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10 Inventors that found death in their own inventions

Our world wouldn’t have been the same without the innovative implications of some inventors. Some of their contributions completely changed our lives and only in better. But not for all inventors faith was so generous. Unfortunately, some were killed by their own inventions, putting an end to their endeavor. Here are 10 of the inventors that believed so much in their inventions that they disregarded the risks. Eventually, they ended up losing their lives in the attempt to make a new breakthrough.

#1.       Henry Fleuss

Henry Fleuss
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A diving engineer in the 1870s, Henry Fleuss designed the closed-circuit oxygen breather. His device was designed to repair flooded ships. He created a rubber mask that was connected to a tank of oxygen. The only problem, which eventually killed him, was that he filled the tanks with pure compressed oxygen that is toxic to humans when we went for a test dive. We only breathe about 21% oxygen, the rest being nitrogen and other components.

#2.       Horace Lawson

Horace Lawson
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He was a marine engineer, of the Confederate Army, during the American Civil War. His major invention were the hand-powered submarines, designing about three models. In 1863, he decided to test one of his submarines during routine exercises, even though he wasn’t included in the crew. Unfortunately, the vessel sank, killing the crew members and Lawson as well.

#3.       Henry Smolinski

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 Henry Smolinski
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The biggest dream of Henry, and his business partner Hau Blake was to create a flying car. They managed to design a single prototype, AVE Mizar, which should enable a driver to become airborne if caught in a traffic jam. The machine was a car that had removable wings. But 1973, during a routine flight, the wings just came off, making the car crash and killing both men inside.

#4.       Franz Reichelt

 Franz Reichelt
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Franz was a tailor from Austria. He worked on creating a parachute embodied in a suit. When a couple of tests with the parachute suit on a couple of dummies went well, he decided to try it for himself. So Reichelt chose to jump off the first platform of the Eifel Tower, wearing his parachute. Unfortunately, it didn’t open, and he died immediately as he hit the ground.

#5.       Max Valier

Max Valier
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A rocketry pioneer from Austria, Max Valier tried to build a rocket car. He eventually managed to do so, when he created, in the 1920s, rocket cars running on liquid fuel. He ended up testing with success a rocket car with liquid propulsion in 1930. Unfortunately, an alcohol-fueled rocket car exploded during a test, killing the daring inventor.

#6.       Marie Curie

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Marie Curies is well-known for the great contributions she brought to the modern chemistry. A chemist and physicists, she discovered some of the chemical elements we know today, like Radium and Polonium. Marie is also the one that formulated the theory of radioactivity and the isolation of radioactive isotopes. Still, back then no one knew about the effect of radiations on the organism. So Marie worked without any protection, carrying vials with radioactive elements in her pocket and storing them in her desk’s drawers. She eventually died of aplastic anemia, caused by extended exposure to radioactive elements.

#7.       Otto Lilienthal

 Otto Lilienthal
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He is the first man that brought to knowledge the term of a glider. In 1896, he was the first and only human that managed to make some successful gliding attempts. He even managed to glide through the air on distances of 250 meters. His inventions ended being of international acknowledgement. Still, in one attempt his glider stopped suddenly in mid-air, causing him to fall and break his spine. He died a couple of days later.

#8.       Thomas Midgley Jr.

 Thomas Midgley Jr.
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He is the famous inventor of leaded petrol and CFC gases. Even if his discoveries were highly appreciated at the time, were afterwards discovered to have extremely adverse effects on our environment and health. He eventually got sick due to lead poisoning and was unable to move. Thus, he designed a system of ropes and pulleys to help him out of bed. Eventually, he was choked to death by one of the ropes.

#9.       J. G. Parry-Thomas

 J. G. Parry-Thomas
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A motor-racing driver and a Welsh engineer, Thomas dreamed of having a faster car. His goal was to break the land record speed, so he build a modified car, called B.A.B.S, which had an open area that left the chains connected to the engine exposed. During one of his runs, one chain broke suddenly and hit his neck, partially decapitating him. He had no chance of survival.

#10.   Alexander Bogdanov

Alexander Bogdanov
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He was a man with interests in a wide variety of domains. Bogdanov was a physician, philosopher and economist, who also enjoyed writing as a hobby. He also conducted experiments with the purpose of finding a way to rejuvenate. These experiments involved blood transfusions, which eventually made him sick. Bogdanov contacted tuberculosis and malaria, which put an end to his life.

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