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2007 Darwin Award Winners

Posted by kdawson on Sat Jan 12, 2008 09:13 PM
from the shallow-end-of-the-gene-pool dept.
Web Goddess writes "The 2007 Darwin Award Winners have been announced. Precarious sex, squashed thieves, animals eradicated with electricity, the obligatory macho competition involving a train, and one computer (which survived.) But think twice before you read them. Do you really want to know about The Enema Within?"
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  • by jb1z (1099055) * on Saturday January 12 2008, @09:14PM (#22020782)

    The machine shop owner couldn't imbibe alcohol by mouth due to a painful throat ailment, so he elected to receive his favourite beverage via enema. And tonight, Michael was in for one hell of a party. Two 1.5 litre bottles of sherry, more than 100 fluid ounces, right up the old address!
    Takes "shitfaced" to a whole new level.
    • ...and think "Damn, an assload of booze" again.
      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        When I interned at the geek compound back in the summer of 99, I experienced an alcohol enema firsthand. We used watered down vodka (less additives, etc). It was kind of like using a chilled chrome buttplug. Tip: do not try this after being fisted! Fuck that may have been the most painful night in my life!

        --Curtis

    • by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 12 2008, @10:54PM (#22021406)
      As a funeral director I think Darwin awards should be handed out not to the stupid but to the senseless. The following list is based on my own professional observations of people I think qualify for a Darwin Award.

      1. pedestrians who ignore traffic
      2. recreational drug users
      3. drivers who drive distracted, intoxicated or stupid
      4. people who commit suicide (if you find yourself in this spot, seriously talk to someone. I've seen the aftermath and its never clean, neat or peaceful -- and anyone who tells you different... has never been there)

      The real tragedy isn't that we do stupid things but we keep doing the same stupid things with the same tragic results and always act surprised when people die.

      So seriously folks, next time you think its safe to cross on a red light, drive and talk on a cell phone or take hit of cocaine at a party, just remember that millions of people ahead of you of made the same decision and are either dead or killed some poor innocent person.

      A senseless death stops being senseless when we learn from it and resolve not to let it happen again. Give the real Darwin Awards to the tens of thousands who never learn.
      • Re:Enema Within (Score:5, Informative)

        by HeroreV (869368) on Saturday January 12 2008, @10:19PM (#22021228) Homepage
        I don't know about this particular case, but it's common knowledge that the body can absorb alcohol through the anus much faster than by normal means. Alcoholic enemas aren't that uncommon. I know they are done, and I wouldn't be surprised if several people have caused serious harm to their health, or even died, from it. It only takes a few seconds to go from completely sober to falling-on-the-ground drunk with an alcoholic enema.
        • Re:Enema Within (Score:5, Informative)

          by theonetruekeebler (60888) on Sunday January 13 2008, @08:58AM (#22024508) Homepage Journal

          it's common knowledge that the body can absorb alcohol through the anus
          "Common knowledge?" Who the hell do you hang out with?

          In other news, the anus is just the hole at end of a long tube. Absorption would happen through the colon.

            • by DarkOx (621550) on Sunday January 13 2008, @12:14PM (#22025992)

              I am now recognized at parties as "that crazy motherfucker who did a shot in his ass. Hey girls, come meet this guy".
              Yep that's exactly the reputation I want preceeding me when meeting girls.
      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        Except that in this case, not only do we have a name and other details that are commonly missing, the victim's wife was initially arrested on murder charges, then released due to lack of evidence (they would have had to prove she knew it would kill him, or would be dangerous -- she says he did it often). So while many of these are borderline urban legendish, this particular one is well documented.

        And if this story doesn't deserve a Darwin award, I can't imagine what would. (Not that I hold the whole Darw
  • by dpastern (1077461) on Saturday January 12 2008, @09:28PM (#22020868) Homepage
    I bet the alcohol bottle took one look at him and said "what an asshole".

    Dave
  • by dunezone (899268) on Saturday January 12 2008, @09:30PM (#22020884) Journal
    Did he at least get the mole?
  • I find it amusing, that the story that probably best reflects /., is also the one most likely to be disqualified. The note at the bottom of the Laptop Still Works [darwinawards.com] indicates the following:

    Darwin says, "This nomination is not popular. It is against the rules to receive a Darwin Award if you injure innocent people. I thought this event might qualify anyway, because the driver was an idiot, and the occupants of the Hummer were not seriously injured. But it seems that I was wrong. This story will likely be remov

  • No response from server after loading only 2 of the awards...
  • by Purity Of Essence (1007601) on Saturday January 12 2008, @09:43PM (#22020964)
    I nominate darwinawards.com for allowing itself to be linked on Slashdot. That server is toast.
    • Does slashdotting even happen anymore? The server does seem overwhelmed, but the darwin awards receive notoriety well beyond slashdot.
  • Looks like their web server is in line to win an '08 Darwin Award!
  • by fahrbot-bot (874524) on Saturday January 12 2008, @09:48PM (#22021002)
    Do you really want to know about "The Enema Within?"

    Why yes, yes I do. I'm guessing that's a third-date sort of thing?

  • Slashdotted.... (Score:5, Informative)

    by rustalot42684 (1055008) <rustalot42684@gm ... G.com minus poet> on Saturday January 12 2008, @09:49PM (#22021008)
    site seems to be slashdotted; here are the ones I had open before it went down.

    What Goes Up Must Come Down 2007 Darwin Award Nominee Confirmed True by Darwin "What goes up must come down." (20 June 2007, South Carolina) A passing cabbie found a 21 year-old couple Znaked and injured in the road an hour before sunrise. The two people died at the nearest hospital without regaining consciousness. Authorities were at a loss to explain what had happened. There were no witnesses, no trace of clothing, and no wrecked cars or motorcycles. Investigators eventually found a clue high on the roof of a nearby building: two sets of neatly folded clothes. Safe sex takes on a whole new meaning when you are perched on the edge of a pyramid-shaped metal roof. "It appears as if [they] accidentally fell off the roof," Sgt. Florence McCants said. This is a true Darwin Award trifecta: TWO people die, WHILE in the act of procreation, due to an ASTONISHINGLY poor decision. Bottom line: If you put yourself in a precarious "position" at the edge of a pointy roof, you may well find yourself coming and going at the same time. Ironically, one of the deceased was named "Tumbleston."

    The Enema Within 2007 Darwin Award Nominee Confirmed True by Darwin (21 May 2004, Texas) Michael was an alcoholic. And not an ordinary alcoholic, but an alcoholic who liked to take his liquor... well, rectally. His wife said he was "addicted to enemas" and often used alcohol in this manner. The result was the same: inebriation. The machine shop owner couldn't imbibe alcohol by mouth due to a painful throat ailment, so he elected to receive his favourite beverage via enema. And tonight, Michael was in for one hell of a party. Two 1.5 litre bottles of sherry, more than 100 fluid ounces, right up the old address! When the rest of us have had enough, we either stop drinking or pass out. When Michael had had enough (and subsequently passed out) the alcohol remaining in his rectal cavity continued to be absorbed. The next morning, Michael was dead. The 58-year-old did a pretty good job of embalming himself. According to toxicology reports, his blood alcohol level was 0.47%. In order to qualify for a Darwin Award, a person must remove himself from the gene pool via an "astounding misapplication of judgment." Three litres of sherry up the butt can only be described as astounding. Unsurprisingly, his neighbors said they were surprised to learn of the incident.

    Support Group 2007 Darwin Award Nominee Confirmed True by Darwin "Gravity still works." (28 July 2007, Czech Republic) A pack of thieves attempted to steal scrap metal from an abandoned factory in Kladno. Unfortunately for them, they selected the steel girders that supported the factory roof. When the roof supports were dismantled, the roof fell, fatally crushing two thieves and injuring three others. (21 June 2007, Philippines) Three entrepreneurs planned to profit from stolen scrap metal. They entered a former US military complex and approached the prize: an abandoned water tank. Bedazzled by the potential upside, the three threw logic to the wind, and began to cut the metal legs out from under the tank. Guess where it fell? Straight onto the thieves. Their flattened bodies have not yet been identified. (31 July 1997) Two teens were disassembling an electric tower with wrenches when it toppled to the ground. They apparently wanted to sell its aluminum supports for scrap, but they failed to realize the essential role the aptly named "support" plays in a 160-foot tower. One of the men was crushed by the collapse of the ten-thousand-pound tower, while the other dug himself out from under, a sadder but wiser man from his close brush with a Darwin Award. Reference: Associated Press

    Oil Tank Trampoline 2007 Darwin Award Nominee Confirmed True by Darwin (24 June 2007, Colorado) If you get "Footloose" and cut the rug on an oil tank, be careful not to light a cigarette or bong of weed, else you may soo

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      A pack of thieves attempted to steal scrap metal from an abandoned factory in Kladno. Unfortunately for them, they selected the steel girders that supported the factory roof. When the roof supports were dismantled, the roof fell, fatally crushing two thieves and injuring three others.

      Stuff like this must happen pretty often. Two guys broke into a shut-down foundry near here with the intent of stealing copper wire. Unfortunately for them, they cut into a 12 kilovolt line that was still energized. One of t
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      Here's my favorite:

      The Laptop Still Works!

      (26 February 2007, California) 29-year-old Oscar was driving on Highway 99 near Yuba City, when his Honda Accord crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with a Hummer. The occupants of the Hummer were not seriously injured. California Highway Patrol officers found Oscar's laptop still running, and plugged into the car's cigarette lighter. Investigators believe that he was using it when his car crossed the center line.

      "Driving is not a time to be practicin

    • by kylben (1008989) on Saturday January 12 2008, @11:58PM (#22021800) Homepage
      Jeez, you guys can slashdot a site even at a quarter to ten on a Saturday night? Don't you people have lives? Now go out to your bars, and your clubs, and your girlfriends, and get off the DA site so I can see it.
  • And, no doubt, like every other year, it will be filled with previously disproven and utterly ridiculous urban legends, because they happen to sound better than the real thing.

    I think Snopes (or perhaps Mythbusters if you're desperate) should have a "Darwin Awards" special every year.
    • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

      > I think Snopes [...] should have a "Darwin Awards" special every year.

      They do, actually. Well, it pops up in their RSS feed whenever these things make the rounds. The Darwin Awards are never really awarded, it's just that random groups of credulous dumbasses start forwarding various "funny stories" emails en masse and they just paste "Darwin Awards" on them. I don't know, maybe these were "official", I can't bring myself to care anymore. I swear there are even dupes from previous years on the list.
  • I read the first few links OK, then things started timing out. Since I use the Slashdotter [mozilla.org] extension for Firefox, I immediately clicked on all the .nyud.net:8090 copies of the links. Some of them are still trying to get cached, but here's the complete list of the mentioned links.
  • Lone objector (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Hao Wu (652581) on Saturday January 12 2008, @10:16PM (#22021218) Homepage
    I humbly protest the DA each year, but not with any judgment or anger about it.

    Exploiting death for humor turns me off somehow (except for the occasional hard criminal - good riddance to them).

    Of course that's not the INTENTION, but that's what it is really...

  • by mojoNYC (595906) on Saturday January 12 2008, @10:34PM (#22021316) Homepage
    While the nominees this year are, as always, quite deserving, I can't believe this guy didn't make the list:

    Dead Reverend's Rubber Fetish
    Autopsy: Pastor found in wetsuits after autoerotic mishap

    OCTOBER 8--An Alabama minister who died in June of "accidental mechanical asphyxia" was found hogtied and wearing two complete wet suits, including a face mask, diving gloves and slippers, rubberized underwear, and a head mask, according to an autopsy report. Investigators determined that Rev. Gary Aldridge's death was not caused by foul play and that the 51-year-old pastor of Montgomery's Thorington Road Baptist Church was alone in his home at the time he died (while apparently in the midst of some autoerotic undertaking). While the Montgomery Advertiser, which first obtained the autopsy records, reported on Aldridge's two wet suits, the family newspaper chose not to mention what police discovered inside the minister's rubber briefs. Aldridge served as the church's pastor for 16 years. Immediately following his death, church officials issued a press release asking community members to "please refrain from speculation" about what led to Aldridge's demise, adding that, "we will begin the healing process under the strong arm of our Savior, Jesus Christ." (5 pages)

    http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/1008072scuba1.html [thesmokinggun.com]

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      it's probably just too common to be deserving of an award.
  • by russ1337 (938915) on Saturday January 12 2008, @11:20PM (#22021582)
    I really would have thought we'd have seen an entry from anyone of those thousands of people [google.com] who Died in a Blogging Accident. [xkcd.com].
  • by camg188 (932324) on Sunday January 13 2008, @12:00PM (#22025874)
    The TRUE FACTS section of National Lampoon has been doing stories like these for years, but they don't always focus on death. My favorite if from the 1986 special True Facts edition:

    At an outdoor concert in Juazeiro do Norte, Brazil, singer Waldwick Soriano insulted the audience, causing a brawl from which he had to be rescued.
    Soriano became incensed while singing a song called "I Am Not a Dog" when a dog walked across the stage wearing a sign that said: "I Am Not Waldwick Soriano."
    and this one:

    News writer Cynthia Jarokowsky, thirty-four, was killed in a freak accident on December 10 near Berne, Switzerland, where she was researching a story on Swiss art galleries. According to the driver of her car, Bernard Culdebois, Dr. Jarokowsky asked that the car be stopped on a particularly scenic, though dangerous, mountain curve, and that her electric wheelchair be placed on the road so that she could admire the landscape. As she moved closer to the mountain edge, her hand apparently slipped on the control, an her chair bolted forward through an open area in the guardrail, hurling her down a 15,000-foot precipice.
    Culdebois, whose English is very poor, believes that as the journalist fell, she cried out either "Help me, you idiot!" or "God save Washington art!"
    The first time I went skydiving, I screamed "God save Washington art!" as I let go.
    • Are you implying the Darwin Awards don't matter?
    • Stuff that matters. This is not fark.
      Yeah cos we're so much cooler when we filter out the fun and games. I'd bet anything that it was a pointlessly nitpicky Urkel type like you that inspired the invention of the wedgie.
        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          Some people are stupid. Often times, people will be more afraid of peer pressure -- what people will think -- than actual risk of physical harm. Look at the people who die trying to reenact stunts from Jackass. If mocking people who die in idiotic ways prevents even a very low number of extra people from offing themselves in similar ways, then it has accomplished something.

          It still doesn't make us very nice people.
        • Re:News for nerds (Score:5, Interesting)

          by Anne Honime (828246) on Sunday January 13 2008, @02:34AM (#22022842) Homepage

          Eventualy, you end your life dying. Face it, that's life. But what you're never told is you die *twice*, because save a handfull of really important people for their contribution to History (with capital 'H'), after 50 years everybody will totally forget you.

          But if your exit is at least newsworthy there's still a slim chance it won't be forgotten in your own family. The grand father of my grand-grand father (5 generations above me) was the only one we knew by tradition before my mother did some genealogical research. All others above him, at his level, and some under him, were completely lost. But he was remembered because he died kicked by a horse in the head. Not especially funny, but newsworthy.

          The Darwin winners of today will have their memories cherished *longer* by *many more people* than those dying a peaceful and natural death.

          Think about it. Now, where's my axe, I have a barn to bring down.

          • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

            by Anonymous Coward

            What kind of people are we to make fun and games about someone dying?

            Even if it is a spectacular stupid way, it still is no reason to laugh at their corpse and go "Ha Ha!" nelson style.
            If I stuck a bottle rocket up my butt and ended up with 3rd degree burns, would you laugh?
            Post the YouTube video and we'll let you know.
              • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

                There we go. We ridicule people who do dumb things. Most people don't want to be ridiculed, so stories like this make them think twice before doing something stupid.
                The sad thing is, it is probably more likely to make them think than the fact that they could easily die doing it.
    • by JoeCommodore (567479) <larry@portcommodore.com> on Sunday January 13 2008, @12:47AM (#22022142) Homepage
      Actually this is pretty on-topic, it reminds all of us: in tech support, programming, design and administration what users can be truly capable of.
    • by CustomDesigned (250089) on Saturday January 12 2008, @10:11PM (#22021186) Homepage Journal
      Someone's death is not a laughing matter.

      The foolish man repeats his mistakes (except when trying for a Darwin award).
      The intelligent man learns from his mistakes (unless they are fatal).
      But, the wise man learns from the mistakes of others.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      The term "Nerds" encompasses a very wide range of people and personalities. You'll find all types here, although politically it's a safe bet to say most Slashdotters lean towards liberalism--at least as it's applied to social issues. I'm no libertarian (-5.62, -5.33) [politicalcompass.org]. As much as liberals and progressives would like to consider themselves compassionate and caring we're still humans, we still can't help but look at the car accident as we pass by. There's a morbid fascination with death that all humans have. I
    • by Yehooti (816574) on Sunday January 13 2008, @01:27AM (#22022372)
      Those of us who have a shot at living for many more years but have had a hard look at the grim reaper peering back at us recently might have a different perspective than those in their healthy years have. I remember sitting in the waiting room of the oncology department of a major hospital awaiting my turn under the accelerator, about seven years ago. A few of us in that room of gloom and doom made friends because we scheduled our appointment at the same time every week, for many weeks. Some of us joked about our conditions and expected demise. My wife couldn't handle it so stayed outside, but to those of us in there that I got to know, we did quite well I think, thanks to humor.

      On the bigger scale, every healthy soul is in the same boat in life. We have to joke about this condition we call life--it's going to kill us one way or another. Though it might be tragic to watch how some people find ways to go out, it is most interesting. With the Darwin Awards, even amusing given an objective perspective.
        • If you allow yourself to really empathize with all the tragedy in the world, then you would collapse emotionally. Humor is a psychological self-defense. You can consider a situation and possible learn something from it without getting too emotionally invested.
          • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

            It's also a good way to get past initial trauma and depression, but apply with care in long term situations. I have a coworker that was in an accident, headaches and shit. In the beginning it was all wisecracks like "Not tonight dear, I have a headache" and it helped him and us all deal with it. The problems lasted, the jokes grew stale and so they stopped. Then it suddenly got all glum and serious and solemn at the same time as he was trying to deal with it being long-term or perhaps even permanent. Right
    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      Blue screen of death fatality? No, the poor bastard was died because he ran into a Hummer. Those things are so wide he did not have to cross the line to have the accident and no passenger car will survive the impact. If you need to haul things, please buy a pickup truck or a van or a hatchback, not something designed for combat. When you don't need to haul things, please buy a passenger vehicle with properly designed crush zones.

      cute, but:
      - the dude crossed the line
      - a hummer h1 is ~8" wider than most fulls