DARWIN AWARDS NEWSLETTER -- 1 July 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------ DARWIN AWARDS posthumously honor the remains of those who chlorinated the gene pool by removing themselves from it in sublimely idiotic ways. "Chlorinating the Gene Pool" --------------------------------------------------------------- GRENADE JUGGLER -- Darwin Award Nominee May 2001, Croatia A college student dropped the ball when a hand grenade exploded while he was juggling it at a party in Vidovci. Six students watching him were also injured. A spectator is usually disqualified from winning a Darwin Award caused by another's idiocy, but this audience should have known better than to gape at a man juggled explosives. The six onlookers earn Honorable Mentions for their disregard of common sense, and the juggler wins a Darwin for his lethal stupidity. -The Sun Newspaper, England (Unconfirmed) DODGING DRINK DUES -- Darwin Award Nominee 15 May 2001, Cairo Two whiskey-swilling men tried to dodge their bar tab by downing one last drink, jumping in the Nile, and swimming for the far shore. One, a 27-year-old taxi driver, misjudged his ability to stay afloat. He drowned en route, successfully avoiding paying the $180 bill. His companion reached the far shore a few hundred meters away, only to be arrested by police who had been summoned by the shortchanged nightclub employees. Next time you and your friends try to dodge a bar tab, don't drink yourself senseless first. You might die or, even more dreadful, be stuck with the entire bar tab! -Agence France Presse (Unconfirmed) --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+++ Win a FREE Book! DARWIN AWARDS: Evolution in Action. http://www.darwinawards.com/misc/free.book.html?0107 --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ PLANE STUPID -- Honorable Mention February 1981, Arizona Phoenix Field airport had been subject to recurring petty thefts from neighborhood teenagers, so a security firm was retained to patrol the grounds. Thefts decreased sharply, but fuel consumption was on the rise. This puzzling situation continued until late one night, when a passerby noticed a flaming airplane on the field. By the time the fire department arrived, the plane had completely melted into the tarmac. While they extinguished the residual flames, the passerby noticed a uniformed figure lying facedown several yards away. It was a security guard! He was revived and questioned. Turns out he had been siphoning fuel from small planes to use in his car. The plane he selected that night had a unique fuel storage system involving hollow, baffled wing spars. When the determined guard shoved the siphon in, it stubbed against the first baffle. No matter how he twisted, pushed, and pulled the hose, he could not siphon any fuel from the plane. Exasperated, he lit a match to see inside the tank... and the rest is history. -Sacramento Bee (Unconfirmed) MORE DARWIN AWARDS, Mentions, Legends, and Personals: THE HUMAN FLY http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2001-18.html?0107 ETHANOL SCHMETHANOL http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2001-22.html?0107 SNOWBALL'S CHANCE IN HELL http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2001-21.html?0107 THE STING http://www.darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid2001-16.html?0107 SOBRIETY TEST http://www.darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid2001-15.html?0107 MORSEL OF EVIDENCE http://www.darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid2001-14.html?0107 YOU SAID A MOUTHFUL http://www.darwinawards.com/legends/legends2001-02.html?0107 MIRACLE MILE http://www.darwinawards.com/personal/personal2001-17.html?0107 --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ Sign up for the Darwin Awards newsletter! Email subscribe@darwinawards.com --------------------------------------------+---+-+---+-+-+-+-+ Copyright 2001 by Wendy Northcutt www.DarwinAwards.com Please help! I have been seeing my stories in COMMERCIAL newsletters, word for word, exactly taken from my website. If you see Darwin Awards in a newsletter that has ADVERTISING, it was stolen! Someone is making money from my writing without asking permission. Forward it to me! * Please share this newsletter with your friends! * - - -