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Darwin Awards
2006 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 Copper Kite String
2006 Darwin Award Nominee
Confirmed True by Darwin

"One string short of a kite."

(19 March 2006, Belize) Benjamin Franklin reputedly flew his kite in a lightning storm, and discovered that lightning equals electricity. However, certain precautions must be taken to avoid sudden electrocution. Kennon, 26, replicated the conditions of Ben Franklin's experiment, but without Ben's sensible safety precautions.

Kennon was flying a kite with a short string that he had extended with a length of thin copper wire. The copper made contact with a high-tension line, sending a terminal bolt of electrical "lightning" sizzling towards the man.

Just bad luck? Not according to Kennon's father, who said his son was an electrician and "should have known better."

Reader comments:
"Let me put it this way, I wouldn't want him wiring my house!"
"An electrifying experience!"

DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2009
Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: Belize Reporter

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The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

Darwin Awards III: Survival of the Fittest

Hardback. 304 pages. Autographed.
$15
The human race's most popular humor series returns with a brand-new collection of macabre mishaps and misadventures. Honoring those who improve our gene pool by inadvertently removing themselves from it, the Darwin Awards III shows once more how uncommon common sense still is.

Salute the sheriff who inadvertently shot himself--twice! Witness the insurance defrauder who amputated his leg with a chainsaw! Heed the story of the farmer who avoided bee stings by sealing his head in a plastic bag! Cringe at the man crushed by a branch he'd just severed... directly over his head!

123 new stories, 18 full-page illustrations, plus discussions of transgenic animals, the origin of life, and more.

Autographed by Author!

 


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