8 Tricky "Would You Rathers...?" Answered By Science

2. Burn To Death Or Drown?

If you're ever lucky enough to choose your method of exit from this world, it's good to know the facts. Fire and water are generally considered to be opposites, but which is worse?

Death by drowning is caused by asphyxiation as the water fills the lungs and cuts oxygen from the brain. The initial sensations felt by a drowning person are panic, but the body will initially automatically hold the breath.

As the oxygen levels drop in the body, they will begin to experience increased disorientation and weakness. As a last ditch attempt at self-rescue, the brain will force the person to take a breath, filling the lungs with water (which is extremely painful). After this, however, the person will lose consciousness and near-drowning victims often report a sensation of peacefulness just before this happens. As things go, this might not be a bad way to die.

One of the major causes of death by fire actually also happens to be asphyxiation as the toxic fumes from a fire render the victim unconscious. However, if we're talking about literally burning to death, as opposed to "dying in a fire", then things get a whole lot worse.

Flames will activate every nociceptor that they come in contact with, causing sharp, excruciating pain. after a few minutes of contact, the nerve endings will have burnt away, and the duller pain of deep injury will set in. Cause of death is actually kind of extremely rapid dehydration (or, more accurately, hypovolemia) as the fluids in your body are cooked out of you, resulting in cardiac arrest.

This, however, takes many minutes of suffering and none of that "sensation of peacefulness" as a consolation. Drowning gets the vote every time.

Verdict: Drown.