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This weeks Friday Factoids come to us from the National Safety Council’s compilation of injury reports since the 1920s. They have compiled a list of the odds of dying, most recent version is 2004, we’ll cover some of the more colorful and odd ways to die.

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I’ve always wondered what it would feel like to die. Of course slipping away in your sleep may be most people’s idea of the perfect way to go, but not me. I would rather go out with a bang–decapitation is nice–but what would something like that feel like? New Scientist has done just that with Death special: How does it feel to die?.

Some highlights:

• Drowning – The “surface struggle” for breath
• Heart attack – One of the most common forms of exit
• Bleeding to death – Several stages of hemorrhagic shock
• Fire – It’s usually the toxic gases that prove lethal
• Decapitation – Nearly instantaneous
• Electrocution – The heart and the brain are most vulnerable
• Fall from a height – If possible aim to land feet first
• Hanging – Speed of death depends on the hangman’s skill
• Lethal injection – US-government approved, but is it really painless?
• Explosive decompression – It takes your breath away