August 16, 1776 George Whitsell, age 27 Greenwich, Connecticut Pecked to death by crows in the family cornfield while whirling dervishly in his mother's Sunday gingham. February 2, 1812 William Gaines, age 24 Frederick, Maryland A conscientious objector on the grounds that his religion forbids the wearing of pants, Gaines, a blacksmith, sustains an emasculating and fatal injury while pounding his anvil. July 22, 1863 Nathaniel Rollins Boston, Massachusetts, age 19 Bad shellfish. Late March, 1918 Douglas Hanover, age 23 Chicago, Illinois His equilibrium ruined after piercing his eardrum with an icepick, Hanover falls to his death from a steep curb. January 7, 1944 Harold Roderick, age 18 New York, New York Severely myopic, Roderick is killed when he attempts to tie a yellow ribbon around the 6 train. June 12, 1951 Arthur Spreckler, age 29 Fargo, North Dakota A chronic bedwetter, Spreckler drowns during a nap. August 16, 1969 Bernie Zimmerman, age 28 Woodstock, New York Zimmerman takes the brown acid. March 12, 1990 Jeffery Trason, age 25 Atlanta, Georgia Electrocuted when he tries to climb into his television set to be closer to Christiane Amanpour.