DARWIN AWARDS: Chlorinating the Gene Pool -- 5 February 2002 IN THIS ISSUE: Darwin Award: STUDENT COMPACTOR Darwin Award: RISKY REENACTMENT Honorable Mention: CHARCOAL GRILLED Personal Account: REGULAR & EXTRA CRISPY --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ Darwin Award: STUDENT COMPACTOR October 2001, Tennessee | Eight freshman college students were hanging around a vacant library late one night, when they decided it would be a thrill to leap into a small opening they thought was a laundry chute. Perhaps a few more years of college would have helped them realize that libraries don't often have laundry chutes. It was actually a garbage chute feeding directly into an automatic trash compactor. 19-year-old Wesley was the first to jump, and he enjoyed an exhilarating three-story slide before being crushed to death in the rubbish bin below. The other students decided not to follow. --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ To subscribe to (or cancel) this newsletter, email the word "subscribe" (or "cancel") to news@DarwinAwards.com or visit http://www.DarwinAwards.com/misc/newsletter.html --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ Darwin Award: RISKY REENACTMENT October 1993, Illinois | A police officer was trying to show another patrolman how their fellow officer accidentally killed himself, by reenacting the shooting incident a week later. But the 20-year veteran forgot to unload his .357 Magnum and wound up shooting himself in the stomach. He died in a car crash while driving himself to the hospital. Honorable Mention: CHARCOAL GRILLED October 2001, Florida | A dozen Burger King marketing department employees found out first-hand why meat cooks... when they burned their feet on hot coals during a fire-walking ritual. It's the heat! One woman was hospitalized and the others were treated by a doctor summoned to the scene. The company-sponsored event was intended to promote teamwork. Next time you complain about your company's inane team-building exercises, remember this story and count yourself lucky. --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ Read our new book! 119 astounding Darwin Awards and more. http://www.DarwinAwards.com/book/ Send me a SASE and I'll send you an autographed bookplate. Darwin Awards Bookplate, 375 Hudson St., New York NY 10014 --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ Personal Account: REGULAR & EXTRA CRISPY "I own a family entertainment center with arcade and video games. We occasionally replace out-of-date games, and dismantle the old ones into pieces small enough to toss in the dumpster out back. "One day I gave our two intrepid game room employees, nicknamed Podunk and Donut after their radio call signs, the task of destroying two outmoded games. The first game was sent to Atari heaven with no fuss, thanks to a 5-pound sledgehammer. The second game was more obstinate. The boys broke the handle of the sledgehammer against it. "So Podunk and Donut decided to heave heavy cinderblocks at it. But that only succeeded if you consider broken cinderblocks a success. They tried ramming the game with a car, which did little but damage the vehicle's front end. Brute force was getting them nowhere fast. "In the interest of safety, speed, efficiency, and a minimum of wear and tear on their tools, they decided to burn the game down. "Podunk filled the interior of the game with fumes from an aerosol can, while Donut manned the cigarette lighter. You can guess the rest. Both employee's sustained second degree burns to their arms and faces, and the game cabinet is still alive and well. "Now the boys have new names: Regular and Extra Crispy." --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ Sign up to win a free Darwin Awards AudioBook! http://darwinawards.com/cgi-bin/frames.cgi?/misc/free.audio.html --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ There are a more new stories on the website. Vote for your favorites! PRECARIOUS PERCH http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2001-35.html THE FINNISH LINE http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2001-34.html FAMILIAR KNICKERS http://www.darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid2001-28.html BEPPLES http://www.darwinawards.com/personal/personal2001-21.html On February 12, Charles Darwin's birthday, 2001 Winners will be Announced! Copyright 2002 by Wendy Northcutt www.DarwinAwards.com * Please share this newsletter with your friends! * ---