HONORABLE MENTION (Creative Writing)

Boston police responded to a fire report at the Tau Epsilon Phi fraternity house on Commonwealth Avenue Saturday night, and discovered that sometimes alcohol is a factor in injuries in more ways than one...

Two MIT students who had obviously consumed their own fair share decided to test the chemical properties of another kind of alcohol.

With one of their frat-mates looking on, they filled an empty tin can with rubbing alcohol, and proceeded to ignite said solution. They sat and watched the container, mesmerized by the flickering blue flames. Yet, in spite of their being intelligent enough to be students at MIT, they were so enraptured with watching their experiement that they forgot the facts that any first-year science student (or anyone with a little common sense) should know:

- Alcohol fires are extremely hot - Tin is an excellent conductor of heat - Alcohol vapour is an extremely explosive substance

It was only a matter of time before the temperature of the entire can exceeded 82.4 degrees celsius (the boiling point of rubbing alcohol) and the inevitable explosion ensued.

Jesse Lacika, 21, of Boston and Jose Soitren, 18, of Cambridge were listed in good and fair condition respectively at Massachusetts General Hospital the following day, having suffered several first-and second-degree burns to their legs, arms, and chests.

This will hopefully be taken into consideration by MIT before they decide whether or not to allow this braintrust to actually use their science skills in a real-world job.

Submitted on 12/15/2003

Submitted by: Glenn Anderson
Reference: Boston.com - Dec. 15, 2003

Copyright © 2003 DarwinAwards.com

Jack said:
Maybe Toss: Lacks Excellence
Drunk college students playing with fire. I really don't see any excellence here.

Charles said:
Maybe Toss: Too Common
Have to agree with Jack.

Daniel said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
And these guys ARE rocket scientists!

Bill said:
Maybe Toss: Too Common
I too agree with Jack - especially if they are rocket scientists - I too was an engineering student.

Teela said:
Maybe Toss: Too Common
i've seen too many stunts like that

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