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2005 December Slush
Broom pleasure???
Would be Wild E. Coyote
Better him than me
Some dreams deserve to die
Score Some Good Shit
Don't Pick The Flowers
Mugger dies in tiger enclosure
Pop goes the Megan!
Hair spray fire death
Bottle Rockets
Un adepte du tuning saute avec
need a jump?
Hunter Nearly killed by train
Explosive mix
Supermanning
Drive? Sail? Why not both?
3rd man killed by train
collecting dud rounds
I can hide here from the cops
Polonaise to death
Out of the frying pan...
snowmobile versus train
Human Frogger
"This will not explode."
Nailed
Boater injured by propeller
Personal Account: Tram Kill
Tech-Soilder finds leak in tan
Two men drown
Thief killed by Tiger
Human Wrecking Ball
At-Risk Survivor candidate
Tarzan Scoutleader
Lock Out Lessons
Lacking Brains and License
Lake Minnetonka Ice Fishing
Killed by fire extinguisher
Keep Your Hands To Yourself
Lose face while making popcorn
God's Surprise
Redneck truck Repair
Rodel Around the Clock
Suicide by Boat Ramp
Row your boat
Cell Phone Swallower
Re: Tasty! et al
Woman Swallows Cell Phone
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Darwin Awards
2005 Slush Pile

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

Lock Out Lessons

2005 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

The following happened many years ago while my grandfather was working at a Procter and Gamble plant that made Tide detergent. Workers were constantly reminded about the dangers of not locking out equipment that was being serviced. For those of you unfarmiliar with the lockout procedure, the main power switch to a machine is locked in the off position and the person servicing the machine is the only one with the key to start it back up again. Enter the operator of a gigantic machine that transported Tide at a rapid pace from the upper to the lower part of the plant. It did this by means of a large screw that rotated very quickly. Every hour, it shut down for five minutes for cleaning (on an automatic timer), and the operators of such machines would blow out clumps of soap adhered to the screw. This particular fellow never locked out the power supply to this machine as he had no doubt been told countless numbers of times, since he had probably worked in this manner for a number of years. On one unfortunate day, a power outage had reset the timer for this machine, and when the time came to climb inside and clean the screw, he did so. However, when the machine started back up prematurely, there was no lockout device to prevent it from doing so, and the Tide began to turn (pardon the pun), and our unlucky operator went along with it. According to my grandfather's eyewitness testimony, all anyone heard was a horrible scream going down the tube. It moved to quickly for anyone to help, and by the time the machine was shut off, our operator was found at the bottom of the tube with his legs missing. He was rushed to the hospital, but nothing could be done because of all the soap in his bloodstream, and he died later.

Submitted on 12/20/2005

Submitted by: Blake
Reference: Personal Account

Copyright © 2005 DarwinAwards.com

Great? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Awful?
Love it! Hate it!
>> Moderator Scores <<

Jack said:
Neutral: Personal Account
I have mixed feelings on this. I'm torn between calling this just another industrial accident or Darwin level stupidity. But since we're talking about a Personal Account, I vote to keep it.

James said:
Neutral: Urban Legend
We've had a couple of submissions this year about people falling into centrifuges (one particularly good one from England concerning a hydro-exstractor). I suspect these are variations of an urban legend. The details are very similar (ie the fellow is spun so quickly his legs are ripped off his body), but I have found no verification whatsoever that this ever happened to anyone ever! If your grandfather can cite evidence (ie a news clip), I'd reconsider, but either way I'll keep this as an UL!

Greg said:
Neutral: Personal Account
I'd PA this. LOVE the pun! ;-)

Tracy said:
Neutral: Personal Account
It's just another work accident though

Charles said:
Neutral: Personal Account
I'll side with the majority here... it does seem to be an industrial accident helped along by marginally Darwin-grade stupidity.

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