Suicide via complete and instantaneous obliteration of the brain/using a pneumatic press

[FlatHead]

Hey all,

I made a somewhat similar thread to this a while ago, but it was more focused on parallel universes and the conversation got completely bogged down with that and the actual practicalities of my preferred method got missed entirely. So I'm trying this again.

I want a method of dying that is:
1. Instantaneous. So quick that I don't perceive it happening at all.
2. Unsurvivable. Every method I can find has some % chance of living. Even a bullet to the head, according to several studies I've read, has a success rate of only around 80%. Even this boards preferred methods of using specialized drugs to end it is something that people have survived. I need something where I truly have 0 chances of survival.
3. Preferably, activated remotely and while I'm asleep. So I can set a computer program to kill me in an hour, lie in my contraption, and die an hour later.

The method I've come up with is to use a pneumatic press. Place my head under it, and have it crush me instantaneously. They seem to satisfy my needs, generally speaking. They can produce a lot of force, and fast, they could completely flatten the brain (how the hell could you possibly survive that?) and they can be controlled with a computer.

However, I feel I need some help with this. Being honest with myself, I'm not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. I would find it irresponsible if I did this without first running it by others so they can point out any glaring flaws that I may be missing.

But, most importantly, I'm hoping for some guidance on what pneumatic press to buy, and what accessories (tubing, oxygen tank etc) it might need.

My current plan is to get a product like this:

DPS7

Air-Mite manufactures a variety of pneumatic products including air-powered presses, air cylinders, and valves.

www.airmitedirect.com

This is a pneumatic press that can generate about 700 pounds of force. Here are the main issues I'm having with that:

1. IS that enough force? I've looked online for how much force it would take to crush a human head, and the answer seems to vary way too much for comfort. The most consistent answer I've gotten is 520 pounds, but I've seen other places say 200 pounds and other places entirely say 1,200 pounds. I'm distressed by the inconsistency of this. I need to KNOW that this is going to work.

2. Will using a press this way be fast enough to satisfy my first condition of an instantaneous death? I've seen videos of them being used, and they slam down with impressive speed-fast enough in some cases that my eyes can't even track it. But that was largely them going at thin air for demonstration purposes and not actually crushing anything, or them punching a hole in something very different, like a sheet of metal that is much thinner than my head. I need the time inbetween when the press touches my head and when I die to be less than a second. Will a press used in this way flatten me instantly, or will it do it slowly and drawn out like in those "hydraulic press" channels you see on YouTube?

3. What exactly is the deal with the other stuff I need? From what I can gather, I also need: A) an oxygen tank and B) tubing that is compatible with that particular type of press. But this is where I get confused and it's hard to find clear answers. Everything online is so extremely jargon-filled. What do I need to get to make sure that the press can, well, press? What do I need to get that's compatible? I realize that this might not be the kind of place with answers, but I don't even know where to ask. There aren't exactly pneumatic press communities online. I don't even know what kind of community to go to to ask these questions.

4. How do I make it activated by computer? This is generally described as a standard, default feature for presses, but I can't actually find any explanation of how you get that set up or if it requires other components.

5. Is the small size of the press a problem? Like, the actual "disc" part that would be doing the pressing doesn't seem to have much circumference. Is there a possibility that it creates a doughnut hole in my head, with the unsquished parts of the brain around it still maintaining my consciousness? If so, is it possible to just swap out that "disc" for a wider one?

6. Is there any other chance that this harms me without killing me? Is there any form of malfunction that could happen in the machine that would make it, say, not press with the amount of force it was designed to, thus giving me a nasty concussion or skull fracture but not actually killing me? Or any form of malfunction that would make it kill me slowly?

I think that covers just about everything. I know that's quite a few questions, and that most people here probably don't know much about pneumatic presses, but if anyone could give me any advice or pointers on even one of these questions, or at least point me towards where I might better find answers (again, there isn't exactly pneumatic press forums online), it would be highly appreciated.

 

[stygal]

If it works the way you thoroughly described it - it might be worth a try for people having access to such a machine and enough knowledge about it - which I don't.
To me it sounds too terrifying and Stephen King-esque (haha).

 

[-L-]

Ok, I'm not a pneumatic press expert, but I do know a thing or two about pneumatic's and computer automation, as my background is in engineering.

---

STROKE AND BORE:

The first thing I would say to watch out for when selecting a press or other pneumatic actuators is to look for the stroke and the bore numbers.

The stroke is how long the cylinder will be able to extend in the press. The press you linked only has a 1" stroke but says it is customizable. Although I don't know if that means customized in factory, or the end user can customize it on site. Edited to add: I reread that page and its implied that its customized in factory. So what you order is what you get.

What this means is when the press punches down the cylinder ram will extend 1" out.

Now think about it... Is 1" enough to go through a human head? Is that enough to hit the brain? I suppose if you ajusted the press to be right up against your head, it would punch down 1". But still... I wouldn't chance any of this personally.

Secondly the bore. The bore is the diameter of the cylinder's ram. Meaning how big around the ram is. This one has a 3" bore. I would say 3" would be fine.

But I have to ask do you want a 3" diameter press going into your head?

Is your idea to use this like a hammer? not penetrating the brain at all, only causing severe trauma and by extension death? I don't know what your goal looks like for this? What are you really aiming to do?


Also be warned that when you make the stroke longer, the cylinder will become weaker. Weakening your press. The longer the stroke the weaker, and longer the impact could take, or the worse it could be.


Edited to add: this it says "6" daylight", not quite sure what that means, but assuming it is the height of the press, that would give you a maximum opening of 6" to get your head in.. God I feel morbid writing this..
So I'd probably say find another press, or build your own using a pnumatic cylinder if you are really hellbent on this.

---

DOUBLE AND SINGLE ACTING ACTUATORS AND VALVES:

The second thing to look for is double and single acting presses.

The press you linked is double acting. What this means is it requires air to move the ram forward, but it also requires air to pull it back.

You need a double acting 4 way solenoid valve for this press, as the valve will send air for the return, a single acting valve will not do this.

A single acting system relies on a spring to retract the cylinder. A double acting system requires air to send and retract.

---

AIR SOURCES:

Just get a nice compressor. Don't fuss with portable air tanks if you don't have to.

Also don't try to use a oxygen tank, as those require high pressure regulators as oxygen tanks are typically around 2000 PSI. Meaning you would likely need a very expensive more complicated 2 stage regulator.

Remember: You only want 100-200 PSI at most. The press you linked is rated for 700lbs @ 100 PSI.

Don't waste good oxygen to do this. Just use air. Its a lot cheaper too.

---

Conclusion for now.

I could get into the other aspects of how to pull this off, as this is some of my background haha.. But needless to say I'll leave it here at the moment. As I don't feel you are knowledgeable enough about this type of stuff.
So these are some of the basics to think about and consider.

I feel that it all could go horribly wrong to be perfectly honest with you. This would never be a method I would choose personally. It seems very gory and violent.

If you would like me to explain more about this kind of stuff I can, as I feel I've only really scratched the surface.

Best of luck.

Edited again for spelling mistakes. I'm tired.

 

[FlatHead]

Ok, I'm not a pneumatic press expert, but I do know a thing or two about pneumatic's and computer automation, as my background is in engineering.

---

STROKE AND BORE:

The first thing I would say to watch out for when selecting a press or other pneumatic actuators is to look for the stroke and the bore numbers.

The stroke is how long the cylinder will be able to extend in the press. The press you linked only has a 1" stroke but says it is customizable. Although I don't know if that means customized in factory, or the end user can customize it on site. Edited to add: I reread that page and its implied that its customized in factory. So what you order is what you get.

What this means is when the press punches down the cylinder ram will extend 1" out.

Now think about it... Is 1" enough to go through a human head? Is that enough to hit the brain? I suppose if you ajusted the press to be right up against your head, it would punch down 1". But still... I wouldn't chance any of this personally.

Secondly the bore. The bore is the diameter of the cylinder's ram. Meaning how big around the ram is. This one has a 3" stroke. I would say 3" would be fine.

But I have to ask do you want a 3" diameter press going into your head?

Is your idea to use this like a hammer? not penetrating the brain at all, only causing severe trauma and by extension death? I don't know what your goal looks like for this? What are you really aiming to do?


Also be warned that when you make the stroke longer, the cylinder will become weaker. Weakening your press. The longer the stroke the weaker, and longer the impact could take, or the worse it could be.


Edited to add: this it says "6" daylight", not quite sure what that means, but assuming it is the height of the press, that would give you a maximum opening of 6" to get your head in.. God I feel morbid writing this..
So I'd probably say find another press, or build your own using a pnumatic cylinder if you are really hellbent on this.

---

DOUBLE AND SINGLE ACTING ACTUATORS AND VALVES:

The second thing to look for is double and single acting presses.

The press you linked is double acting. What this means is it requires air to move the ram forward, but it also requires air to pull it back.

You need a double acting 4 way solenoid valve for this press, as the valve will send air for the return, a single acting valve will not do this.

A single acting system relies on a spring to retract the cylinder. A double acting system requires air to send and retract.

---

AIR SOURCES:

Just get a nice compressor. Don't fuss with portable air tanks if you don't have to.

Also don't try to use a oxygen tank, as those require high pressure regulators as oxygen tanks are typically around 2000 PSI. Meaning you would likely need a very expensive more complicated 2 stage regulator.

Remember: You only want 100-200 PSI at most. The press you linked is rated for 700lbs @ 100 PSI.

Don't waste good oxygen to do this. Just use air. Its a lot cheaper too.

---

Conclusion for now.

I could get into the other aspects of how to pull this off, as this is some of my background haha.. But needless to say I'll leave it here at the moment. As I don't feel you are knowledgeable enough about this type of stuff.
So these are some of the basics to think about and consider.

I feel that it all could go horribly wrong to be perfectly honest with you. This would never be a method I would choose personally. It seems very gory and violent.

If you would like me to explain more about this kind of stuff I can, as I feel I've only really scratched the surface.

Best of luck.

Omg thank you thank you thank you! This is exactly what I was looking for. Okay, the explanation on the terms "stroke" and "bore" was especially needed. I'm glad to know that what I had my eyes on was only a one inch stroke, that's essential and alarming that I got this far without even realizing. And thanks for explaining a lot of the other terminology too, I was very lost.

To clarify: no, my intention isn't to use this as a hammer to bluntly hit my head. My intention is to completely FLATTEN my head. For my whole head to become squished down to a pancake in less than a second. Instant and complete obliteration of the brain...instant and complete obliteration of me.

In that case, it seems like I will need:

-A 7 inch stroke
-7 inch daylight
-7 inch bore, but possibly closer to 8.5 inch?

I'm doing this based off of the "average head" sizes I found here in this chart:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/AvgHeadSizes.png

And basically just going with the maximum values as a precaution. Note that my intention is that my head would go in sideways. That my head would be flattened widthwise, my two ears being pushed closer together in the process. That's kind of what I'm basing these measurements on, though there's also quite a bit of leeway. I would prefer the bore length to be wide enough that my ENTIRE brain is flattened. My entire head isn't so important, but like I said in my original post, I don't want a situation where there's a doughnut hole punched through my head and the surrounding brain matter maintains my consciousness. I want the whole entire brain to be squished into a flat pancake. Gory? Yes, but, if done right, I won't be around to see the gore. Unfortunate for the cleanup crew, but what else is there to be done? They won't enjoy seeing dead bodies in the best of circumstances.

New concern: making sure that the amount of force is enough even with a stroke length that's enough to go from one side of my head to the other widthways. You mentioned that the amount of force it can create goes down as the stroke length goes up. and I really need to make sure that this destroys the entire brain. Though, it occurs to me that the main obstacle is the skull, and more specifically, the skull on the side that initially gets hit by the press. Once the press breaks through this, the brain itself is much, much squishier.

The website has customer service support, so I might ask some of these questions to them. It seems like they primarily do custom ordered pneumatic presses, so I can ask for one with all these specifications and see how much it would cost me.

Again, thank you very very much. And still, if anyone else reading this has any additional information to offer, I'm all ears.

EDIT: Oh, also, I guess that "building my own press" with a pneumatic cylinder is an option? Yes, technically all I need is the cylinder with it's force, I could potentially DIY something for it to brace against myself.

 

[-L-]

In that case, it seems like I will need:

-A 7 inch stroke
-7 inch daylight
-7 inch bore, but possibly closer to 8.5 inch?

You will never likely be able to get a 7" bore. I could be wrong, but I have personally never seen such a thing.

And a 7" stroke will lose a lot of its force. Again due to the longer travel distance.

I would personally stay away from the pneumatic press idea. Pneumatic's are not really able to get the kind of impact you want. Unless you wanted to use a hydraulic or electric liner actuator based press, I don't think you'll find what your looking for with pneumatics. Which is what I was hinting at in my original post.

The problem with liner actuators or hydraulics as I'm sure your aware of already, is speed, for the specifications you want and the amount of force needed, it would be painfully slow (literally).

So I'd say to give up on the idea of using a press for this task.

---

However....

If this were MY head on the line.. And I really wanted to achieve this.

I would likely build a sort of guillotine style device.

Either built from large diameter steal rods, or steal C or I channel (with large casters to glide it down the channel smoothly).

My preference would be the rods, as there would be no need for casters. (Less potential failure points).


About 16ft high, with about 500lbs of barbel style weights (or concrete) at the top held with large eye bolts and steal cable, or a very strong rope.

A electric winch would be used in conjunction with a pulley system to lift the weights to the top.

Once at the top, the rope or steal cabling would be disconnected from the winch, and connected to a smaller counter weight (for stability). it would use a rope quick release mechanism like this one. The one I linked is based on a pull pin.

You could either rig up a rope or a string with a pulley to pull the pin yourself, or you could rig up a small liner actuator or motor to pull it for you on a timer.
There are also electric quick release options available, that work on the same principle as a solenoid, using a magnetic coil to release.

This device would obviously also need guide wires and to be weighed down considerably well.

You would also likely need an experienced welder or machinist around to help you.


My design would be like a large scale version of one of those weight lifting gym machines you see. Like this:



Mine would just be much larger with more weight, a pulley at the top, a counter weight on the side, guide wires to hold it in place, a winch to lift everything into place, and a quick release at the top to drop the weights.


Edit for clarity: The reason I would have a small counter weight is just so the device would travel smoothly enough in a predictable manner. It can't be too large, as to not impair the speed by much, but it needs something for stability.

I'm still somewhat drowsy, so take this post for what its worth.

I don't think the press is a good idea, but I think your goal could still be achieved.

A lot of this would just take some time and experimentation.

 

[Tintypographer]

Here are my concerns:. 1) murphy- where anything that can go wrong will. This is a complex system and the more complex you make something the more likely a sub process causes a failure that you weren't expecting. Guy wires, actuators, stroke, bore and software all add complexity. Each layer of complexity is a potential fail point. At some point it becomes difficult to see what failure is a connection between two other unexpected failures. Space shuttles don't blow up because of glaring huge problems everyone can see but ignores; they blow up because no one thoughthe the o rings. Might be affected by temperature and it was cold or because no one thought that ice chunks would fall off the cooling hoses during launch and punch holes in the wing.
2) it's very hard to test. Not impossible to test because we have all watched mythbusters test lethality with their dummy "buster" but if you want assurance you will need a test that shows a human head with rough skull and brain is damaged quickly and to a level that your end point is reasonably evaluated.

Just my concerns and not saying this can't work or trying to throw a wrench into the system. Obviously a massive force causing combined blunt force trauma and secondary crushing of the brain is lethal and quick. A giant boulder falling and squishing your head falls under the quick way to die classification. Building that big boulder in a hydraulic thing that simulates the event is not impossible but complex.

 

[Symbiote]

Ask yourself this, is your head strong enough to withstand 700lbs of pressure? If so, you're Superman. If you're like the rest of us, it shall explode similar to how a watermelon would if placed in a pneumatic press. Also watching videos of industrial accidents in China where a dude gets his head caught in a press and killed instantly shows that this method is 100% effective, though grisly.

 

[Mixo]

Fascinating and interesting post. I don't have much to suggest but perhaps once assembly is complete, you can do some testing with something of comparable weight, density and size (like a watermelon or something else). It seems like a ton of work trying to engineer this contraption though. Why not just get a de-breather or something that's already validated through testing to work?

 

[-L-]

Here are my concerns:. 1) murphy- where anything that can go wrong will. This is a complex system and the more complex you make something the more likely a sub process causes a failure that you weren't expecting. Guy wires, actuators, stroke, bore and software all add complexity. Each layer of complexity is a potential fail point. At some point it becomes difficult to see what failure is a connection between two other unexpected failures. Space shuttles don't blow up because of glaring huge problems everyone can see but ignores; they blow up because no one thoughthe the o rings. Might be affected by temperature and it was cold or because no one thought that ice chunks would fall off the cooling hoses during launch and punch holes in the wing.
2) it's very hard to test. Not impossible to test because we have all watched mythbusters test lethality with their dummy "buster" but if you want assurance you will need a test that shows a human head with rough skull and brain is damaged quickly and to a level that your end point is reasonably evaluated.

Just my concerns and not saying this can't work or trying to throw a wrench into the system. Obviously a massive force causing combined blunt force trauma and secondary crushing of the brain is lethal and quick. A giant boulder falling and squishing your head falls under the quick way to die classification. Building that big boulder in a hydraulic thing that simulates the event is not impossible but complex.

Exactly, I agree with you. This is why this isn't my method haha. I also have a preference to leave my body as intact as possible.

I'm just entertaining the idea, because its fun in a slightly morbid way.

But I do feel that my guillotine type design is getting a little bit ridiculous. Again you'd have to insure that its results are repeatable.
But if I were to actually try and design something like this; I feel given my luck, it would be repeatable until I actually tried to use it on myself. At which point it would likely fail spectacularly in one way or another, probably leaving me a mangled mess, but still alive.

Ask yourself this, is your head strong enough to withstand 700lbs of pressure? If so, you're Superman. If you're like the rest of us, it shall explode similar to how a watermelon would if placed in a pneumatic press. Also watching videos of industrial accidents in China where a dude gets his head caught in a press and killed instantly shows that this method is 100% effective, though grisly.

I still don't think given the stroke length needed, a pneumatic press would be the most effective or best option. Hydraulic possibly. But pneumatic, no, I wouldn't personally try.

And the idea would be for the head to explode.

 

[FlatHead]

You will never likely be able to get a 7" bore. I could be wrong, but I have personally never seen such a thing.

And a 7" stroke will lose a lot of its force. Again due to the longer travel distance.

I would personally stay away from the pneumatic press idea. Pneumatic's are not really able to get the kind of impact you want. Unless you wanted to use a hydraulic or electric liner actuator based press, I don't think you'll find what your looking for with pneumatics. Which is what I was hinting at in my original post.

The problem with liner actuators or hydraulics as I'm sure your aware of already, is speed, for the specifications you want and the amount of force needed, it would be painfully slow (literally).

So I'd say to give up on the idea of using a press for this task.

---

However....

If this were MY head on the line.. And I really wanted to achieve this.

I would likely build a sort of guillotine style device.

Either built from large diameter steal rods, or steal C or I channel (with large casters to glide it down the channel smoothly).

My preference would be the rods, as there would be no need for casters. (Less potential failure points).


About 16ft high, with about 500lbs of barbel style weights (or concrete) at the top held with large eye bolts and steal cable, or a very strong rope.

A electric winch would be used in conjunction with a pulley system to lift the weights to the top.

Once at the top, the rope or steal cabling would be disconnected from the winch, and connected to a smaller counter weight (for stability). it would use a rope quick release mechanism like this one. The one I linked is based on a pull pin.

You could either rig up a rope or a string with a pulley to pull the pin yourself, or you could rig up a small liner actuator or motor to pull it for you on a timer.
There are also electric quick release options available, that work on the same principle as a solenoid, using a magnetic coil to release.

This device would obviously also need guide wires and to be weighed down considerably well.

You would also likely need an experienced welder or machinist around to help you.


My design would be like a large scale version of one of those weight lifting gym machines you see. Like this:

View attachment 60163

Mine would just be much larger with more weight, a pulley at the top, a counter weight on the side, guide wires to hold it in place, a winch to lift everything into place, and a quick release at the top to drop the weights.


Edit for clarity: The reason I would have a small counter weight is just so the device would travel smoothly enough in a predictable manner. It can't be too large, as to not impair the speed by much, but it needs something for stability.

I'm still somewhat drowsy, so take this post for what its worth.

I don't think the press is a good idea, but I think your goal could still be achieved.

A lot of this would just take some time and experimentation.

Okay, it's interesting that you brought up the guillotine, as that was actually my original plan. However, I abandoned it and moved on to the pneumatic press for 3 main reasons:

1. The possibility that the head remains conscious for some time after being decapitated. Some sources say that you go unconscious completely the moment the sever occurs. Other sources claim that the head can remain aware for a few seconds. There really isn't any way to confirm one way or the other.

2. The difficulty in building one. I looked up video of a guy building one (for a gimmick channel where he just slices random objects with it, a la the hydraulic press channel) and the process looked pretty intensive. It both needed a lot of specialized tools and a lot of specialized skills.

3. The biggest problem: space. Specifically, height. You list a height of 16 feet. Sources on French Revolution era guillotines generally say something like 12 feet. My basement apartment doesn't have ceilings that high. Building this outside would certainly turn a few heads and raise a few alarms, possibly getting me kidnapped and brought to a psych ward. The only real space I could build it is in my stairwell, which is in and of itself an obstacle and a challenge for building.

For posterity's sake, here were my other plans to cause an instantaneous death:

1. Use detonating cord or some other kind of explosive, tied around my head many, many times, several wires going into my ears, mouth, and possibly my sinuses, with the total detonating force enough to reduce my brain to a wet paste instantly.

2. Simply drop something large enough on my head to flatten it.

3. Fireworks in the mouth (a variant on the first, much cheaper but probably much less effective).

4. Electrocution, with a high enough voltage to kill/make me unconscious immediately. Unfortunately, it seems that even the electric chair, which is operated by professionals, isn't enough to kill you immediately, and there's somehow STILL a chance of survival.

5. Drills at my temples that would shoot inwards quickly. Again, too much possibility of me maintaining consciousness during.

Nothing quite works, Nothing satisfies my requirements.

It's insanely infuriating. My brain is RIGHT THERE, right within reach of my arms, and it's EXTREMELY easy to destroy. If I could get at it it would be trivial to crush it with just about anything, ending me instantly. But it's surrounded by this super thick skull which is apparently (according to online sources) stronger than steel. It's locked in a cage where I can't access it properly, and the cage feels nigh indestructible. The skull is the real problem here. All I need is something with enough force to smash right through the skull and continue onwards with still a large amount of force. It sounds so simple. But anything that can generate that force simply isn't available to your average consumer.

Well, there is one more plan...but it fails to be an IMMEDIATE death. It's to simply use a helium bag, as many other people on here describe. I would get a fairly large bag, and place it over my head, tying it tight tight tight at the base of the neck so that it's airtight. There would be two tubes going out of it: one leading to a helium tank, the other to open air. I would have some kind of program that, when activated, blocks off the air tube and turns on the helium tank. I would lie in this contraption, set the program to activate in an hour, and fall asleep. And never wake up. Maybe wear headphones so that I won't hear the sound of things moving.

Finding the parts to physically do this seems tricky. I haven't really found a helium tank that can like plug into a computer and be activated remotely. So I'd have to somehow DIY something to...turn the valve on it? I don't know how I would build that. As for blocking off the air tube, there are two possibilities: either have something heavy be placed on top of it to flatten it out, or have part of the tube be rigid and shaped like a U, and then be filled up with water to stop air from getting at me.

The big concern with this is, again...the rate of survival. It seems like there are too many stories of people messing this up and surviving this, and too many ways for the whole thing to go south and leave you alive. Worse yet, leave you alive with brain damage...possibly in such a manner that you can't kill yourself any more.

My need to have it activated remotely with a computer program separate from me and be asleep during adds a lot of complicating factors onto what is already a complicated and risky method of suicide.

 

[Disappointered]

Makes wonder about the way cows are slaughtered in some places, with a metal rod shooting into the base of their skull to kill them instantly.

 

[FlatHead]

Makes wonder about the way cows are slaughtered in some places, with a metal rod shooting into the base of their skull to kill them instantly.

Oh yeah, this is kind of where I got the idea from. If people do this to cows as a humane way of killing them for food, why not do the same for humans?

But apparently it doesn't work out as being quick and humane for humans. So maybe it's not really so great for cows either-not like they'd be able to tell us. I'll have to research it further. Maybe the problem is that the machines they use to do that are industrial quality and not really available for someone like me to purchase.