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…
Wang Diange, a Chinese man from Inner Mongolia, was apparently struck by lightning and killed. As his corpse was loaded into a cremation chamber, his body literally exploded, blowing the doors off the oven and causing a fire.
After the extensive fire was extinguished, the only clue remaining was a small twisted piece of metal that resembled a screw. At first, investigators were unable to determine what it was, though they found it was engraved with a military serial number. After a lengthy investigation, they discovered that the local weather bureau had been firing shells into the atmosphere to break up hail and protect the local tobacco crop on the day Wang died.
Investigators concluded that one shell must have failed to explode, hit Wang’s house and lodged in his body. The shell was never discovered because of Wang’s extensive injuries. When Wang’s body was loaded into the crematorium oven, the heat caused the shell to explode. As a result, Wang’s family received 80,000 yuan ($11,700) in compensation from the weather bureau.
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