Odd this day
It is, today, the 101st anniversary of the unfortunate demise of William Kennedy, 20, killed by a coconut in Pennsylvania.
As you may know, coconuts are a hazard — to the extent that they have a Wikipedia page dedicated to their efforts over the centuries (the first documented case being in 1777) to murder unwitting humans by falling on their heads.
As you may already have suspected, though, this was not such a case. The coconut palm is not native to Pennsylvania, a place not warm and humid enough for the tree’s liking. No, this was an altogether more… American death:
There does not appear to be any record of this incident other than this one obscure press cutting from the Pittsburgh Press the following day, but never mind that. Why let (possible) facts (or a lack of them) get in the way of a good story?
As an aside — what with America being… you know, America — there are, obviously, still people bringing guns to bear upon coconuts:
…but in rather safer ways now, it seems.
As another aside, and in order to credit my source, I heard about this death because I subscribe to social scientist Brian Klaas’ Substack, and came across the Wikipedia page in question in his paean to that remarkable resource.
Are coconuts really that dangerous, though? Are all those silly ‘beware falling coconuts’ signs you see on the internet real? Is Wikipedia accurate? Er, yes. The Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care says so — or at least said so in 1984, when one Peter Barss wrote:
Falling coconuts can cause injury to the head, back, and shoulders. A 4-year review of trauma admissions to the Provincial Hospital, Alotau, Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea, revealed that 2.5% of such admissions were due to being struck by falling coconuts. Since mature coconut palms may have a height of 24 up to 35 meters and an unhusked coconut may weigh 1 to 4 kg, blows to the head of a force exceeding 1 metric ton are possible. Four patients with head injuries due to falling coconuts are described. Two required craniotomy. Two others died instantly in the village after being struck by dropping nuts.
Peter has the letters DTMH after his name, which tell us he has a Professional Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene — so he knows whereof he speaks.
And if that isn’t enough excitement for one day, it’s also 48 years since the Sex Pistols outraged an entire nation:
