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Darwin Awards
2008 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Winter Paddleboating at Midnight

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Three high school boys were at a school-sponsored retreat for leadership on November 13, 2008. Around midnight, these "team leaders" led a group of teenagers to the lake for some midnight mischief and stole some paddleboats for a midnight cruise on the fast-moving Fox River. What the boys didn't know was that the boats had been winterized, with the corks in the bottom removed to prevent water from accumulating in them. The boats took on water, but instead of heading for shore, the boys decided to swim. While the boys could all swim(one was a lifeguard), they could not escape the swift-moving river. Their bodies were recovered the next day.

Submitted on 11/15/2008

Submitted by: Victoria Miller
Reference: Chicago Sun-times 11/15/08

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Three teens, all above our maturity cutoff, and all supposedly "team leaders" decide to steal boats for a joyride. Sounds like they're well deserving of a DA to me since their leadership skills were lacking and instead acted like a pack of lemmings. Thanks, Victoria.

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
Granted, the "team leaders: started it, but if someone old enough to drive a two-ton hunk of machinery chooses to play follow-the-leader instead of practicing independent thinking AND doesn't check the boats out for themselves, they're asking for it. Thanks, Victoria!

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