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2007 July Slush
(DA) Steel Steal
(Hmm)Hong Kong woman falls into Volcano
The Copper Caper
Drifting
Dead Woman Switch
Should we worry about a blue flame?
Darwinian Gambit
Testing Body Armor
Do NOT moon a train.
Bicycle Blues
FSB man shoots fire. Fire wins.
A down-hill struggle
Woman's lighter sparks blaze at NM
Chainsaw + Power Pole = ?
Dont stand on a moving vehicle
inept robbers get away with the dou
Snake and Fishing
K-9 Brain-0
drapery rod in elevator
Balancing the Generator
Angry Elephant Stomps Man to Death
Burglar falls 26 storeys to death
Teens Grieve After Stunt
Indoor Barbeque, near miss
The Hazards of Cigarette Smoking...
Indoor Fireworks
U.S. Teen Killed in Abandoned Mexic
Melted "T"
Man hopes a wall to fall 30 feet
Woman Dies Trying To Do Handstand
Elderly self-selection
Man found burned at foundry dies
Parachute Pilot Plunges into Pond
SUV accident claims life of Belmont
Becoming a buried treasure
deathly horny
Typhoon Power
Idiot doing donuts killed by own ve
Surfing the Las Vegas Strip
Cheapskate Crispy
man vs. train
High Diving
tigress kills forgetful keeper
Man falls out of moving car
Two brother die making own firework
Wonder Woman
Testing Body Armor 2
Intercontinental Stowaway
Gas and Cigarettes
Lethal U-Turn
Father and Son jump to death
Ignored the warnings
Teens body found in gravel pit
Gecko Hunt
Man dies in fall at Arco event
A Car On The Road???
The Smokey Thumb
car jump into a pond
Dynamite fishing Does it again.
Five minutes of fame;
Jumping off a cliff
Dead in railroad crossing
Hiking with summer camp
Man locks self in trunk, dies
Overcome by Fumes
Dog-gone
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Darwin Awards
2007 Slush Pile

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The Smokey Thumb

2007 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

My first clue should have been the date of Friday the 13, which my mom always said had brought her good luck. Anyway it was about 10: 30 at night and my brother and one of our neighbours decided to light off some low grade fireworks. One of the devices, commonly know as a smoke ball, is a ball about the siza of a large marble with a fuse which you light and it produces enough smoke to fill an eight by ten room. So we were out there lighting these things in the street and throwing them in the gutter so that we would attract drivers attention. My friend, who we'll call Bill, tossed one a little too far out and as it turns out in front of a car going well over the posted limit. I of course paniced, and in my haste to avoid an accident, grabbed the lit firework while simultaneously placing my thumb over the hole. This resulted in an nasty burn and me running across the street in front of a moving car. If there are two things you can learn from this is, first, not to throw obstructing fireworks at passing cars, and secondly, not to pick them up.

Submitted on 07/13/2007

Submitted by: Dominic Santomieri
Reference: Personal Account Friday July 12 , 2007

Copyright © 2007 DarwinAwards.com

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
I used to play with those same types of smoke bombs a lot as a kid. Putting a finger over a lit one of these is definitely NOT a good thing. Once the fuse burns down it actually generates a jet of smoky flame out of the hole that the fuse went into, and it could easily create a second or third degree burn. You're also lucky that you didn't get nailed by the car! Thanks for sharing this, Dominic.


James said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Hopefully a lesson learned the hard way with relatively little harm done! An amusing PA! Thanks, Dominic!


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