as it turns out, despite what the DJs kept saying about legal releases and whatnot, Jennifer never actually signed one. And I don't know if they forgot to get the the contestants to sign or if the DJs were just lying to everyone who called in, but there is no record of Jennifer ever signing one. And so they all go to court and the radio station loses the lawsuit and Jennifer's family is awarded $16.5 million. Wow.