Edit:
Thank you all so much! I’ve really appreciated you all sharing your stories, theories, potential explanations and condolences! I didn’t expect this post to get as popular as it has and I’m very surprised to learn this isn’t as uncommon as I initially thought it was.
I’m deleting this and any other potentially identifying details now. I would hate for anyone connected to this situation to stumble upon this post, realize it involves them and read the hurtful comments accusing them of being liars or even involved in foul play, like some asshole felt it necessary to comment. Once again, thank you!
Comments
My best guess is he was leaning on the vanity, and then rigor mortis made him stiff enough not to flop much. My next guess is that this is a family story that’s not quite right
I know someone that died of heart attack at their kitchen sink and was found standing there, leaning slightly, and balanced. He was found a little over 24 hrs later.
*Wow, I had no idea this story would be of interest. It might be additionally important to mention that the person I describe was a large guy–maybe 250 and solidly built, and around 70. It was morning & he had let his dog out to pee and was watching the dog from the window over the kitchen sink. It was winter, very cold out, and when he died standing there, the dog eventually stopped barking at the door and went to a neighbor’s house to bark and be let in for warmth. That led to eventual discovery.
Is slumped considered standing up?
Were they slumped over the sink, but not on the ground? Maybe that was confused with standing.
Did you see this person, or are you basing this story on what you were told?
It sucks.. But at least you know he went quickly, possibly instantly.
Condolences for your loss.
I would have to have seen it, but I would imagine he was leaning against the wall enough to be holding his weight up.
Thinking about my bathroom, I can imagine feeling really terrible and trying to rest my head and hands on one of the shelves that is around my head height, and maybe just… stay there when I died. So my idea would be probably leaning into a corner or braced against a shelf or something like that.
I can imagine standing at the sink, leaning forward and resting my weight on the mirror, and kind of being braced by the sink and the mirror.
Shirohige đź’Ş
My aunt’s husband died at the breakfast table, sitting upright, lit cigarette in one hand, cup of coffee near the other. Stroke. She had no idea until he didn’t answer her after asking 4 times.
FIL passed away sitting in his chair still holding the newspaper up, very sudden stroke.
Famous last words: “I’m not gonna take this lying down!”
How long is dead for a little while? The motor neurons in the spine and such have some degree of autonomy e.g. if you burn your hand on something the nerve signal to move them away will start in the spine before the pain signal reaches the brain.
I could imagine a situation where the balance nerves continued on for awhile after the brain and heart stopped, but I would think that trick ends quite quickly once the muscles tire out.
My uncle was found dead standing at the top of a ladder while cleaning his gutters. it was truly bizarre.
Balance at first and then rigor mortis. Think of it like a coin flip which ends on the edge. It’s unusual so we don’t expect it but it can happen. In this case, of course we expect the knee and elbow to buckle. However, they can be in a more locked position. It sounds like the deceased had been leaning on the vanity, which would make a tripod with the legs. Tripods are very stable.
My uncle was a cop and told a story of a man who died standing at his bathroom sink and was found still standing up. So it happens.
My great aunt died standing up, and slightly leaning against a car. It’s unusual, but it does happen.
My uncle did that. Vietnam Vet used to take “quick naps” in front of the tv evening news standing in parade rest, but with arms crossed slightly above belly. Found him “napping” after the late show one summer night. Fully dressed, boots on eyes closed, no pulse. Freaking creepy.
Without knowing, I’m guessing he was above 60 and possibly had other health issues. There are a lot of reason his body could freeze up that way. It’s usually from a sudden death and in a fight or flight response your body can just stay in place. We saw this often in the funeral home. I’m sorry for your loss
Paramedic here. I had a guy last year who died after pushing the button on one of those “assist to stand” chairs. It was holding him up, knees slightly bent, butt just touching the seat, a little slouched but standing. He’d been dead awhile.
🎶Prop me up beside the jukebox if I die🎶
My godfather was mowing his lawn and apoeared to be resting against a fence. Neighbor came home and he was in same position. Massive heart attack and died.
If he had diabetes, it could be extremely low potassium leading to catalepsy and cardiac arrest. More likely he probably died leaning on something as others have said.
Buddhism offers a different explanation. This is considered highly auspicious and is something very skilled practitioners aim for. Called tukdam, master practitioners can maintain positions and be “rot” free for up to 10 days. Don’t know if this is comforting for you or your family but it denotes a life of ethical and moral conduct. Interesting idea for sure.
Watching my dad fight bladder cancer in his late 80s, I am increasingly seeing a late life sudden death as the win condition. A slow death is no fun.
I’ve never heard of this happening before.
Ok, here’s the thing.
When in the midst of shocking events, our brains do not record properly, and we tend to think of ‘how weird!’ or ‘it was god!’ or ‘it’s not possible!’ because our brains just can’t wrap themselves around the situation.
You say in the comments he wasn’t found leaning, or with his hands on the sink or anything. But are the people who saw him certain? And even if they are certain, human memory is notoriously unreliable. Show three people the same thing and they will remember it three different ways. Even if you show them the thing, then take it away and immediately ask them ‘describe what you just saw’, you will get three replies that will be the same overall, but the details will be different.
I used to work as a bank teller, and we were trained that should someone come in to rob the place, as soon as it was all over, we had to write down/record what we’d experience without talking to anyone else about it.
These relatives have presumably had time to discuss and therefore influence each other, cause them to doubt their own memories, and rewrite the story. So it may not be as weird as it sounds, and he may well have been resting or leaning slightly, but no one remembers/agrees because they convinced themselves that isn’t what happened. Or because to their minds, since he was only slightly leaning it ‘doesn’t count’ or whatever.
Balance is a funny thing. Just ask engineers. Things that we think shouldn’t balance do, and things we think should balance, don’t, usually to devestating effect.
This rocks. I hope I die standing up and scare my family.
Condolences. Sorry for your loss.
I read a autobiography from WWII where a British swordfish pilot was standing talking to a fellow pilot in the below deck hanger of an aircraft carrier under attack by German Stukas.
A 500lb bomb came through the open aircraft lift exploding in the hanger and the 1st pilot found himself facing the now headless, standing body of his colleague he had just been speaking too. The body remained standing until he gave him a little push.
I assume it was true, the account was entirely without bravado or exaggeration that I could see, If so it seems feasible that your relative died standing up and neglected to fall once dead.
My grandfather died standing up. He went out back to their garage to smoke. Died leaning against it.
You know sometimes, rarely, when a dropped coin lands on its edge? I imagine its like that.
Had a neighbour that passed while gardening. I always thought that was an amazing way to go. Doing what he loved.
my dad had a heart attack, we found him getting dressed and sitting upright on a bench in his room, leaning over mid-putting on a sock. he was kinda balanced on the armrest of the bench. i guess if you die quickly and rigor mortis sets in fast it can kinda freeze you there.
I’d like to die in exactly the same way my grandfather did.
He was on his feet at half-time during an NHL playoff game. My uncle had just handed him a beer when he said he didn’t feel well.
He was dead , still standing when my uncle turned around.
He had alzheimers , so in the end dying instantly with a beer in your hand while the Habs were beating the Bruins was a win in our books.
Edit: Ok my childhood memory was that the Canadians had won that night. They didn’t. When my uncle called, my brother and father had just been hooting and clapping, so it wouldn’t have been at the end of the game if they had lost.
My grandpa was found sitting at the kitchen table, newspaper opened and in his hands. It was a blessing, I think, to go so suddenly like that, as my grandma took three years of wasting away after a stroke and he was her sole care giver.
So no one is getting answer the question? Instead just adding people they know that does the same way? Peak Reddit
An old timer friend of mine died this way last year.
He was a WWII B-17 pilot that flew more than 30 missions over Germany. I would spend hours listening to his stories, he was so fascinating.
His neighbor went over to check on him one day and he was found dead, standing up against his sink.
He had just made it to 100 years old 2 weeks prior.
What a life, and what a way to go!
I hope to die like my grandpa did
In his sleep
Not screaming like his passengersÂ
This type of scenario happened at a hotel where I was working. We had a guest who overstayed their welcome. Security & the MoD went to the guest’s room, they never answered, so Security opened the door, but the MoD was the first one to see.
The guest had committed suicide and was doing that sort of ‘one finger from each hand’ to balance while leaning forward on the bathroom counter. The EMTs had to restrain the dead guest’s arms because under the sheet it appeared like they were making finger guns.
Descending Aortic tear, you are dead before you know you died. Here one sec, gone the next.
he is Whitebeard
I’ve scrolled a while and not seeing an actual explanation.
Muscle action is caused by myosin and actin filaments binding and pulling against each other. When they are attached, the muscle is firm. ATP is needed to make the filaments un-bond, so the muscle can relax. Rigor mortis sets in when the body has run out of its leftover ATP so the filaments stay bound – this usually occurs several hours after death, and usually passes again eventually as the proteins degrade.
In some cases after death, the muscle filaments don’t automatically un-bind. Exactly why, hard for me to say – possible circulation issues or other health problems that would have stopped the production or movement of ATP. Residual nerve activity could have also kept sending signals to the muscles to stay tense long enough for the legs and core muscles responsible for keeping you upright to remain fixed.
RN here. There’s a rare thing called a cadaveric spasm where someone’s muscles lock instantly when they die. Sudden heart attacks and strokes can also cause muscles to lock up in rare cases.
I wish the top comments weren’t just stories of this happening and actually answered how this happens.
so I know a lot of you will read the word “physics” and become disintrested, but oh well.
so it seems to me what is happening here is the way he was standing his center of gravity was balanced in just the right spot for gravity to not pull him down. It also has something to do with the knees, a lot of the time when people pass away they tend to relax and let go, i.e fluids escaping their body after they pass. For this situation he had to of realized he was passing in someway and instead of relaxing he tensed up locking his knees which would keep him standing upright only if his center of mass was in the perfect spot where gravity wouldn’t pull him down.
I’m not sure if I explained it in a way that you would understand, but if so you’re welcome, if not sorry.
This happened to my grandfather a few months ago. Died standing at his bathroom sink and my parents found him probably an hour or so after he passed. I’m not a religious man but he always said he’d greet god standing up not laying down, he really was a man of his word lol.
My dad died while walking with my mom to their golf carts. Talking and laughing then just gone. It was a perfect night for my dad. His favorite meal, drinks with great friends just laughing and joking. What a great way to go!
Doc here. What health issues did he have? Was he a smoker? What was the reason for his last visit to the doctor and when was that last visit? Did you notice anything out of the blue on his body? Any exposed electrical equipment in the room? What time of the day was he found dead? Does anyone recall what he was doing prior to going to the bathroom?
I’m glad to have found this. Years ago I found an old gentleman dead, standing in front of the urinal at a local grocery store. For years I thought I was crazy. His knees were locked and he was leaning forward.
I’m glad to know I’m not crazy!
I’ve fallen asleep standing, so I suspect the mechanics are similar, just with less breathing