The young man in question, of Pacific Island origin, used the fertile seas around the tropical island to gather fish in a very Pacific way; he and his many siblings would spread a net where it caught the current, then swim along it with a floating esky, collecting fish by the dozen. I watched them do it, even after this event. Their practise of course failed to take into account the prevalence of crocodiles - for which this bay was particularly notorious, to my understanding - and box jellyfish, whose stings are often fatal and invariably agonising.

One day the young man swam into a box jellyfish, and was stung comprehensively by many tentacles in a web across his chest. This is probably the most life-threatening place to be stung, so the flying doctor was called; one of the island's two schoolteachers found it his responsibility to light lanterns and spread them along the airstrip for the air ambulance to land. The young man was flown into, ironically, the city of Darwin (apt) where he was placed in intensive care on life-supporting monitors and drips.

However a free trip to Darwin for a kid from the bush was too good an opportunity to miss. He unhooked his drip, tore off the monitors, and went to a night club, where he danced the night away with as many young women as he could attract with his dreadlocked charm.

When he arrived back at intensive care in the not-so-early hours, he was surprised to find the welcome fairly cool.

I heard this story first from the man himself, so of course smiled, nodded and took it with about a handful of salt. I knew he'd been shipped to Darwin because I'd heard the lanterns-on-the-runway part from a teacher. But it wasn't until I was in Darwin on a break and chatting to a friend who happened to be an intensive care nurse at the hospital, who told me the incredible story of the islander with the jellyfish sting, that I realised it was, though formally unverifiable, completely true.

The man in question deserves an extremely DISHONOURABLE mention in the Darwin Awards for his ability to REMAIN ACTIVE IN THE GENE POOL even DURING his attempt at Darwinian fame (in more than one sense of the word "Darwinian", of course).

Submitted on 08/18/2012

Submitted by: Alice Teasdale
Reference: NA - personal account

Copyright © 2012 DarwinAwards.com

Candi said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Oh... gee whiz.

Bruce said:
Definitely Keep: Personal Account
Unbelievable. And the fact that he was treated in Darwin is icing on the cake. Thanks, Alice!

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