1998 Darwin Awards

Mummy Says, Don't Smoke

1998 Darwin Award Winner
Confirmed True by Darwin

Another Reason to Kick the Habit

(31 October 1998, Canada) For Halloween this year, a Canadian man dressed as a mummy by wrapping himself from head to toe in fluffy cotton batting. The cotton was taped at the wrists and ankles, and white gloves and running shoes completed his ensemble. As the mummy waited for his girlfriend to dress for pictures, he carelessly lit a cigarette... and the fluffy cotton burst into flames.

The reason for flame-retardant costumes became clear.

Firefighters arrived within minutes, yet already the mummy costume was reduced to ashes, right down to the white coveralls underneath. The man kept repeating, "It's my fault." He was taken to Soldier's Memorial Hospital with 2nd and 3rd degree burns, where he died the next morning.

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