2001 Personal Accounts

The Darwin Awards salutes the spirit portrayed in the following personal accounts, submitted by loyal (and sometimes reluctant) readers.

Theoretical Knowledge 2001 Personal Account (April 98, Canada) Some people talk smart but act like future Darwin Award winners. I had just emerged from my high school chemistry class, not my best subject. On my way to the cafeteria, I was joined by Mr. Junior Einstein, who was happily spouting chemical gibberish. He began pontificating on the reactions caused by adding heat to certain elements such as neon and aluminum. Once we reached the cafeteria, he nonchalantly placed his food in the microwave oven. As it cooked, Einstein explained that aluminum can explode when heated sufficiently. As he talked, I began to detect the faint scent of smoke in the air, which I mentioned to my guest lecturer. As we turned towards the microwave, his jaw dropped low enough to accommodate a rack of test tubes. His dish of food was blazing. One second later the oven was rocked by a loud Kablaam! This candidate for an Honorable Mention suddenly discovered that theoretical knowledge does not equal practical wisdom. The chemistry lesson he learned in the cafeteria was far more valuable: "Don't mix aluminum foil with heat!" DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2008 Submitted by: Alex Brovedani Awful? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Great? Hate it! Love it!

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