2009 Honorable Mentions

The stupidity displayed by the participants in the following tales stops short of the ultimate Darwin Awards sacrifice. Nevertheless, we salute the spirit and innovation of their misadventures.

Gimpy Wendy 2009 Honorable Mention Confirmed True by Darwin (August 2009, California) Wendy Darwin Northcutt, writer of humorous obituaries and author of five Darwin Awards books, nearly made her own dark list when she broke her leg devising a clever way to cool the house. During a California heat wave, she opened up a grate in the hallway intending to install a fan to force basement air up. The phone rang and, forgetting about the hole in the floor, three hours passed before she wandered down the hall and fell into it. Crunch! A broken leg was the price she paid for the lesson: Never walk away from a hole in the floor. Reader Neil Clark: "I'd RECOMMEND walking away from holes. It's turning around and walking back that's dangerous..." Reader Richard Scott: "Sorry to hear about you leg but I bet you are happy that it was you who entered the report..." Stephanie Bonds: "If you can walk away from such a "grate" experience, I want you as my friend!" "Be 'grate'ful."" DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2009 Reference: Personal account by the author of the Darwin Awards, whose integrity is beyond reproach. Awful? 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Great? Hate it! Love it!

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