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Darwin Awards
2003 Darwin Awards
Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it. Next Prev Random

Email a Friend Exploding Ex-tortionist
2003 Darwin Award Nominee
Confirmed True by Darwin

(September 7, 2003, Cambodia) Khim, nicknamed "The Big Giant," was an intimidatingly large former military policeman when he arrived at the Phnom Penh home of a drug dealer to extort money and amphetamines. He was a much smaller man soon afterwards.

He pulled the pin from a grenade to threaten the dealer, who immediately decided to give him the items he demanded. Then Khim, who had been drinking, forgot to put the pin back before slipping the grenade into his pocket. He walked to his motorbike, well satisfied with the transaction. As he climbed aboard... the grenade exploded.

Whether the drug dealer recovered his cash (and in what condition!) is unknown.

Reader Darren says, "Returning the pin to a grenade will not render it inert, once triggered; no fuse-mechanism will halt until it is blown from the grenade. Returning a pin to a 'thrown' (or otherwise triggered) grenade is a losing proposition. I think our bandit, a military-police officer, remembered the pin, but skipped basic-instruction.
More than you want to know about hand grenades.

DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2009
Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: AAP, news.com.au, The Daily News (South Africa)

Additional Reader Comments:

While it is true that once the ignition sequence has begun it cannot be stopped, that has nothing to do with the ring. The ring is a safety which retains the spoon. Once the spoon has been released, then the grenade is active.

The actual trigger is a small hammer held down by the "spoon" ... modern grenades worldwide have some variation of this. What most likely happened is that the moment the awardee put it in his pocket, he released the spoon, setting off the trigger.

I am an Ammo-Tech currently serving in the military and I receive grenades without the pin and tape wrapped around the spoon on a regular basis. The grenade is not activated until the spoon is released.

Are you happy to see me, or is that a grenade in your pocket?

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The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

The Darwin Awards: Evolution in Action

Hardback. 327 pages. Autographed.
$15
185 Stories! In the ongoing saga of Survival of the Fittest, meet the thief who steals electrical wires without shutting off the current! Marvel at the would-be pilot who suspends his lawnchair from helium balloons! Learn from the man who peers into a gas can using a cigarette lighter...!

This book also includes a History of the Darwin Awards, Darwin Haiku, and a dozen humorous discussions of the implications of evolution, including the origin of idiots, and the role of testosterone.

Autographed by Author!

 


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