'King of Random' YouTube star Grant Thompson dies at age 38
Grant Thompson, a popular YouTube creator known for his channel, King of Random, died earlier this week after a paragliding accident in Utah.
A Facebook post from Utah's Washington County Sheriff's Department explains that "report of an overdue paraglider" was received on Monday, and on Tuesday, after GPS location was obtained from Thompson's cell phone, his body was located.
The 38-year-old YouTube star, who joined the platform in 2010, was known for creating unique and daring videos. He specialized in conducting dangerous science experiments and sharing innovative life advice, and made videos about everything from summer life hacks to setting gummy bears on fire with molten salt.
After reports of Thomson's death were made public, a photograph of him was shared to his Instagram account, alongside the following caption:
It is with great sadness to inform everyone that Grant Thompson passed away last night. Grant had great love and appreciation for his fans. We invite you to share your thoughts for Grant and the channel in the comments. Please do a random act of love or kindness today in honor of The King of Random. Grant’s legacy will live on in the channel and the global community he created.
A silent, minute-long memoriam video was also posted to Thomson's YouTube channel on Tuesday, and was tweeted by YouTube, along with a heartfelt message.
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The video has already received more than 3 million views, and fans and fellow YouTubers are also mourning the loss of Thomson on social media.
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According to the Facebook post, "Detectives were able to recover the paragliding equipment along with a video recording device" and they "are currently reviewing the video to determine factors which led to the aircraft crash."
Topics YouTube
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
