In spite of all our differences, the one thing that binds all living creatures is that we each have an expiration date. This finality to our existence is what makes life special, something to be cherished and protected. But occasionally things can go terribly wrong
A theme park ride collapsed in western Sweden, injuring 18 people, two seriously. The Rainbow ride swings passengers about 30 feet into the air at high speed. A mechanical fault caused the ride to collapse while it was swinging. The ride was full with 36 passengers at the time, many of them children. Around 25 ambulances were sent to the scene.
The manager on duty believes the accident was caused by a malfunctioning ball bearing. The attraction was thoroughly inspected in the spring, and no problems were found.
Goldilocks had it easy. Three bears at a Ukrainian zoo tore a man "limb from limb" after he fell into their enclosure. The 22-year-old man was drunk when he tried to photograph the Siberian Brown bears up close. He lost his footing and fell into the cage. The three bears charged the man immediately and ripped him apart as he tried to escape. The man was dead by the time handlers were able to separate him from the bears. The brown bear is very territorial and one of the world’s largest land carnivores.
Over 60 party-goers (or "ravers") were blinded after their retinas were burned by a giant laser light show near Moscow, Russia.
The ravers were attending the July 5 Aquamarine Open Air Festival. Heavy rain forced organizers to erect massive tents and hold the all-night party inside. Giant lasers that normally shoot far into the sky instead were refracted into the ravers’ eyes.
A few days later, ravers began visiting hospitals in droves, complaining of sore eyes and poor vision. One raver described the injury as "a spot like when you stare into the sun."
One of the ophthalmologists told reporters, "’They all have retinal burns, scarring is visible on them. Loss of vision in individual cases is as high as 80 per cent, and regaining it is already impossible."
One expert said the blindings were an accident due to "illiteracy on the part of technicians. It was partly the rain, but also partly the size of the laser. Somebody set up an extremely powerful laser for such a small space."
The annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain has claimed 18 victims in the first two days including a California man. Marcus Wolf, 22, suffered a 5-inch gash in his right buttock when a bull gored him.
"I am not hurt that bad," Wolf said after surgery. "I was running and I got caught up with the people. I fell down and the bull climbed up over me. I felt the horn instantly. It was my first and final run, but I will definitely come back to Pamplona," he said. "I love it."
The bulls run at 8 a.m. daily and are the highlight of a centuries-old festival that became world famous with Ernest Hemingway’s 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises." Professional matadors fight and kill the bulls each afternoon at the festival. Fourteen runners have died in the running of the bulls since 1924.

One of Toyota’s top car engineers literally worked himself to death. A Japanese labor office determined the 45-year-old Tokyo man died from working too many hours. The ruling will allow the man’s family to collect benefits from his work insurance.
His widow’s lawyer said the man had been under significant pressure as lead engineer to develop a hybrid version of the Toyota Camry. In the months leading to his death, the engineer averaged more than 80 hours overtime per month. Though if you think about it, doesn’t that work out to just about 60 hours work per week? That’s alot, but certainly not a fatal level.
Japan has been struggling to reduce deaths from overwork, known as “karoshi.” These deaths have increased steadily since the Japanese Health Ministry recognized the phenomenon in 1987. In 2006, 147 Japanese died from overwork, most from strokes or heart attacks.
A California woman shot herself and a friend with a .44-caliber Magnum revolver while trying to hunt mice in her trailer. The 43-year-old woman pulled out the gun after seeing mice scurry across the floor. But she accidentally dropped the gun, which went off as it hit the floor. The bullet shot through her kneecap, bounced off the keys on the belt of a 42-year-old man in her trailer, and grazed the man’s groin before ending up in his coin pocket. The mice were unharmed.
As of 2005, the life expectancy rate in the U.S. was 80.4 years for women, 75.2 years for men. What’s the cause for this great disparity? On average, men consume more tobacco, alcohol and drugs than women. Men are more likely than women to commit suicide, be murdered, and die in wars. Men also tend to take more risks than women by driving fast cars and motorcycles.
But as these pictures show, men are simply more likely to have the “stupid gene” than women:

Standing on a bucket on TOP of a ladder, brilliant.
Maybe lightning does strike twice. BreAnna Helsel survived a lightning strike and won $20 in the lottery the next day.
Helsel, 16, was home in Michigan watching thunderstorms when she noticed rain coming in a kitchen window. “She went to close the window and the lightning came through and hit her,” said her mother, Linda Johnson. “We think it must have hit the house or something.” Helsel saw electricity shoot out her fingers and into the overhead lights, immediately knocking out the power. She was treated at the hospital for darkened fingertips and a shaking arm from damaged muscles that will require some therapy. She is expected to recover fully.
Hospital workers suggested that Helsel was on a lucky streak and should immediately play the lottery. She’s too young, so her mother went out the next day and bought Helsel a Michigan lottery ticket. “And we won $20,” Johnson said, laughing. “What a way to start the summer.”
The Segway is a two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicle. Computers, gyroscopic sensors and motors in the base of the vehicle keep the Segway balanced upright. Users lean forward to go forward, lean back to go backward, and turn by leaning the handlebar left or right. The Segway electric motor enables it to travel up to 12.5 mph.
Although the Segway is easy to drive once you get the hang of it, the gyroscopes won’t keep the vehicle upright if you crash it into other vehicles, as shown in this funny video: