Charles Darwin with a purple swarm around his head, contemplating the twist of fate that natural selection sidestepped these still-living honorable mentions.

2009 Honorable Mention

Next Prev Random Honorable Mentions have misadventures that stop short of the ultimate sacrifice. Nevertheless we salute the spirit of their colossal blunders with an Honorable Mention. Better luck next time!

Tennis Blow
2009 Honorable Mention
Unconfirmed by Darwin

(Switzerland, 1990's) During a training lesson on a plush tennis court in Gstaad, a high school student named Elbrus (son of Russian nouveau riche) decided to check out how a tennis ball machine works. Since you're reading this here, you already know the machine was on and working, in other words, shooting balls. Elbrus stuck his nose into the machine to inspect that complicated device. Before anyone could react, the next the ball struck him right in the face, breaking his nose and knocking him out.

It was his lucky day. The machine was not set to a maximum power--otherwise it would have killed him.

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Reference: Eyewitness account, Batareikin

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