1713 lines
85 KiB
Plaintext
1713 lines
85 KiB
Plaintext
_____________________________________________________________________________
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---------------------------- I Bleed for This? ------------------------------
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------11.26.94-----------------------------------------------------#038------
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Suicide Methods
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Appreciated by Snarfblat
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From alt.suicide.holiday
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Hello, folks. This is the semi-famous alt.suicide.holiday Methods
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File. It contains information on many different ways to take your own
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life. Some of them are serious, some of them are not. Hopefully, you
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can see which is which by yourself, but I'll try to mark them anyway.
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This file will be posted on the third and seventeenth of every month.
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It may take a while before it gets out to your site.
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The early versions of this file were created and maintained by Michael
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Marsden, who unfortunately no longer has access to the Net. After he
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left, the File sort of hung in a Limbo for a long time, in custody of
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a variety of people I can't remember (if you at some time or other
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were a maintainer of the File, I'd like to hear from you). I think,
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but am far from sure, that Angela Watson (a.k.a. Psycho Kitten) was
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the last "official" maintainer, but I got the impression that she no
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longer is.
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Anyway, I have dictatorially taken over the custodianship of the
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File. If you want to complain, my email address is calle@lysator.liu.se.
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Replying to this posting should work.
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Comments on the content of the file are welcome, generally speaking.
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If your comments are of the kind "You shouldn't help people kill
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themselves, you should help them towards a better life instead", you're
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wasting your time. I've grown very tired of that debate, and will most
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probably no longer reply to mail with that general content. The most
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basic difference in opinion between me and those who have mailed me
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telling me I'm a monster, seems to be that they think that death is
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an inherently Bad Thing, while I don't.
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What follows is a not-so-slightly edited version of the last File
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posted by Mike Marsden. The text's "I" is Mike, my comments will be
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marked.
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==PART1== preamble
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==NOTES
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This list is compiled from a large number of sources, the main one being
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this newsgroup (ASH). I have not named anyone in any of the entries to
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ensure their privacy.
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Calle: I, on the other hand, will name sources if (and only if) the
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sources give me permission.
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There may be inaccuracies in many of the entries... double check if you can.
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Go to the library and read up on your favorite method - check dosages in the
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manufacturer's data sheets. If you do notice any inaccuracies, please
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write to the net ASAP.
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==LEGAL
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This file is provided for the purposes of amusement, and the actual use of
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any of these methods is not recommended without first considering other
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possibilities, such as dying of old age. Please do not pass it onto people
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whom you know to be actively suicidal.. you may find yourself in jail for
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considerable periods. I have a small amount of info on British law regarding
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assisting suicides; feel free to ask me for a copy. Basically, distribution
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to a number of unknown people is fine, but giving it to someone whom you
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know is actively considering suicide can get you into jail for up to 14
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years.
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I should also point out that this file is distributed world-wide, and there
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will be significant differences in the legal aspects in other
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countries.
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Calle: For example, in Sweden the distribution of this file is
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completely legal, according to a lawyer I know. As long as
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you don't physically help someone to commit suicide, you're
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safe. According to the lawyer mentioned above, Dr.
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Kevorkian's suicide machine would probably be legal in
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Sweden.
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==BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
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[1]"Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted Suicide
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for the Dying" Derek Humphry (publisher: Hemlock)
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[2]alt.suicide.holiday newsgroup on "usenet"
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[3]alt.med newsgroup on "usenet"
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[4]"Poisonous Plants and Fungi: an Illustrated Guide" (Ministry of
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Agriculture, Fisheries and Foods) M R Cooper, A W Johnson
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[5]"Encyclopedia of Human Biology"
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"Let Me Die Before I Wake" Derek Humphry
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"Suicide, Mode d'Emploi" Claude Guillon, Yves Le Bonniec
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"Zorg jij dak ik niet meer wakker word?" Klazien Sybrandy, Rob Bakker
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"How To Die With Dignity" George B Mair, EXIT (Scottish)
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"A Guide To Self-Deliverance" EXIT (Britain)
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"Autodeliverance" Michel L Landa
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"Justifiable Euthanasia" Pieter V Admiraal
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"First You Cry" Betty Rollin
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"Last Wish" Betty Rollin
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"Death of a Man" Lael Wertenberger
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"Jean's Way" Derek Humphry
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"The Savage God: A Study of Suicide" A Alvarez
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"Double Exit" Ann Wickett
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"Voluntary Euthanasia: A Comprehensive Bibliography" G Johnson (Hemlock)
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"The Woman Said Yes" Jessamyn West
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"The Bell Jar" Sylvia Plath
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"Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products" Williams & Wilkins Company
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"Suicide: The Gamble with Death" Gene & David Lester
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"Crisis Intervention in the Community" Richard K McGee
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"Wanting to Die" Anne Sexton
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"Bitter Fame" (bio about) Sylvia Plath (author is) Anne Stevenson
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"Letters Home" (bio about) Sylvia Plath (author is) Aurelia S Plath
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"Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones & his People" Dutton
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"Essays in Self-Destruction" (ed) Edwin S Shneidman
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"Suicide: A Study in Sociology" Emile Durkheim
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"Suicide and Attempted Suicide" Erwin Stengel
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"Endangered Hope: Experiences in Psychiatric Aftercare Facilities" David K
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Reynolds, Norman L Farberow
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"Death Wishes? The Understanding & Managment of Deliberate Self Harm"
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H G Morgan
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"The Final Months: a Study of the Lives of 134 Persons who Committed
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Suicide" Eli Robins
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"Suicide: Inside and Out" David K Reynolds, Normal L Farberow
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"Attempted Suicide: A Practical Guide to its Nature and Management" Keith
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Hawton, Jose Catalan
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"The Negative Scream: A Story of Young People Who Took an Overdose" Sally
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O'Brien
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"Caring for the Suicidal" John Eldrid
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"The Samaritans: to help those tempted to suicide or despair" Chad Varah
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"Mishima: A Biography" John Nathan
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"Self-Mutilation: Theory, Research, and Treatment" Barent W Walsh, Paul M
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Rosen
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"Defeating Depression: a Guide for Depressed People and Their Familes"
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C A H Watts
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"Depression: The Way Out of Your Prison" Dorothy Rowe
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"The Oxford Book of Death" D J Enright
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This booklist is an extended list from [1]. I strongly recommend [1], try
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getting it mail order from the address below.
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Calle: Not used in the creation of this file, but recommended on
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the newsgroup was:
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"The Enigma Of Suicide" by George Howe Colt
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==GROUPS
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The National Hemlock Society [American, pro-euthanasia, many books,
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PO Box 11830 D Humphry is founder]
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Eugene, OR 97440-3900
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USA
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(503) 342-5748
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Samaritans [British, suicide hotlines and
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prevention, Chad Varah is founder.
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non-interventionist approach]
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Befrienders International [International, suicide prevention,
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umbrella organisation]
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The Voluntary Euthanasia Society [British, pro-euthanasia]
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(Formerly British EXIT)
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Association pour le Droit de Mourir dans la Dignite
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[French, pro-euthanasia]
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Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Humanes Sterben
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[German, pro-euthanasia]
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Club of Life [American, anti-euthanasia]
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==INDEX
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to get index, type 'grep == methods >methods_index' in unix.
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==PART2== Methods: poisons
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==1. POISON
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[1] makes most of these points:
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*Most drugs cause vomiting. To help stop this, take one or two anti-
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histamine tablets (travel sickness, allergy, hayfever tablets etc) about
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an hour before, on a fairly empty stomach.
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*If the drugs are in tablet form, take the first 20% as they are, and the
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rest crushed and dissolved / mixed in with strong alcohol / food. This
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helps the drugs to hit at the same time.
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*Alcohol helps dissolve the drugs. Don't drink any beforehand, but wash the
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tablets down with vodka or similar, and then drink afterwards while you're
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still conscious.
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*Use a large airtight plastic bag over your head, + something around your
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neck to hold it on. This transforms a 90% certainty method into a 99%...
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*Friday night is a good time if you life alone - nobody will miss you until
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Monday if you work. Bolt all the doors you can. Say you'll be out over the
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weekend visiting someone, so people don't expect a reply to telephone.
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*Some painkillers etc have less effect if you use them normally (tolerance).
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*In general, you need to stay away from medical help until you actually die,
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but there are exceptions to this (that have been pointed out in the text).
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Common drugs:
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==Cyanide (HCN, KCN)
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Dosage: 50 mg Hydrogen Cyanide gas, 200-300 mg Cyanide salts
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Time: seconds for HC, minutes Cs (empty stomach) hours (full s)
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Available: very difficult to get hold of
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Certainty: very certain
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Notes: It helps to have an empty stomach (since the salts react
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with the stomach acids to form H.C.). A full stomach can delay death
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for up to four hours with the salts. Antidotes to cyanide poisoning
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exist, but they have serious side effects. What you can do, is instead
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of taking the salts directly, drop 500mg or so into a strong acid,
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and inhale the fumes. This will be pure Hydrogen Cyanide, and you
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should die in 10 to 20 seconds.
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[3]:
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"Hydrocyanic acid is one of the most poisonous substances known; the
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inhalation of its fumes in high concentration will cause almost
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immediate death. Hydrogen cyanide acts by preventing the normal
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process of tissue oxidation and paralyzing the respiratory center in
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the brain. Most of the accidental cases are due to inhaling the fumes
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during a fumigating process. In the pure state it kills with great
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rapidity. Crystalline cyanides, such as potassium or sodium cyanide
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are equally poisonous, since they interact with the hydrochloric acid
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in the stomach to liberate hydrocyanic acid. This poison has been used
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for both homicide and suicide; in recent history, a number of European
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political figures carried vials of cyanide salt for emergency
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self-destruction and some used them. Death resulted from amounts of
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only a fraction of a gram. A concentration of 1 part in 500 of
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hydrogen cyanide gas is fatal. Allowable working concentration in most
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of the United States is 20 ppm. Two and one-half grains of liquid acid
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has killed. The acid acts fatally in about 15 minutes. The cyanide
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salts kill in several hours. The average dose of solution is 0.1 cc.
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[1, DGHS talking about KCN]:
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on an empty stomach, take a small glass of cold tap water. (Not
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mineral water nor any sort of juice or soda water because of it's
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acidity). Stir 1 -> 1.5 grammes of KCN into the water. More than that
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causes irritation to the throat. Wait 5 minutes to dissolve. It should
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be drunk within several hours. Consciousness will be lost in about a
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minute. Death will follow 15 -> 45 minutes later.
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==Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid)
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Dosage: 20-30+ grammes (too many cause vomitting)
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Time: hours to days, variable
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Available: easy to get hold of (get soluble ones, & dissolve them)
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Certainty: unreliable
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Notes: Not recommended, fatal dose varies wildly, could cause liver
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& kidney damage instead of death. OD causes strange noises in your
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ears (like a video arcade) & projectile vomiting after about 10 hours.
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Medical help generally effective, so stay out of hospital for a couple
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of days. May cause bleeding in your stomach/upper intestines. Take
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with sodium bicarbinate (eg, bicarb. of soda), which speeds up the
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absorption (sp?) significantly. Take 1 or 2 antihistamine tablets.
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==Paracetamol (aka acetaminopren / tylenol)
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Dosage: 15+ grammes, 20+ is better
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Time: 10 hours fatal damage, but 2 weeks to actually die
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Available: easy to get hold of
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Certainty: fairly reliable
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Notes: Once 10-12 hours is up, you've had it, but you still live for
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a week or two after that. Probably better to wait 15 hours just to
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make sure. Horrible side effects during this time (some of which are:
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acute toxic hepatitis, renal failure, cerebral oedema, intra-abdominal
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bleeding, aspiration pneumonia, haemophilia). Too small dose causes
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severe liver damage. Accidental deaths are very common. There are few
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if any side effects before the damage becomes fatal; occasionally
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vomitting and nausea.
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==Sleeping tablets (see specific notes for each kind)
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* See later entries for amobarbital, butabarbital, diazepam, flurazepam,
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glutethimide, chloral hydrate, hydromorphone, meprobamate, methyprylon,
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meperidine (pethidine), methadone, morphine, orphenadrine,
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phenobarbital [also check trade names in same entries].
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==Alcohol (spirits preferably, your choice)
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Dosage: 1/2 litre vodka?, similar. Varies from person to person.
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Time: about 8 hours
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Available: good
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Certainty: unreliable
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Notes: will cause liver and kidney damage if 'rescued' before death.
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Drink it all at the same time, quickly as possible. Dosage is
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questionable, I don't have any figures. Taking the spirits as an
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enema is supposed to be a very quick way of absorbing alcohol, but a
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less unpleasant way is to inject it. The dosage it takes to kill you
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depends on whether you drink normally, the state of your liver,
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whether you pass out on your back or not.
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[3]: "The fatal dose of pure alcohol in an average adult is 300-400 mL
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(750-1000 mL of 40% alcohol) if consumed in less than one hour. Apart
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from the effects of overdosage, death after alcohol consumption can
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occur as a result of choking on vomit while unconscious. .....
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Consequences such as liver damage occur after chronic consumption."
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Alcohol helps other drugs to dissolve. Don't drink it in advance, wash
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down tablets with it, & follow by drinking another few glasses of
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spirits.
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==Water
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Dosage: 14 litres mentioned
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Time: 12 hours or so?
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Available: always available
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Certainty: unknown
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Notes: works by washing out the salts in your body, until the cells
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fail (osmotic balance buggered up). You need to keep drinking
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continually until you collapse. Unusual method. Someone suggested it
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would also cause cramps. The following is something from [2]:
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"About a year ago a local newspaper carried a story about a
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woman who had drunk herself to death. Apparently she had ingested
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something mildly poisonous, and when she called her doctor asking him
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what to do, he told her to drink lots of water and see him in the
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morning. She got to it and managed to drink no less than 14 litres of
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water before the osmotic balance in her body was so upset it could no
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longer function and she died (don't know how quickly)".
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Calle: The above anecdote originally came from me, and the
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death described occured in Växjö, Sweden.
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Unfortunately I no longer remember which newspaper I
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saw it in.
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Recently, I was told about a similar case in San
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Antonio. It supposedly happened a couple of years ago
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and was reported in the local San Antonio Express/News.
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==Bleach and other corrosives (lye, drain cleaning fluids)
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Dosage: A bottle (litre or half litre)
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Time: Hours/days
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Available: Easily available
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Certainty: Uncertain
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Notes: Bloody painful - depends on your stomach getting corroded,
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the stomach acids escaping, and doing their dirty work in your vital
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organs.
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[1] says: "I have heard of people throwing themselves through plate
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glass windows in their death agonies after drinking lye."
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==Insulin (injected)
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Dosage: No idea
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Time: death in hours to days
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Available: Difficult to get hold of unless you're a diabetic or a vet
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Certainty: reasonable
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Notes: Supposed to be quite pleasant (eg insulin shock treatments
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used for some psychiatric condition).
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==Petrol (in lungs/injected)
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Dosage: "A Thimble-full" -20 ml?
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Time: Seconds/minutes
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Available: Common
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Certainty: I'm not sure of the dosage, but fairly certain if correct
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Notes: Can also use LPG (propane/butane) on skin surface (since
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these are light enough to go through the skin). Stick your hand in a
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bucket of propane and see how many seconds you last...
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==Oil of Wintergreen/Methyl Salicylate (in lungs/injected)
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Dosage: Probably similar to petrol (20 ml)
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Time: Don't know
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Available: Not available in concentration
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Certainty: Don't know
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Notes: Don't have enough information on this one to be able to say
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anything about it. If it is just taken normally, it is the same as
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aspirin.
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==Malathion (insecticide) (entry revised by Calle)
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Dosage: A few bottles, at least
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Time: 2 to 3 hours
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Available: From a large garden centre or DIY shop
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Certainty: not so good
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Notes: A correspondent mentions that the LD50 of this stuff
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is 1 g/kg in rats, and adds that there is not nearly
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that much in a bottle. He also mentions that it is
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treatable. Instead of this, he recommends parathion,
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if you really want to use an insecticide.
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==Phosphine gas from aluminium phosphide pesticide (ALP)
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Dosage: Single 3 gramme tablet (".. is enough to kill 10 people")
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Time: About 2 hours
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Available: Difficult. Used in India, sold on black market.
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Certainty: Without medical help, and using fresh pill, very good
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Notes: This is a common way of committing suicide in Indian villages.
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There is no specific antidote to this. The pills are 3 grammes of ALP,
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which produces lethal phosphine gas when it comes in contact with
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hydrochloric acid or water in the stomach. After severe vomiting, the
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victim loses consciousness, the blood vessels rupture, and body
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cavities fill with blood. While the pill is exceedingly lethal, some
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escape death because the rate of the gas' release declines with the
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pill's age and use, and exposure to moisture. Trouble with this one
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is the availability, and it also looks like a rather unpleasant.
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==Rat poison (Warfarin)
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Dosage: not known
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Time: Hours to terminal damage, days to actual death
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Available: Available
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Certainty: Certain given suffient dosage. Most probably treatable.
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Notes: This is one of the truly unpleasant poisons, along with
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Paracetamol/Acetylminopren. I think it causes cerebral haemorage (rat
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poison works by giving the unfortunate rat haemophillia). Doctors
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can't do anything about it, they just leave you to die in agony on an
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intensive care ward.
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Calle: Since human haemophiliacs usually live quite ordinary
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lives, the above sounds rather improbable.
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==Caffeine
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Dosage: 20 grammes (someone said 8 -> 10 grammes)
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Time: not known
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Available: Caffeine tablets available in Chemist shops
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Certainty: don't know
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Notes: I don't know very much about this. There isn't all that much
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caffeine in coffee, maybe 200 mg.
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==Potassium Chloride (injected in solution) / KCl
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Dosage: not known (try 20cc injection of strong solution)
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Time: Seconds to minutes
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Available: Widely available
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Certainty: Certain given correct dosage
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Notes: Causes heart attack (which is painful). May be difficult
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for coroner to realise it was suicide rather than a natural heart
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attack. An excess of K+ in the blood interferes with nerve signals,
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and stops muscles and nerves from working. So when it reaches your
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heart, the heart stops.
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==Nitrogen gas (or other inert gas)
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Dosage: Several litres uncompressed is minimum
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Time: Minutes
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Available: Try plumber, or welding supplies company
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Certainty: Certain
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Notes: This is really a form of asphyxiation, (see later), but is
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particularly good since you don't experience the lack of oxygen (what
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people really experience is the EXCESS of carbon dioxide).
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==Nitrous oxide (N20? NO2?)
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Dosage: Unknown
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Time: Minutes
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Available: Dentists supply would be good
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Certainty: reasonable
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Notes: Asphyxiate yourself with laughing gas. Nice.
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==Carbon Monoxide (CO)
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Dosage: 5% concentration or so?
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Time: Minutes to hours depending on concentration
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Available: You get it out of a car exhaust, you used to be able to use
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"town gas" (eg, stick your head in the cooker) but this is no longer
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available
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Certainty: Fairly certain, as long as you aren't "rescued"
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Notes: Causes brain damage.
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Calle: A correspondent from Denmark, where you still can use
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"town gas" to kill yourself, says that even though it's
|
|
possible it's not a good idea. He tells of an incident
|
|
where a family committed suicide by turning on the gas
|
|
and waiting. Apparently, the heavier-than-air carbon
|
|
monoxide leaked through the floor and reached the people
|
|
in the apartment below. Not nice.
|
|
|
|
The actual cause of death is asphyxiation, since the
|
|
carbon monoxide binds tighter to haemoglobine than oxygen
|
|
does (the oxygen gets crowded out, so to speak).
|
|
|
|
==Chlorine gas
|
|
Dosage: not known
|
|
Time: not known
|
|
Available: tricky
|
|
Certainty: Good
|
|
Notes: This was used in the first world war in the trenches.
|
|
Probably very unpleasant, does something to the lungs.
|
|
|
|
==Hydrazine
|
|
Dosage: As produced by reaction
|
|
Time: Not known, fortnight?
|
|
Available: Bottle of bleach & bottle of ammonia
|
|
Certainty: not known
|
|
Notes: [2]:
|
|
"This is no joke, D----. Several years ago at my high school, one of
|
|
the janitors innocently mixed together half a bottle of bleach with
|
|
half a bottle of of ammonia in a small closet where the cleaning
|
|
fluids were kept. He passed out due to the hydrazine (not chlorine)
|
|
gas released in the reaction between the two chemicals. This man was
|
|
in agony for two weeks in an intensive care unit in a local hospital
|
|
with the majority of the inside surface of his lungs damaged and
|
|
untreatable before he got lucky and died."
|
|
|
|
==Chloroform
|
|
Dosage: not known, just put a splash onto a rag
|
|
Time: several minutes probably
|
|
Available: not known
|
|
Certainty: good
|
|
Notes: If you tape the rag over your mouth so that you get knocked
|
|
out, you should die as you continue getting the stuff into your lungs.
|
|
|
|
==Digitalis (Foxglove, Digitalis Purpurea)
|
|
Dosage: not known
|
|
Time: not known
|
|
Available: extract from foxgloves
|
|
Certainty: bad due to vomiting
|
|
Notes: [4]:
|
|
Gives you a heart-attack. Symptoms: nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain,
|
|
diarrhoea, headache, and slow irregular pulse. Also sometimes
|
|
trembling, convulsions, delirium, and hallucinations. Its difficult to
|
|
take a fatal amount because vomiting usually gets rid of it.
|
|
|
|
==Yew (Taxus Baccata, the "English Yew")
|
|
Dosage: not known
|
|
Time: Can be very rapid (minutes), occasionally 3 or 4 days.
|
|
Available: Grows wild in the UK, don't know about elsewhere.
|
|
Certainty: not sure, but it sounds good if you eat enough
|
|
Notes: [4]:
|
|
All parts of the plant, _except_ for the fleshy red bit of the fruit,
|
|
contain poisons. The seeds are poisonous, so if you eat the berries,
|
|
chew them. Symptoms: nausea, abdominal pain, coma, death. The mode of
|
|
death is a heart attack which occurs rapidly after eating sufficient.
|
|
If no heart attack occurs, you'll probably survive. Sometimes the
|
|
sudden collapse leading to death is preceded by lethargy, trembling,
|
|
staggering, coldness, dilation of the pupils, rapid pulse that becomes
|
|
weak, and convulsions. Other species in this genus are said to be
|
|
equally poisonous. See "plants in general".
|
|
|
|
==Mezerein, Daphnetoxin (Mezereon, AKA Daphne Mezereum, AKA D. Laureola)
|
|
Dosage: "a few". Probably 10 or more.
|
|
Time: not known
|
|
Available: Garden plant. Seeds are particularly poisonous.
|
|
Certainty: not known, dosage is questionable.
|
|
Notes: [4]:
|
|
The berries taste horrid, but you only need to eat a few to cause
|
|
death. Symptoms: burning sensation in mouth, nausea, vomiting, stomach
|
|
pains, diarrhoea, weakness, disorientation, convulsions, followed by
|
|
death. The seeds can be dried and stored without affecting the
|
|
poisons. Don't confuse this with laurels in the Prunus genus, Rosacea
|
|
family. See "plants in general".
|
|
|
|
==Atropine (Atropa Belladonna AKA Deadly Nightshade. Also potato fruits)
|
|
Dosage: 5 berries in young children.. maybe 30 in adults?
|
|
Time: 6 to 24 hours
|
|
Available: from fruits of some plants in the potato family.
|
|
Certainty: unknown, particularly dosage is questionable
|
|
Notes: [4]:
|
|
AB also contains hyoscyamine and hyoscine (scopolamine). Symptoms:
|
|
dry mouth, flushed face, dilation of pupils, rapid pulse. Possibly
|
|
also breathing difficulties, constipation, convulsions,
|
|
hallucinations, and coma. AB is often confused with other Nightshade
|
|
species, which aren't as poisonous. The berries are black in AB, and
|
|
red in Woody Nightshade. In addition, the flowers are larger (1.2 in)
|
|
in the true Deadly Nightshade.
|
|
Present in unripe deadly nightshake fruits, fruits of potato, and
|
|
fruits of other members of this family (not tomato though!), but stick
|
|
with AB. See the "plants in general" entry.
|
|
|
|
Calle: A correspondent mentions that Jimsonweed will also do, and
|
|
that a specific antidote exists.
|
|
|
|
==Oleander (Nerium Oleander. Poison similar to digitalis)
|
|
Dosage: not known, but fairly small amounts.
|
|
Time: unknown.
|
|
Available: leaves, wood of the plant. From garden centres.
|
|
Certainty: unknown.
|
|
Notes: [4]:
|
|
Deaths have been caused by using wood from this plant in fires, and
|
|
making tea from the leaves. In a few hours there is abdominal pain,
|
|
nausea, vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, rapid pulse, and visual effects.
|
|
Later, a slow, weak, irregular pulse and fall in blood pressure,
|
|
followed by failure of heart. See the "plants in general" entry.
|
|
|
|
==Death-Cap / Destroying-Angel toadstool (Amanita Phalloides)
|
|
Dosage: Fraction of one can kill, but eat 1 or 2 just in case.
|
|
Time: Week or so
|
|
Available: Have to know what it looks like.. similar edible ones
|
|
Certainty: Definite without med. treatment; unknown with.
|
|
Notes: [5, Volume 7, pp591-592]:
|
|
"Poisoning by toxic Amanita species is characterised by a delay in
|
|
onset of 4 to 12 hours. At this point, nausea vomiting, colic-like
|
|
pain, and diarrhea occur. There then follows a period of respite,
|
|
which can last for two to four days. This phase does NOT signify
|
|
recovery: damage to the liver and kidneys continues to develop and
|
|
the respite gives way to hepatic and renal failure. Death usually
|
|
occurs a week or so after poisoning.". See "plants in general".
|
|
|
|
==Ricin (Castor oil plant, Ricinus Communis)
|
|
Dosage: death has occured from eating 1 bean, but take more than 10
|
|
Time: within 3 to 5 days
|
|
Available: From eating the castor beans
|
|
Certainty: depends on ricin content of the beans. Pure ricin is deadly
|
|
Notes: [2] and [4]:
|
|
Symptoms begin within a few hours with abdominal pain, vomiting and
|
|
bloody diarrhoea for several days. Decreased production of urine and
|
|
a fall in blood pressure. Note that people have survived eating more
|
|
than 10 beans, *with treatment*. Presumably the fatal dose without
|
|
medical intervention is less. Surviving more than 3 to 5 days usually
|
|
means recovery. Ricin is described as "..one of the most potent toxins
|
|
known".
|
|
In 1978 a Bulgarian journalist (Georgi Markov) was assassinated in
|
|
London by being prodded with an umbrella. The umbrella had a tiny ball
|
|
coated with ricin on its tip, which lodged into the dissident. He
|
|
died a few days later in hospital. See "plants in general".
|
|
|
|
==Colchicine (Acetyltrimethylcolchicinic acid, Autumn Crocus, Royal Lily)
|
|
Dosage: 7 mg to 60 mg (why so wide variation?)
|
|
Time: symptoms in about 4 hours, death in about 4 days
|
|
Available: Easily available (from large garden centre)
|
|
Certainty: certain
|
|
Notes: [New Scientist article:]
|
|
From the Autumn crocus (Colchicum Autumnale) / royal lily (Gloriosa
|
|
Superba). One flower of CA is about 12 mg, so take at least five of
|
|
them. 20g tuber of GS provides 60mg, single seed of CA provides 3.5mg
|
|
(so take 18). Damages blood vessels and nerves, and stops cell
|
|
division. Don't know whether its painful or not, but that bit about
|
|
damaging nerves is worrying. I just _love_ the name of the acid! See
|
|
See the "plants in general" entry.
|
|
|
|
==Aconitine (AKA Wolfsbane, Monkshood, aconitum napellus, a. anglicum)
|
|
Dosage: "a few grams"
|
|
Time: 10 mins to few hours
|
|
Available: Garden plant, so get from garden centre
|
|
Certainty: unknown (can be treated in hospital)
|
|
Notes: [2] and [4]:
|
|
The poison is concentrated in the unripe seed pods and roots.
|
|
During winter, the roots are particularly poisonous. Symptoms develop
|
|
in less than an hour. Burning sensation, feelings of coldness,
|
|
sweating. Later, numbness, vomiting and diarrhoea with abdominal pain.
|
|
Finally, slow pulse, convulsions and coma. Death may occur within 2
|
|
hours. The poison kills by causing a cardiac failure, and it is
|
|
painful. See the "plants in general" comment.
|
|
|
|
==Cicutoxin (Cowbane, Cicuta Virosa)
|
|
Dosage: ".. a few bites .. can cause serious poisoning or death".
|
|
Time: a few hours or more.
|
|
Available: rare in most parts of UK, don't know about elsewhere.
|
|
Certainty: good, but resembles wild carrot & wild parsnip.
|
|
Notes: [4]:
|
|
The poison is strongest in the yellow juice of the underground parts.
|
|
Symptoms after half an hour: burning of mouth, excessive saliva,
|
|
flushing, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, dilation of pupils, and later a
|
|
bluish tinge to the skin. Muscular contractions and convulsions, with
|
|
difficulties in breathing are followed by unconsciousness and death,
|
|
often within a few hours of eating the plant. See "plants in general".
|
|
|
|
==Coniine, Gamma-Coniceine, others (Hemlock, Conium Maculatum)
|
|
Dosage: unknown
|
|
Time: unknown
|
|
Available: Grows throughout UK, except north. Don't know about elsewhere.
|
|
Certainty: unknown
|
|
Notes: [4]:
|
|
NOTE: There are many plants called "hemlock", some of which aren't
|
|
poisonous at all. It can also be mistaken for wild parsley and carrot,
|
|
and is in the same family as Cowbane.
|
|
Symptoms appear in 15 mins to 2 hours. Initially burning and dryness
|
|
of the mouth, muscular weakness leading to paralysis that affects the
|
|
breathing. Sometimes also dilation of pupils, vomiting, diarrhoea,
|
|
convulsions, and loss of consciousness. If this is survived, birth
|
|
defects may be caused in pregnant women.
|
|
This is said to be the plant that Socrates took in 399 BC.
|
|
|
|
==Oenanthetoxin (Hemlock Water Dropwort, Oenanthe Eroeata)
|
|
Dosage: "..dangerously poisonous, even in small quantities".
|
|
Time: Two to twelve hours.
|
|
Available: Grows in chalky wet areas, particularly S and W Britain.
|
|
Certainty: Fairly good, if you get the right species.
|
|
Notes: [4]:
|
|
The tubers contain more poison than the rest of the plant,
|
|
particularly in winter and early spring, and may be cooked or dried.
|
|
Symptoms within an hour or two, nausea, salivation, vomiting,
|
|
diarrhoea, sweating, weakness of legs, dilation of pupils. Later loss
|
|
of consciousness with convulsions before death. See "plants in
|
|
general" entry. Same family as Hemlock.
|
|
|
|
==plants in general (hemlock, foxglove, oleander)
|
|
Dosage: N/A
|
|
Time: N/A
|
|
Available: garden centre
|
|
Certainty: questionable
|
|
Notes: [1] says:
|
|
"Everything I have ever read about death from plant poisoning
|
|
indicates that it is risky and painful. Symptoms range from nausea and
|
|
vomiting to cramping and bloody diarrhea. .... .. Altogether, I
|
|
consider poisonous plants as a means of exit far too unreliable and
|
|
painful. No matter how desperate you are, don't even think about it!"
|
|
|
|
==Nicotine (Rewritten by Calle)
|
|
Dosage: extract from 100g tabacco? 40-60 mg pure.
|
|
Time: Several hours, coma may set in much earlier. Much
|
|
quicker if taken in large doses.
|
|
Available: Easily available
|
|
Certainty: Fairly certain, given a large enough dose.
|
|
Notes:
|
|
This is what Mike wrote:
|
|
|
|
"Soak 100 grammes of tabacco for a few days. You get a brown
|
|
mess. Strain off the tabacco, then simmer slowly until most of the
|
|
liquid has gone, leaving about 2 teaspoons of brown treacle-like
|
|
stuff. Add it to your night-time drink, and never wake up. Someone
|
|
said the other day that 150mg of pure nicotine would be fatal in
|
|
seconds. See the "plants in general" entry."
|
|
|
|
It is correct, as far as I have found out. It can be added
|
|
that the effects include violent convulsions and that the
|
|
direct cause of death is respiratory failure. Smokers should
|
|
use larger doses than non-smokers.
|
|
|
|
==Iron (diet suppliments)
|
|
Dosage: unknown
|
|
Time: unknown
|
|
Available: diet, health food shops
|
|
Certainty: good
|
|
Notes: [2]:
|
|
"Well it seems that iron pills achieve death. They oxydize in the
|
|
stomach and eat a hole in it. The only reason I know this is that
|
|
someone at my school just recently OD'd and died from this. It was
|
|
ruled suicide since no person could accidently take that many iron
|
|
pills. They didn't say how many she took or how many it takes to kill
|
|
yourself though." [sounds unpleasant]
|
|
|
|
==Cocaine
|
|
Dosage: 1 ounce (don't know what that is in real weights..)
|
|
Time: 2 to 3 hours?
|
|
Available: Difficult
|
|
Certainty: not known
|
|
Notes: Read something in a newspaper... a coke dealer died after
|
|
eating an ounce of it, when the police raided his house. Cause of
|
|
death was a cardiac arrest 2 1/2 hours after the overdose. However, a
|
|
cocaine OD is painful, and causes paranoia / breathing problems. One
|
|
form of cocaine smuggling is to swallow condoms filled with the stuff.
|
|
From time to time, a "mule" has a condom burst inside him, and dies in
|
|
pain reasonably quickly.
|
|
|
|
==LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) nonfatal
|
|
Dosage: infinite!
|
|
Time: never
|
|
Available: who cares?
|
|
Certainty: will not kill you
|
|
Notes: LSD can't kill you by overdose.. you might go psychotic if you
|
|
take tens/hundreds of thousands of times the normal dose, but thats
|
|
hardly surprising, since you'd have to be insane to take that much in
|
|
the first place. General warning - even for normal use, if you are
|
|
depressed, it'll just amplify the depression, not lift it, and the
|
|
chances of a bad trip are probably higher. Probably, the only way to
|
|
kill yourself with this stuff is to drop two tonnes of it on yourself.
|
|
|
|
Calle: I don't quite believe in what Mike is saying about
|
|
psychosis here. As far as I have been able to find out,
|
|
LSD works by catalyzing certain substances in the brain,
|
|
and thus vast overdoses have no more effect than merely
|
|
large ones. Once all the stuff in your brain is used up,
|
|
there will be no more effect.
|
|
|
|
A correspondent points out a case reported by The Journal
|
|
of Clinical Toxicology where eight people snorted pure
|
|
LSD Tartrate, beliving that it was cocaine. The amounts
|
|
ingested was estimated to be from 1000 to 10000 times an
|
|
ordinary dose. Half of them lapsed into comas, but all of
|
|
them came out of it without any treatment. Some were
|
|
given Valium for anxiety efterwards.
|
|
|
|
On the whole, it seems that LSD is about as safe as a
|
|
drug can be, despite much propaganda saying otherwise.
|
|
|
|
==Heroin (morphine)
|
|
Dosage: 120 to 500 mg in non-users.
|
|
Time: unknown
|
|
Available: From your friendly neighbourhood drug dealer.
|
|
Certainty: unknown
|
|
Notes: Combine it with alcohol, since a combination of alc & H is
|
|
much more dangerous than alc or H alone.
|
|
|
|
==Rotenone
|
|
Dosage: very low, similar to cyanide
|
|
Time: depends on dosage
|
|
Available: extremely difficult
|
|
Certainty: probable
|
|
Notes: Rotenone is used by microbiologists to kill potentially
|
|
dangerous bacteria cultures. It is extremely poisonous.
|
|
|
|
Calle: A correspondent believes this entry to be erroneous, since
|
|
in the litterature he consulted rotenone was mentioned as
|
|
being used as an insecticide and not being all that toxic.
|
|
|
|
==Mercury (salts, soluble)
|
|
Dosage: 1 gramme of salts
|
|
Time: unknown
|
|
Available: unknown (what are the _soluble_ salts? how to make?)
|
|
Certainty: good
|
|
Notes: Note that contrary to popular opinion, pure mercury metal isn't
|
|
all that poisonous. The soluble salts are, however. The "mad hatter"
|
|
story refers to brain damage that hat makers used to get from using
|
|
mercury salts.
|
|
|
|
==Amobarbital (amytal, amal, eunoctal, etamyl, stadadorm)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 4.5 grammes, typically 90 50mg tablets
|
|
Time: unconscious in 5 -> 15 minutes, death in 20 -> 50 minutes
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: very reliable
|
|
Notes: use an airtight plastic bag, and a rubber band to get a very
|
|
effective method. Alcohol speeds it up and makes it more reliable.
|
|
Take an antihistamine about 10 minutes earlier. Empty stomach.
|
|
Dissolve most of them in drink / food, and eat the remaining ones
|
|
first so that it all peaks at the same time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Butabarbital (secbutobarbitone, butisol, ethnor)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 3 grammes, typically 100 30mg tablets
|
|
Time: unconscious in 5 -> 15 minutes, death in 20 -> 50 minutes
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: very reliable
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Codeine (combo. with Aspirin: Empirin compound no. I -> IV)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 2.4 grammes, typically 80 30mg tablets
|
|
Time: unconscious in 5 -> 15 minutes, death in 20 -> 50 minutes
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: reliable with plastic bag and rubber band
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. People can become tolerant to this drug, and it will no
|
|
longer be effective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Diazepam (valium, apozepam, aliseum, ducene)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 500 milligrammes, typically 100 5mg tablets
|
|
Time: N/A
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: unreliable, use in combination with something else (alcohol?)
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. Valium is not effective by itself, but by mixing it with
|
|
other drugs or alcohol it makes it more certain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Flurazepam (dalmane, dalmadorm, niotal)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 3 grammes, typically 100 30mg tablets
|
|
Time: N/A
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: unreliable, use in combination with something else
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. This is not effective by itself, but by mixing it with other
|
|
drugs or alcohol it makes the other drug more certain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Gluthethimide (doriden, doridene, glimid)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 24 grammes, typically 48 500mg tablets
|
|
Time: N/A
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: unreliable, use in combination with something else
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. This is not effective by itself, but by mixing it with other
|
|
drugs or alcohol it makes the other drug more certain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Chloral Hydrate (noctec, chloratex, somnox)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: >10+ grammes, typically 20+ 500mg tablets
|
|
Time: N/A
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: unreliable, use in combination with something else
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. This is not effective by itself, but by mixing it with
|
|
other drugs or alcohol it makes the other drug more certain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Hydromorphone (dilaudid, pentagone)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 100 -> 200 milligrammes, typically 50 -> 100 2mg tablets
|
|
Time: unconscious in 5 -> 15 minutes, death in 20 -> 50 minutes
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: very reliable with plastic bag and rubber band
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. People can become tolerant to this drug, and it will no
|
|
longer be effective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Meprobamate (miltown, equanil)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 45 grammes, typically 112 400mg tablets
|
|
Time: N/A
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: unreliable, use in combination with something else
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. This is not effective by itself, but by mixing it with
|
|
other drugs or alcohol it makes the other drug more certain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Methyprylon (noludar)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 15 grammes, typically 50 300mg tablets
|
|
Time: N/A
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: unreliable, use in combination with something else
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. This is not effective by itself, but by mixing it with
|
|
other drugs or alcohol it makes the other drug more certain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Meperidine (pethidine, demerol, dolantin)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 3.6 grammes, typically 72 50mg tablets
|
|
Time: unconscious in 5 -> 15 minutes, death in 20 -> 50 minutes
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: very reliable with plastic bag and rubber band
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. People can become tolerant to this drug, and it will no
|
|
longer be effective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Methadone (dolophine, adanon)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 300 milligrammes, typically 60 5mg tablets
|
|
Time: unconscious in 5 -> 15 minutes, death in 20 -> 50 minutes
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: very reliable with plastic bag and rubber band
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. People can become tolerant to this drug, and it will no
|
|
longer be effective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Morphine (in Brompton's mixtures)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 200 milligrammes, typically 14 15mg tablets
|
|
Time: unconscious in 5 -> 15 minutes, death in 20 -> 50 minutes
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: very reliable with plastic bag and rubber band
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. People can become tolerant to this drug, and it will no
|
|
longer be effective.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Phenobarbital (luminal, gardenal, fenical)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 4.5 grammes, typically 150 30mg tablets
|
|
Time: N/A
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: unreliable, use in combination with something else
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. This is not effective by itself, but by mixing it with
|
|
other drugs or alcohol it makes the other drug more certain.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Secobarbital (quinalbarbitone, seconal, immenox, dormona, secogen, .....
|
|
== ..... seral, vesperax (combo with brallobarbital))
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 4.5 grammes, typically 45 100mg tablets
|
|
Time: unconscious in 5 -> 15 minutes, death in 20 -> 50 minutes
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: very reliable with plastic bag and rubber band
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. [Vesperax is Humphry's favorite]
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Propoxyphene (darvon, dolotard, abalgin, antalvic, depronal)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 2 grammes, typically 30 65mg tablets
|
|
Time: death in an hour or so. Does not make you unconscious
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: suggest combine with something to make you sleep, then use bag
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach. Since this one doesn't make you unconscious for a
|
|
long time, try combining with one that does, so you can use
|
|
the good old bag method.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==Pentobarbital (nembutal, carbrital only if in combo with pentobarbital)
|
|
[this entry from [1]]
|
|
Dosage: 3 grammes, typically 30 100mg tablets
|
|
Time: unconscious in 5 -> 15 minutes, death in 20 -> 50 minutes
|
|
Available: needs to be prescribed
|
|
Certainty: very reliable with plastic bag and rubber band
|
|
Notes: use bag & band. Alcohol as well as antihistamine on an empty
|
|
stomach.
|
|
|
|
==PART3== Methods: other than poisoning
|
|
|
|
==2. HANGING
|
|
==1. asphyxiation (dangle on end of rope for 10 minutes)
|
|
Time: 5 to 10 minutes
|
|
Available: Rope, solid support 10 foot above ground
|
|
Certainty: Fairly certain (discovery, rope/support snapping)
|
|
Notes: Brain damage likely if rescued. Very painful depending on
|
|
rope. Most common effective form of suicide in UK. See "Asphyxiation".
|
|
|
|
==2. breaking neck
|
|
Time: Should be instant if it does break. See previous if not
|
|
Available: Rope, solid support, 10 foot space below, several above
|
|
Certainty: Very certain if the rope/support doesn't break
|
|
Notes: Minimal danger of discovery (depends on location). Painless
|
|
if you drop far enough (8 foot is optimum). Make sure that the rope
|
|
is tied securely to something STRONG!! It has to support your weight
|
|
MULTIPLIED by the deccelleration. Use a hangman's knot (with the knot
|
|
at the back of your neck). It doesn't always work this well though,
|
|
you might get a bust jaw / lacerations etc and then asphyxiate.
|
|
|
|
Calle: I got this table of appropriate falling heights from
|
|
a.s.h. long-time regular MegaZone (megazone@wpi.wpi.edu),
|
|
who got it from a friend of his named Mark.
|
|
|
|
Hanging Drop Heights...
|
|
|
|
Culprits Weight Drop
|
|
14 stone (196 lbs) 8ft 0in
|
|
13.5 stone (189 lbs) 8ft 2in
|
|
13 stone (182 lbs) 8ft 4in
|
|
12.5 stone (175 lbs) 8ft 6in
|
|
12 stone (168 lbs) 8ft 8in
|
|
11.5 stone (161 lbs) 8ft 10in
|
|
11 stone (154 lbs) 9ft 0in
|
|
10.5 stone (147 lbs) 9ft 2in
|
|
10 stone (140 lbs) 9ft 4in
|
|
9.5 stone (133 lbs) 9ft 6in
|
|
9 stone (126 lbs) 9ft 8in
|
|
8.5 stone (119 lbs) 9ft 10in
|
|
8 stone (112 lbs) 10ft 0in
|
|
|
|
Source: Charles Duff, Handbook of Hanging (Boston: Hale,
|
|
Cushman & Flint 1929)
|
|
|
|
Notes: This is for person of average build with no unusual
|
|
physical problems. The Author (James "Hangman" Barry) noted
|
|
that when executing "persons who had attempted suicide by
|
|
cutting their throats...to prevent reoping the wounds I have
|
|
reduced the drop by nearly half."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
==3. JUMPING OFF BUILDINGS
|
|
Time: Instantanious if you are lucky, minutes/hours otherwise
|
|
Available: You need ten stories or higher, and access to the top floor
|
|
windows/roof. Bring a bolt cutter to get onto the roof
|
|
Certainty: 90% for 6 stories, increasing after that
|
|
Notes: Difficult to overcome fear of heights, many people can't do it.
|
|
Totally painless if high enough, but very frightening. Easily discovered
|
|
if seen on/near roof/windows. Access fairly easy in a city, otherwise
|
|
difficult. Risk of spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair. Ever
|
|
tried killing yourself if you are paralysed from the neck down? Email
|
|
conversations suggest 10+ stories works ALMOST all of the time. Try to
|
|
land on concrete. Quote - "9 out of 10 people who fall 6 stories will
|
|
die". Note that it may take a while for many of those 90% to die.
|
|
|
|
==4. SLITTING WRISTS OR OTHER (often not effective)
|
|
Time: Minutes if major artery cut, eternity otherwise.
|
|
Available: You really need a razor sharp knife. Razors are pretty tricky
|
|
to hold when they are covered with blood.
|
|
Certainty: possible if you cut an artery, improbable otherwise
|
|
Notes: Painful at first. Danger of discovery. This is a very common
|
|
suicide 'gesture' and hardly ever results in anything other than a scar.
|
|
A lot of will power required to cut deeply into groin or carotid
|
|
arteries, which are the only ones likely to kill you. Don't bother with
|
|
this method. Cutting your throat is difficult due to the fact that the
|
|
carotid arteries are protected by your windpipe (feel where your arteries
|
|
are with your fingertips, & slice from the side). I've seen photos of
|
|
people who have used this method - the depth of the cut required is
|
|
amazing. If you want to cut your wrists, cut along the blue line (vein)
|
|
on the underside of your wrist, but cut deeply so that the artery
|
|
underneath is exposed. Cut this lengthways with a razor or similar. The
|
|
traditional hot bath does help, since it keeps the blood flowing quickly,
|
|
slows down clotting, and is nice to lie back and relax in. Position
|
|
yourself so that your wrists don't fall inwards against your body,
|
|
blocking off blood flow.
|
|
|
|
Calle: A posting to A.S.H. suggests using the kind of equipment
|
|
they use when you give blood to a blood bank, i.e., a
|
|
needle in a blood vessel and a piece of tubing. It sounds
|
|
like it would remove several of the disadvantages of the
|
|
ordinary slitting-wrists method.
|
|
|
|
==5. BULLET
|
|
Time: Microseconds unless you are unlucky (mins/hours)
|
|
Available: Difficult in UK, easier in USA (get a shotgun)
|
|
Certainty: Certain
|
|
Notes: Painless if worked, otherwise painful & brain damage.
|
|
Danger of discovery of weapon or ammunition. Not at all common in UK,
|
|
more common in USA where guns available. Brain damage & other effects if
|
|
you survive. Death either instantaneous, or prolonged. Lots of will power
|
|
needed to fire gun ('hesitation marks' are bullets/pellets embedded in
|
|
the wall, when you jerk the gun as you fire). Bullet can miss vital parts
|
|
in skull, deflect off skull. If you have a choice, use a shotgun rather
|
|
than a rifle of a pistol, since it is so much more effective. ("shotgun"
|
|
entry later). Ammunition to use is: .458 Winchester Magnum, or soft-point
|
|
slugs with .44 Magnum. Also you could use a sabot round, which is a
|
|
plastic wedge with a smaller thing in it. These rounds are rather
|
|
overkill, the phrase "elephant gun" has been used about the .458
|
|
Winchester, but if you're going to go, do it with a bang. Note, people
|
|
usually survive single .22 shots to the temples. The other problem with
|
|
guns is that is is bloody messy. Your next of kin will really _enjoy_
|
|
cleaning up after you, washing the coagulated blood & brains out of
|
|
corners etc...
|
|
|
|
==6. ASPHYXIATION
|
|
Time: 5 mins to unconciousness, 10+ mins to brain death
|
|
Available: Anywhere there's a rope and something solid to tie it to
|
|
Certainty: Certain, if you don't get "rescued"
|
|
Notes: Panic reaction is very likely (unless inert gasses used).
|
|
One of the most effective and most used methods of suicide.
|
|
Probable brain damage if you are "rescued".
|
|
NOTE, this can only really be done in two ways: firstly,
|
|
when you are unconsious (eg, sleeping pills), or secondly,
|
|
by hanging. Combining with pure inert gasses is a very good
|
|
suggestion. See "Nitrogen" in the poisons section
|
|
|
|
==7. AIR IN VEINS (basically just a myth)
|
|
Time: Couple of minutes claimed
|
|
Available: Plenty of air about... Need a hypodermic & syringe
|
|
Certainty: only 1 known case.. patient may already have been dead
|
|
Notes: The only case I know about, it killed with 40cc of air. Smaller
|
|
amounts are harmless. The case was the death of Abbie Borroto,
|
|
who died in 1950 from a 40cc injection in New Hampshire. She
|
|
died in minutes. This was the 1949 Dr H Sander case. He was
|
|
found not guilty to murder on the grounds that the patient may
|
|
already have been dead when he gave the injection. (A doctor and
|
|
a nurse could find no pulse earlier the same day).
|
|
The following 2 quotes are from [1]:
|
|
Prof. Y Kenis says: "... not a suitable method, nor a gentle
|
|
death... extremely difficult to utilize as a method of suicide.
|
|
.. possibly with very serious consequences, such as paralysis or
|
|
permanent brain damage. .. this is only an impression, and I have
|
|
no real scientific information on the subject."
|
|
Dr Pieter V Admiraal .. describes the theoretical air bubble
|
|
method of suicide as impossible, disagreeable and cruel. "To
|
|
kill somebody with air you would have to inject at least 100 ->
|
|
200 millilitres as quickly as possible in a vein as big as
|
|
possible close to the heart. You would have to fill the whole
|
|
heart with air at once. The heart would probably beat on for
|
|
several minutes, perhaps 5 -> 15 minutes, and during the first
|
|
minutes the person may be conscious."
|
|
|
|
==8. DECAPITATION
|
|
Time: Couple of seconds before conciousness fades
|
|
Available: Happen to have a train line nearby? Or a guillotine perhaps?
|
|
Certainty: Very certain, unless you pull away just before
|
|
Notes: See "jumping in front of trains". May be difficult to stop
|
|
pulling your head out of the way - OD on sleeping tablets
|
|
first
|
|
|
|
Calle: A news notice from California posted to alt.suicide.holiday
|
|
tells the story of a man who comitted suicide nearly cut his
|
|
own head off with a chainsaw. Sounds like a grisly way to do it.
|
|
|
|
==9. DISEMBOWELMENT (aka seppuku/hara kiri)
|
|
Time: Minutes
|
|
Available: Got a nice razor-sharp sword?
|
|
Certainty: Fairly certain, assuming that you managed to gut yourself
|
|
properly before passing out with the agony
|
|
Notes: Painful, even the macho Samurai used a 'second' to decapitate them
|
|
at the appropriate point, so don't expect to do much more than
|
|
give yourself peritonitis. Trendy for insane martial arts
|
|
fanatics and gay Japanese poets called Mishima.
|
|
|
|
==10. DROWNING
|
|
Time: Minutes (5 mins to die of drowning, 20 to die of hypothermia)
|
|
Available: Anywhere there's deep, (cold) water in a remote spot
|
|
Certainty: Good, just make sure you sink & can't swim
|
|
Notes: Put stones in your pockets, tie your legs & hands together,
|
|
and hop into the lake.. bit of a shock to the fisherman who
|
|
finds your rotting corpse stuck in his brand new net. Also see
|
|
entry for "hypothermia/freezing". However, remember that you can be
|
|
revived from cold water drowning after several hours, because the cold
|
|
slows down terminal brain damage. Warmer water doesn't have the advantage
|
|
of hypothermia, but is more effective in making sure you *stay* dead.
|
|
|
|
==11. ELECTROCUTION
|
|
Time: Seconds / minutes
|
|
Available: Anywhere with high-tension, high-current lines & a good earth
|
|
Certainty: Somewhat dependant on luck & how much power goes through you
|
|
Notes: Don't bother with 110 or 240 volt mains, its just not enough.
|
|
Some people do get killed with household electricity, but only
|
|
after several minutes. Use high tension lines, stand in bare
|
|
feet on waterlogged ground (better still, put a piece of THICK
|
|
copper cable into the nearest river). Works best if current
|
|
path travels through your head, or through the heart. Just
|
|
burns you badly otherwise.
|
|
NOTE: people have survived massive high-voltage, high-current
|
|
shocks with nothing but 3rd degree burns to show for it.
|
|
Sometimes paralysis, limbs amputated etc.
|
|
|
|
==12. EXPLOSIVES
|
|
Time: 10 milliseconds, or similar (!)
|
|
Available: Difficult to get hold of detonator & good explosives
|
|
Certainty: Certain if detonator works properly
|
|
Notes: DON'T USE GUNPOWDER or other 'slow' explosives (eg,
|
|
homemade explosives). Use dynamite or 'Plastique', strap
|
|
it to your forehead with the detonator, and BOOM! The main
|
|
problem is with getting hold of high explosives (I know the
|
|
recipe for Nitro-Glycerine, but home manufacture is extremely
|
|
risky, and the product is unstable). If you can get a grenade,
|
|
use it, it's probably the best way of doing this one.
|
|
|
|
Calle: Recipies for creating explosives can be found, together with
|
|
the appropriate warnings, in the rec.pyrotechnics FAQ.
|
|
|
|
==13. FREEZING TO DEATH (hypothermia)
|
|
Time: several hours (15 minutes in very cold water)
|
|
Available: Got a large chest freezer? Is the outside temp < -10 degrees?
|
|
Certainty: good if you don't get found
|
|
Notes: Soak your cloths in water, get into freezer / outside
|
|
somewhere where you won't be found. Helps to get pissed
|
|
first - drink yourself silly. If you are near a very
|
|
cold supply of water (eg, the North Sea, or similar) which is
|
|
close to zero degrees, this is particularly good, since the
|
|
average lifespan of someone in the water is 15 minutes.
|
|
[1] says: ".. have quietly ascended their favorite mountain late
|
|
in the day .. above the freezing line.. wearing light clothing,
|
|
they sat down in a secluded spot to await the end. Some have said
|
|
that they intended to take a tranquilizer to hasten the sleep of
|
|
death. From what we know of hypothermia, they would pass out as
|
|
the cold reached a certain level and they would die within a few
|
|
hours. Of course in a very cold climate there is no need to climb
|
|
a mountain." [eg, UK in midwinter :-). There was a death in the
|
|
middle of the city park here just this last winter ('90) where a
|
|
lady stripped after the park closed for the night.] A problem with
|
|
this method is that because it slows the metabolism, and prevents
|
|
damage to the brain, people can be revived several hours after 'death'
|
|
occasionally.
|
|
|
|
==14. JUMPING IN FRONT OF TRAINS
|
|
Time: Seconds (or hours if unlucky)
|
|
Available: Anywhere near a HIGH-SPEED railway line
|
|
Certainty: Depends on your timing & speed of train. Go for decapitation
|
|
Notes: Probably better to put your neck on the line, since a glancing
|
|
blow would probably break your spine (& cripple you). High
|
|
speed trains need a kilometer to stop, so find a blind corner.
|
|
|
|
==15. SELF-IMMOLATION
|
|
Time: Seconds to days
|
|
Available: Anywhere you can get petrol & a match
|
|
Certainty: good as long as you are far away from medical help
|
|
Notes: bloody painful - one of the most agonising ways to die.
|
|
If you do survive, you will be disfigured for the rest
|
|
of your life.
|
|
Try mixing the petrol with an explosive like TNT or NG,
|
|
this will make it burn MUCH quicker, even if the explosive
|
|
is very dilute.
|
|
|
|
==16. STARVING TO DEATH
|
|
Time: 40 days give or take. Depends on health.
|
|
Available: Anywhere where you can't be force-fed
|
|
Certainty: Good as long as no medical help & will power holds up
|
|
Notes: Supposed to be easier after the first couple of days, since
|
|
your appetite goes. In a UK prison, you can't be force-fed
|
|
unless you give permission first, or are diagnosed insane,
|
|
but I don't know whether this is the same in other countries.
|
|
Beware - relatives might give permission on your behalf if you
|
|
are unconsious. (living will / durable power of attorney helps).
|
|
It may help if you use an appetite suppressant. Amphetamines,
|
|
and some drugs (MDMA, AKA XTC, AKA ecstasy, AKA
|
|
metheylenedimethoxymethamphetamine is one such). The problem with
|
|
these is that they are frequently illegal. I've also heard of
|
|
something called Aminorex (4-methylaminorex) which was briefly
|
|
prescribed as an appetite suppressant, but taken off the market
|
|
since it had fatal side effects... which is hardly a problem!!
|
|
[1] says:
|
|
".. after approximately 20 % of body weight loss, illness will
|
|
begin to set in, notably severe indigestion, muscle weakness, and
|
|
_worst of all_ mental incapacity. ... about 40 days before life
|
|
is seriously theatened. ...."
|
|
"In some cases self-starvation can be very painful. ... morphene
|
|
had to be administered to kill the pain of fatal dehydration. .."
|
|
|
|
==17. DRIVING INTO BRIDGE SUPPORT AT 100 MPH
|
|
Time: Hopefully instantanious
|
|
Available: Fast car, motorway, unprotected bridge....
|
|
Certainty: So-so, put a couple of cans of petrol on the passenger seat to
|
|
make it certain, & USE YOUR SEATBELT
|
|
Notes: Bridges are usually protected in the UK, don't know about USA.
|
|
Avoid being thrown out of the car by using the seatbelt, and
|
|
put petrol (in cans or just splashed about) near to the driver's
|
|
seat just to make certain. Can be made to look accidental.
|
|
|
|
==18. SHOTGUN
|
|
Time: Instantanious if you are lucky
|
|
Available: Difficult in UK, easier in USA (due to gun laws)
|
|
Certainty: Fairly certain
|
|
Notes: 12-gauge shotgun with 3 inch Magnum shells with #2 to #000
|
|
buckshot. See "Bullet" for other points. This is the recommended
|
|
way to die by firearm. Apparently the shells suggested here
|
|
are "extreme overkill", but thats the point really... problem
|
|
here is that its amazingly messy - who is going to pick the
|
|
festering lumps of gore out of the carpet? Another problem is that it
|
|
is possible to miss your brain entirely, and just blow off your face
|
|
instead.
|
|
|
|
==19. ENLIST (silly)
|
|
Time: Jan 15 '91 or other conflict
|
|
Available: Just pop down to the local army office & sign on as a squaddie
|
|
Certainty: Be a "hero". Life expectancy in a battle is 20 minutes
|
|
Notes: I don't think this is an entirely serious suggestion,
|
|
particularly since only 10% ever see the front line, and only
|
|
a few of those ever see combat.
|
|
|
|
Calle: You could always get employed as a mercenary. That way
|
|
you'll at least see combat, improving your chances to die
|
|
vastly. Still, a silly method.
|
|
|
|
==20. PENCILS UP YOUR NOSE, BANG DOWN ONTO TABLE (urban legend?)
|
|
Time: Seconds or never
|
|
Available: All you need is a couple of sharp pencils and a table
|
|
Certainty: Very uncertain
|
|
Notes: This is a myth, I think, since the pencils would go into your
|
|
frontal lobes, which are basically optional. This is the
|
|
legendary "exam suicide". Fine if you want a DIY frontal-
|
|
lobotomy rather than death!
|
|
|
|
Calle: This is an urban legend, see the alt.folklore.urban FAQ for
|
|
more details.
|
|
|
|
==21. GETTING SOMEONE TO MURDER YOU
|
|
Time: Depends on method used
|
|
Available: Know any murderous psychopaths? No, not the tax people...
|
|
Certainty: Depends on method used, & dedication of murderer
|
|
Notes: Forget it. Unless you contract someone to do it, the chances
|
|
are that you are going to wake up in hospital without your
|
|
wallet. If you do contract someone, how are you going to pay
|
|
them? Can't take them to court for running off with your
|
|
money and not doing the job.
|
|
|
|
==22. MAKE YOURSELF INTO AN H-BOMB (another silly one)
|
|
Time: Speed of light over 1/2 metre (couple of nanoseconds)
|
|
Available: Nuke (fission OR fusion), 10 litres of heavy water
|
|
Certainty: 100%
|
|
Notes: Drink the heavy water for several days, strap yourself to
|
|
the nuke, and press the button. If you retained a couple of
|
|
litres of the heavy water, the additional yield should be
|
|
6 megajoules (give or take a few orders of magnitude). Note
|
|
that heavy water is a poison, so you might not survive that
|
|
long anyway.
|
|
|
|
Calle: If I remember my physics correctly, there will be no reaction
|
|
in your body no matter how much heavy water you have
|
|
ingested. Not that it matters if you're sitting on an
|
|
exploding hydrogen bomb!
|
|
|
|
==23. MICROMACHINES/NANOCOMPUTERS (science fiction)
|
|
Time: years or a fraction of a second - depends how you look at it
|
|
Available: in 50 -> 1000 years time?
|
|
Certainty: Good assuming that the technology is developed
|
|
Notes: Basically, this involves a 'replicator' panel. You program it
|
|
to replicate yourself, simplifying very slightly, with the
|
|
exception of the urge to use this technique. After a while, you
|
|
turn into a mindless zombie, trudging around from the exit of
|
|
the machine to the entrance, for eternity. Strange philosophical
|
|
implications.
|
|
|
|
Calle: If you postulate nanomachines, why not use the deconstructor
|
|
kind? Take your body apart into its component molecules in
|
|
less than a minute... A silly method, if you hadn't guessed.
|
|
|
|
==24. SCUBA-DIVING (various fatal 'accidents')
|
|
Time: see notes -most are minutes/hours
|
|
Available: scuba diving gear, nobody around
|
|
Certainty: see notes
|
|
Notes: The first method is to rise 30 metres or so without releasing
|
|
your breath. Assuming that you can do it, it should cause your
|
|
lungs to burst. The second is the bends - stay under long enough
|
|
for the nitrogen to dissolve (30 metres for 30 minutes). go up
|
|
rapidly without decompression time. This is unreliable, and
|
|
may cause brain / joint damage. The third way is Carbon Monoxide
|
|
poisoning - fill your tank with it, and stay away from other
|
|
divers. You will fall asleep fairly quickly. See CO in poisons
|
|
section. The final way is oxygen poisoning - however, this means
|
|
that you have to go very deep with an oxygen-rich mix, and
|
|
there are problems associated with that. The advantage of these
|
|
methods is that insurance companies / relatives will assume that
|
|
it was an accident ('misadventure'), with the possible exception
|
|
of the CO poisoning.
|
|
The source of this follows: (from the net)
|
|
"Rising 30m without exhaling will usually result in an over
|
|
pressured lung, possible subcuteaneous emphazema, collapsed
|
|
lung, death usually from drowning in your own blood. Rather
|
|
painful and usually curable if you are rescued, but fair chance
|
|
of dying if you aren't.
|
|
Building up a high residual nitrogen time (say 30m for 30 min)
|
|
then coming up without decompressing will get you bent fairly
|
|
nicely. You don't feel much, but your joints tend to start
|
|
stiffening up after half an hour. Death is very uncertain,
|
|
coming from a stroke. Brain damage, joint damage etc are most
|
|
likely. Pobably can be recued but some damage certain.
|
|
Oxygen poisoning, going down 50+m until the partial pressure of
|
|
the oxygen reaches a toxic level. Difficult to accomplish, very
|
|
painful to get down that deep, cold pressure etc, possibility
|
|
of nitrogen narcosis and forgetting what you are doing. Probably
|
|
get bent, good chance of rescue.
|
|
CO poisoning, mix a healthy batch of carbon monoxide in your
|
|
tank as you dive, you tend to go to sleep under water, when
|
|
combined with the above methods you have a pretty good winner,
|
|
don't forget to forget your BCD."
|
|
|
|
|
|
==25. SUCKING YOUR BRAINS OUT (silly)
|
|
Time: Minutes
|
|
Available: You'd need a Puma (TM) robot, & some other bits
|
|
Certainty: certain, given proper programming
|
|
Notes: You would need an industrial robot to do this properly. Give
|
|
it a saw attachment, a sucking tube attachment, and program
|
|
it. Make a head restraint. When you are fixed securely into
|
|
the restraint, start the robot's program. It will drill a hole
|
|
in your head, and stick the tube into the hole. Program it to
|
|
wiggle the tube back and forth so that it doesn't miss anything.
|
|
This might work better if you put a stream of water into the
|
|
hole as well, so that the sucking attachment doesn't just suck
|
|
air all the time. Debugging the program could be amusing.
|
|
|
|
==26. MICROWAVES
|
|
Time: ?
|
|
Available: Source of strong microwave emissions
|
|
Certainty: ?
|
|
Notes: Cooking yourself. Point is to raise your core body temperature
|
|
to fatal levels.
|
|
|
|
Calle: Does anyone have any information on this? All that I know is
|
|
that standing in front of a Swedish coast surveillance radar
|
|
(which happens to use exactly the same wavelength as your
|
|
average microwave oven) is a Bad Thing.
|
|
|
|
==27. DEHYDRATION
|
|
Time: a week or so?
|
|
Available: you need to be able to stop medical help.
|
|
Certainty: certain if your will-power stands up to it.
|
|
Notes: Don't eat or drink. Remember that food contains a high
|
|
proportion of water. Avoiding medical help can be difficult.
|
|
See 'starving to death'.
|
|
|
|
==28. SKYDIVING 'ACCIDENT'
|
|
Time: pretty damn quick.
|
|
Available: need to join a skydiving club. Takes much time and money.
|
|
Certainty: Fairly certain. People have fallen from extreme heights
|
|
and survived. The resulting injuries are not fun.
|
|
Notes: Join a skydiving club, continue to practise it for a while to
|
|
clear off all suspicions and then once pack your parachute in
|
|
a real mess (preferably knotted up, but not too clearly) and
|
|
then jump. The para will not open and you will reach a terminal
|
|
velocity of 220 km/h (160 mph/120 kn). Death is instant in the
|
|
impact with the Planet Earth.
|
|
This has the advantages of being 'accidental', and your family/
|
|
friends do not have the additional pain and guilt associated
|
|
with suicides.
|
|
|
|
Calle: In addition to the above, you need to remove or disable your
|
|
reserve parachute (which is not easy, I'm told). There are
|
|
better "accidental" methods than this.
|
|
|
|
A correspondent who is a skydiver dislikes this entry, since
|
|
if people use it it will give skydiving an undeservedly bad
|
|
reputation.
|
|
|
|
==29. DEATH BY A THOUSAND CUTS; MODERN VERSION (silly)
|
|
Time: variable
|
|
Available: a heck of a lot of razor-wire.. maybe a high-voltage supply
|
|
Certainty: not very good
|
|
Notes: This is a modern variant of the Arabic 'Death of a thousand
|
|
cuts'. Basically, jump onto a stack of unravelled razor wire,
|
|
and roll around till you die.. it may help to connect a high-
|
|
voltage, low current power supply to the wire, so that you have
|
|
spasms, which should keep you getting cut even when you are
|
|
unconscious. Also, you should make sure that you can't roll off
|
|
the wire.
|
|
|
|
==30. CRUSHING
|
|
Time: seconds to minutes, depends on car press
|
|
Available: a car press.. any good junkyard
|
|
Certainty: certain as long as you can't escape
|
|
Notes: This is an elegantly simple one.. get into a car, in a car
|
|
press, and shortly afterwards be squashed to death as your
|
|
body is converted into a red pulp. It may be tricky getting
|
|
the press to trigger, but if you hide in the car someone
|
|
may come along and activate it. There are other ways of
|
|
getting crushed, this just happens to be the most effective
|
|
I can think up on the spur of the moment. Getting yourself
|
|
run over by a fully loaded articulated lorry is quite good.
|
|
You should remember that people quite often survive the actual
|
|
crushing; they die when the weight is taken OFF them.
|
|
|
|
==31. WORLD WAR THREE
|
|
Time: moments if you are near a militarilly significant site
|
|
Available: happen to be one of the 'key-holders'? president maybe?
|
|
Certainty: pretty certain
|
|
Notes: All you have to do is trigger world war three. Fire an ICBM
|
|
or three at the Chinese and the Russians... This method has
|
|
the advantage that you take everyone else with you! Trouble
|
|
is, the number of people with the requisite access is minimal,
|
|
and I sort of doubt that any readers of ASH can do this.
|
|
|
|
Calle: Lots harder since the collapse of the Soviet Union... Silly.
|
|
|
|
==32. HEATSTROKE
|
|
Time: 4 hours or more
|
|
Available: Very hot day; no disturbance from neighbours etc
|
|
Certainty: depends on the weather
|
|
Notes: Basically, the point is to give yourself extreme heatstroke.
|
|
You should pass out after a few hours. Use some aluminium foil
|
|
to direct the sun's heat onto you, to speed up the process
|
|
a bit. Try to reduce the chance of being interuppted, take off
|
|
the phone etc. Obviously, start in the morning! Helps if the
|
|
outside temperature is >100F.
|
|
|
|
==33. ACID BATH
|
|
Time: depends on acid
|
|
Available: a lot of a very strong acid
|
|
Certainty: fairly good
|
|
Notes: [from alt.suicide.holiday]
|
|
"summer heat got you down? Try the new and improved neighbourhood
|
|
acid bath. Most metal working plants and some auto-repair shops
|
|
will have a nice soothing acid bath. This, of course, is for
|
|
those of you who enjoy extreme pain and don't want to make a
|
|
mess for others to clean up. If you don't leave a note chances
|
|
are they will never know what happened, aside from the shop /
|
|
plant being broken into."
|
|
|
|
==34. FAKE CAR BOMB
|
|
Time: milliseconds
|
|
Available: explosive
|
|
Certainty: fairly good if enough explosive
|
|
Notes: This is a modification of the basic use-explosives method. What
|
|
you do, is make a homemade car bomb, and drive off happily after
|
|
chatting with your neighbour about how well your life is going,
|
|
apart from a few minor death-threats from an Iraqi death-squad..
|
|
To confuse the authorities even more, have a note in your pocket
|
|
listing the telephone numbers of all the eastern foreign
|
|
embassies in your pocket, together with a little line of random
|
|
"code numbers" next to each.., and a random but large amount of
|
|
cash listed against each code number. :-) Oh yes, and a heavily
|
|
annotated copy of Jane's Defence Weekly - Xhosa edition.
|
|
|
|
==35. JUMPING OFF BRIDGES (slice and dice with piano wire)
|
|
Time: 9.87 ms-2; 4 to 10 meters; calculate it yourself!
|
|
Available: Rope, pianowire and a high bridge.
|
|
Certainty: Fairly certain
|
|
Notes: Never been tried. Can also be used with a fairly
|
|
high building, but then the art-motive will
|
|
disappear.
|
|
Cut the rope and wire in various lengths. Each
|
|
length must not be longer than the height of the
|
|
bridge.
|
|
Tie one end of the ropes and wires to the bridge
|
|
Tie the other part of the ropes to different bodyparts
|
|
like thigh, calves, torso etc. Then tie the
|
|
pianowires around your joints. (Don't forget your
|
|
genitals..)
|
|
When you jump various parts of you body are whipped
|
|
away by the pianowire nooses, and your bits are held
|
|
up by the ropes swaying in the breeze.
|
|
If you to this right you should end up with just your
|
|
torso hanging by it's neck above the sea, highway,
|
|
ground.
|
|
Do it with friends, and call it art.
|
|
|
|
==36. BEING EATEN ALIVE
|
|
Time: depends, but probably a couple of minutes
|
|
Available: zoo, or live in Africa/wherever
|
|
Certainty: not brilliant.. what if they're not hungry and don't finish?
|
|
Notes: basically, find one or more hungry carnivores... tigers
|
|
are nice. Also, sharks, lions, any of the big cats..
|
|
|
|
==37. BEING BURNED UP IN UNPROTECTED RE-ENTRY (silly)
|
|
Time: probably a few minutes
|
|
Available: if you happen to be able to get into orbit
|
|
Certainty: about as certain as you can get!
|
|
Notes: Just go for a spacewalk in a low earth orbit, and decelerate
|
|
enough to enter the atmosphere. You'll get a great view...
|
|
|
|
|
|
==38. ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (AIDS)
|
|
Time: Incubation period 1 to 10 years, death within 2 years of diagnosis
|
|
of AIDS, Can have HIV for years/decades
|
|
Dosage: Just one intimate contact with an Infected person of any gender
|
|
Available: Available to all for free
|
|
Certainty: 99.9% certainty AFTER infected
|
|
Notes: [2]:
|
|
This is not painfree. This method may cost you alot of money if
|
|
you allow others to get you medical attention. It may a little difficult
|
|
to get infected as people who know they have it may not comply with
|
|
your request. Could be great fun attempting to get infected depending
|
|
upon your attitude (remember -any gender - you don't have to limit
|
|
yourself - you're going to die, you might as well try it ;). Should be
|
|
quite devasting to your family & close friends. You also get the
|
|
satisfaction of leaving behind a virtual unrecognizable-as-you body !
|
|
This also gives you the prime opportunity to point your finger at your
|
|
dentist and say he did it for all the times you have suffered in their
|
|
chair. Happy dying !
|
|
|
|
Calle: May not be so certain any more. Ten years may well be long
|
|
enough for someone to develop a cure. Silly, IMHO.
|
|
|
|
==39. AUTO-DECAPITATION BY CAR (added by Calle)
|
|
Time: Real quick
|
|
Available: You need access to a car and a rope
|
|
Certainty: I wouldn't trust it
|
|
Notes:
|
|
Comes from alt.suicide.holiday. Basic idea is to tie one end of
|
|
the rope around your neck, tie the other end to a real solid
|
|
object, get into the car and accelerate away as fast as the car
|
|
can manage. When you reach the end of the rope, your head gets
|
|
torn off. Be sure to use enough rope and fasten your seat belt.
|
|
|
|
A posting to a.s.h. in July 1993 says that someone in Washinton
|
|
State, USA actually used this method to commit suicide, so it
|
|
can't be that bad. The posting said that 25 feet of rope were
|
|
used (about 7.5 meters), which does sound a bit short. Perhaps
|
|
he had a real awesome car.
|
|
|
|
==40. DEATH BY PAINTING YOUR BODY (very silly, and wrong)
|
|
Dosage : Less than 1 can of paint depending on your body type
|
|
Time : ? Probably less than 8 hours
|
|
Availability : Very available ! You have a choice of greasepaint or
|
|
House paint. You need a type of paint that will not allow your
|
|
pores to breath in order to be successful at this. You also have
|
|
a smashing selection of colors you can choose to die in ! Nile
|
|
Green ? Blood Red ? Basic Black ? Or any combo you desire.. If
|
|
you couldn't decide before what to wear to die in, this method
|
|
will cause you considerable angst.
|
|
Certainty : This is a sure method, provided you have a paint that
|
|
will block your pores from breathing. Don't forget the bottom of
|
|
your feet. You must paint every last bit of available skin. If
|
|
your pores can breathe, you won't die.
|
|
Notes : I read this in some theater journal 5 or so years ago,
|
|
saying when you you do full body makeup, you must insure that
|
|
parts of the body are left naked to breathe or the actor will
|
|
die. Usually for full body makeup, they leave the bottoms of
|
|
feet, and some patterns on the body, like lines so the actor
|
|
doesn't suffocate.
|
|
|
|
Calle: This is an *extremely* silly one. It was in the "not yet
|
|
edited" portion of Mike's file, and I think it is quite straight
|
|
from an a.s.h. posting.
|
|
This method does not work. As you can check in most any book on
|
|
human anatomy, the skin does not breathe. The only places in
|
|
your body which absorbs oxygen are the lungs and the corneas,
|
|
and the corneas only feed themselves.
|
|
You might get ill or even die if you use poisonous paint, though.
|
|
|
|
==PART4== Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
|
|
|
|
The only thing I can remember that has been asked for multiple
|
|
times, besides the File itself, are the lyrics for "Suicide Is
|
|
Painless" (the theme from M*A*S*H). Here it is:
|
|
|
|
"Suicide is Painless"
|
|
Words by Mike Altman
|
|
Music by Johnny Mandel
|
|
|
|
Through early morning fog I see
|
|
Visions of the things to be
|
|
The pains that are withheld for me
|
|
I realize and I can see that
|
|
|
|
Chorus: Suicide is painless
|
|
It brings on many changes
|
|
And I can take or leave it if I please.
|
|
|
|
I try to find a way to make
|
|
All our little joys relate
|
|
Without that ever-present hate
|
|
But now I know that it's too late, and
|
|
|
|
(chorus)
|
|
|
|
The game of life is hard to play
|
|
I'm going to lose it anyway
|
|
The losing card I'll someday lay
|
|
And this is all I have to say, that
|
|
|
|
(chorus)
|
|
|
|
The only way to win is cheat
|
|
And lay it down before I'm beat
|
|
And to another give a seat
|
|
For that's the only painless feat, cause
|
|
|
|
(chorus)
|
|
|
|
The sword of time will pierce our skins
|
|
It doesn't hurt when it begins
|
|
But as it works its way on in
|
|
The pain grows stronger - watch it grin
|
|
|
|
(chorus)
|
|
|
|
A brave man once requested me
|
|
To answer questions that are key
|
|
Is it to be or not to be?
|
|
And I replied, "Oh why ask me?", cause
|
|
|
|
(chorus)
|
|
|
|
And you can do the same thing if you please.
|
|
|
|
|
|
==PART5== Notes by Calle
|
|
|
|
At the end of Mike's file there were an entry for Nitrous Oxide. I
|
|
have removed it, as there already is one. There were also a mail
|
|
were someone recommended military nerve toxins. They might not be
|
|
as certain as the originator thought, as current military thinking
|
|
is that one griveously wounded man is worth many dead ones in
|
|
decreasing the enemy's fighting capacity. That means that modern
|
|
nerve gasses well might leave you paralyzed for life, but still
|
|
living. Anyway, if you can get military stuff, why not use a rifle
|
|
or a few kilos of explosive?
|
|
|
|
Mike's sig were also at the bottom of the File. It follows here,
|
|
for historic reasons:
|
|
|
|
Mail: 176 Hampstead Rd EMail: Michael.Marsden@newcastle.ac.uk
|
|
Benwell Direct SMTP Mail, Talk,
|
|
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 8TP and Finger: n03vk@turing.ncl.ac.uk
|
|
|
|
Unfortunately, the mail address doesn't work any more.
|
|
|
|
Well, that's all. Comments are very welcome.
|
|
|
|
--
|
|
Calle Dybedahl,Arrendeg. 13, S-583 31 Linkoeping,SWEDEN | calle@lysator.liu.se
|
|
"I think quotes are very dangerous things." -KaTe Bush
|
|
|
|
==============================================================================
|
|
IBFT: If we hate you, you don't deserve to know why.
|
|
|
|
Information:
|
|
bleed@unix.amherst.edu
|
|
ftp.etext.org:/pub/Zines/IBFT The Eleventh Hour (617)696-3146
|
|
==============================================================================
|