Workplace accidents are a common occurrence. There are many dangerous jobs, which tend to have higher salaries to make up for the risk. Policemen, firefighters, bodyguards, and stuntmen are only a few examples of life-threatening professions.

However, purposely avoiding dangerous professions is far from a safety guarantee. Anyone can end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. And even the most risk-free jobs can occasionally lead to fatal workplace accidents.

SEE ALSO: 10 People Who Are Famous For Being Hilariously Terrible At Their Jobs

10 Janitor

In 2018, a man working for Bee-Clean Building Maintenance was found dead in Edmonton, Canada. Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) was notified that the 50-year-old janitor had died at the Workers Compensation Board of Alberta building.

OHS investigated the cause of death. Rob Scott, executive vice president of Bee-Clean Building Maintenance, stated “We are deeply saddened by what happened and our thoughts, prayers, and support are with the deceased worker’s family at this difficult time. We are working closely with the regulatory authorities to determine the cause of what appears at this time, to be a tragic accident.”^[1]

The investigation later revealed that the man died after getting hit by an overhead garage door. Edmonton police noted that the man’s death is considered non-criminal.

9 Tobacco Farmer

Farming is not an easy job, but it is a fairly safe one. As long as farmers are careful around tractors and watch out for snakes, other threats are few. Unfortunately, not every source of danger can be foreseen and accounted for.

In February 2019, Zimbabwe, three tobacco farmers did not expect to be in harm’s way. They were grading tobacco in a grass-thatched shed when lightning struck and killed the trio. Police quickly confirmed the deaths as a tragic accident.

A few minutes after the thunderstorm began, 44-year-old John Gede was working nearby when he saw the shed on fire. He screamed for help, but it was too late to save the farmers. The 22-year-old Jameson, 21-year-old Mungate, and 16-year-old Onward Gede had instantly burnt to death from the lightning.^[2]

8 Hotel Helper

On the third of January 2019, a boy in India had a fatal accident only two days after turning 13-years-old. He died six months after beginning work as a helper at a hotel. The boy was employed to wash utensils and do various housekeeping tasks.

While the government claims to be working on eradicating child labor, it is still common across India. The job seemed to be safe enough for a child, but the boy did not take proper care around a freight elevator used for moving food and other goods between hotel floors.

Staff members rushed to the kitchen area when they heard a loud crash. They found blood and remains sprayed across the walls. The boy’s body was stuck and his head had been crushed between the grill and the elevator. Police believe that the boy might have been looking down into the elevator shaft.

A federal inspection report was lodged against the hotel owner and manager for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and sections 75 and 79 of the Juvenile Justice Act, for cruelty to a child and exploitation, respectively.^[3]

7 Actor

Good actors can make it seem like their life is on the line at all times. But except for Jackie Chan and a few other actors who do their own stunts, acting is a fairly risk-free job. Especially nowadays, when most of the dangerous scenes are created with special effects.

However, one dangerous tool is still commonly used in film production to this day—the prop gun. Producers who strive for realism prefer to use real firearms with blank ammo over replicas. While the idea seems flawless on paper, human error can quickly turn the prop into a deadly threat.

There have been a surprising number of deaths caused by prop guns throughout history but the most famous example might be the death of Bruce Lee’s son, Brandon Lee.

Brandon signed on to play a role in “The Crow”, where his character is a murdered rock musician who comes back from the dead to take revenge. Near the end of production, Lee was performing his death scene when a bullet fired from the prop gun pierced his abdomen and ended up near his spine.

Reportedly, because it was a routine scene, and the movie was nearly finished, Carolco Studios had preemptively decided that the services of their firearms consultant were no longer required. The regular stage crew handled the prop gun instead.

The firearms consultant later concluded that a portion of a dummy bullet from a previous scene had become dislodged from its casing and remained in the cylinder. The gun fired, and the actor fell to the ground. Nobody realized that Brandon was really injured until blood oozed from his right side.

Lee was taken to a hospital but the surgeons could not repair the damage. He died on March 31, 1993. An investigation determined that his death was an accident. After shooting additional scenes to complete the film, “The Crow” was released one year later.^[4]

6 Roller Coaster Operator

People often think roller coasters are dangerous. And they are absolutely correct. That is why roller coaster operators stay at a safe distance while handing out tickets, providing safety instructions, and starting and stopping the ride.

Additional duties, such as roller coaster maintenance, are typically taken care of before the attraction becomes operational. But Doug McKay, a co-owner of Paradise Amusements, climbed onto the platform of Super Loop 2 to lubricate a portion of the ride’s track while in use in 2003, Idaho.

A double-ended passenger cart—which rides on a single vertical loop like a roller coaster—struck McKay and carried him over nine meters (30 ft) into the air before dropping him. According to a medical examiner, the initial impact likely caused fatal head trauma on its own.

After falling, McKay struck on the ride several times before landing on a metal fence. Carnival workers and a number of children on the ride were traumatized. Many were spattered with blood. About 30 children who witnessed McKay’s death were rounded up and questioned by the police for an hour until the case was ruled as an accident.^[5]

5 Tennis Linesman

Tennis linesmen are paid to carefully watch tennis games and call out whether a ball has fallen inside or outside the lines of the court. Many people already sit in a chair and watch professionals play tennis for free, so this job may sound like a dream come true for fans of the sport. However, even this seemingly safe job has led to a fatal accident.

In 1983 at the United States Open, tennis linesman Dick Wertheim was hit in the groin with a tennis ball served by Stefan Edberg of Sweden. He fell from his folding chair and hit his head on the ground, which rendered him unconscious.

Wertheim was taken to a hospital and put on a respiratory system but never regained consciousness and passed away five days later. He became the first person ever killed by a tennis ball in a tennis match.

Wertheim’s family sued the United States Tennis Association (USTA) for $2.25 million, accusing them of negligence in providing adequate safety precautions. The complete investigation revealed that the tennis ball strike was not the real cause of Wertheim’s death but USTA was still found 25% responsible and asked to give $165,000 jury award.^[6]

4 Chef

While chefs might risk getting a cut or a burn, their lives are rarely at stake. But one chef in southern China was in more danger than he thought. Peng Fan was preparing a rare delicacy—a special dish made from the Indochinese spitting cobra. As he tried to discard the cobra’s head, which had been severed 20 minutes prior, the cobra bit his hand.

Indochinese spitting cobra victims asphyxiate after their respiratory system is paralyzed by the neurotoxic venom. The only thing that could save the chef’s life was the anti-venom available in a hospital. By the time medical assistance arrived, he was already dead.

According to snake expert Yang Hong-Chang, all reptiles can function for up to an hour after losing body parts or even their entire body. “It is perfectly possible that the head remained alive and bit Peng’s hand,” said the expert. “By the time a snake has lost its head, it’s effectively dead as basic body functions have ceased, but there is still some reflexive action.”

The snake was being made into a snake soup, which is highly sought after in high-end restaurants. And the snake’s skin is used to make expensive designer goods. The Chinese, who have been consuming snakes for centuries, believe that the more poisonous the delicacy, the more it benefits the body.^[7]

3 Shepherd

Although watching over sheep is not the only duty of a shepherd, it is the most commonly associated responsibility. Safety is rarely a concern because wild animals and humans are more interested in the sheep instead. And it is one of the few jobs where falling asleep is almost expected. After all, shepherds spend a lot of time counting sheep.

In 2001, shepherd Mokhtar Adam Fadl was taking a nap beside his flock in the desert near Sidi Barrani, northwest Egypt. It was just another ordinary day at work until it took an unexpected turn, landing Mokhtar a spot in the history books for one of the most unusual deaths ever recorded. He was shot by a sheep.

Mokhtar had fallen asleep without properly securing his rifle. One of the sheep kicked his gun, accidentally firing a shot that landed in the 20-year-old Bedouin’s chest. The police confiscated the unlicensed, locally made gun.^[8]

2 Lawyer

Clement Vallandigham was a former congressman, working as a lawyer on what he thought would be the greatest case of his life. He represented Thomas McGehean in what was believed to be a murder case in 1871, Ohio.

A man named Thomas Myers was playing cards in his room above a bar when five thugs burst in and a brawl broke out. As Myers got up, rushing to pull his pistol from his pocket, a muffled shot was heard. He pulled out the gun, fired a few shots and collapsed dead.

It was unclear what really happened in all the confusion but witnesses kept bringing up McGehean’s name—everyone knew there was bad blood between the two. So the judge and juries believed that McGehean was to blame for the murder.

Meanwhile, Vallandigham believed that Myers had actually shot himself by accident. He went out and conducted an experiment to establish the levels of residue left by a point-blank range shot. By the time Vallandigham was done, three live rounds remained in his pistol.

When the lawyer returned to his hotel room, he was handed a package with Myers’s gun for examination. He lay down both pistols side by side. As Vallandigham explained his theory to a visitor, he performed a demonstration.

The lawyer took a pistol which he believed to be empty and enacted the event as it may have happened. The pistol snagged on his clothing and unintentionally fired a bullet into his belly. Surgeons could not locate the projectile and Vallandigham died the next day.

The lawyer’s death served as proof for his theory and McGehean was acquitted. Reportedly, another man killed himself in the exact same way shortly after by trying to demonstrate how Vallandigham had died.^[9]

1 Gardener

In 2014, UK, Nathan Greenaway was rushed to a hospital. Despite frantic analysis of his blood, doctors could not figure out what was wrong with the 33-year-old. Nathan died five days later from multiple organ failure.

Before his death, Nathan worked as a gardener on the £4m estate of Christopher Ogilvie Thompson. The link between his job and his death was only found when Nathan’s father carried out hours of tireless research to find out what happened.

North Hampshire coroner Andrew Bradley concluded that the gardener most likely brushed up against a flower from the Aconitum genus. The genus contains more than 250 flower species, most of which are extremely poisonous.

Commonly known as aconite, Monkshood, Devil’s Hamlet, and Wolfsbane—Aconitum flowers can lead to poisoning through ingestion or handling without gloves. The poisoning causes dizziness, vomiting, and diarrhea. In severe cases, these symptoms are followed by palpitations, paralysis of the heart and airways, and death.

The attractive purple plant has claimed many human lives, including Canadian actor Andre Noble, who died after accidentally ingesting the plant in a camping trip in 2004. And Brit Lakhvir Singh dubbed the “Curry Killer”, poisoned her lover with a curry dish laced with Indian aconite in 2009.^[10]

Comedy superstars Monty Python’s famous 1969 sketch brought to our attention the very realistic dangers posed by a would-be attacker armed with a piece of fresh fruit. And while their self-defence class centered on the banana’s use as a weapon, fresh fruit’s fatal potential is no laughing matter. Whether it be from choking, poisoning, a trip hazard or a falling object – fresh fruit can kill. Here are ten cautionary tales.

Top 10 Fruits That Have Drastically Changed

10 Grapes of Wrath

Round, ripe and delicious? Don’t let their small size diminish their danger – grapes are an often-overlooked contender to kill. In 2017, a five year old boy choked to death at an after-school club after a grape had become lodged in his airway. Paramedics attempted to remove the offending object with a special pair of forceps, but it was too late. Between 1999 and 2013 in the USA, 2103 childhood deaths occurred from ‘foreign body airway obstructions’ – with grapes ranking third after only hot dogs and boiled sweets.

The British Medical Journal describes why grapes are particularly well-suited to suffocate us, especially in younger children who may not chew their food sufficiently. Soft objects are less likely to be easily expelled via the Heimlich maneuver; instead, remaining wedged in the airway – assisted by their spherical shape. Whilst pre-slicing grapes is a disaster-mitigating move, it’s no guarantee of safety. As far back as 405 BC, ancient Greek playwriter Sophocles is reported to have choked on a grape seed in his cup of wine.

9 An Apple A Day…

… keeps the Doctor away, the old adage goes; but sadly, healthy intentions can have catastrophic consequences. In May 2016, a 22 month old toddler in New Zealand was left permanently paralyzed after suffocating on a slice of apple, prompting cardiac arrest and leaving him with severe motor disabilities. A near-miss, but a tragic warning nonetheless.

Choking aside, apple seeds could potentially pose poison risks. Containing a compound called amygdalin, when the seed is crushed or chewed, this amygdalin produces hydrogen cyanide – lethal in high enough doses, around 50-300mg for an adult. A single apple seed is estimated to contain 0.6mg of cyanide – meaning you’d need to consume between 83 and 500 apple seeds to develop acute poisoning— so while munching on one Golden Delicious won’t kill you, excessive indulgence could.

8 Going Bananas

Another popular misconception is that eating six or seven bananas in a row could kill you via potassium poisoning. This simply isn’t true; scientists estimate a lethal dose would accumulate from ingesting over 400 a day – before which being sick would almost surely remove the offending article from your system. And whilst bananas are also radioactive, it would take roughly seven years of eating 274 a day to develop acute symptoms.

Yet perhaps bananas’ deadliest danger is their skin: the butt of many a slapstick sketch, slipping on a banana was no joke for the young boy who slipped at an intersection of Newark, New Jersey on July 2, 1920. Although his cause of death was noted as the truck who ran him over, the banana’s contribution is not to be overlooked. More recently, in 2013, a man slipped on a banana peel and into the path of an oncoming Staten Island subway train. Scared to go out and about with this slippery yellow assassin on the loose? There is some hope: 99% of all exported bananas are a hardy variety called the Cavendish, but highly susceptible to a strain of disease which could one day wipe them out.

7 Not Very A-Peeling

If fatally slipping on fruit peel seems stupid to some, surely an experienced stuntsperson ought to know better, right? Unfortunately, even the most daredevil amongst us are not immune from fresh fruits’ upsetting influence. In 1911, English showman Bobby Leach became the second person to successfully survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Despite a few scrapes and knocks, he was altogether unharmed, celebrating with a cigar. Ironic, then, that his ultimate demise – fifteen years later – came at the hands of a humble orange peel. After slipping over on the street, Leach’s broken leg became infected, and without the availability of antibiotics he died during surgery.

Perhaps Whole Foods had the right idea when, in 2016, they marketed pre-peeled oranges in plastic packaging. Despite environmental backlash on social media (a criticism resulting in the product being pulled), maybe the grocery store were simply trying to save customers from the perils of the peel.

6 Presidential Peril

It’s not just daredevils who have died at the hands of fresh fruit; in 1850 the 12th US President – Zachory Taylor – met a sticky end after a brush with some cherries. Recently elected, the President was celebrating in the grounds of what would become the Washington Monument. Five days later, aged just 65, he was dead – having survived a recent war with Mexico, a theory persists he met his maker through his selection of tasty picnic treats.

Doctors decreed that President Taylor died from ‘cholera mobus’—prevalent in an era of poor sewage and sanitation—a bacteria present in the water he drank directly as well as the water used to wash fruit. Urban myths at the time attributed the onset of stomach cramps to consuming a large amount of fruit and milk at the same time—in particular a vast volume of cherries.

5 Melancholy Melon

Fatal fruit-based bacteria attacks are by no means limited to Presidents. Listeria is most commonly associated with unpasteurized dairy products and chilled pre-packaged sandwiches, but sadly, fruit-related incidents have also occurred. In 2011, the CDC reported fifteen people who died after consuming contaminated cantaloupe melon, along with an additional 72 illnesses: making it the deadliest food-borne outbreak of illness in America since 1998.

In 2018, four people in New South Wales died from listeria contracted from contaminated rockmelons, prompting the fruit to be pulled from supermarket shelves. Pregnancy increases your chances of contracting listeria tenfold, so if you’re expecting, perhaps give the melons a miss.

4 Lethal Lychees

So what if something isn’t toxic outright, and isn’t carrying a bacteria-borne infection – safe, right? Not necessarily. In 2017, research published in the Lancet pointed the finger at lychees for poisoning over 100 children a year in northern India. For those willing to prise open a spiky outer shell, lychee fruit is an exotic and tasty treat. Yet unripe examples contain a chemical called hypoglicin, a toxin that can cause extremely low blood sugar – causing a change in brain functioning, leading to loss of consciousness and death.

To children already undernourished and underfed, snacking on lychees proved even more potent. Half of the victims admitted to hospital in Muzaffarpur, northern India, never recovered.

3 Enduring a Durian attack

Simply swearing off eating exotic fruit may not be sufficient to save you from their evil effects. In 2012, a Malaysian man was killed whilst a basket of durian fruit fell from the back of his bike, inflicting serious head injuries. Named in some regions as the ‘King of fruits’, the durian fruit’s thorn-covered shell can grow as large as 12 inches, typically weighing 2-7 pounds.

A Malaysian saying maintains that durian fruit has eyes, and can see where it is falling; signs around trees warn locals not to linger around orchards. However, there may be hope: owing to its particularly pungent odor, durian fruit has been banned on many types of public transport across Asia. In Singapore, signs ban it from hotels and taxis: although its aroma may not be as lethal as its ballistic capabilities, probably best to leave it be.

2 A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

After all this doom and gloom, perhaps an escape to a tropical island (complete with pina colada) would be the perfect way to relax? Sun, sand, sea, and – sudden head trauma. In 1984, a Canadian doctor returning from Papua New Guinea and Angola estimated the annual death toll from falling coconuts to be around 150 people a year. Although his statistics were unfounded, deaths do undeniably occur in this way. In 2010, broadcasters reported the Indian government had ordered the removal of all coconuts from the Ghandi Museum in Mumbai, for fear of killing President Barack Obama in yet another fruit-focused presidential demise.

Even whilst cradling your coconut, you’re not quite out of the woods (or palm trees). In 1923, a Pennsylvanian man struggling to crack open a coconut decided to smash it open with his revolver butt: unfortunately, the revolver discharged, fatally shooting the man in the abdomen.

1 ‘Little Apple of Death’

Finally, a fruit (and its tree) so deadly you’d be wise to steer clear of altogether. The ‘Machineel’ tree (‘manazilla de la muerte’ in Spanish, translating as ‘little apple of death’) is common along Caribbean shores and notoriously lethal. The tree itself produces a powerful irritant in its sap; touching the bark, or simply standing beneath the tree can cause injury, as can attempting to burn it. Although its bright green fruit resemble ripe apples, toxic effects include severe gastroenteritis, swelling of the airway and throat, and internal bleeding.

Shipwrecked sailors across the centuries have fallen fall of these ‘paradise apples’; Juan Ponce de Leon – famous European explorer or 1513 – is also purported to have died at the hands of the poisonous plant.

So in the closing words of Monty Python – ‘When you’re walking home tonight and some great homicidal maniac comes after you with a bunch of loganberries, don’t come crying to me!’

10 Fascinating Facts You Didn’t Know About Fruits

About The Author: Freelance aviation writer and builder of hot-air-balloons, when I’ve not got my head in the clouds I’m far more down-to-earth with pen and paper.