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Darwin Awards
1999 Darwin Awards
Email a Friend Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it. Next
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Copper Caper 
1999 Darwin Award Nominee
Confirmed True by Darwin

(1999, England) Wayne wanted to make a few bucks by selling stolen scrap metal. He sneaked into a demolition site and surveyed the area for valuable hunks of debris. His eyes fastened upon what appeared to be a 3" thick copper pipe. That would fetch a fine fee! But it was too heavy for him to budge it.

He hauled a few lesser chunks of metal away, and returned with sturdy bolt cutters. It was then, when he attempted to sever the pipe, that he was shocked to discover that it was actually an aluminum cable carrying 11,000 volts of power. The paramedics who later tried to revive the electrified Wayne were thwarted by the current. He did not survive to be charged with his offences.

DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2009
Submitted by: Peter Whiteley
Reference: The Derbyshire Times

 

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The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

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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