Charles Darwin's Darwin Awards 
HOME
Darwin Awards
Honorable Mentions
Urban Legends
Personal Accounts
Slush Pile
2008 March Slush
Yamashita Treasure
(Hmm)Ugg Boots and Level Crossings
(HM)Workplace Fling
DA:Prank turned punishment
(Hmm)Kitty-Kitty-Kitty!
(Hmm)Where there's Smoke ...
(?)Police identify father, son killed
(HM)Roundabout Rocket
(HM)Orcas Eco-terrorism
(HM)Headshot
DA:Steel is valuable...
(?)Real life Frogger
(?)Runs in the Family
(?)Alcohol and me don't mix
(HM)Burners can't fly
(?)How stupid can you be??
(?)Flash Flood Runners
(?)Yakuza shoots his own head
(?)woman + cellphone + train = splat
DA:Crash Test Cart
bye bye testicles
Father knows best
Volcano climber cheats death
Russian Roulette -Honorable Mention
Be sure it's out before tossing it.
Man electrocuted stealing copper
Ticket to ride
Sex with Lock Dangerous
You ride INSIDE the car
Fork Lift Truck Doughnut
I think I forgot something...
Man blown out of truck dies
Redneck bee exterminator (writeup)
fireworks and diesel fuel
Stealing a safe and dying under it
Teen flying kite from car
End of the line
Sex change... Shotgun sex change.
How not to tame a croc
Return of 'Where there's Smoke"
gotta go
Drifting and a 'razed' view
Teen love caught hanging in the bal
Let's see how you measure up!
Man killed while beating would-be r
Honourable mention - total idiot te
Man dies when wind flips mattress
Desert party brawl turns fatal with
Taking out the Trash...
Shortcut to street cred
Modern day tarzan
Addicted to Butane
OWCH!!!
How Not to Kill a Pet Rat
Party Guest Tragedy
Woman killed by train
Stealing Cooper Wire = Deadly Fire
The French Fries Experience
Shocking sex death ruled homicide
Man electrocuted in theft of wire,
Thieves risk lives to steal metal
barbacue pit
Diving drunk while sleeping
Australian Man Gunned Down in Drive
Millions of pieces
Don't Go Bouldering with a Whacko
An erotic- accident
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!

Australian Man Gunned Down in Drive

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

URL: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,339213,00.html

Australian Man Gunned Down in Driveway by Killer Robot

An 81-year-old Australian man has shot himself dead with an elaborate suicide robot built using plans he downloaded from the Internet.

The Gold Coast man, who lived alone, left notes of his plans and thoughts as he struggled to come to terms with demands by interstate relatives that he move out his home and into care.

He spent hours searching the Internet for a way to kill himself, downloaded what he needed and then built a complex machine that would remotely fire a gun.

He set the device up in his driveway about 7 a.m. Wednesday, placed himself in front of it and set it in motion.

His notes explained that he chose the driveway as he knew there were tradesmen working next door who would find his body. The plan worked as the workmen heard the gunshots and ran to investigate.

The machine was attached to a .22 semi-automatic pistol loaded with four bullets.

It was able to fire multiple shots into the man's head after he activated it.

Submitted on 03/20/2008

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference: FoxNews / Wednesday, March 19, 2008

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:
Neutral: Other
I've been expecting to see this submitted since I first heard about it a couple days ago. We typically don't award suicides except in extreme cases, and I'm a little torn on this one. The man basically shot himself in the head but using a device to make a semi-automatic fire rapidly. It does show some ingenuity but other than that it's not all that uncommon. The only suicide I recall is this one that was much more bizarre: http://darwinawards.com/slush/200709/pending20070913-105050.html. So let's see what the other moderators have to say about this one. Thanks for sending it in.


James said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
I'm going to let Darwin decide on this one. True, we rarely if ever award suicides, but the trouble this fellow went through just to get to that point merits consideration!


Chip said:
Definitely Keep: For Darwin's Eyes
Yes, this is one for Darwin since it is a suicide, although a Class A one. Thanks.


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!

Slush Pile
Slush Pile Rejects


Advanced Search

HomeRulesFAQsAwardsSlushSite Map
DarwinAward | HonorableMention | PersonalAccount | UrbanLegend