Charles Darwin's Darwin Awards 
HOME
Darwin Awards
Honorable Mentions
Urban Legends
Personal Accounts
Slush Pile
2006 May Rejects
Would-be Copper Thief Electroc
Loaded rifle as walking stick
The shark may not be dead...
Sever(ly) Faithful
Deadly Recycling
The cutting truth
Two Strikes and You're Out
Man electrocuted
Modern Day Van Gogh
Death by Horse Penetration
Gun Walking Stick
Salem man accidentally shoots
Man accidentally shoots self
Car Crash, Shoots Self
Florida man drowns trying to s
Don't mess with Marines
Man accused of putting baby in
Stupid Teenager Alert
Man shoots self climbing hill
Salem man accidentally shoots,
Salem man accidentally shoots,
Fatal accident: Attempted thef
British Columbia: Man dies try
Man dies making pipe bomb
Shocked while stealing
Man tries to steal live wire
Florida man drowns trying to s
British Columbia: Man dies try
Blazing mouse sets fire
Australian baby 'put in dryer'
Man dies stealing live wires
Man dies trying to steal live
Man dies trying to steal live
A Shocking Left
Live Wire, Dead Thief
Rob a former marine-bad idea
crook swallows drugs
Man dies retrieving toy boat.
Singer's stage death
Singers stage death
Would-be copper thief electroc
Anatomy Lesson
In the Bag.. Well sort of !
Genetic Driving
Man loses life attempting to s
Don't Steal a Live Wire!
Man electrocuted steeling wire
Drunken Rafting
Biker falls over guardrail, di
Sea Swells Numb Skulls
dumb terrorists
Ironic Darwin?
alberto muniz da conceicao
Jap Lane
egg collector
Shocked the Shark bit him
Two Men Lose Hands In Barbecue
Evolution can't stop greed...
Miss Deaf didn't hear train
Chicken with a train
Train kills two teen escapees
Fatal fight began over chicken
TRAIN SURFING IN MELBOURNE, AU
Diver succeeds where many fail
Man dies in fall from copter
Almost A darwin Moment
drug dealer shot himself
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sect
Taxi?
3 Calif. Teens Burned in Aeros
Gasoline ignites, burns Omaha
Naked Guy Kills Himself
Shot herself in the abdomen
3 Calif. Teens Burned in Aeros
3 Calif. Teens Burned in Aeros
Full Bodied Rum
Cash dispenser blown away
Sleeping To Death
Hanging By A Thread
Wheelie Man
End of The Line
Died of a Broken Heart
Died of a Broken Heart
squirrels and their nuts
Tractor Starter Repair
A Brother's Stupidity
Wheelie on Interstate 87
Color Blind?
Ex-convict wanted in fatal sho
It's wet, it must be water
You forgot Rose, Jack....
Canadian Miners & Rotten Eggs
niwrad award?
Nudist up in flames
Tape Shows Man Fell Overboard
Flaming Socks
Welding a Motorbike
Ipswich Man Dies in Flood
Gas thief accidently sets him
Need for Speed
Paint Thinner Is Flammable?
Paint Thinner-Cigarette Error
Paint Thinner Ain't Water
Potential Darwin -
duck hunters
Cure for the Hiccups
Dangling For Gators
Heads Up (and off...)
Bridge Jumper Jumped
lagos pipeline disaster
lagos pipeline disaster
Ooh..what a photograph!
Skateboard Smash
Magnifying the Sun
Petrol Prank goes wrong
Thieves Get Burned
Lightbulb Basketball
Search on for killer 'gator in
Pipeline blast kills 200
Villagers had gathered as vand
Keep those gas tanks full!
Wrong time, wrong place
Darwin x 200
Pipeline blast rocks area near
200 village idiots
Oregon Man Survives 12 Nails
Fla. Man Killed In Home Explos
Here it comes!
ATV accident leaves man dead
'Small' penis drives teenager
One lucky hedgehog
Meditating woman plummets.
Surfers Suprise
Ditch Drowning
Teen Asked To Be Hit By Car
Fish Drags Man To Death
Man drowns trying to save dog.
Just For Thrills
Trying hard to win a Darwin
Self-Immolation Prank Misfires
killing the pilot
david bland, er, blane. sorry!
a nice place to nap
Adelaide Shop explosion
fatal drift
The Fast andthe Fundamentalist
Man Plummets from 8th-floor Ba
Sounds like fun
Not really guilty
Teenager Runs Over Friend f
Died whilst fasting for Lent
Boy pulled from sand
Christian dies during fast
Flush Money
Student Suicide Scene Injury
Desperately Needs a Hobby
Homebrewed GHB
Australian Army Mention?
Carbon Monoxide Overcomes Man
Power Washer, Glenview, Il
Killer Copy
Electricity Bridge
Human Fireball
Death by virtual sword
Just a joke - it won't ignite
Motorcyclist Dies
Fire death agony after petrol
Flame-Out
Petrol Joke Goes Wrong
Can't hear the train coming...
Explosion victim 'had lighter'
Joker dies in petrol gag
Not for lack of trying.
Crocodile Hunter Wannabe
Boaters were arguing, drinking
Alligator Bites Fla. Real Esta
Alligator bites Tycoon!(idiot)
Insufficient Postage?
Arctic Adventure
Woman runs self over, seriousl
High speed change
"Iron" Rich Nails
Woman’s own car kills her
Woman’s own car kills her at h
Thieves Gas Themselves
What a Platt
Date rape drain cleaner!
Thieves gas themselves in cyan
Thieves gas themselves in cyan
Row row row your boat
Thieves gas themselves in cyan
Gas attack!
One last park in the cemetary
Gas vs. Gambling Den
Thieves gas themselves in cyan
woman dies at husband's grsve
Queens woman killed near husba
Older Rejects 
 
~ Randomizer ~
Newsletter
Gift Shop
Rules  Search
Contact Darwin
Submit a Story
Philosophy Forum
Home

  

Darwin Awards
2006 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Flush Money

2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

It is a common mistake for many people to "flush away" their save the moment they retire, but one pensioner took that metaphor for wasting money to its literal extreme.

The 64 year-old man was retired and living in the city of Kiel in northern Germany (known as "the city of fresh air") when his toliet became clogged. He called some plumbers over to his house to fix the problem and they were startled to find nearly 60,000 in deutschemarks clogging his drain pipe.

To give one an idea of how much this was, think the same amount $60,000 in New Zealand dollars $37,000 in American dollars, $50,000 in Australian or S42,000 in Canadian dollars, or 21,000 in British pounds. It was also 30,000 in Euro.

Apparently the man had been saving up the money for a while but believed it worthless after hearing that his country had converted to the Euro. Not aware of the common-sense law of economics that states whenever a country changes its currency the old currency can always be exchanged for the new currency, he reasoned that the best solution was to rid himself of all the "useless" marks by flushing them down his latrine.

To his luck the plumbers had salvaged the soggy cash and took him to a local bank to deposit it.

Though there is no death, sterility, or injury besides financial ruin, I still think this story is worth consideration for an Honorable Mention for the phenomenal stupidity of it. For one the man was 64, which is certaintly old enough to make wise decisions, but certaintly showed a phenomenal lack of good judgement by flushing all cash (even more than the cost of my house!) down the toliet. And it could be also seen as a form of selecting against ones' self by risking that amount of financial ruin to ones' self in such a stupid way.

Maybe we can hope this German retiree will win a Darwin before laying on his natural deathbed. One thing I can be sure of is I would have hated to be the bank teller who had to handle his money!

Submitted on 05/08/2006

Submitted by: Stevo
Reference: AP, Reuters 4/20/06

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

James said:
Definitely Toss: Other
Yes, the gent was stupid, but it is not the sort of stupidity we are looking for. Maybe he was truly clueless about his options, or maybe he was just senile; whatever the case, his was not the ULTIMATE stupidity, and he DID get (at least most of) his money back! Our rules for a DA or HM are wuite specific, and flushing money down the toilet isn't NEARLY as stupid as some of the things our award winners have done. Nice try, though! I did like the story! Thanks, Stevo!


Jorge said:
Maybe Toss: Other


The Darwin Awards Gift Shop

The Darwin Awards Condom

Keep yourself out of the gene pool!
A condom in a matchbook, useful for emergency contraception, bachelor parties, frat parties, and important rites of passage. LOADED inside and out with funny quotes and stories. Everyone loves this item!
Friends don't let friends reproduce!
$13 for Pack of 4

 

 

Slush Pile
Slush Pile Rejects


Advanced Search

HomeRulesFAQsAwardsSlushSite Map
DarwinAward | HonorableMention | PersonalAccount | UrbanLegend

>> The Darwin Awards, by Wendy Northcutt <<
Link to Fight Evil.