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Darwin Awards
2006 Slush Pile

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Dangerous Cliff

2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Honorable mention.

Jerry Mersereau, 23, has filed a lawsuit against the United States of America for injuries he sustained when he fell down a ravine in the Mt. Hood National Forest during an overnight camping trip. The lawsuit says that during the night, while searching in the dark “for a place to relieve himself, plaintiff walked off the unguarded and unprotected cliff falling about 20 to 30 feet to the creek bed below.” Mersereau wants the U.S. government to pay for his injuries and the “mental anguish” his fall caused. He says the government should have known the cliff posed a danger to campers.

Mersereau feels no personal responsibility about what happened when he stumbled around in the dark without a flashlight near a ravine that he should have noticed when he set up his camp. He believes that federal lands in every state should have guard railings installed along every ravine, cliff, canyon, gorge, and high spot where a careless person might fall off.

Submitted on 08/10/2006

Submitted by: Al Siebert
Reference: The Oregonian, August 2, 2006

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

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James said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
Normally, I'd toss this as a frivolous lawsuit, but this MOOK shows ALL of the stupidity and arrogance characteristic of a contender. I sincerely hope he loses the lawsuit. Thousands of campers come and go safely each year. Why this fellow thinks the government should coddle his stupidity is beyond me. I'll keep this as an HM for the stupidity and arrogance alone! Thanks, Al, that one hit a sore spot with me! :-)


Fitzroy said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
Yeah, the injured man's legal action is what makes this feel right when most "hiker over cliff" tales do not. Nonsense like this guts park budgets and raises further restrictions on unguided wilderness adventure. I wonder if this litigious fool wet himself after his fall.


Sheryl said:
Neutral: Honorable Mention
No flashlight? Okay, this guy's an idiot. Anyone who goes camping without a flashlight deserves all he gets.


Jorge said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
With his way of thinking he will soon earn a DA


Darwin Awards III: Survival of the Fittest

Hardback. 304 pages. Autographed.
$15
The human race's most popular humor series returns with a brand-new collection of macabre mishaps and misadventures. Honoring those who improve our gene pool by inadvertently removing themselves from it, the Darwin Awards III shows once more how uncommon common sense still is.

Salute the sheriff who inadvertently shot himself--twice! Witness the insurance defrauder who amputated his leg with a chainsaw! Heed the story of the farmer who avoided bee stings by sealing his head in a plastic bag! Cringe at the man crushed by a branch he'd just severed... directly over his head!

123 new stories, 18 full-page illustrations, plus discussions of transgenic animals, the origin of life, and more.

Autographed by Author!

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