27 People Died Taking Selfies Last Year

The Washington Post takes a deep dive into the field of selfie research, and it's come up with a disturbing number: The paper says 27 people died while taking selfies in 2015, and in some countries, it's become a major headache. Nearly half of those deaths occurred in India, which has started imposing "no-selfie zones" in places where the activity "can be dangerous," the BBC reports. Russia's not far behind, with the Guardian noting it's become a "matter of national concern" there. "Since the beginning of [2015], we are talking about some hundred cases of injuries for sure," a Russian interior minister aide said last year. And the UK's Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in November warned locals not to take "storm selfies" during some particularly bad weather, Sky News reports.

Some of the more bizarre or notable selfie cases last year:

• A Japanese tourist suffered fatal head injuries after tumbling down the steps of the Taj Mahal.
• A man was gored to death in Spain taking a photo during his run with the bulls.
• A Russian teen plummeted from a nine-story building while trying to bulk up his compilation of pics taken in dangerous places.

(By mid-September, more people had died by selfie than shark in 2015.)