Gruesome ways to die

A new book explores what would happen to your body if you were caught in these worst-case scenarios. It’s not pretty!

EVER had nightmares about being buried alive? Or fretted that a great white shark is going to chomp you as you splash about in the waves on a seaside holiday? And as America and North Korea delighted in my-button-isbigger-than-yours bluster not long ago, have you lain awake at night wondering what life would be like in a nuclear wasteland with just hardy cockroaches for company?

In this extract from an entertaining – if somewhat macabre – new book, And Then You’re Dead: A Scientific Exploration of the World’s Most Interesting Ways to Die, journalist Cody Cassidy and scientist Paul Doherty probe these questions and more.

Warning: strong stomach required.