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2008 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
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Burning Down the Barn

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Darwin says, "I would like to use this as a Darwin Award, but without any references, I can't! I tried searching Google for a news reference, but there simply are not enough details. Thanks for the submission. It was well-written. But without confirmation, it stays in the Slush Pile."
ORIGINAL SUBMISSION:

Rats had begun to take refuge in the barn of a couple in west-central Iowa. The rats would occasionally slip into the house, annoying them. They had talked about burning down the dilapidated barn to rid the rats of their safe hiding place.

The wife returned home after winning first place in a golf tournament to find that the barn had been burned to the ground. She did not think much about it until her husband did not turn up later in the evening.

When authorities investigated, they found his body in the corner of the barn holding a shotgun. When the investigation was finished, this is what they surmised happened: The man had decided to burn down the barn without seeking help from anyone. As the barn began to burn he realized that the rats were running from the heat and would surely run to the house. The man sat on a chair with a shotgun inside of the barn and began to shoot the fleeing creatures, however, did not plan an escape route himself and perished in the fire.

Submitted on 11/14/2008

Submitted by: Anonymous
Reference:

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Urban Legend
This has all the earmarks of an urban legend to me, especially since no references are provided. However it's humorous enough that I'll give it a pass. Thanks.

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Urban Legend
I agree with Bruce! WHAT THE --- WAS HE THINKING!?!

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