Charles Darwin's Darwin Awards 
HOME
Darwin Awards
Honorable Mentions
Urban Legends
Personal Accounts
Slush Pile
2006 May Slush
Burning Down The FIre House
Elevator Bench-Press
No Space for Survival Gear
Travelling Light.
Crash Course in Midair Stunts
Check stick before touching
Dumb, drunk soldier
Lucky Brake
Bio of a Darwin Contender
Train Jump Hon Mention
Engine Blockhead
When in doubt, stop and help
S#*t Happens!
Bike Tricks
Scooter Bandit-Tough or Dumb?
Alcohol-proof trucker
Rare Egg hound falls to death
Petrol Can Welder
Earth, Wind, Fire, Joey & more
Who Needs Climbing Gear?
Traffic accident ends in fatal
Avian Revenge
What are the chances of that?
Man falls from tree
Older Slush 
 
~ Randomizer ~
Newsletter
Gift Shop
Rules – Search
Contact Darwin
Submit a Story
Philosophy Forum
Home

  

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!

What are the chances of that?

2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Personal account of near miss.

Our new kitchen was installed. I had tiled the work areas and papered the rest.

All that remained was to fix up the picture rail (a decorative wood batten that runs horizontally across the wall). Three screws, no probs. Drill holes in plaster, insert wallplugs, screw wood to wall.

Last hole - BANG! I fall off ladder, lights go out. I am unhurt, my drill bit is not. The tip is partly melted.

Examination of the hole found that I had, unerringly, drilled into an electrical mains cable, so that my drill bit had touched both conductors simultaneously. The current had gone straight across the drill, missing me entirely.

I could not have reproduced this accuracy, even if I had known the cable was there.

No Newton, but nearly.

Submitted on 05/17/2006

Submitted by: John Davies
Reference:

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: Personal Account
DARWIN, NOT Newton!!!!! Anyway, even though what you did was a combination of coincidence and bad luck rather than stupidity, I got enough of a chuckle out of this to give it the green light as a PA. We'll see if the readers agree! Thanks, John!

Jorge said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account

Greg said:
Neutral: Personal Account

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