The Case of Chrysippus
Chrysippus, a 3rd-century BCE Greek Stoic philosopher, reportedly died after witnessing a donkey eating his fermented figs. He joked that the animal should be given wine to wash them down and then, overcome with laughter, collapsed and passed away, as noted by Diogenes Laërtius.
Rare But Real
Death from laughter is rare and often linked to cardiac arrest or asphyxiation caused by prolonged fits of laughter. While the phrase “dying of laughter” is usually hyperbolic, cases like Chrysippus show it can occur under certain conditions.
Modern Examples
In 1975, Alex Mitchell from England died after 25 minutes of continuous laughter while watching The Goodies. In 1989, Danish audiologist Ole Bentzen reportedly laughed himself to death during A Fish Called Wanda. Medical conditions like heart abnormalities often play a role in such deaths.
Unsolved Mysteries
In 2003, a Thai man, Damnoen Saen-um, died in his sleep after uncontrollable laughter. Though doctors suspected heart complications, no definitive cause was determined.
Death by laughter, though rare, has been documented from ancient times to the modern era. Chrysippus, a Greek philosopher, reportedly died after laughing uncontrollably at his own joke about a donkey eating fermented figs. He collapsed and passed away, overcome by laughter. pic.twitter.com/GwKtRWZznP
— Detective Tiger's Stories (@TigerDetective) December 9, 2024