- A nightmare so scary you die? Is that even possible? Today, we're taking a look at a series of deaths throughout history that doctors are still struggling to explain. Let's get started. Bee whoop! (eerie music) Rodney Marks was a bright, young Australian astrophysicist who remains the only person to potentially have been murdered on the
continent of Antarctica. It was spring in the
year 2000 when Rodney was working his second stint in Antarctica. He'd been there a couple of years before conducting
research and enjoyed the work. He was passionate about his field and was engaged to a woman at the base. He was surrounded by intelligent peers and had plenty of access to food, water, and alcohol for those
cold Antarctic nights. Life was good. Chilly, but good. One May afternoon, Rodney was walking outside
between two buildings, a walk you'd wanna keep
as brief as possible given that the temperature
outside in Antarctic winter was around negative 80 degrees Fahrenheit. He found himself struggling to breathe. Concerned for his health, he rushed to see the
research station physician, Dr. Robert Thompson, who was concerned to see the young and otherwise healthy Rodney in distress. He attempted to treat him, but Rodney's condition only worsened. Over the course of just 36 hours. Rodney went from walking between stations, to visiting the doctor, to hopping on emergency satellite calls with medical professionals
around the world, to suffering cardiac arrest. Dr. Thompson was stunned, but the mystery was just
beginning to unfold. An autopsy would need to be performed to determine the specific cause of death. But because Antarctica was heading into its Southern Hemisphere winter, flights in and out of the base would pause for at least six months. Rodney's body was kept in a freezer until flights resumed half a year later, taking him to a medical
examiner in New Zealand. The cause of death, methanol poisoning. Methanol is a non-drinking type of alcohol used for industrial purposes. It's highly poisonous, with as little as two ounces being all that's needed to kill an adult. And those who survive are
oftentimes left blind. The methanol in Rodney's
body most likely came from the cleaning chemicals he used on the telescopes which he operated. So what was methanol
doing in Rodney's body? According to the New
Zealand pathologist who tested the contents of Rodney's blood, the methanol was virtually
certain to have been ingested. Unfortunately, the clarity ends there. Some speculate that Rodney had accidentally consumed the chemical while attempting to brew his
own private stash of moonshine. But with plenty of alcohol
available on the base, this doesn't quite make sense. The most controversial opinion
is that Rodney was poisoned to death in either negligent
homicide or murder. Investigations into Rodney's
death have been deeply, deeply complicated. The research station Rodney was working on was operated by the United States. The actual land the base was on is claimed by the country of New Zealand,
a claim the US rejects. Meanwhile, Rodney was
an Australian national. The New Zealand authorities spearheaded an international investigation
into Rodney's death, but were met with steep opposition by the US intelligence
agencies who refused to share their own findings. Of the 49 people stationed at the base, New Zealand was only able
to receive information from 13 of them with the
rest refusing to cooperate. Not to mention, aside from a few sentimental
personal effects, Rodney's property and workstation
was cleaned out and reset, eliminating any hopes of a
fruitful in-person investigation. After years and years of digging, investigators concluded that while methanol poisoning
is what killed Rodney, how it got inside his body
would remain forever unknown. (eerie music) The infamous poet and
author Edgar Allan Poe published classic works of
chilling American literature, such as "The Tell-Tale
Heart" and "The Raven." But what happened to Poe
was even more terrifying than anything he put on the
page because it was real. It was a dark, rainy October afternoon in 1849
when a man stumbled his way down the street in Baltimore, Maryland. He was filthy, he was deranged. He was in fact Edgar Allan Poe. He was also ignored. Strangers passed by
paying little attention to the figure they believed
to be a drunken vagrant. Fortunately, a man named Joseph Walker spotted Edgar wallowing in the gutter. Walker, who worked for the
"Baltimore Sun" newspaper, recognized Edgar, got him to his feet, and took him to a nearby tavern. Edgar was delirious, speaking nonsense. He was in horrible
shape, and mysteriously, wasn't wearing his own clothes. Instead of his classic black wool suit, he was wearing a cheap
ill-fitting suit and a straw hat. Joseph managed to speak
some sense into Edgar and got him to say the
name of a local physician, Dr. J. E. Snodgrass. Joseph quickly penned the
following letter and sent it off. "Dear Sir, there is a gentleman, rather the worse for wear, at Ryan's 4th ward polls who goes under the
cognomen of Edgar A. Poe. And he appears in great distress and he says he's acquainted with you. He is in need of immediate assistance. Yours, in haste, Jos. W. Walker." The letter was received and
Edgar was quickly transported to the hospital where he
stayed for several days, constantly drifting in
and out of consciousness. On October 7th, he died, doctors just as confused as
the day he was brought in. Several theories do exist
regarding what exactly killed Edgar Allan Poe. In the aftermath, a local Baltimore newspaper said he died of congestion of the brain. Perhaps they meant a stroke,
a cerebral hemorrhage, maybe a blood clot, maybe an aneurysm. A diagnosis of congestion of the brain, especially at that time,
was a reasonable diagnosis. He was acting unusual, he
wasn't moving normally. These are all signs of some
kind of neurologic disease. Actually, Dr. Snodgrass believe Edgar
died of alcohol withdrawal. Personal accounts of Edgar's life indicate he was a heavy drinker and tremors and delirium is a symptom of someone whose body is withdrawing from addictive substance like alcohol. None of this would answer
why he was wearing someone else's clothes and the straw hat which has led others to
believe he was a victim of some sort of foul play. Another interesting theory, rabies, a viral infection often
caused by animal bites that is nearly always fatal,
unless you've been vaccinated. The ups and downs of delirium are consistent with rabies patients and hospital records indicate
Edgar had trouble drinking. One of the more unusual symptoms of rabies is an actual
phobia or fear of water. We'll never actually know what
happened to Edgar Allan Poe. It will forever remain a medical mystery. Only this and nothing more. (eerie music) Jockey Frank Hayes died atop
his horse while winning a race. It was a warm summer day in 1923 at Belmont Park in New York. Crowds gathered and bets
were placed as horses and their jockeys prepared
for a day of racing. The most excited of all was Frank Hayes, a 22 year old jockey. According to Frank's mother, he had dreamed of being a
jockey since he was a little boy and had been working as a
horse trainer for three years. Finally, after long paying his dues, Frank's big opportunity presented itself. He was given a chance
to ride a horse named Sweet Kiss who was coming in at five to one odds to take home the gold. Frank had dreamed of this
moment his entire life and he wanted to make the most of it. Frank attempted to drop as much
as 12 pounds over the course of a single day, forgoing water and attempting to sweat out as much weight as he
could to make himself lighter and give him a winning
edge atop Sweet Kiss. This is actually very common for those who are boxing
or practicing MMA, but not something recommended
by medical professionals because a sudden drop in
water weight can actually cause an electrolyte abnormality, causing a person to develop delirium, kidney disease, or even death. With the sweltering summer
sun bearing down upon him, Frank and Sweet Kiss took their
spot at the starting line. The smell of freshly
cut grass in the infield and the hum of the crowd filled the air. Everything Frank had dreamed
of was about to come true, but just as quickly as he
would achieve his dreams, they would also come to an abrupt end. The gun fired and the horses took off. Frank and Sweet Kiss barreled
ahead as fast as they could, overtaking their competition. Hurdle after hurdle,
Frank charged forward, slowly establishing a lead
from the rest of the pack. Faster, faster, faster. Frank peeked to his sides. He was ahead by a nose. Dust from the track flew into the air. The crowd roared like the Roman Coliseum. He put his head down and
pushed Sweet Kiss even harder. "Run, baby, run," he commanded as Sweet Kiss inched further and further ahead of the competition. In the stands, children were
dancing, women were cheering, men were clutching their betting slips, praying for an underdog payday
from Frank and Sweet Kiss. The horses made their final turn. They cleared their final steeples. Sweet Kiss was in the lead. 100 meters, 50 meters, 20 meters, 10, five, Sweet kiss by a head. In his first race as a jockey,
Frank had achieved his dream. He was a winner, but he was also dead. The crowd erupted with celebration, followed by laughter as
Sweet Kiss came to a stop and Frank Hayes fell
lifeless to the ground. They thought he'd been joking. Maybe he slipped, maybe
he was celebrating. The laughs slowly ceased
as Frank laid there in a heap completely motionless as a crowd gathered around him. Dr. John A. Voorhees
rushed to Frank's side. He turned him over. Almost immediately, Frank
was pronounced dead. According to his mother,
Frank Hayes had a weak heart, which made her worry about
his future as a jockey. It's believed the combination
of the extreme exhaustion he pushed himself to lose weight, plus the incredible intensity of the race itself became too much for Frank's heart to handle and he suffered a cardiac arrest before crossing the finish line. Of course, this is just speculation and his exact cause of death
will forever remain unknown. Regardless, Frank Hayes remains the only jockey in recorded history to
win a race while dead. His record stands forever at one and oh. (eerie music) In the 1970s, the Southeast Asian nation of Laos was embroiled in a civil war. A peaceful mountain society
called the Hmong wanted no part of the conflict and sought
asylum around the world. 35,000 Hmong made their way to America and started
new lives, but for some, the horror they fled back home followed them to the new world. They settled in welcoming
cities across the US, places like Missoula, Montana,
Providence, Rhode Island, and Santa Ana, California. They began the process
of picking up the pieces of their lives, getting new
jobs, joining new communities, and establishing new
identities as refugees looking for peace. It wasn't easy. Very few of them spoke English. In fact, their native tongue had largely
not even been written down. This made assimilation into
American culture difficult. Unfortunately, the weight became
too much for some to bear. Over the next several years, dozens of Laotian refugees, most of them young men
with an average age of 33, died in their sleep. Autopsies were performed on the deceased, which led to more questions than answers. Dr. Michael McGee, an assistant medical examiner
from St. Paul, Minnesota where several of the deaths
occurred said the following: "I know what they didn't die of. They didn't die of
getting shot in the head, stabbed in the heart, they
didn't fall off the roof, they didn't get poisoned
because we did an autopsy, and in each case, we got a big zero." Several of the deaths were witnessed by those living with the deceased. While reports differ amongst witnesses, some claim to have noticed
something was wrong with the persona as they began breathing abnormally in their beds. Their limbs would go rigid, they would salivate excessively, and were unresponsive
10 to 30 minutes later. They died. How do so many otherwise healthy people from a single community die without any evidence or
apparent cause of death? There is one theory, their nightmares. In the Philippines, it's called bangungut. In Hmong, it's called dab tsog. In western medical textbooks, it's called Sudden
Arrhythmic Death Syndrome, or an immediate and
unexpected cardiac arrest. We know that there's times
where in immense stress, the heart can react in a way
that it actually stops beating. But why the Hmong? Many small, isolated Asian
communities practice animism, or a common belief system in Indigenous groups
that all beings, places, and things possess a soulful
and spiritual presence. The Hmong community believed deeply in spiritual experiences, such as a shaman using
spiritual energy to heal them. The theory goes that the Hmong experienced significant trauma whilst fleeing Laos in the
form of war and culture shock upon entering the US, so much so that it haunted
them in their nightmares. Because of their deep belief that visions and spirits
are impacting their reality, these nightmares became so overwhelming that it resulted in cardiac arrest, killing otherwise healthy
and young refugees. The exact cause of this
cardiac arrest is still unknown nor do we know exactly why
it happened specifically to these young men. Not to mention, doctors have never figured out why later groups of Hmong refugees
never suffered the same fate. It's truly a medical mystery. (eerie music) John F. Kennedy, Abraham
Lincoln, William McKinley, and James A. Garfield
are all US presidents who were assassinated on the job. But was there a 5th? Allow me to introduce
you to Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States. Taylor's one and only term in
office was cut abruptly short after only about a year on the job. On the 4th of July, 1850, President Taylor was out on the town celebrating America's birthday in the streets of Washington DC. It was a sweltering hot and humid summer, but not too hot for the President. He walked amongst the people, he laughed amongst the people, he imbibed amongst the people, specifically on water, iced
milk, and many cherries. And if you ask most
doctors and historians, they'll tell you that's what did him in. Five short days after the festivities, Zachary Taylor fell ill. He was cramping and nauseous, suffering from dehydration and diarrhea, killing him in just a few days. The prevailing theory was
Taylor contracted a case of dysentery or cholera, a bacterial illness that spreads in contaminated water and milk. The Washington DC sewage system was in its infancy in the mid 1800s, resulting in regular cholera outbreaks when the air was hot and humid, which are ripe conditions for
the spread of the illness. It makes sense this is what
killed President Taylor, but if it's so simple,
why is he in this video? That's because there have been
strong conspiracy theories that Zachary Taylor
did not die of cholera, but that he was poisoned by pro-slavery Southerners in the eventual
lead up to the civil war. The theory goes that an assassin poisoned the President's
water with arsenic, an element found naturally
in the Earth's crust, but also made into an inorganic form used for chemical purposes that is
highly poisonous to humans. Interestingly, the symptoms of arsenic poison are very similar to that of cholera. And considering the frequency
that people in DC died of cholera in the summer, it would be a perfect cover story, allowing the assassin to get away with the crime and a new
political agenda to unfold. This isn't just a tinfoil
hat conspiracy either. It gained so much steam that the descendants of President Taylor approved exhumation of his grave in 1991. His remains were retrieved
and tested for arsenic. The conclusion, not overwhelming enough to confirm that President Zachary
Taylor was our nation's first assassinated leader. But whether it was infected water, spoiled milk, rotten cherries, or something else that
killed President Taylor, doctors will never be
able to say for sure. What killed all the other
US presidents though? Click here to check out the video and learn about the causes
of death of all presidents. Click here. And as always, stay happy and healthy. (upbeat R&B music)
