Charles Darwin at a green chalkboard.

2007 Darwin Awards

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? Honoring Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool--by removing themselves from it in the most spectacular way possible.

Descent of Man
2007 Darwin Award Winner
Unconfirmed by Darwin

I witnessed plenty of ill-considered death and mayhem during 20 years on the NYPD. In one case, we responded to a "body in a courtyard" call. We found a 19-year-old man who had perished by falling from a great height, although the roof access was securely locked and there were no open windows overlooking the courtyard. Clearly, we could rule out suicide, but what had happened? Eventually we located an informative eyewitness.

The man's younger brother.

He told us that the two of them had intended to burglarize an apartment, and his brother had climbed a cable TV wire to a fifth-floor window. While struggling to force the window, he had lost his grip on the TV cable and fallen to his death. The surviving brother panicked and ran.

When I asked why they had selected that particular apartment, the brother looked at me incredulously, and replied, "They obviously got a TV if they got a cable going in the window." Obviously!

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Reference: NYPD Police Officer

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