 |
||
 |
 |
|
||
|
|
|
WARNING: Some of the entries in this FAQ may be dangerous - that is, the dosages in the drugs and poisons area may be much too small to kill a human. This FAQ is being maintained at the current time for historical purposes only. Persons researching methods for self-deliverance should check other methods areas of this website, or, as suggested in the Preamble below, do your own research in a library. Commonly available texts which are useful include The Merck Index and the Physician's Desk Reference. The Bibliography below also lists several useful primary sources. |
Preamble
NOTES
This list is compiled from a large number of sources, the main one
being this newsgroup (ASH). I have not named anyone in any of the
entries to ensure their privacy.
Calle:
I, on the other hand, will name sources if (and only if) the
sources give me permission.
There may be inaccuracies in many of the entries... double check if
you can. Go to the library and read up on your favorite method - check
dosages in the manufacturer's data sheets. If you do notice any
inaccuracies, please write to the net ASAP.
LEGAL
This file is provided for the purposes of amusement, and the actual
use of any of these methods is not recommended without first
considering other possibilities, such as dying of old age. Please do
not pass it onto people whom you know to be actively suicidal.. you
may find yourself in jail for considerable periods. I have a small
amount of info on British law regarding assisting suicides; feel free
to ask me for a copy. Basically, distribution to a number of unknown
people is fine, but giving it to someone whom you know is actively
considering suicide can get you into jail for up to 14 years.
I should also point out that this file is distributed world-wide, and
there will be significant differences in the legal aspects in other
countries.
Calle:
For example, in Sweden the distribution of this file is
completely legal, according to a lawyer I know. As long as you
don't physically help someone to commit suicide, you're safe.
According to the lawyer mentioned above, Dr. Kevorkian's
suicide machine would probably be legal in Sweden.
BIBLIOGRAPHY/SOURCES
1. "Final Exit: The Practicalities of Self-Deliverance and Assisted
Suicide for the Dying" Derek Humphry (publisher: Hemlock)
2. alt.suicide.holiday newsgroup on "usenet"
3. alt.med newsgroup on "usenet"
4. "Poisonous Plants and Fungi: an Illustrated Guide" (Ministry of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Foods) M R Cooper, A W Johnson
5. "Encyclopedia of Human Biology"
* "Let Me Die Before I Wake" Derek Humphry
* "Suicide, Mode d'Emploi" Claude Guillon, Yves Le Bonniec
* "Zorg jij dak ik niet meer wakker word?" Klazien Sybrandy, Rob
Bakker
* "How To Die With Dignity" George B Mair, EXIT (Scottish)
* "A Guide To Self-Deliverance" EXIT (Britain)
* "Autodeliverance" Michel L Landa
* "Justifiable Euthanasia" Pieter V Admiraal
* "First You Cry" Betty Rollin
* "Last Wish" Betty Rollin
* "Death of a Man" Lael Wertenberger
* "Jean's Way" Derek Humphry
* "The Savage God: A Study of Suicide" A Alvarez
* "Double Exit" Ann Wickett
* "Voluntary Euthanasia: A Comprehensive Bibliography" G Johnson
(Hemlock)
* "The Woman Said Yes" Jessamyn West
* "The Bell Jar" Sylvia Plath
* "Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products" Williams & Wilkins
Company
* "Suicide: The Gamble with Death" Gene & David Lester
* "Crisis Intervention in the Community" Richard K McGee
* "Wanting to Die" Anne Sexton
* "Bitter Fame" (bio about) Sylvia Plath (author is) Anne Stevenson
* "Letters Home" (bio about) Sylvia Plath (author is) Aurelia S
Plath
* "Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones & his People"
Dutton
* "Essays in Self-Destruction" (ed) Edwin S Shneidman
* "Suicide: A Study in Sociology" Emile Durkheim
* "Suicide and Attempted Suicide" Erwin Stengel
* "Endangered Hope: Experiences in Psychiatric Aftercare Facilities"
David K Reynolds, Norman L Farberow
* "Death Wishes? The Understanding & Managment of Deliberate Self
Harm" H G Morgan
* "The Final Months: a Study of the Lives of 134 Persons who
Committed Suicide" Eli Robins
* "Suicide: Inside and Out" David K Reynolds, Normal L Farberow
* "Attempted Suicide: A Practical Guide to its Nature and
Management" Keith Hawton, Jose Catalan
* "The Negative Scream: A Story of Young People Who Took an
Overdose" Sally O'Brien
* "Caring for the Suicidal" John Eldrid
* "The Samaritans: to help those tempted to suicide or despair" Chad
Varah
* "Mishima: A Biography" John Nathan
* "Self-Mutilation: Theory, Research, and Treatment" Barent W Walsh,
Paul M Rosen
* "Defeating Depression: a Guide for Depressed People and Their
Familes" C A H Watts
* "Depression: The Way Out of Your Prison" Dorothy Rowe
* "The Oxford Book of Death" D J Enright
This booklist is an extended list from [1]. I strongly recommend [1],
try getting it mail order from the address below.
Calle:
Not used in the creation of this file, but recommended on the
newsgroup was: "The Enigma Of Suicide" by George Howe Colt
GROUPS
**NOTE: Hemlock Society address updated 12/14/2000 by a.s.h webspinner at
the request of the Hemlock Society**
Hemlock Society USA [American, pro-euthanasia, many books,
PO Box 101810 Derek Humphry is founder]
Denver, CO 10180
USA
hemlock@hemlock.org
Samaritans [British, suicide hotlines and
prevention, Chad Varah is founder.
non-interventionist approach]
Befrienders International [International, suicide prevention,
umbrella organisation]
The Voluntary Euthanasia Society [British, pro-euthanasia]
(Formerly British EXIT)
Association pour le Droit de Mourir dans la Dignite
[French, pro-euthanasia]
Deutsche Gesellschaft Fur Humanes Sterben
[German, pro-euthanasia]
Club of Life [American, anti-euthanasia]
INDEX
to get index, type 'grep == methods >methods_index' in unix.
I will try to add an index in the next days --erik
Methods:
POISON
[1] makes most of these points:
* Most drugs cause vomiting. To help stop this, take one or two
anti- histamine tablets (travel sickness, allergy, hayfever
tablets etc) about0 an hour before, on a fairly empty stomach.
* If the drugs are in tablet form, take the first 20% as they are,
and the rest crushed and dissolved / mixed in with strong alcohol
/ food. This helps the drugs to hit at the same time.
* Alcohol helps dissolve the drugs. Don't drink any beforehand, but
wash the tablets down with vodka or similar, and then drink
afterwards while you're still conscious.
* Use a large airtight plastic bag over your head, + something
around your neck to hold it on. This transforms a 90% certainty
method into a 99%...
* Friday night is a good time if you life alone - nobody will miss
you until Monday if you work. Bolt all the doors you can. Say
you'll be out over the weekend visiting someone, so people don't
expect a reply to telephone.
* Some painkillers etc have less effect if you use them normally
(tolerance).
* In general, you need to stay away from medical help until you
actually die, but there are exceptions to this (that have been
pointed out in the text).
Common drugs:
* Cyanide (HCN, KCN)
Dosage:
50 mg Hydrogen Cyanide gas, 200-300 mg Cyanide salts
Time:
seconds for HC, minutes Cs (empty stomach) hours (full s)
Available:
very difficult to get hold of
Certainty:
very certain
Notes:
It helps to have an empty stomach (since the salts react
with the stomach acids to form H.C.). A full stomach can
delay death for up to four hours with the salts.
Antidotes to cyanide poisoning exist, but they have
serious side effects. What you can do, is instead of
taking the salts directly, drop 500mg or so into a strong
acid, and inhale the fumes. This will be pure Hydrogen
Cyanide, and you should die in 10 to 20 seconds.
[3]: "Hydrocyanic acid is one of the most poisonous
substances known; the inhalation of its fumes in high
concentration will cause almost immediate death. Hydrogen
cyanide acts by preventing the normal process of tissue
oxidation and paralyzing the respiratory center in the
brain. Most of the accidental cases are due to inhaling
the fumes during a fumigating process. In the pure state
it kills with great rapidity. Crystalline cyanides, such
as potassium or sodium cyanide are equally poisonous,
since they interact with the hydrochloric acid in the
stomach to liberate hydrocyanic acid. This poison has
been used for both homicide and suicide; in recent
history, a number of European political figures carried
vials of cyanide salt for emergency self-destruction and
some used them. Death resulted from amounts of only a
fraction of a gram. A concentration of 1 part in 500 of
hydrogen cyanide gas is fatal. Allowable working
concentration in most of the United States is 20 ppm. Two
and one-half grains of liquid acid has killed. The acid
acts fatally in about 15 minutes. The cyanide salts kill
in several hours. The average dose of solution is 0.1 cc.
[1, DGHS talking about KCN]:
on an empty stomach, take a small glass of cold tap
water. (Not mineral water nor any sort of juice or soda
water because of it's acidity). Stir 1 -> 1.5 grammes of
KCN into the water. More than that causes irritation to
the throat. Wait 5 minutes to dissolve. It should be
drunk within several hours. Consciousness will be lost in
about a minute. Death will follow 15 -> 45 minutes later.
* Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid)
Dosage:
20-30+ grammes (too many cause vomitting)
Time:
hours to days, variable
Available:
easy to get hold of (get soluble ones, & dissolve them)
Certainty:
unreliable
Notes:
Not recommended, fatal dose varies wildly, could cause
liver & kidney damage instead of death. OD causes strange
noises in your ears (like a video arcade) & projectile
vomiting after about 10 hours. Medical help generally
effective, so stay out of hospital for a couple of days.
May cause bleeding in your stomach/upper intestines. Take
with sodium bicarbinate (eg, bicarb. of soda), which
speeds up the absorption (sp?) significantly. Take 1 or 2
antihistamine tablets.
* Paracetamol (aka acetaminopren / tylenol)
Dosage:
15+ grammes, 20+ is better
Time:
10 hours fatal damage, but 2 weeks to actually die
Available:
easy to get hold of
Certainty:
fairly reliable
Notes:
Once 10-12 hours is up, you've had it, but you still live
for a week or two after that. Probably better to wait 15
hours just to make sure. Horrible side effects during
this time (some of which are: acute toxic hepatitis,
renal failure, cerebral oedema, intra-abdominal bleeding,
aspiration pneumonia, haemophilia). Too small dose causes
severe liver damage. Accidental deaths are very common.
There are few if any side effects before the damage
becomes fatal; occasionally vomitting and nausea.
* Sleeping tablets (see specific notes for each kind)
See later entries for amobarbital, butabarbital, diazepam,
flurazepam, glutethimide, chloral hydrate, hydromorphone,
meprobamate, methyprylon, meperidine (pethidine), methadone,
morphine, orphenadrine, phenobarbital [also check trade names in
same entries].
* Alcohol (spirits preferably, your choice)
Dosage:
1/2 litre vodka?, similar. Varies from person to person.
Time:
about 8 hours
Available:
good
Certainty:
unreliable
Notes:
will cause liver and kidney damage if 'rescued' before
death. Drink it all at the same time, quickly as
possible. Dosage is questionable, I don't have any
figures. Taking the spirits as an enema is supposed to be
a very quick way of absorbing alcohol, but a less
unpleasant way is to inject it. The dosage it takes to
kill you depends on whether you drink normally, the state
of your liver, whether you pass out on your back or not.
[3]: "The fatal dose of pure alcohol in an average adult
is 300-400 mL (750-1000 mL of 40% alcohol) if consumed in
less than one hour. Apart from the effects of overdosage,
death after alcohol consumption can occur as a result of
choking on vomit while unconscious. ..... Consequences
such as liver damage occur after chronic consumption."
Alcohol helps other drugs to dissolve. Don't drink it in
advance, wash down tablets with it, & follow by drinking
another few glasses of spirits.
* Water
Dosage:
14 litres mentioned
Time:
12 hours or so?
Available:
always available
Certainty:
unknown
Notes:
works by washing out the salts in your body, until the
cells fail (osmotic balance buggered up). You need to
keep drinking continually until you collapse. Unusual
method. Someone suggested it would also cause cramps. The
following is something from [2]: "About a year ago a
local newspaper carried a story about a woman who had
drunk herself to death. Apparently she had ingested
something mildly poisonous, and when she called her
doctor asking him what to do, he told her to drink lots
of water and see him in the morning. She got to it and
managed to drink no less than 14 litres of water before
the osmotic balance in her body was so upset it could no
longer function and she died (don't know how quickly)".
Calle: The above anecdote originally came from me, and
the death described occured in Vdxjv, Sweden.
Unfortunately I no longer remember which newspaper I saw
it in. Recently, I was told about a similar case in San
Antonio. It supposedly happened a couple of years ago and
was reported in the local San Antonio Express/News.
* Bleach and other corrosives (lye, drain cleaning fluids)
Dosage:
A bottle (litre or half litre)
Time:
Hours/days
Available:
Easily available
Certainty:
Uncertain
Notes:
Bloody painful - depends on your stomach getting
corroded, the stomach acids escaping, and doing their
dirty work in your vital organs.
[1] says: "I have heard of people throwing themselves
through plate glass windows in their death agonies after
drinking lye."
* Insulin (injected)
Dosage:
No idea
Time:
death in hours to days
Available:
Difficult to get hold of unless you're a diabetic or a
vet
Certainty:
reasonable
Notes:
Supposed to be quite pleasant (eg insulin shock
treatments used for some psychiatric condition).
* Petrol (in lungs/injected)
Dosage:
"A Thimble-full" -20 ml?
Time:
Seconds/minutes
Available:
Common
Certainty:
I'm not sure of the dosage, but fairly certain if correct
Notes:
Can also use LPG (propane/butane) on skin surface (since
these are light enough to go through the skin). Stick
your hand in a bucket of propane and see how many seconds
you last...
* Oil of Wintergreen/Methyl Salicylate (in lungs/injected)
Dosage:
Probably similar to petrol (20 ml)
Time:
Don't know
Available:
Not available in concentration
Certainty:
Don't know
Notes:
Don't have enough information on this one to be able to
say anything about it. If it is just taken normally, it
is the same as aspirin.
* Malathion (insecticide) (entry revised by Calle)
Dosage:
A few bottles, at least
Time:
2 to 3 hours
Available:
From a large garden centre or DIY shop
Certainty:
not so good
Notes:
A correspondent mentions that the LD50 of this stuff is 1
g/kg in rats, and adds that there is not nearly that much
in a bottle. He also mentions that it is treatable.
Instead of this, he recommends parathion, if you really
want to use an insecticide.
* Phosphine gas from aluminium phosphide pesticide (ALP)
Dosage:
Single 3 gramme tablet (".. is enough to kill 10 people")
Time:
About 2 hours
Available:
Difficult. Used in India, sold on black market.
Certainty:
Without medical help, and using fresh pill, very good
Notes:
This is a common way of committing suicide in Indian
villages. There is no specific antidote to this. The
pills are 3 grammes of ALP, which produces lethal
phosphine gas when it comes in contact with hydrochloric
acid or water in the stomach. After severe vomiting, the
victim loses consciousness, the blood vessels rupture,
and body cavities fill with blood. While the pill is
exceedingly lethal, some escape death because the rate of
the gas' release declines with the pill's age and use,
and exposure to moisture. Trouble with this one is the
availability, and it also looks like a rather unpleasant.
* Rat poison (Warfarin)
Dosage:
not known
Time:
Hours to terminal damage, days to actual death
Available:
Available
Certainty:
Certain given suffient dosage. Most probably treatable.
Notes:
This is one of the truly unpleasant poisons, along with
Paracetamol/Acetylminopren. I think it causes cerebral
haemorage (rat poison works by giving the unfortunate rat
haemophillia). Doctors can't do anything about it, they
just leave you to die in agony on an intensive care ward.
Calle: Since human haemophiliacs usually live quite
ordinary lives, the above sounds rather improbable.
* Caffeine
Dosage:
20 grammes (someone said 8 -> 10 grammes)
Time:
not known
Available:
Caffeine tablets available in Chemist shops
Certainty:
don't know
Notes:
I don't know very much about this. There isn't all that
much caffeine in coffee, maybe 200 mg.
* Potassium Chloride (injected in solution) / KCl
Dosage:
not known (try 20cc injection of strong solution)
Time:
Seconds to minutes
Available:
Widely available
Certainty:
Certain given correct dosage
Notes:
Causes heart attack (which is painful). May be difficult
for coroner to realise it was suicide rather than a
natural heart attack. An excess of K+ in the blood
interferes with nerve signals, and stops muscles and
nerves from working. So when it reaches your heart, the
heart stops.
* Nitrogen gas (or other inert gas)
Dosage:
Several litres uncompressed is minimum
Time:
Minutes
Available:
Try plumber, or welding supplies company
Certainty:
Certain
Notes:
This is really a form of asphyxiation, (see later), but
is particularly good since you don't experience the lack
of oxygen (what people really experience is the EXCESS of
carbon dioxide).
* Nitrous oxide (N20? NO2?)
Dosage:
Unknown
Time:
Minutes
Available:
Dentists supply would be good
Certainty:
reasonable
Notes:
Asphyxiate yourself with laughing gas. Nice.
* Carbon Monoxide (CO)
Dosage:
5% concentration or so?
Time:
Minutes to hours depending on concentration
Available:
You get it out of a car exhaust, you used to be able to
use "town gas" (eg, stick your head in the cooker) but
this is no longer available
Certainty:
Fairly certain, as long as you aren't "rescued"
Notes:
Causes brain damage.
Calle: A correspondent from Denmark, where you still can
use "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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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) 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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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))
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)
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)
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.
Methods: other than poisoning
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
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.
41. NITROUS OXIDE (N20, Laughing Gas)
Dosage :
Several Liters uncompressed
Time :
unconscious in about 5 min, death 10 -> 15 min
Availability :
Dentists supply would be good, any other technical-gases
supplier, cream charges (drugstore or something like
that)
Certainty :
reasonable
Notes :
combination with marijuana recommended absolutely
painless method! N2O is normally used as an analgesic,
but may also be "mis"used as a drug (to get "high") or to
"off" yourself. It may be purchased at a technical-gases
supplier (if they ask for the purpose: tell them you need
it for car-tuning (laughing-gas injection (no joke!))).
I asked for it at a German gas-supplier
(Messer-Griesheim) and they told me that the smallest
gas-bottle is about 8kg N2O (which is equal to 4m^3). It
would cost about 156,- DM per 8 kg (about 15$ per 1kg,
prices may differ). Recommended for more comfort: ask
them about a pressure reducer (better control of
gas-flow).
For best results, take someting like a breathing-mask
(anything similar will do) to make sure to still inhale
the gas after becoming unconscious. You may start with a
small N2O concentration (simply lift the mask a little so
you get fresh air with the N2O) and increase it until you
breathe pure N2O. By the way: N2O tastes sweet (but no
calories I suppose :)
When 20mg N2O are solved in your blood (after about 10
breaths), the effect sets in. If you inhale the gas long
enough, so that about 60mg N2O are solved in the blood,
you will fade without the slightest pain from life to
death.
60eam charges every time....! You may achieve this by
filling the contents of the cream charges into a balloon
(a big one!) and inhale and exhale into the balloon. The
only problem is, that you get difficulties holding the
balloon properly to your mouth after you inhaled some
times!
Part of this information taken from:
"Suicide, Mode d'Emploi" Claude Guillon, Yves Le Bonniec
(pages 176/177 in the German edition)
_________________________________________________________________
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.
_________________________________________________________________
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?
Note by the a.s.h webspinner
Mike's sig were also at the bottom of the File. At his request, it
has been deleted. It is further requested that sites mirroring this
file, which have a version of the file with the name and address,
delete that information. Most of it is wrong anyway now.
Page last updated: Tuesday, September 11, 2001 07:41
Note: this is the last time the page was revised, -not- the
methods file. The methods file hasn't been updated in years.
More currently researched information is at the a.s.h web methods page.
|
|