A Man and His Wood 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
A few years ago the Buffalo News (Buffalo, NY) carried a story about two local men driving along backroads through the countryside, returning after a day of hunting and drinking. They passed a house where the garbage had been put out to the curb for weekly pickup, and the driver noticed several large, flat sheets of paneling that he thought would be perfect for a project he was working on at home. He pulled over to the side of the road and the two men gathered up the wood, but soon discovered that they had nothing with which to secure the wood to the roof of the car. Ever resourceful, they decided that the best thing to do would be for one of them to lay flat on top of the wood, using his outstretched hands to hold on to the sides of the car through the open windows. The passenger promptly volunteered for this job, and he climbed on top of the car and laid facedown on top of the wood. The driver got back in his seat and took off down the road.
This might actually have worked if the driver hadn’t suddenly gotten tired of the 30-mph speed limit on those country roads. He headed for the highway.
Unfortunately for his friend, the combination of greater speed and a large pothole caused him to lose his grip on the car. The man and the paneling flew straight up into the air and continued together down the highway, horizontally, for several yards. He was lucky enough to touch down on the side of the road, and only suffered minor injuries.
Perhaps this doesn’t qualify as a true Darwin, but with mental giants like these, surely it’s only a matter of time…
Submitted on 10/14/2003
Submitted by:
Lynn Metzger
Reference:
The Buffalo News, 2000
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