A closer look
Politeness literally killed one of the greatest astronomers of the 16th century. Tycho Brahe, a man who famously lost his nose in a mathematical duel and wore a brass replacement, attended a royal banquet in Prague. He desperately needed to urinate but considered it a severe breach of court etiquette to leave the table before the host. He held it in for hours, resulting in a severe bladder infection that killed him eleven days later. Modern autopsies suggest he might have accidentally poisoned himself with mercury, but the exploding bladder theory remains historically legendary.
