Redditor TopDoggo16 wanted to hear about the inventors throughout history who were taken out by their own creations, so they asked:
"What are some examples of an inventor getting killed by their own invention?"
This is why I never played with Legos or got into construction.
If I build a wall, it will fall on me.
Homemade Horror
Helicopter Abandon Thread GIF by Black Rifle Coffee CompanyGiphy"That Indian lad who was flight-testing his own, homemade helicopter. Part of the rotor sliced open his head."
peekedtoosoon
"Damn, I watched the video and it was so unlucky. The tail rotor broke and pinged up into the main rotor which broke at an angle that hit him. I mean any number of things could have gone wrong in a homemade helicopter but it's just crazy how that sequence of events occurred. Could just as easily have pinged in a different way and not killed him."
postvolta
Tangled
"Thomas Midgley Jr., a key contributor to leaded gasoline and the usage of CFC in refrigeration. After contracting Polio, he created a system of pulleys and whatnot to help him get out of bed. He was found dead at age 55 after getting tangled in his device and being strangled by it."
heyoyo10
"Just because it wasn't mentioned here I figure I would. Thomas Midgley Jr. not only almost solely responsible for probably the worst environmental and ozone damage from a single cause. He is solely responsible for the death of 100,000,000 people from CFC and TEL."
theglizzymonster
BOOM!!
"Max Valier tried using alcohol-based fuel for rockets, it blew up in his lab killing him."
LemonsForLimeaid
"To be fair, a lot of people have died trying to make rocket propellants. The stuff does tend to go BOOM, all of a sudden."
Lone_Beagle
"Alcohol is a common fuel for amateur rockets. Also, I believe the Soviets used alcohol as fuel in a couple of their rocket engines."
BDady
"Alcohol fuel was used extensively for the V2, but I don't know if it's the same mix. The Nazis found it had an unusually high rate of 'evaporation.'"
wolfkeeper
Afterglow
"Maria Skłodowska-Curie was one of the discoverers of radioactivity. She discovered Polonium and Radium. As far as I know, researchers did not know/believe that radioactivity might have a negative impact on their bodies and therefore they used little to no protection."
Equivalent_Meal2688
"Oddly enough, it was her work with x-ray imaging that is thought to have done her the most harm."
cramduck
"She used it as a night light. I’m really not joking, it was reported that she would keep some on her bedside table at night."
"As per the Nobel Prize website..."
"Pierre, who liked to say that radium had a million times stronger radioactivity than uranium, often carried a sample in his waistcoat pocket to show his friends. Marie liked to have a little radium salt by her bed that shone in the darkness."
"She lies in a coffin with inch-thick lead, and her remains are expected to be radioactive for at least another 1500 years."
Eviscerate_Bowels224
Cupid Failed
Online Dating Flirting GIF by LIEBESLEBENGiphy"Not killed, but the founder of Match.com, Gary Kremen, lost his girlfriend to a man that she met on Match.com."
OneGuyJeff
Those apps and websites were always going to ruin everything.
NEXT!
homer simpson submarine GIFGiphy"Horace Hunley, who killed himself and a bunch of others aboard a submarine he built over 150 years before the current whack job."
tuckerx78
"Yes. Drowned the entire crew, they dragged it up, drained it out, and shouted, 'NEXT!' Then it sank after detonating an explosive charge on the Housatonic, recovered more than a century later, and is now in a museum."
raflcopter
Off the Cliff
"Not the inventor, but rather the owner of the Segway, Jimi Heselden, accidentally rode off a cliff on a Segway."
KafkasBalaclava
"Jesus, you just brought back memories of cities being filled with segways before e-scooters happened."
TheMantasMan
"I remember before the Segway came out, the news was going crazy about how it would be this revolutionary technology. There was talk of free energy for cities, personal hover cars, they said cities would be rebuilt around the technology, and there would be no more roads, etc. all sorts of crazy sh*t. Then it came out and... well... yeah. Huge disappointment after all the hype."
un-sub
Brazen
"Some ancient Greek dude created a torture device called the Brazen Bull. It’s just a large metal husk shaped like a bull where you put a victim inside and heat the bottom. The burning heat and scalding metal will cause the agonized victim to go to a horn inside the husk in an attempt to breathe. The horn will make it sound like bull noises on the outside. The inventor showed a king his contraption. The king was delighted by it and decided to test it out… on the inventor."
SatisfactionSenior65
4/14/12
"The guy who built the Titanic: Thomas Andrews. Thomas Andrews was an Irish businessman and shipbuilder. As the naval architect in charge of the plans for the ocean liner RMS Titanic, he was traveling on board that vessel during her maiden voyage when the ship hit an iceberg on 14 April 1912. He perished along with more than 1,500 others. His body was never recovered."
SFJetfire
Finishing Touches
Sport Halloween GIF by Columbus Blue JacketsGiphy"The Denver airport is known for a giant statue of a blue demon horse. While the artist was working on finishing touches, part of it came loose and severed an artery in his leg and he bled to death."
JellyNinja_
Well, now I'm glad I don't know how to make anything.
It's a gamble when I cook if I'm gonna die from food poisoning.
"What subject is that?"
GiphyA way of inserting knowledge into my brain. Goodbye school. Trickypr
In the movie THX1138 little kids are playing with IVs running into their arms. A middle aged guy stops one and asks "What subject is that?" when the kid answers the guy says "Really? It's so small. When I was your age that subject was THIS BIG and we had to lay down to get it!".
It's been years since I watched the show so obviously the dialogue isn't close to exact hopefully you get the gist. It was a great "I had to walk uphill, in the snow, barefoot, both ways" moment in the show. huckDexterWard
Shower Diet.
A churro you can eat in the shower. hfroxE
very churro is a shower churro if you want it bad enough. 1iopen
Flipped.
An umbrella that doesn't flip cause of wind. jimtothetim
Search wind proof umbrella you can find several brands. :) 👍🏼 Flamingo492
Choices of Zzzzz....
GiphyA "select a sleep" device, where you can dial in whether to dream, how long you'll be out, and hit "Z" to fall asleep instantly. eclectic-radish
Science doesn't even understand why we need sleep entirely so that's a bit away. rattpackfan301
Clickers.
A clicker pen that makes a different animal noise each time you click it. BlezlTheRainbow
This would last about two weeks before every teachers desk was full and the schools ban them. Sullivan17
Teleporting.
Teleporting. I wake up everyday waiting for it. These damn train cartels preventing it from happening. TempStepDad
When teleportation becomes a thing, who's to argue that it's just killing current you then perfectly reproducing a new you without the memories of your original's death? rattpackfan301
Hovering....
Hover boards. Back to the Future is a bunch of bull! comrade_batman
It's possible, but not profitable. rattpackfan301
Not profitable? When it rains and there's gigantic puddles everywhere I'd rather a hover board then wet socks. 0AzRen0
Cured.
A cure for the common cold! manseydoll
Its tough because the common cold is more of a symptom more than anything else. There are over 200 different viruses that cause the Common Cold, its why you keep getting colds and why kids get so many. Too many to build up immunity to everything and too many to cure. If they cured 1 they'd still have 200+ to go. little_fatty
All the Feels.
A phone that can not only let you see and hear things, but also touch and smell. _HastaLaPasta_
Back when the internet was first getting big, there was a device that plugged into a PC that supposedly replicated smells. It had some stupid name like smell o vision or some shit. It did not sell well. bernyzilla
Remote Patrol.
GiphyA button on a TV that makes the remote beep. dead_wolf_walkin
My tv doesn't even have buttons anymore. God forbid I lose the remote while the tv is on. Reddit
Stoned.
A pill that dissolves kidney stones. intelligent_cement
I think I heard something about a procedure using ultrasounds to try to break them up. ArcWolf713
Lithotripsy. When I had it done to break up the golf ball sized stone blocking my ureter, they put me under for it and put a stent in to help the pieces pass more easily.
It was still like peeing shards of glass for a few days.
Plus, as an added bonus, they don't knock you out to remove the stent, they just put a small tube, grab it, and pull.
All in all, I'd rather have a pill that dissolves them. KhaoticMess
Lasered.
Better printers. Kn1ght0fN169
Advice I got from r/askengineers.
"Get a brother laser printer and never look back."
I bought one. Haven't looked back. It's wonderful. lulzdemort
Glass temps...
Every window in your car has a heating element so you don't have to stand in the freezing cold scraping all the windows . And likewise they wont steam up in cold weather with 3 or more people in the car. inked29inked29
it needs to remain indirect. My old chebby gains heat within seconds even at 20 below. I have cracked windshields in ice storms just starting the truck. I leave it on floor settings to go easier on that frail stuff called double laminated safety glass. bgd73
boy control.
GiphyLegit birth control for men. Varvatos_Vex
There was one in the works but it made the test subjects depressed/suicidal. One person even supposedly committed suicide. The sick part was the stay at home mom talk shows were like "men are such wimps" :( Ensec
Shiny Heads.
A legitimate cure for balding. What's the hold up? There have got to be bald scientists dedicating their lives to this. anon3220
It's a very profitable industry, and heck yes there are. The future is cloning hair follicles, but we still need to figure out the ethics with stem cells. rattpackfan301
Dental Works.
A method to regrow teeth. discostud1515
They're working on it. Recently read something about regenerating enamel. While ago read something about soaking teeny spongy things in an Alzheimer's medication and they pack it in a cavity or something and it regrows dentin. I'm too tired to find you the sauce but it's out there. Bolognabaybe
Freeze Blast.
A microwave, but for making stuff cold. EggsAndBeerKegs
Most professional kitchens have blast chillers which are pretty similar. Or there's always an anti griddle. prongslover77
Whose got the Power?!
Fusion power. A clean power source who's base product is literally everywhere, allowing us to replace much (comparatively) more expensive fuel sources?
We should be dumping hundreds of billions of dollars into researching it and finally get rid of fossil fuels. hockeypeg18
If I don't live to see it (58), I'm confident a 20yo will. The science is there, what's needed is the technology and engineering. Not to underestimate that challenge but it's grunt it out work that can be solved with money. tatersdad
Health First.
GiphyThe medical kiosk where you can walk in and get your finger pricked and pee in a cup and maybe even get an X-ray all while chatting with a medical professional. Pay your $50 and leave. 2K_Argo
Okay, we want all of these please! What would you add to this? Let us know in the comments below.
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