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2007 October Slush
(DA) The Enema Within
(?) Man killed on I-880 held onto back
(DA) Elephants makes Journalist Squash
(DA) When You Guard, Dont Try To steal
(?) Breathalyser Game
(PA) Remember the Hindenburg
(DA) The Wrong Chin-Up Bar
Retired cop struck, killed by train
The Hitchhiker Who Became Roadkill
(?) light me, camera, action!
(DA) Ammo Dumps
Reverend's Odd Autoasphyxia
Lenoir Man Electrocuted
(?) I need it like a hook in the head
Hang on there!
Garden Gnomw
Dead man was in avocado tree for da
Second time unlucky
Grab a ride
“shredded hippy parts!”
Car kills two people fighting
Brilliant Example of Propane Safety
I threw a hatchet in the air,
Anti-Violence activist teen shot
Surf's Up
'Skylarking' man in undies falls ni
Smoking and Abiding Kills!!!!
A simple repair
Syphoning gas with vacuum cleaner
Crocodile Indeed
Newtons Other Laws
Man Stuck in Ex-Wife's Window Dies
oversized load kills man of 75.
Two women burned while huffing comp
Fighting man, woman killed on I-595
Forbidden Fruit
flammable fraud attempt
Body struck repeatedly on I-880
Dogs Shot man on hunting Trip
Burglar slashes own throat
Man accidently shoots himself in ba
Car Surfing
(DA) Fatal a-Traction
Dumped on while dumping
Car Capers
Pervert obsessed with bondage sex d
Theif struck by train
Coleman Stoves are for Outside Only
Gas station.. close call
A garage sale??
No flashlight? No Problem
Pheasant & Highway
Be gateful it's not you
Dying for a leak?
Wheelchair Whacko!
CVS--Crook Vent Stuck!
The invulnerable crossing guard
Tight Chimney
Malfunction Junction
2 Construction Workers Drown in Pon
Their truck was da bomb!
Tuck and Roll
Woman looses arm after a loin bite
Camouflage or not
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Darwin Awards
2007 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

flammable fraud attempt

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

I am in contact with the Carroll County Comet to verify information, because I don't remember the date when this happened. It happened outside of Burlington, Indiana. A man and his wife had a house built, lived in it for a while, and then wanted to sell it. After a while of being on the market with no buyers, he sent his wife and children to stay with her family, while he and his brother (or friend, I don't recall which)were going to burn down the house and collect the insurance. When they went to burn it down, they used lots of propane (which is explosive rather than flammable) and did not make it out. The owner was found by the firefighters. The other one was not found until a day or two later, pinned under a doorframe STILL ALIVE. I don't remember whether or not either of them survived. I remember being told that they had 3rd degree burns over some 80 or 90% of their bodies. I do recall driving past the house on my way to a friend's house, and remember that the swing set across the yard from the house was melted. That's what I was told happened, and I'm in the process of trying to verify. If you can give me some tips on verifying, I'd appreciate it. All I remember was that I was in high school, so it was between 1996 and 2000. I don't remember what year of school I was in.

Submitted on 10/08/2007

Submitted by: Lucretia Rossi
Reference:

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

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Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Lucretia, the only tip I could give you would be to go to the newspaper and ask to look through their microfilm archives, but that will take some work. I'd like to give this one a higher award but would need verification along with whether or not anyone shuffled off the mortal plane, as Shakespeare would say. Thanks for sending the story.


James said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Either way, Lucretia, this is a good Personal Account! If you can find verification (I concur with Chip; call the paper and they should be able to help you find it), I'd vote full DA on this! Whatever the case, this is prime grade stupidity combined with greed...and I have a soft spot for such stories!


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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