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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!

christmas cheer

2006 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Working as a lift mechanic I came across this tale about a caretaker(janitor)who knew a little about how the "dumbwaiter " worked. Apparently he placed a quantity of beer bottles into a sack and placed them into the dumbwaiter to send them to his top floor unit,he kept the door open while holding the safety switch and sent the lift on its way, releasing the switch when he heard it stop,this gave him time to get to the top floor to retrieve his beer because the lift wouldnt go again till the door was properly closed.

When he reached his floor he couldnt get the door open so he raced down to the bottom again only to find the bottomdoor as he had left it but no lift,so he looked up the liftwell ,again holding the safety switch and pushed the button to get the lift down again,the lift was stuck in the well but the motor was turning and it started to lift the counterweight, piling the lifting ropes onto the top of the boxcar eventually ,the boxcar suddenly released and freefell down the well with all the beer still in it,the caretaker still had his head and shoulders in the liftwell until the boxcar neatly severed them from the rest of his body but with no restrictions it hit the well bottom with such force traces of his remains were found 5 feet up the sides of the well,what jammed the lift? his beer had moved rolled out to the side and wedged it halfway up the well

Submitted on 12/20/2006

Submitted by: Phil Collinet
Reference: Kings X SydneyAustralia 1989

Copyright © 2006 DarwinAwards.com

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

Graham said:
Neutral: Personal Account
An interesting story, Phil. Was this reported in the media, do you know?


James said:
Neutral: Personal Account
Since you heard this third-hand, I suspect it might be a variation on an Urban Legend, but what the hell, it's different! I'll keep it as a PA!


Jack said:
Neutral: Personal Account
Bizarre. And different enough for an award. Thanks, Phil.


Chip said:
Neutral: Personal Account
I also suspect that this is an Urban Legend variation based on the bricklayer's pulley tale. But personal accounts do not require verification so, even if untrue, it is funny! Thanks for the story, Phil


Darwin said:
Definitely Toss: Not Amusing
I have to agree with Chip, this is a re-worked version of the Bricklayer which can be found at http://www.darwinawards.com/legends/legends1998-08.html -- but thanks for the um, novel presentation of a hoary old legend, Phil! Best to you and yours, Wendy.


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