History & Rules

Maturity

The candidate must be capable of sound judgment.

Humans are generally capable of sound judgment--except those with mental handicaps that render them unable to fully comprehend the ramifications of their actions. A vociferous majority argues that CHILDREN also fit into this category, citing the vast gulf between ignorance and stupidity.

An equally clamorous minority contends that children are the BEST candidates for a rusty chromosome award⁽¹⁾ since they obviously have not reproduced. NUMEROUS children have stated that restricting children from vying for this laudable award is another encroachment on their civil liberties.

I appreciate that parents are responsible for raising their offspring and teaching them to make responsible decisions. Therefore children under sixteen are not eligible to win a Darwin Award⁽²⁾. However, a few have been included as cautionary nominees when their actions can be considered foolhardy by even their young peers.

FOOTNOTES:

#1) "Arbitrary rules applied to natural selection? Perhaps you missed the point of Darwin altogether." -Jim S.

#2) If the child cannot win the award because the parent's judgement was paramount, perhaps it is the parent who should win an award for his or her careless caretaking.

DarwinAwards.com © 1994 - 2004