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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!

Grinding no brainer

2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

PENSIONER KILLED AS HOME-MADE GRINDER SHATTERS.

A HOME-MADE grinder which shattered killing a retired pit electrician was spinning at more than 280mph — nearly four times the recommended speed.

Sidney Rowlands, 77, made the contraption in his garden shed using the engine of an old lawnmower, an inquest in Sheffield was told.

Engineers from the Health and Safety Executive examined the tool and found excess speed caused the six-inch disc to fracture. Similar manufactured tools spin at 78mph.

Shards then struck Mr Rowlands, of Fountain Close, Darton, in the neck on September 20 last year and he died from the injuries.

Coroner Christopher Dorries said: “It is clear that Mr Rowlands died as a result of the grinding disc fracturing and causing him a serious injury."

Submitted on 03/17/2006

Submitted by: jonna lockey
Reference: Barnsley Chronicle 10th March

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

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

James said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
The write-up is a bit sparse, but the content is "classic" DA. I can already hear the guy patting himself on the back for fabricating a grinder which can grind almost four times as fast..and then he flicks the switch! Thanks, Jonna, I got a chuckle out of this one!

Sheryl said:
Maybe Toss: Other
This is confusing me. It's a 2005 submission but I can't find it in the "search" at all. Other Mods can have a try on this one, please.

Jorge said:
Maybe Toss: Other

Charles said:
Neutral: Darwin Award
What the story doesn't tell us is whether our victim had worked with a grinder before, or if he simply decided to build one because they were so expensive to buy... if he had never used one, it is possible that he had no idea how fast they are supposed to go.

Greg said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Ouch!! Regardless of whether he'd used one before, I'm sure the blade would've come with tolerances on the packaging, which he clearly never read. Thanks!

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