Most Shocking TV Moments

[Ella]

One of my most shocking TV moments was watching NHL goalie Clint Malarchuk getting his throat slashed by a skate. He could have died. You see him grabbing his throat and the blood pumping out. Thank God a Dr was there to save him. I remember reading that when it happened, someone in the crowd had a heart attack from seeing it. I saw the clip on youtube today...god knows why I clicked on it....just sick.

[petals]

I'll show my country roots and say that I was really shocked and saddened when they announced that Dale Earnhardt had died. You'd think that a guy dying after an accident in which he hit a wall when he was going 180 mph wouldn't be shocking, but it shocked the hell out of me.

[Beyle]

The Challenger accident
9/11
Berlin Wall coming down

I, too, watched that Budd Dwyer video. Eek. I wish I hadn't clicked on the video link.

[kateln]

beyle said:

The Challenger accident
9/11
Berlin Wall coming down
.

I remember all that.

The Branch Dividian Stand-off/Fire
The Oklahoma City Bombing

[Deleted]

I think Dale Earnhardt just seemed larger than life, that is why I was also shocked when I was told he had been killed.

[billdozer74]

The really shocking part was that the crash didn't look that bad, compared to some crashes that drivers walked away from without injury.

[india7]

beyle said:

I, too, watched that Budd Dwyer video. Eek. I wish I hadn't clicked on the video link.

I don't know how far that reached nationally (I don't think very far), but I was going to college in central PA when that happened, so it was huge news up there, and it ran on the local news for about a week. The clip on the news showed him pulling the gun out, and then waving people away before putting it in his mouth - then they'd cut back to the newscaster. The clip at that site is the first time in 20 years I've seen the actual full footage. Horrible.

[Deleted]

billdozer74 said:

The really shocking part was that the crash didn't look that bad, compared to some crashes that drivers walked away from without injury.

You got that right. It never occurred to me when it immediately happened that my almost life long favorite driver was not going to climb out. When Mike Helton made the announcement later that day, I was so shocked and horrified I had to run to the bathroom to throw up. Now, six years later, I still can't watch that footage without breaking into tears. I miss that man terribly and the sport has suffered tremendously without him.

[Britty]

I'll show my country roots and say that I was really shocked and saddened when they announced that Dale Earnhardt had died. You'd think that a guy dying after an accident in which he hit a wall when he was going 180 mph wouldn't be shocking, but it shocked the hell out of me.

Yes, it shocked the hell out of my husband. He was a huge Earnhardt fan and got to hang out with him a little when he worked for another Cup team. As soon as it happened, he knew something was wrong. They wouldn't show the car or the rescue people working on it, and he knew Dale was dead. We had planned on going to the movies, but we stayed home watching TV until they made the press conference.

ETA: I just watched the Bud Dwyer clip. Wow. It happened so fast. I can't imagine what the people in that room thought. The worst part is the camera zooming in on him afterward.

[Sunnyhorse]

Holy crap -- I just looked up Budd Dwyer, and he was born in my hometown (St. Charles, Mo.). Weird.