Killer ways to meet a sticky end

Two hundred years ago a tidal wave of beer swept through London.

A vat three storeys high ruptured, flooding the streets and destroying homes, and eight people died in one of the strangest alcohol-related accidents in history.

To those who died, the cause is largely inconsequential. But we all have to perish some day, and drowning in beer is a spectacular way to go.

Here are some other memorable ways to die.

The Boston Treacle Flood: The US version of the beer flood took place in 1919, when a steel tank of black treacle burst and spread over the city, creating a sticky wave that reportedly reached more than 7m high.

Those with a sweet tooth might salivate at the thought of swimming in treacle, but 21 people died in the flood.

Death during sex: Of all the (relatively) great ways to die, this is the most common. Misuse of Viagra can cause a heart attack during sex, as a 28-year-old Russian discovered when he bet two women £2600 that he wouldn't be able to have sex with them continually for 12 hours. The man took an entire bottle of Viagra pills and won his bet - but died of a heart attack soon after.

In 964 AD, Pope John XII is said to have died from a stroke during sex with his mistress, though it's also possible that her husband found them together and beat him to death.

Death by chocolate: The name given to countless rich desserts was considered a serious murder weapon.

During World War 2, Nazis planned to kill Sir Winston Churchill with a bar of exploding chocolate. Hitler's bomb-makers coated explosive devices in a layer of dark chocolate then packaged it in expensive-looking black and gold paper. The Nazis apparently planned to plant the bars inside luxury items that were taken into the war cabinet's dining room. Thankfully - for the world as we know it - they were not successful.

Death from a cow falling through the ceiling: A Brazilian man died last year after a cow fell on top of him while he was lying in bed with his wife. The animal was thought to have climbed onto Joao Maria de Souza's roof, which immediately gave way under its weight. De Souza's wife and the cow both reportedly escaped unharmed.

Dying of happiness: This is the only truly good way to die without regrets.

Scientists have discovered that happiness really can kill, as "highly cheerful" children go on to die younger than their more sombre classmates. The research - based on the lives of children from the 1920s to old age - concluded that more joyous children are more likely to have lives carefree of risk and danger.

Of all the ways to die, surely at the end of a happy life is the best?