2000 Urban Legends

The following stories are apocryphal. They are included on the Darwin Awards website because they are inspirational narratives of the astounding efforts of legendary Darwin Awards contenders.

Puffy Fox Cheeks  2000 Urban Legend (September 2000, Aspatria*) "This whole story has been blown out of proportion," said a spokeswoman for the Over&Sons Garage. "It is true that a man walked onto our forecourt in the Market Place with a fox under his arm last week, pushed the compressed air nozzle of the into its rectum, popped 20p in the slot, and pumped it until it exploded. But what the reports fail to mention is that the animal was already dead. "All that really happened was that an amateur taxidermist had brought the dead fox in and asked if he could pump some air between the fur and the skin to loosen the pelt. He just overdid it a bit, then fled in embarrassment." There were animal parts scattered all over the forecourt, and a cluster of shocked and horrified people. "The garage has been under siege for several days following a report on calling the act ‘sick and disgusting.'" Animal rights activists have been calling the station and threatening reprisals. "Nobody will work here alone anymore." Its hard enough to hold a living fox, let alone insert an airline up its rectum, I should imagine". Police confirmed that they had identified the taxidermist, and are convinced that no criminal act has taken place. However, they did warn the fox-stuffer about the advisability of inflating animals in public places. ** Darwin is Dubious. Ass-patria? Unprofessional phrases? Police apprehending a taxidermist for fox-stuffing? Hmph. I say it's an Urban Legend. DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2008 Submitted by: chikenspanker Reference: Cumbria Times & Star, Private Eye Awful? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Great? Hate it! Love it! JX Simon says, "Read this one in Private Eye, a UK satirical magazine with a column of weird stories taken from newspapers. Don't be sceptical about Aspatria - it really does exist, in Northern England." David Price says, "This most definately should not be classified as an Urban Myth. The story is 100% true. I come from a village 4 miles from Aspatria and I now live in Carlisle, 25 miles distant. The story originated from an hysterical story in the West Cumberland Times and Star that the man had blown up the fox cub in a barbaric act and then run away. This hit the national press and the full story was not put straight until Private Eye published the details. The garage in question is known to me and is called CH Over & Sons, Market Place, Aspatria. There is no suggestion that it was a professional taxidermist; indeed, the town has a poor employment record and this is exactly the kind of peculiar activity engaged in there. Without berating the residents of Aspatria and district, the story is all too believable."

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