Charles Darwin's Darwin Awards 
HOME
Darwin Awards
Honorable Mentions
Urban Legends
Personal Accounts
Slush Pile
2008 February Slush
(DA)Chalk one up for the dog.
(DA)Slip Sliding Away
(?)Seatbelt subterfuge kills driver
(?)Mamba kills Man
(HM)Mexican Divorce
(Hmmm)Surfing the wrong wave
(?)Winched up
(DA)A Breathtaking View
Dynamite Defroster
(DA)On the Piste
(?)Die Hard
Brain Evacuation
(?)Darwin in heavy traffic
Man died after driving down boat ra
(HM)Shock Horror
(No)Swimming with the fish (bits)
no diving please
(DA)Hare today, gone tomorrow
(DA)Chemistry Went Over Her Head
(>)Living the High Life (On a Budget)
(DA)Stabbing suspect dies in car crash
Fatal Ski Slope Prank
Top of the train
Killer locomotive
A good thought gone bad
Monk killed by own runaway lawnmowe
Up, Up, and Away!
Bridges are lower than they appear
Inspiration + Youth + Explosives =
Mattress Race
Manhole kills man, Dove in for Cana
Tree felling made easy
(DA)4 Die In Dirtbike Collision
Old shells never die
Roping a Bobcat
feeling tyred - near miss
Wash those genes away
Just Say No
Man has friend shoot him to get off
BASE jumper succumbs to stupidity
A Mattress of Life and Death....
boat welding
Trail Blazing Gaffe
Tram drags man with him
Community service for teen who burn
Death by iPod?
If at first you don't succeed
The $500 Bullet
Please Take This Outside
It only works in the movies
Trailer burns when woman uses gas t
Man dies trying to beat train in Sa
BBQ Whippits
Sledding Accident
Two men burned in backyard blast
Miner nearly crushes himself
A fool and his bike
The Widow Maker
Redneck Bee Exterminator
Too Close For Comfort
arrange your own hit
Grocery Bang!
A tough act to swallow for student
Drain Surfing
Drove 2.5 miles on the wrong way
2 teens hurt by explosion while dri
Departing parted
I'm dying for a drink
Smoking related near miss
Smoky bar triggered fatal asthma at
Man's death linked to cotton swab u
putting your foot in it
Older Slush 
 
~ Randomizer ~
Newsletter
Gift Shop
Rules  Search
Contact Darwin
Submit a Story
Philosophy Forum
Home

  

Darwin Awards
2008 Slush Pile

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

Old shells never die

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Many years ago I did a lot of diving in the English Channel on world war 1 wrecks and fished up a whole case of 2" shells complete with brass cases and iron projectiles. The shell cases were marked 1891. We gaily hammered out the ends and shook out the spaghetti cordite thinking " I could make some nice candle holders out of the brass bits"

A few months later I set to and removed the last bits of spaghetti cordite from the cases and filled a 7lb Bisto gravy mix box beside the workbench. I forgot about this box until welding away one day on another project a spark fell in the box..... A 7ft flame thrower roared into life and took my eyebrows and beard with it. My next door neighbour popped his head round the door and asked if I needed a hand to move a propane cylinder, Two outboard fuel tanks with 10 gallon of juice and another few gallons of thinners. somehow i lived to tell the tale.....

Submitted on 02/12/2008

Submitted by: Dave Holloway
Reference:

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

Great? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Awful?
Love it! Hate it!
>> Moderator Scores <<

Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Wow! It is an absolute fact that the Stupid Shall be punished but you got out of this one with a mere slap on the wrist, so to speak. Thanks for the story, Dave.


Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
It's pretty amazing how well 100 year old explosives can hold up, even at the bottom of the English Channel, isn't it? You're lucky none of the other tanks went up! Thanks for a great story, Dave!


The Darwin Awards Condom

Keep yourself out of the gene pool!
A condom in a matchbook, useful for emergency contraception, bachelor parties, frat parties, and important rites of passage. LOADED inside and out with funny quotes and stories. Everyone loves this item!
Friends don't let friends reproduce!
$12 for Pack of 4

Slush Pile
Slush Pile Rejects


Advanced Search

HomeRulesFAQsAwardsSlushSite Map
DarwinAward | HonorableMention | PersonalAccount | UrbanLegend