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2008 February Slush
(DA)Chalk one up for the dog.
(DA)A Breathtaking View
(DA)Slip Sliding Away
(?)Seatbelt subterfuge kills driver
(HM)Shock Horror
(HM)Mexican Divorce
(?)Winched up
(DA)Hare today, gone tomorrow
(Hmmm)Surfing the wrong wave
(DA)On the Piste
(?)Mamba kills Man
Dynamite Defroster
(?)Die Hard
(>)Living the High Life (On a Budget)
(No)Swimming with the fish (bits)
no diving please
(DA)Chemistry Went Over Her Head
Brain Evacuation
(?)Darwin in heavy traffic
(DA)Stabbing suspect dies in car crash
Man died after driving down boat ra
Fatal Ski Slope Prank
Monk killed by own runaway lawnmowe
Inspiration + Youth + Explosives =
Killer locomotive
A good thought gone bad
Bridges are lower than they appear
(DA)4 Die In Dirtbike Collision
Up, Up, and Away!
Top of the train
Mattress Race
Old shells never die
Tree felling made easy
Roping a Bobcat
Manhole kills man, Dove in for Cana
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....
Death by iPod?
boat welding
Trail Blazing Gaffe
Tram drags man with him
Community service for teen who burn
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
Too Close For Comfort
Redneck Bee Exterminator
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
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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!

Smoking related near miss

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

I had to go to accident and emergency with my fiance a couple of months ago. He was seen and we were taken to the assessment ward and sat in a waiting room while they found a bed for him. After about 5 minutes a elderly woman was brought in and sat on the opposite side of the room. we sat around for a little while and the woman pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter looked at my fiance and I and asked if we thought she'd be allowed to have a cigarette.

We looked at each other and said that hospitals don't allow you to smoke inside as a general rule at which point she looked around and said that there weren't any no smoking signs (the huge one on the entrance to the hospital prohibiting smoking within the hospital and grounds had apparently escaped her notice) pulled out a cigarette and lit it. It was at this point I noticed the oxygen tap coming out of the wall right beside her head and on the pretext of getting a glass of water went and very quickly fetched a nurse who promptly can running in with 3 other nurses looked at the woman and yelled "you can't do that in here you'll blow us all up!"

She took the cigarette and put it out in a cup of water before confiscating the woman's lighter. I dread to think about what might have happened if she'd been alone in the room.

My fiance and I were wondering though. If she had blown us all up would the government have listed us as smoking related deaths?

Submitted on 02/25/2008

Submitted by: Charley
Reference: personal account

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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>> Moderator Scores <<

Chip said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Accounts of patients smoking while on oxygen are a dime a dozen, but to light up in an ER with an oxygen tap right there is something else. Thanks for the story, Charley


James said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
We have gotten a few tales of self-immolation but we've never had someone actually submit a PA! Thanks, Charley, your actions saved everyones' lives...though I wonder if that crazy woman will try it again! :-)


The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

$16 Smoking Crater T-Shirt / Black
Heavy 100% cotton, black Hanes Beefy-T with an inadvisable cigarette break on the front... a smoking crater on the back! Click on the image for a full view. Based on true stories. Errata: TNT will not explode in the presence of a lit cigarette. The man was actually sitting on a crate of gelignite.
Buy the Smoking Crater T-Shirt

 

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