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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!

How Not to Drain a Plant

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

I was just telling my mom one of the stories I read here, and she told me about this that happened the other day. Even if I had a source, this would only qualify as an honorable mention, but it is incredibly stupid nonetheless.

My aunt has this potted plant outside her back door. Apparently water was pooling in the bottom of the pot because the holes weren't big enough for it to properly drain.

That's when her boyfriend came up with an idea: enlarge the holes.

He had her hold the plant while he got underneath it and drilled through the bottom of the planter. The procedure worked quite well, as the water immediately started draining out of the enlarged hole.

Suddenly, he said, "Shit!" He had apparently just realized that his drill was plugged in and that the water in the pot and pouring down the drill was not a good thing.

Thankfully, my aunt and her boyfriend survived. What concerns me though is that he's a brick layer, so he should have been familiar enough with power tools to have not suggested the idea in the first place.

Submitted on 06/15/2008

Submitted by: Steven Stouffs
Reference: personal account

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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

Bruce said:
Maybe Toss: Too Common
Combining electrical devices and water is an amazingly common occurrence since so many people take those devices for granted. Thanks just the same, Steven.


James said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
I think this is an amusing PA, especially considering the fact that the fellow wasn't thinking about the obvious!


Tracy said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
I like this story - simple, but effective! Especially as he's supposed to be an expert!


Darwin Awards II: Unnatural Selection

Hardback. 240 pages. Autographed.
$15
A fresh collection of magnificent misadventures! Lust, Vanity, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Envy, and Wrath extract an evolutionary toll on the wicked. Salute the owner of an equipment training school who demonstrates the dangers of driving a forklift by failing to survive the filming of his own safety video. Witness the man who becomes a victim of his own strange passion for jumping into rivers. Heed the honest bricklayer who loses a battle of wits with 300 pounds of tools.

This book includes more History of the Awards, Gordon's Law, and 10 discussions of evolution, including speciation and the role of verbal memes in civilization.

Autographed by Author!

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