Update: Hunter S. Thompson, 1937-2005

My money's on Johnnie Walker and peyote.

Hunter S. Thompson is dead by his own hand:

Hunter S. Thompson, the acerbic counterculture writer who popularized a new form of fictional journalism in books like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," fatally shot himself Sunday night at his Aspen-area home, his son said. He was 67. "Hunter prized his privacy and we ask that his friends and admirers respect that privacy as well as that of his family," Juan Thompson said in a statement released to the Aspen Daily News. Pitkin County Sheriff officials confirmed to The Associated Press that Thompson had died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Thompson's wife, Anita, was not home at the time.

I can't say I'm too surprised. After all, this is the same guy who said:

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.

In that vein, I'd like to announce the Mattsapundit "What's in Hunter S. Thompson's Bloodstream?" Contest. Toxicology reports from Dr. Thompson's autopsy should be released in the next few weeks. But who can wait? Readers, email me your best guess on what substances the Pitkin County coroner will discover lurking in Thompson's body. The most accurate forecast will win an autographed* copy of whatever Thompson book I can find at Half Price Books. *by me. Update: The customers are putting their chemical forecasting skills to good use. Peter says:

Whiskey and cocaine...although there may be an LSD molecule chasing around his last brain cell like Pac-Man.

Ryan guesses:

I can say with 100% certainty that Hunter S. Thompson had either psilocybe magic mushrooms or LSD in his system when he killed himself.

Confidence: I like it. Clotille opines:

Mescaline and toad sweat.

Creativity: I like that too. My old buddy Wes says:

Quaaludes, an 8-ball of heroin, and Benadryl. And Robitussin too.

Yikes. Next up is Bobby:

I'm betting grain alcohol and good old fashioned Mescaline.

Buddy tosses his $.02, and throws in some flattery to boot:

I'm thinking marijuana and alcohol for sure. Probably cocaine as well as it is known to cause suicidal depression. Great site, it has become my favorite.

Mike guesses:

Same thing as Hank Williams, Elvis, Hemingway, Limbaugh and not that many years ago the president.

Andre's take:

In no particular order: Alcohol, Xanax, Vicodin, Marijuana Looking forward to my half price book!

Justin adds:

Crown and Coke (as in cocaine, not the stuff in the red cans). And probably some OTC flu meds since that stuff's going around.

Clark opines:

Alcohol . . . with it, it is very easy to get disconnected from yourself and do really crazy stuff. This would be true of heroin too (or other narcotics) but why go to the cost or trouble . . . your favorite booze at double the dosage . . . bam!

Curtis contributes:

All i have to say is that if someone close to you commits suicide i expect the same sort of contest to be held. I am sickened by your lack of sympathy and and overall respect.

I'll take that as an entry for Jim Beam and Alka-Seltzer. At least Larry's got a sense of humor:

For my money, I’d say it was the deadly combination of Pamabrom and Sildenafil Citrate. When taken together, one can’t figure out if he should be coming or going.

Another entry comes from Jason, who writes:

I’ll play the odds and say “nothing". They won’t find ANY substances.

Dell dishes this up:

Yoo-Hoo and grain alcohol. Rogaine, shaken not stirred.

You people have some wild imaginations. Mike in Spring is as classy as I am about this whole thing:

Lead!

Here's a graphical breakdown of the entries, as of Tuesday afternoon, 3:00 CST:

Keep the guesses coming!