Woman dies trying to win a Wii

With all the hysteria and violence surrounding the PlayStation 3 launch, we were almost positive that it would be the pursuit of Sony's hard-to-find console which would lead to the tragic death of a hopeful gamer. But even though there were numerous scuffles and injuries in the race to secure a PS3, the first and only casualty in the next-gen wars turned out to be a woman trying to win a Wii for her children -- and she lost her life in much more bizarre circumstances than the retail madness we witnessed in late November. 28-year-old Jennifer Strange of Rancho Cardova, CA was found dead inside her home on Friday afternoon after competing in a radio station-sponsored competition which pitted hopefuls against one another for the prize of Nintendo's latest and greatest. Instead of competing on the playing fields of Wii sports or the Japanese streets of Red Steel, however, contestants gathered inside the studios of Sacramento's KDND The End to see who could drink the most water without urinating. The ridiculously-titled "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest had entrants imbibe eight ounces of water every fifteen minutes for 90 minutes, after which they were given larger portions until a winner emerged. Ms. Strange -- who did not win -- left the studio in tears, and she was last heard from by her employers at Radiological Associates of Sacramento complaining of a terrible headache. Autopsy results released yesterday showed signs of water intoxication, wherein the body's electrolyte levels are dangerously unbalanced due to a rapid intake of the seemingly harmless liquid. A spokesperson from The End came out with the usual sob story following news of Strange's death, but at least one of her coworkers thinks the station should have done more to prevent this tragedy; it's probably a pretty safe bet that a lawsuit is forthcoming.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

[nimro @ Jan 14th 2007 5:00PM]

Read the goddamn article! Why do you think this has _anything_ to do with Nintendo?

It's the radio station that should be sued, not the big N.

[mitch @ Jan 14th 2007 6:45PM]

Dude, the poor lady died trying to win her children a Wii. That is not funny. That is tragic. My thoughts are with her children.

[3rdsun @ Jan 14th 2007 6:55PM]

U are a stupid ass mac user. Just cuz ur brain is controlled by Apple the evil empire doesn't mean the whole world is stupid as u.
These extreme contests look like the next best thing for radio and tv execs until someone dies. Then they come with bs stories. I wonder how many others who particpated will End the same.

[drewk @ Jan 18th 2007 9:35PM]

mac user: you're an idiot. you should heed your own advice, stupid people also say stupid things all the time; always have, always will.

[I, Robot @ Jan 15th 2007 11:10PM]

@Matt

Nice one Matt. You don’t come off like an Assh*le at all.

[kev @ Jan 14th 2007 4:14PM]

Never, ever, hold a contest unless you are clearly aware of any circumstances that may harm your contestants, especially permanent injuries or death. End of story.

If she didn't sign a waiver, I rule in favor of the plaintiffs.

[Evan @ Jan 14th 2007 6:39PM]

signing a waiver is irrelevant. she can sign anything she wants, no one would knowingly waive death if they truly knew that drinking water would kill them. They especially wouldn't waive death for a Wii. It doesn't matter what she signed, her family will win.

[kinger @ Jan 17th 2007 5:03PM]

i think the family shouldnt win. I researched this, and apparently during the contest she complained of stomach pains and other discomforts. Anyone who would continue to drink after that would know that they would probably be at least ill after continuing to drink. also, she competed of her own free will, and, in my opinion, the family should not be able to win the law suit. It was a tragic event, but the lawsuit is in my opinion uncalled for.

[Peter @ Jan 14th 2007 4:15PM]

Tragic...


February 4, 2005, "Fraternity pledge died of water poisoning
Forced drinking can disastrously dilute blood's salt content" (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/02/04/BAGNSB576121.DTL)

[soopergooman @ Jan 14th 2007 4:16PM]

I can see the headline now:
Strange death for wii.

[Alex @ Jan 14th 2007 4:19PM]

Death through over consumption of water is not that uncommon, so not only should there be a civl lawsuit, but I'm guessing there's probably a criminal liability too.
There was a famous case in the UK where a novice Ecstasy user (her name was Leah Betts) consumed a vast amount of water, convinced she was going to die of dehydration. She died of organ failure from too much water...

[alex @ Jan 14th 2007 4:26PM]

I don't know about you guys, but I learned that in high school...

[G @ Jan 14th 2007 4:29PM]

As Peter pointed out, there was a very well-known case just a few miles north of Sacramento where fraternity hazing caused a fatality. I'm nowhere near as close as Sacramento, but that was all over the news here, as was the follow-up story about how dangerous large amounts of water can be. As I was reading this story, this came to mind immediately. KDND is going to pay. Entercom is going to pay. Big time.

Ah, corporate pop radio stations. The 13-year-old boys locker rooms of the music industry. How I will not miss thee. And how fitting that the end begins with The End.

[Ed T @ Jan 14th 2007 4:32PM]

What a tragic and senseless death! The people who work in the marketing department at radio stations are not the brightest bulbs on the string, and it shows what happens when they use "Jackass" techniques to get attention. I hope the premium on the station's general liability policy is paid up - they're gonna need every penny.

[LittleJoe @ Jan 14th 2007 4:32PM]

Some pretty insensitive comments in here. The woman was just trying to win a gift for her children, assuming what she was doing was completely harmless, as most would.

Her brain basically suffocated due to lack of oxygen in her watered-down blood. That would seem like an incredibly painful, and sad, way to go.

[Rick Person @ Jan 14th 2007 4:41PM]

I don't think the comments are harsh at all. I hope they have the book thrown at them. Matter of fact I'd love to see them sued to the point where they have to sell the station and the D.J.'s who masterminded the stunt go to prison. Besides, who the hell listens to crappy terrestrial radio anyhow? - 10 minutes of songs and 15 minutes of commericals - They have to pull shitty stunts just like this to get a listener base.

[doctor @ Jan 14th 2007 4:44PM]

Stupid DJs. Stupid Radio station. I hope they goto JAIL!

[Ignacio @ Jan 14th 2007 4:47PM]

See, the Dihydrogen Monoxide Research Division was right!
http://www.dhmo.org/

(for the clueless: http://www.snopes.com/science/dhmo.asp )

[Porsche 911 @ Jan 17th 2007 9:41PM]

@Ignacio

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dihydrogen_Monoxide

"The water molecule has the chemical formula H2O, meaning each molecule of water is composed of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

Literally, the term "dihydrogen monoxide" means "two hydrogen, one oxygen", consistent with its molecular formula: the prefix di in dihydrogen means "two", the prefix mono in monoxide means "one", and an oxide is a compound that contains one or more oxygen atoms. However, in actual chemical terms, such numeric prefixes are only used for certain compounds. For instance, H2S is simply called hydrogen sulfide, though the name dihydrogen sulfide is also still commonly used both in industry and in universities. Li2O is dilithium oxide. Dilithium monoxide and lithium oxide are also common and acceptable names for Li2O.

Still, "dihydrogen monoxide", is simply a chemical term for water, but sounds dangerous to those who do not understand the name. The term monoxide, despite its systematic origin, has negative connotations due to its association with the highly toxic carbon monoxide. The mono- prefix is usually only applied in cases where there are two or more possible oxide compounds, such as the case with carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and silicon monoxide and silicon dioxide.

Water has a regular scientific or systematic name of hydrogen oxide, as well as an alkali name of hydrogen hydroxide and several acid names such as hydroxic acid, hydroxylic acid, and hydroxilic acid. Incidentally, the term "hydroxyl acid" used in the original hoax is slightly incorrect, as it does not follow convention.

Water is not a chemical name under any recognized nomenclature, nor is it international. It also is not the term normally used for the solid or gaseous forms. Under the 2005 revisions of IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry, there is no single correct name for every compound, and water is one acceptable name for this compound. Additional names of μ-oxido dihydrogen and oxidane have been developed for this compound."

[Jeff @ Jan 14th 2007 4:52PM]

This is really not much different than if they'd had an alcohol drinking contest and were trying to see who could drink the most everclear before passing out. I mean, the effect is basically the same. Would any radio station in their right mind have had such a contest? Of course not; their lawyers would scream bloody murder at the first whiff of alcohol. They'd know the liability issues.

And if any radio station *did* have such an irresponsible contest, they'd be sued out of business. So I hope that's what happens here.

And Jesus, what the kids must be going through right now. REALLY sucks for them; their mom died trying to win them a video game system. Try to live with *that* for the rest of your life.

[jake @ Jan 14th 2007 4:54PM]

@ matt (first post)

what the hell is wrong with you? this isn't funny.. it's tragic, and you respond with "lol." seriously, what the hell?

[Ian @ Jan 14th 2007 4:59PM]

Mac User: nice troll. Get back udner the bridge.

Folks generally don't know that you can OD on water. It is not common knowledge. The same cannot be said for alcohol. This was a tragic accident born of ignorance on all involved.

[Cory @ Jan 14th 2007 5:01PM]

This is, unfortunately, something that often happens in endurance sports (marathons, triathlons, etc). Athletes are advised to mix water consumption with electrolyte (gatorade, powerade, etc) consumption to avoid this very thing.

The radio station should have done it's homework and/or ran this idea by a doctor.

[MxSix @ Jan 14th 2007 5:01PM]

This is just ridiculous. How can you be so dumb and drink that much water.

[zool @ Jan 14th 2007 5:02PM]

1 Question:

did she win the console? since she never took a wii?

[= @ Jan 14th 2007 5:07PM]

Likely cause of death: Sudden hypervolemic hyponatremia. Very sad. The headaches were likely due to the sudden osmotic shift of fluid into the brain tissue. This had nothing to due with suffocation "due to lack of oxygen in her watered-down blood."

[Rick Bowman @ Jan 14th 2007 5:08PM]

sad.... hope the family sues the station into oblivion

[Christy_D @ Jan 14th 2007 5:08PM]

I'm sure that the radio station made all the contestants sign the waiver, so I don't see what's wrong with what they did with holding the contest. Like any contest, this one has consequences, and Jennifer should've known not to push herself too far.

I can't imagine how awful her kids will feel each time they remember how she died...

[Graham @ Jan 14th 2007 5:11PM]

Water intoxication? You're joking .. I drink 2 litres of water in a matter of an hour at the gym ..what the hell is water intoxication? Bad water?

[Rivet @ Jan 14th 2007 5:26PM]

RTFA, douche.

"water intoxication, wherein the body's electrolyte levels are dangerously unbalanced due to a rapid intake of the seemingly harmless liquid."

[hemmy @ Jan 14th 2007 5:14PM]

What a terrible tragedy. She was only doing it for her children.

[hemmy @ Jan 14th 2007 5:20PM]

"Water intoxication? You're joking .. I drink 2 litres of water in a matter of an hour at the gym ..what the hell is water intoxication? Bad water?"

Keyword: Gym

Exercise & sweating create a need to restore water to the body.

And no, it's not "bad water".

"A person with two healthy kidneys can excrete about 1.5 litres of water per hour at maximum filtration (other studies find the limit to be as little as 0.9L/h [2]). Consuming as little as 1.8 litres of water in a single sitting may prove fatal for a person adhering to a low-sodium diet, or 3 litres for a person on a normal diet."

[Lucas @ Jan 14th 2007 5:24PM]

Some insensitive pricks on here. But then again what do you expect from a man/woman that sits behind their screen thinking that they are the judges of the world. Condemning anything and anyone that doesn't fit their version of reality. Its easy to assume the high chair, when you are slouched over your screen, unable to grasp reality and emotion.

I pity those who are so disconnected from the real world, protected by their seemingly impenetrable bubble .... unable to feel or respond to human loss.


What a sad world we live in.

[FiniFinito @ Jan 14th 2007 5:30PM]

This is a horrible tragic story. And for those that missed it she did NOT win the Wii. This means she died for nothing making it doubly tragic.

I hope the family is compensated so well they put an end to these stupid radio station promotions. I bet if someone did a study of death by radio promotion you would all be shocked.

FiniFinito

[John Doe @ Jan 14th 2007 5:38PM]

And even if she did win it? As if a game console that is $250...hell as if any game console is worth dieing for.

[tekdroid @ Jan 14th 2007 9:25PM]

I bet if someone did a study of death by radio promotion you would all be shocked.
-----------
You mean brain death from the egotistical clueless DJs, so-called "music" and irritating ads? I think the figure is in the millions...

[Casey @ Jan 14th 2007 5:31PM]

E-Mail 107.9 The END Station Manager - http://endonline.com/station_content/email_station.php

[ZAch Silk @ Jan 14th 2007 5:35PM]

jeez, if people just waited 3 weeks, they would be alive and have the wii or a ps3.
i just went to traget and saw them in stock!

[James Sonne @ Jan 14th 2007 5:36PM]

What about the frat-boy and his hound that were shot to death in a police raid after the kid was implicated in the theft of a couple of a friend's PS3 units? That was a month ago or more!

[JeffNLA @ Jan 14th 2007 5:37PM]

Yes the Radio station was stupid for holding a contest like this. BUT .. contestants are STUPID for participating in it.

People have to accept responsibility for their own actions too.

Like the old saying my mom would tell me when I said "but all the kids are doing it (ie some silly kid activity)"

"If everyone jumped off a cliff - would you too?"

[John Doe @ Jan 14th 2007 5:46PM]

Jeff,

any everyone else rolling their eyes over this. Get this through you damn head. People on average DO NOT know that you can die from drinking too much water. We aren't talking a Darwin award here. We aren't talking about knowing that gas is explosive. That alcohol can impair your ability to drive. Ir even that using a sledge hammer on a RPG to see what's inside might not be the smartest move.
Its fucking water after all. Shit. How many of you know how much caffeine it takes to OD? Anyone? Just about anything can kill you. The problem is knowing that and knowing how much it takes to kill you.

[Sean O @ Jan 15th 2007 6:10AM]

Yes that's it. She willingly sacrificed her own life in order to win a Wii. Gimmie a break. You make it sound like she knew she was going to die. Stupid and pointless comment.

[Lucas @ Jan 14th 2007 5:43PM]

Why is it us Europeans, always say ..... "Only in America !" .. with an uneasy smile, reading those Engadget stories about shootings, death and crime ?

[Oh Wise One @ Jan 14th 2007 6:43PM]

Why is it Europeans tend to be so full of themselves? Are there an arrogance additives in your water?

[koppite1 @ Jan 14th 2007 5:49PM]

Yes, but did the radio station take the necessary precaution to make sure there wasn't too much water? Just before some get on their high horse and say she signed a waiver.

[Ray @ Jan 14th 2007 5:49PM]

Her kids must feel like shit.

"Mommy did it for you...."

[2Perfect @ Jan 14th 2007 5:54PM]

You killed her!

No, sir, actually, wii killed her.

Is that a confession?
------------------------------------
Stupid on the contestants' and the contest holders' part. That's one of the ways you wouldn't want to die. Kinda like choking on marshmallows =/

They should at least give her children a Wii.

[Michael Phillips @ Jan 14th 2007 6:07PM]

Manslaughter...

This is terrible, someone at that station is going DOWN. Who the hell allowed this!?

[Alex Brossart @ Jan 14th 2007 6:11PM]

What a bunch of stupid djs. You would think that people would know that water can kill you by now.

[Blake @ Jan 14th 2007 6:13PM]

Darwinism at its finest.