A 20 year old man in Pembroke Pines, Florida tried to make some money by climbing a power pole to collect the eggs of a parakeet nesting at the top of it.

He planned to sell these eggs to a local pet store for about $20 each.

Well, after getting to the top he reached for his $20 prizes and in so doing brushed a transformer. (Note: transformers don't like being brushed.)

And so our parakeet thief blew off the pole like Wile E. Coyote in a cartoon after getting shocked he landed on the ground. (I wonder if he had one of those little "Yikes" signs?)

Anyhoo, two witness' passing by jumped the fence and tried to help him until police arrived.

During this time the parakeet was seen calling his friend in Arizona to relate the story. A faint "beep beep" laughing sound could be heard by the cops. (Ok, not really)

Unfortunately he survived and may live on to spread his seed. He had second and third degree burns on his upper extremities. Hopefully semen doesn't get produced for the rest of a person's life after being shocked so intensely, we hope.

Submitted on 01/25/2009

Submitted by: Jonathan Brown
Reference: http://groups.google.ru/group/AR-News/browse_thread/thread/df447a48780cb4e7

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Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
While people getting electrocuted is pretty common (especially dumb crooks trying to steal copper) this is the first story I've heard of that does sound like something right out of a cartoon, so I'll gladly accept it. Thanks, Jonathan! FYI, here's a link to a UPI article: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/05/16/Parakeet_eggs_lure_man_into_live_wire/UPI-67361210968266/

Graham said:
Neutral: Too Common
I like the 'Natural Intervention' here - stealing birds' eggs indeed. Shame on him. All for a few measly dollars. I wonder . . . has this moron learned his lesson? I'd say not. Watch this space . . .

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Honorable Mention
I'll go with Bruce on this one. Parakeet eggs are a little different than the usual copper cables, and I truly love thiswrite up! Thank you, Jonathan!

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