The average human being has roughly ten thousand words in their vocabulary, daily we probably use barely a third, and most of which - if we're honest - are euphemisms, abbreviations or expletives. And yet, out of a whole lifetime of verbal communication the two sentences we have next-to-no control over fascinates everyone the most - our first words... and our last. 

My first words were "corrugated iron". Why? I have no idea. I just hope I can muster something more witty and imaginative for the final words than "Bus? What bus?!" (splat). 

But what follows is a fabulous list of famous last words by some of the world biggest celebrities, familiar references to murder in popular fictions, as well as some (un)inspirational quotes by the world's most notorious murderers. Well, this is Murder Mile after all. 

Switch on your television, pop on the radio, or open any newspaper, and you’ll be confronted with a plethora of horrifying images of war, murder, genocide, death, disease and terrorist atrocities, many of which are abroad, some of which occur in your own country, and a few even happen “just down the road”. Which begs the question – “how safe am I?”

Well, safer than you think. According to the Office of National Statistics, the odds on a western citizen being involved in a terrorist attack is 1:20,000,000 (one in twenty million), the odds of being murdered is 1:400,000 (one in four hundred thousand), and the chance you’ll be a serial killer’s next victim is 1:98,000,000 (one in ninety-eight million), with the odds of winning the national lottery being 1:14,000,000 - I know which one I'd prefer. 

In 2015, in the United Kingdom, roughly 300 people (out of a population of 64 million) were murdered, a figure that year-on-year is steadily falling, with the vast majority of murders not being premeditated, often involving alcohol or drugs, and – if you are a sex-worker - you are forty-two times more likely to be killed than anyone else. So, how safe are you? Well, very safe.

With these odds, you might live forever, just as long as you don’t go outside, go to work, take a shower, drink any water, eat any food, or breathe any air… the result of which will kill you. Life is a very dangerous pursuit, by simply being awake we take our lives in our hands. But how dangerous is life? Very… if you’re not careful.

But even that doesn’t cover the really dangerous pursuits in life, including: snowboarding with the odds on dying being 1:2million, skiing 1:1.4m, swimming 1:1m, running 1:1m, bungee-jumping 1:500,000, cycling 1:140,000, sky-diving 1:100,000, scuba-diving 1:34000, boxing 1:2200, hand-gliding 1:560, Grand Prix racing 1:100, and base-jumping 1:60.

​And neither does it cover some of the real oddities, such as: death by computer game 1:100million, death by nuclear explosion 1:10million, drowning in your own bath 1:685,000, an earthquake 153,587, an accident at work 1:43500, and… having a dinner party, the odds of you dying is 1:100,000 (including alcohol/food poisoning, accident, electrocution and drowning).

So, how safe are you, really? As safe as you want to be. But you’ll be no safer, sitting inside your own home, watching the news, and worrying about all the horrible things which could – but probably won’t – kill you. Instead... book a ticket to Murder Mile Walks. Hoorah!

​Unnatural Deaths in the British Royal Family (1000BC to today)

• 31 August 1997 - Princess Diana - unexplained car accident / murder
• 13 June 1981 - Queen Elizabeth II - assassination attempt by Marcus Sarjeant
• ​29 April 1970 - Queen Elizabeth II - assassination attempt in Lithgow, Australia
• 20 January 1936 - King George V -  died by lethal injection 
• 17 July 1918 - The Russian Royal Family - murdered by the Bolshiviks

Note: One of the nine children of Queen Victoria was Alice who married Louis IV Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, one of whose seven children was Alexandra, who married The last Czar of Russia, Nicholas Romanov II.

• 21 January 1919 - Prince John - epileptic seizure (an excellent documentary - Prince John: The Windor's Tragic Secret, who was hidden from the public)
• Seven attempts to assassinate HRH Queen Victoria in 1840, 1842 (twice this year), 1849, 1850, 1872 and 1882. 
• 25 October 1760 - King George II - dies drinking hot chocolate on the toilet
• 8 March 1702 - King William II & III- died of pneumonia, having fallen from a horse
• 19 January 1600 - King Charles I - guilty of treason and beheaded
• 8 February 1587 - Mary I "Queen of Scots" - guilty of treason and beheaded
• 12 February 1554 - (Queen/Consort/Lady) Jane Grey - guilty of treason and beheaded, she is England's shortest serving monarch, hence she's known as the Nine Day Queen
• 13 February 1542 - Queen Katherine Howard - beheaded on the orders of Henry VIII
• 19 May 1536 - Queen Anne Boleyn - beheaded on the orders of Henry VIII (again)
• 2 April 1502 - Prince Arthur of Wales - died of "sweating sickness" five months after his wedding to Catherine of Aragon, the illness remains a mystery to this day
• c 1483 - King Edward V & Richard, Duke of York - dubbed "The Princes in the Tower", both were imprisoned in the Tower of London, supposedly on the orders of King Richard III, the date and causes of their deaths remain unknown 
• 21/22 May 1471 - King Henry VI - imprisoned in tower of London and murdered
• 21 February 1437 - King James I - assassinated by a Scots group by Sir Robert Graham at the Friars Preachers Monastery in Perth
• 14 February 1400 - King Richard II - imprisoned in Pontefract Castle, where he was either murdered or starved to death, no-one actually knows
• 21 September 1327 - King Edward II - was supposedly murdered by having a metal tube and a red-hot poker inserted into his anus by Sir John Maltravers of Dorset (I bet you £50 that Sir John went to Eton, just saying)
• 19 March 1286 - King Alexander II - assumed he fell from his horse riding home
• 2 August 1100 - King William II - mysteriously killed by an arrow through the heart on a hunting trip with some "close friends"
• 12 November 1094 - King Duncan II - killed by Máel Petair of Mearns

A pretty deadly family wouldn't you say? And there's probably a whole heap of other murders, mischief, misery and mysteries I haven't uncovered as I've mostly focused on the Monarchs, the Queen, their kids, and anyone who happened to "cark it on the carzi" or died with "a red hot poker up their arses". But if you know of any others, please let me know in the comments section below. Now that's a family history I bet they don't tell on a guided tour of Buckingham Palace?

* Sex-workers in the UK are 42 times more likely to be murdered than the average person
** yes, I know it isn't Linda McCartney, this is called sarcasm

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Murder is a truly abhorrent act; so unforgivable, so shocking and so primal in its execution, that surely any civilised, modern and/or educated person in our enlightened world - where knowledge is power, information is key and our glorious grey matter is held as highly as gold - must see murder as an act committed solely by those with an abnormally low IQ? Surely all killers are a bit thick? Aren't all murderers missing a few vital cogs? And doesn't every serial killer put a big 'X' in crayon where there name should be? Well, no. 

According to a study into the IQ levels of 4086 of the world's most prolific serial killers by Radford University - a PDF of the study is attached here - there is a very definite correlation between a serial killer's IQ level and the method they use to kill. 

Before we start, let's put IQ levels into context. According to IQ Research, the average IQ of a British person is 100, an American is 98, with a score from 90 to 105 considered "average intelligence". And yet, the average IQ of a serial killer was 94.7 - a surprisingly average score. Which is not to say that all of them were stupid. Yes, many had subnormal IQ's, most had average IQ's, but quite a few were blessed with impressively high IQ's. But that begs the question, why did they end up a serial killers? 

As always, this is not a comprehensive or complete list, and will be updated as and when new data comes to light, if you have any new info, share it via my Twitter account @mmiletours. Mx

Like true-crime podcasts? Check out Ep1 of the Murder Mile, featuring 300+ untold, unsolved and long-forgotten murders, all within one square mile. Click PLAY on the media player below.

​Serial Killers & Murderers with the Highest IQs

Leopold & Loeb; two privileged University students attempted to pull off the "perfect murder" as a demonstration of their supposed intellectual superiority by kidnapping and murdering 14-year-old Robert Franks in Chicago in May 1924 and get away with it. The Leopold & Lobe story was fictionalised in the 1948 film Rope directed by Alfred Hitchcock. 

Ted Kaczynski dubbed the “Uni' Bomber” entered the prestigious Harvard University at just 16 years old, graduated at 20, with a PHD in Mathematics and was the University of Berkley’s youngest professor. Ted Bundy graduated with a BA in Psychology and expertly defended himself in court, having taught himself law. And Nathan Leopold & Richard Lobe, who kidnapped and murdered teenager Robert “Bobby” Franks in 1924, believing they were “Nietzschean supermen” whose vast intellects entitled them to ‘kill for the thrill’ and evade capture", had IQ's of 169 (Richard Lobe) and 210 (Nathan Leopold)*... and yes, they were caught, unsurprisingly they were outwitted by their own arrogance.

​Other serial killer IQ's include: Ted Bundy (136), Joel Rifkin (129), Raymond Morris (120), John Wayne Gacy (118), David Berkowitz (118), John Reginald Christie (128), Ed Gein (106), David Copeland (126), Kenneth Bianchi “Hillside Strangler” (116), Gary Heidnek (148), David Carpenter “The Trailside Killers” (125), Carroll Edward Cole (152), Juan Corona “The Machete Murderer” (130), Michael Gary Hilton (120), Patrick McCullough (120), Derek Ernest Percy (122), Lesley Eugene Warren “Babyfaced Killer” (115), Arthur Shawcross (86/105/107 tested 3 times) and Warren James Bland (107). An IQ of roughly 98-100 is considered normal, so the following fall below that; Richard Chase “Vampire of Sacremento” (95), Robert “Willie” Pickton (86), Jessie James Cummins (81), Gary Ridgeway “Greenriver Killer” (81), Daniel Blank (85), Tommy Lynn Sells “Coast to Coast Killer” (80), Henry Lee Lucas (76-89), Glen Edward Rogers “The Casanova Killer” (76), William K Sapp “The Dreaming Demon” (73), Alton Coleman (72) and John Straffen (tested twice, IQ of 58 and 64). It’s worth noting that an IQ of 70 is classified as retarded. Thanks to University of Radford for the additional information. 

Although not a serial killer, Derek Bentley - who was infamously tried, executed and posthumously pardoned for the murder of British Policeman Sidney Miles in 1952, a crime which brought about the abolition of capital punishment in the UK - had an IQ of just 66. And - although technically a spree-killer - Martyn Bryant who mass-murderer who killed 35 people in the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 - also had an IQ of just 66. 

But what difference should a serial killer's IQ make? Surely killing is killing? Well, not quite. According to Radford University's study into 4086 serial killers across the world, the level of IQ a serial killer has, often defines what method is killing they are likely to prefer. What follows is a list of preferred methods of killing, by serial killers, how many and their average IQ. 

• Death by Bomb, 3 serial killers, IQ 140.3
• Death by Strangulation & Gun, 6 serial killer, IQ 105.8
• Death by Strangulation & Bludgeoning, 8 serial killers, IQ 108.8
• Death by Poisoning, 1 serial killer, IQ 100.0
• Death by Stabbing & Gun, 24 serial killers, IQ 96.0
• Death by Strangulation, 40 serial killers, IQ 96.9
• Death by Stabbing, 23 serial killers, IQ 92.7
• Death by Gun, 59 serial killers, IQ 90.8
• Death by Strangulation & Stabbing, IQ 13 89.5
• Death by Stabbing & Bludgeoning, 11 serial killers, IQ 85.5
• Death by Bludgeoning & Gun, 10 serial killers, IQ 82.2
• Death by Bludgeon only, 10 serial killers, IQ 78.5 

​​Death by bomb (a technical skill) or strangulation (a very manual "hands-on" method of murder) all scoring IQ levels of "above average intelligence", with the bulk of stabbing, shooting and bludgeoning scoring "below average intelligence". ​

And yet, as seen in the Broad Motives of Serial Killers chart, 48% murder for enjoyment, which accounts for the bulk of those with high IQ's, where as the other 52% - with average or below average IQ's - kill for personal needs. 

If you'd like to learn more about the IQ of serial killers, read more at Business Insider, or download Radford University's comprehensive study here, as it goes into great detail into serial killers as defined by - not just IQ - but also by age, geography, wealth, ethnicity, era, how many were in military service (a topic Murder Mile touched on here).

And in case you're wondering, how safe am I, in my own country, with all these serial killers running around - regardless of how smart or dumb they might be?

Well, you'll be fine, just as long as you live in Norway, Sweden or Denmark (see Serial Killers by Country chart), they're not even listed. Where-as the United States? You must be bricking it.

If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers as Siblings, Serial Killer's Nicknames, Serial Killers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals. ​​

Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.

Whether you are a die-hard vegan, a flaky vegetarian, a raw veg' muncher, an ardent lentil-nibbler, a committed carnivore or an "only on special occasions" cannibal, we all have dietary quirks and foodie foibles which - we hope - will make our lives longer, our bodies better, our souls sweeter and our brains... well... not as bunged-up, bungling and bumbling as it normally is. 

But, how does your daily dietary requirements compare with some of the world's most powerful people? Murder Mile blog investigates the extremely odd diets of everyone from captains of industry, to sadistic serial-killers, to the world's most dangerous and deranged despots. 
​

Adolf Hitler: Having always suffered from chronic flatulence, Adolf Hitler - an evangelical vegetarian - believed that a meat-free diet could cure this, along with numerous herbal remedies, which his famously quack-ish doctor Theodore Morrell tried to cure using extract of Bulgarian peasants' faeces. Being notoriously paranoid, Hitler had a fifteen strong team of female food tasters on hand at all times, who - only after they had survived a full 45 minutes after tasting his meal - would he allow any food to be served. 

Idi Amin: Uganda's infamous dictator adored a simple goat stew, but his life was shrouded in a cloud of cannibalism after he was quoted saying “I don’t like human flesh… it’s too salty”, and cited by the cook of Jean Bedel Bokassa (Central African Republic) who prepared a human cadaver which was reputedly stuffed with rice and flambeed in gin. But then Idi Amin was an odd man, it is reported that he was so obsessed with HRH The Queen that he once sent her a letter asking for a pair of her knickers.

Nicolae Ceausescu: Whilst being hosted by other leaders, the Romanian Communist party boss insisted he would only drink raw vegetable juice through a straw and avoided all solids, but whilst relaxing at home he loved nothing more than a simple chicken stew, made with breast, beak, feet, the whole lot. Like Hitler, Ceausescu was notoriously paranoid and travelled with a chemist and a fully functioning food testing laboratory. 

Benito Mussolini: Coming from peasant stock (as many dictators did), Mussolini loved nothing more than a big bowl of raw chopped garlic. So much so that his wife couldn’t sleep next to him after he’d eaten his favourite dish as the aroma was simply too overpowering. During WW2, a Nazi doctor examined Mussolini a declared that he was "dangerously constipated", meaning his stools were as likely to move forward as his tanks. 

But how different were these dictators to the world's most notorious serial killers, and especially to the cannibals - such as Jeffrey Dahmer - who dined on their victims? Were they ALL meat eaters? Well, as suspected most were meat eaters, but not to an extreme. Only Ted Bundy during his last few years in prison became a vegetarian (after his conversion to Hinduism), and often their eating habits were not listed. Although we do get a fascinating insight into the dietary desires of mass murders, by looking at the final death row meals they requested, courtesy of Henry Hargreaves.

But what if you're not a murderous dictator, or a sadistic serial killer, do you dine on a ominously ordinary dinner just like a regular Joe Blow, or are you as equally messed-up when you masticate a midnight feast of fois-gras and fish fingers on chocolate wafers? Well let's find out. 

Mark Zuckerberg: CEO & Co-Founder of Facebook said in 2011 “this year I've basically become a vegetarian since the only meat I'm eating is from animals I've killed myself. So far, this has been a good experience. I'm eating a lot healthier foods and I've learned a lot about sustainable farming and raising of animals”. His diet regime lasted just one year. 

Steve Jobs: Ironically - the man behind Apple - would famously eat just one single type of food (whether carrots or apples) for weeks on end, as he believed that his very restrictive vegan diet made sure his body was odour-free so he only had to bathe once a week. 

Henry Ford: The automotive tycoon and mass-production pioneer saw his body just like a car's engine which needed fuel, so - never shopping in a grocery store - Ford instead ate the weeds straight from his garden, many of which ended up in sandwiches. Yum. 

Charles Darwin: Explorer & originator of the theory of Evolution was so fascinated by every animal he discovered that he wanted to know what they all tasted like, and ate almost every type, including iguanas, armadillos, owls, rheas and (the almost extinct) giant tortoise. He was patron of the infamous Gourmet Club at Cambridge whose members attempt to eat as many rare animals as possible.

And - with it being Wimbledon at the time of writing this - here's one for you tennis fans. Although tennis ace Novak Djokovic dines solely on gluten-free products, and avoids caffeine, dairy and any refined sugars, he diet does stretch to the truly odd. In 2011, having beaten Rafael Nadal, he dropped to his knees and began munching on the grass of the Centre Court lawn, later commenting that it was "well kept" and that "I wanted to see how it tastes. It tastes good". Hmm. Weirdo.