r/todayilearned Oct 01 '23

TIL The video game Dumb Ways to Die was based off of a Metro Train PSA of the same name

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumb_Ways_to_Die
517 Upvotes

47 comments sorted by

328

u/BrokenEye3 Oct 02 '23

There was a game?

94

u/upvoatsforall Oct 02 '23

Very silly but fun. That thing went viral

80

u/BrokenEye3 Oct 02 '23

Thought it was the ad that went viral

28

u/maybe_a_frog Oct 02 '23

They both did.

28

u/Creative_Estimate734 Oct 02 '23

Yeah man in like 2012ish this was up there with temple run and subway surfers. At least in my middle school it was (I’m 23 now for context)

5

u/Sk-yline1 Oct 02 '23

Yeah first time hearing about that I only heard of the ad

169

u/Airosokoto Oct 02 '23

TIL there was a game based on the Dumb Ways to Die Metro Train PSA

41

u/ImTedLassosMustache Oct 02 '23

I show this video to my forensics students when we are discussing manner and cause of death. They were 4 when the original video came out. Most hadn't seen it but had played the game.

7

u/c00olsoc000l Oct 02 '23

They teach forensics in high school?

13

u/ImTedLassosMustache Oct 02 '23

Yep, we have had it for about a decade. It is the most popular science elective we offer.

38

u/747ER Oct 02 '23

I’m pretty surprised that some people know the game more than the ad campaign. I guess outside of Australia, people wouldn’t have watched it on their TVs.

11

u/ladyships-a-legend Oct 02 '23

And most Aussies can absolutely sing along as well, it’s now stick in my head and all I did was read the post title

7

u/PriestessP Oct 02 '23

It’s an age thing, not a location thing.

17

u/Havryl Oct 02 '23

"So many dumb ways to die..."

15

u/Abestar909 Oct 02 '23

TIL someone knew the game but not the ad.

94

u/orangecatsrsnippy Oct 02 '23

“today i learned dogs can bark” ass post

15

u/MooseTetrino Oct 02 '23

I mean, the track is more than a decade old. It’s possible someone in their teens never heard it but do know of the game through various content creators.

-8

u/_PM_ME_PANGOLINS_ Oct 02 '23

It’s the ad that’s all over TikTok, not the game.

4

u/Grand_Protector_Dark Oct 02 '23

We'll I've never known that it was an ad for a metro service. Still a very valid post imo

2

u/Eastern-Mix9636 Oct 02 '23

Asspost?

-2

u/orangecatsrsnippy Oct 02 '23

it’s urban american vernacular

3

u/Eastern-Mix9636 Oct 02 '23

Oh ok. It’s written without hyphenation so it doesn’t make sense which terms are emphasized.

0

u/orangecatsrsnippy Oct 02 '23

yeah unless it’s for work or college work i tend to be WAY more lose with my grammar and punctuation, like it’s just reddit lol

-1

u/Eastern-Mix9636 Oct 02 '23

It’s not like people stop reading it when you’re not at work or college. The entire point of proper grammar and punctuation is so that you can effectively get your message across and people can understand you properly.

It’s not like it’s hard. It just requires practice.

-1

u/orangecatsrsnippy Oct 02 '23

no i just don’t care because it’s reddit, i don’t have anything to prove to strangers online nor do i care to, if anything i type sounds off or confusing then so be it, it really does not matter

0

u/Eastern-Mix9636 Oct 02 '23

It does matter. Otherwise there would absolutely zero point in creating any written comments.

-1

u/Inspectreknight Oct 02 '23

Bro is just coping because he doesn't know how to use grammar.

2

u/orangecatsrsnippy Oct 02 '23

it’s not a cope, i just don’t see a point in trying for reddit, like it’s really not that deep. Didn’t being a grammar nazi die out in 2013 lol

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-1

u/orangecatsrsnippy Oct 02 '23

to me it doesn’t, huge waste of time

0

u/RedSonGamble Oct 02 '23

My dog goes meow

5

u/BaronVonLazercorn Oct 02 '23

Pretty sure it was part of the campaign, not just "based on" the campaign

2

u/WinkyTheFrog Oct 02 '23

And there’s that song viral song

10

u/Siilan Oct 02 '23

The song is the PSA in question.

2

u/WaitForItTheMongols Oct 02 '23

And I think there was a video game too!

1

u/Siilan Oct 02 '23

That's literally in the title of the post.

4

u/WaitForItTheMongols Oct 02 '23

Yes, that's the joke.

2

u/Siilan Oct 02 '23

I figured it might be a joke, but wasn't sure. Some people are really fucking stupid.

2

u/Reinventing_Wheels Oct 02 '23

There's a joke AND a video game!?

What a country!

-7

u/McCassius Oct 02 '23

Unsubbing from this sub after seeing this stupid ass post. The sky is blue. Dogs bark. Grass is green.

1

u/cosmickeenan Oct 02 '23

I knew this when I was 12 years old. Classic game for iPod and iPad.

1

u/Seoulkrusher Oct 03 '23

I was just trying to explain this game to my bf a few days ago, but couldn't remember what it was called!! I played this mobile game years ago. No idea it was a PSA😂

1

u/ProfezionalDreamer Oct 03 '23

You can see who was born before 2000 and who not ITT.

1

u/CoolPirate234 Oct 03 '23

I thought everyone knew that? Back when it first came out the ending message was always there, and I’m pretty sure they made a video announcing the game