So. This blacksmith was repairing his gun, a percussion-cap muzzle-loader, and decided to check if it was still loaded. Eschewing the more traditional (and safe) method of using the ramrod to see if a charge was in the barrel, He put the nipple (the bit the percussion cap goes on) against a candle, PUT THE BARREL IN HIS MOUTH, and blew into the gun...his reasoning thus: If the gun was loaded, powder would be blown into the candle, and would flash, letting him know he needed to unload it. As it worked out, he didn't need to unload it, although probably not for the reason he anticipated. Exactly how he thought the powder flashing right next to a loaded gun while the barrel was in his mouth was a good thing, we will never know. When some grains of a black powder fell out of the nipple of the gun, another man who was there watching him told him it was gunpowder. At which point the blacksmith, sure of his ingenious and foolproof test, took the gun out of his mouth and said that it was in fact filings. At which point, with a magnificent irony, the powder he'd blown out of the gun and into the air, or perhaps the powder around the nipple left from that same blow, was ignited by the candle and set off the gun. The bullet hit his spine and it killed him nearly instantly.

It *did* ensure the gun wasn't loaded anymore though.

Criteria: Reproduction: .....I highly doubt he managed it after this. Really. Maturity: This guy was 29 years old,and a blacksmith. He knew how to maintain guns. He was old enough to know better, and being a firearm owner, probably knew that gunpowder is flammable. Self-Selection: He put the barrel of a loaded gun in his mouth and blew powder out the other end INTO A CANDLE to check if it was loaded. He could have used the ramrod, which wouldn't have taken much time at all. Instead, he improvised a test that anyone could see would go Horribly Right. Veracity: It's in the newspapers of the time, the Otago Daily Times specifically. I found out about this story from my father, who was going through these old papers for research purposes. You can find the report of the inquest into the blacksmiths death at http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=ODT18701214.1.2&e

The article is in the second and third columns from the right on the page.

Submitted on 08/09/2011

Submitted by: Jared Rhys Anderson
Reference: Otago Daily Times, December 14, 1870

Copyright © 2011 DarwinAwards.com

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
That's quite a historical Darwin you have there, Jared. Talk about complete idiocy with a gun! And thanks for taking the time to find the newspaper article about it!

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Darwin Award
A gentle tap with the ramrod... that's all it would have taken.... Thanks Jared!

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