Charles Darwin's Darwin Awards 
HOME
Darwin Awards
At-Risk Survivors
Slush Pile
2008 December Rejects
Stand Clear, Doors Closing.
Merry-go-ouch
The DR is not very smart
Indoor Barbeque
Gas explosion
A church organist was found dead at
Parenting requires intelligence
Santa Shooter
Swimming Snowplow
Wrong Heater Fuel Blamed for Killer
Boat ramp blunder
Do not urinate on the rails!
Shockingly Stupid
The apprentice assassine
Train of mistakes !
Lonely man finds bear nuts
Man lights 50 sparklers at once
A burning desire to impress
dying for a smoke
Smoker on ventilator burned
Bandit shoots off ‘private part’
Big bang, small brain.
Taking a leak on railway tracks
Railtracks =/= Toilet
Call of nature answered on railway
Bahngleis als Toilette benutzt
Deadly Dump on Rails
man jumps from bridge to avoid semi
Don't smoke with oxygen
Flamin' hot partytrick
Daredevil's fatal plunge.
We don't sell tobacco to minors.
death by condom and laughing gas
Mom Killed, Son Hurt By Train
Man, Machine & Manure Lagoon
lodged snow blower
Trashed
A Wrong Way to Use a Blowtorch
the exploding women
How NOT to melt ice.
Man using cutting torch to thaw ice
Ice Breaker
Couple gets lost in snow after trip
Impaled
Kids watch as dad is electrocuted
Man melting snow with blowtorch ign
Kite+Power lines+Metal pole=Safe?
Blowtorch Man
Man melting snow with blowtorch ign
Man uses blowtorch to melt snow
Ambulance Fail
Mass. man melting snow with blowtor
The Kite Hunter
Man lights home on fire
Man melting snow with blowtorch ign
http://www.southcoasttoday.com
Hardcore rocker strangles himself o
The Icecapade!
Hunter & Deer Fall to their Deaths
When anger backfiress
Two potential darwins
Son watches father receive a Darwin
A total shock
Newton he ain't!
Shocking!
Weiner Slips and Dies
Kite electrocution
Woman dies in trash compactor
father electrocuted in front of kid
Kite + Metal Pole + Power Lines
Metal pole and powerlines
Man dies getting kite off power lin
Man Killed Rescuing Kite
Kite Zapping
Electrocuted Retrieving Kite
Man dies getting kite off power lin
Man electrocuted while fetching kit
Kite a shocking story
Motorcycle rear ends truck
Lonely man jumps into polar bear’s
Man steps into elevator shaft
Youth loses face in explosive sex a
Mouse's Revenge
Man steps into elevator shaft
Accidentally stabbed to death
Evidence Left at Crime Scene
Two arrested in bizarre assault
delieverence 2008
Teen injured in sledding accident
Historical Darwin
Womans set Husband Genitals on Fire
SoCal Woman Stuck on Tracks Called
Inadequate Training
Drew peterson's ladies
SoCal Woman Stuck on Tracks Called
Stuck on Train Tracks, Called 911
Woman Stuck on Tracks Called 911
FATAL FIRE
SoCal Woman Stuck on Tracks Called
Drew Peterson New Fiancee
Three people killed by foot massage
Three young women found dead at Squ
Wiggle It
teenager who choked himself
stalker victim
Benton City burglar dies in fire he
Blast at Oregon Bank Kills 2 Law En
ATM kills woman
Over the top Stalkee..
It's the coverup, not the crime
Burglar, Burglar, House on Fire
Unusual death
Lets take the bomb inside the bank!
Video shows ATM death was accident
blow torches and teachers don't mix
flying vendore
Man accidentally kills himself with
Special Award for G.W. Bush
Gregory Wayne Fisher
Family cat attacks family jewels
bomb technician
Bomb Investigation gone wrong
The battle of La Marfée
Bank blast kills officer, bomb expe
iPod + Train
man raises temperature of testicles
Two Officers Die of Injuries From a
Another Blue Day
Keep Eyes and Ears on the Road
perfect example of a darwin award
Mood light & gas don't Mix
Steeler comes a copper...
Riding Handrail Leads to Death
Dieter tries to outdo whale
1guy1cup
Copper theft man killed by fumes
Man Cuts His Own Throat on Stage
Young dies playing of roulette-Russ
Man dies during copper theft
Idiot
Moped driver collides wi mailbox
Big Finish
Man kills himself playing Russian R
Man's arm amputated after collision
Kidding with a gun shooted his head
Though it was unloaded
Pointed pants
Russian Roulete ends in death
Man lights cigarette, sets face on
Man lights cigarette, sets face on
Lift shafts
You Left The Clubs Too Late.
Teen killed, 2 men wounded in chase
A Bridge to Nowhere
Dead In the Water
Now That's A Strong Drink
I Hope He Burns for What He Did!
Setting the School Aflame
Gunman on bike hit, killed on Truma
Mushroom Madness
Gunman on bike hit, killed on Truma
Gunman on bike hit, killed on Truma
Suburban indoor barbeque
A tender behind
Kareoke Croakie
Boy Decapitated at Six Flags
8yr old boy with UZI
Managing director uses live bomb fo
Don't hide here
Woman swept to sea during proposal
Crossing: look left and right
Drink driver ran over himself
Man Killed Stealing Wire
Wrong Way Wreck Wreaks Woe
Gypsy Bang
Man fatally stricken while carrying
Deer gets revenge
Speed Camera racer
Texting on Cell, Killed by Train
WHEELIE, I CAN DO THIS!
Trampled by Bargain Seeker
pig headed safety lesson
Father Shoots Son With Shotgun
(Almost) Gone 2 the Dogs
just a picture
Man run over by own van
Speed Bump Daddy
Both Vehicles Were Stolen
Accident with Samurai Sword
Hard Cider Makes for a Hard Swim
No arms, No problem
Man drowns in storm drain trying to
Shift in reverse
Older Rejects 
 
~ Random Story ~
Email Alert!
NEW! 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!

Gas explosion

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

I have read and listened to the Darwin awards for several years now, and I am always reminded of an incident that happened when I was 10 years old (1973), though I have never heard it mentioned. I lived in Rawmarsh, South Yorkshire, and my Mum worked in Sheffield; Me and my Dad would often drive to pick her up, on Wednesdays, after her late shift, and would drive alongside the place where this incident happened. The area was completely devastated by the incident, and some of the windows of the adjacent factories never did get replaced.

A large telescoping gasometer had been taken out of service, and was to be disassembled. A group of five 'demolition' guys went to the site to take apart the tank. One of the guys (Derek Copson) went to buy sandwiches for the group for lunch, the other four went to the gasometer to start the deconstruction. Harry Smith, incredibly, survived the initial explosion, but one of the other three, probably Willie Donaldson who was a welder, started using an Acetylene torch, (with all three standing on top of it), to cut apart the tank. The ensuing explosion demolished the entire job site and blew out windows over a quarter mile radius. I always used to wonder if the last words of one of these three guys was "does either of you two smell gas..."

To this day, I still remember the quote of the local coroner at the inquest...Dr Pilling said: 'It seems certain that this explosion occurred as a result of these two decisions: to empty the tank of water, and allow a means of ignition within reach of the tank. C!early we now know with hindsight that it would have been better if these two decisions had not been taken.'

...now that is an understatment!

I'm not sure exactly how big the gas tank was, but I think it was about 200 feet in Diameter, and about twenty feet high, in its 'empty' condition.

I'm fairly certain that for each of them, like a fly hitting a windshield, the last thing to go through their minds was their own butt.

I now work in the computing industry in The US, as an analyst/programmer. Whenever we are doing testing and someone says "oh no-one would be stupid enough to do...", I usually refer to people who have starred in the Darwin awards and I also think of this incident.

Q) What is the difference between genius and stupidity? A) Genius has its limits!

Submitted on 12/31/2008

Submitted by: David Smith
Reference: 25th October 1973

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
On the principle that all three of these guys were supposed to be "experts" and ALL of them should have known better, I think three PAs/DAs are in order! And you are perfectly right to remind your coworkers that, yes, people _are_ stupid enough to do "that".


Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Too Common
Thanks for a great writeup, but I'm going to pass on this one. We have a number of similar stories of people using torches, or even just cigarette lighters, around or on top of tanks that were full of flammable materials. There's nothing here to me that really stands out as original, and I also have to wonder if the blast blew out windows 1/4 mile away if any innocent bystanders were injured. Thanks just the same, David.


James said:
Definitely Toss: Too Common
Reluctantly, I must agree with Bruce this time! I DO commend you on a good write-up, but in the end we have quite a few stories of this nature where the stupidity is far more evident and egregious than here! Thanks just the same, David!


Graham said:
Definitely Toss: Too Common
Yes, you'd think the "experts" would know better, but . . . if they did, there would be no Darwin Awards!


Shadow said:
Definitely Toss: Too Common
I agree with Bruce, james, and graham!


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

HomeRulesFAQsAwardsSlushSite Map
DarwinAward | HonorableMention | PersonalAccount | UrbanLegend