Honorable mention only, thank goodness.

I won't attempt to re-write the original CDC prose because it puts a necessary context to the story. This event wouldn't be near as sensational only that the candidate's ineptitude led to strange enough circumstances to warrant a formal CDC investigation. Usually reserved for epidemics and large chemical spills.

"In September 2004, in anticipation of a power outage during the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan, a man aged 34 years in Mobile, Alabama, purchased a 100-lb block of dry ice from a local ice house. The block of dry ice was divided into four equal parts and packaged in brown paper bags, which were placed in the front seat of the man's pickup truck. The windows were closed, and the air conditioner was set to recirculate air inside the cab of the truck. After driving approximately one quarter mile from the ice house, the man had shortness of breath; his breathing difficulty increased as he drove the next mile. The man telephoned his wife and asked her to call 911. He then pulled his truck into a parking lot, parked, and lost consciousness. His wife drove to the parking lot and located her husband's truck; immediately after she opened the door to the vehicle, her husband began to awaken.

"Emergency medical services personnel arrived soon afterward. They determined that the man's vital signs were normal and he required no further medical evaluation. Although the man complained of a headache for the next 24 hours, he recovered completely.

"Dry ice has a temperature of -109.3ºF (-78.5ºC) and can be used to keep perishable foods cold (1). As dry ice melts, it undergoes sublimation (i.e., direct conversion from a solid into gaseous CO2, bypassing the liquid state). Improper ventilation during use, transport, or storage of dry ice can lead to inhalation of large concentrations of CO2 with subsequent harmful effects, including death (1,2)."

You may ask how much can the average hurricane sufferer be expected to understand about dry ice and carbon dioxide? Consider that the victim kept on driving as symptoms became worse, finally called his wife to tell her to call 911, then stayed in the pickup, with the windows rolled-up, until he passed out. He is extremely lucky that another probable cause for in-car asphyxiation was not the culprit. Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless gas that would have likely been less forgiving.

Submitted on 04/08/2005

Submitted by: dras@myway.com
Reference: Dec2004 CDC report Online

Copyright © 2005 DarwinAwards.com

Daniel said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
I like this one, as I have used dry ice on many occasions for keeping a cooler cold. It never occured to me that keeping it in the cooler saved my life.

Jack said:
Maybe Toss: Other
I'm not sure about this - it seems to me that the ice house people should have known better than to package the dry ice in brown paper bags rather than in inexpensive foam coolers. Possiblity a bit of cupability on their part here.

Charles said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
There's enough ventilation in a truck or car that he was unlikely to die from even the sublimation off 4 25-pound slabs, and it's obvious that he didn't know what was going on, else he would have opened a window. A cooler would have helped only slightly, as the gas would still sublime off (albeit more slowly); the top of the cooler would have to be loose, and it would "pop" slightly as gas was given off; or if it was tight, it would burst the cooler. Cheap coolers can't hold 25lb...

Kelly said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
Found the CDC report and the ice was indeed packaged in paper bags. Ice house workers are not responsible for it's transport, which is supposed to be in a cold box that'll keep it frozen. The consumer is responsible to make sure they are educated in how to transport it before buying it. He obviously wasn't, like just about every non-scientific person that's ever bought it.

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