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Dramatic Deaths These People Did Not See Coming

Khalid Elhassan January 27, 2024 19 min

Eleazar Avaran's heroic exploit at the Battle of Beth Zechariah, 162 BC. Wikimedia

A Lawyer’s Bizarre Fixation to Demonstrate Window Strength

Funny - Garry Hoy and the high rise office building where he worked — Garry Hoy and the high rise office building where he worked. Twitka

Garry Hoy, a respected Canadian lawyer and senior partner, inadvertently met his demise in a tragically humorous manner due to his fascination with the robustness of modern building techniques. Hoy, who had a background in engineering, took pride in demonstrating the strength of the windows at his Toronto office by body-checking them, a habit that proved fatal. During a welcome party for law student interns on July 9th, 1993, Hoy attempted to impress them by throwing himself at the office windows, which he had done countless times before. However, on this occasion, the glass shattered, sending him plummeting 24 floors to his death.

Despite the tragic outcome, Hoy’s peculiar methodology and untimely demise garnered widespread attention, making him a posthumous celebrity. His fatal mishap inspired urban legends, television episodes, and even earned him a 1996 Darwin Award. Hoy’s unintentionally funny death serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of disregarding building safety protocols, leaving behind a legacy that continues to captivate public interest.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.