NEWCASTLE – The Darwin Awards are handed out to those who have eliminated themselves from the gene pool, and to those who are at risk of having themselves removed.
Read: #WackyWednesday: Six jobs that no longer exist
Be sure to read the following five cases which appeared in the Darwin Awards:
1. Pokémon Go evolves to Pokémon Jump
Two Californian men followed the app to a 75 to 100 foot cliff on July 13, 2016. While both men survived the fall, sustaining minor injuries and missing a full Darwin Award, they have put themselves on the At Risk category of the awards.
2. Dutch courage left unrewarded
On March 2, 2014, two drunk men in the Netherlands dared each other to test their courage against a train at the Rotterdam train station.
At 6pm that evening, the two men climbed onto the tracks. One man lay down between the tracks, thinking the train would go over him, while the other knelt beside the track and put his head as close as possible where he thought the train would pass.
Both men’s calculations were off, as the train was wider and lower than they anticipated. Both died and won a Darwin Award for their stupidity.
3. Hot wiring his end
Scott McKimmie from the United Kingdom earned his Darwin Award on February 18, 2014, when he tried to start his car using two wires.
His 1998 Cabriolet might not have been considered unroad worthy to some, but Mr KcKimmie saw this as a security feature and even went as far as to set his car to run with a high idle so it would not stall.
On the day of his demise, he forgot to put on his handbrake. So, when he touched the wires together, his car rocketed forward and did not stop.
4. Going down?
A disabled man from South Korea was angry when an elevator departed without him on August 25, 2010. He proceeded to ram his motorised chair into the lift’s doors with the intention of opening them. Unfortunately, the doors opened but by that time the lift had already departed and the man discovered the cruelty of gravity and won his Darwin Award.
5. Driving a bar stool
While he did not receive a Darwin Award, a man from New Jersey was awarded the title of At-Risk in the Darwin archives after he crashed his motorised bar stool on March 4, 2009.
The Newark Fire Department received the call of a man who sustained injuries in a crash, only to find the man had been driving a lawnmower/bar stool hybrid. The “vehicle” was able to reach speeds of 61 km, but the driver claimed he had been travelling 32 km at the time of the crash.
It was discovered he was over the legal alcohol limit and crashed after attempting to make a turn on the way home.
