Darwin Awards

I think the 29 year old guy who drank a 16oz tumbler of vodka at a party in 4sec, and died, should get a Darwin Award. He's right up there with the couple who stopped in the right hand lane of a busy freeway to have sex and were run over by a semi. They got a Darwin.

Hey, everybody, here comes the ghost train.

Quote:

STATESVILLE, N.C. — Authorities say a man who was waiting with several friends for a "ghost train" from a North Carolina legend was killed when a real train came down the tracks.

Iredell County Sheriff Phil Redmond says 29-year-old Christopher Kaiser of Charlotte was killed about 2:45 a.m. Friday as he waited with friends at a railroad trestle. Redmond says witnesses said about 12 people were on the trestle hoping to see a ghost train when the real train rounded a bend.

Everyone but Kaiser was able to clear the tracks at the end of the trestle. The train struck Kaiser, who was thrown into a ravine.

The legend developed from a train wreck on Aug. 27, 1891, that killed about two dozen people and injured many others. Folklore Web sites claim the accident can be heard on each anniversary.

Shouldn't the Democratic Party get one this year?

Jet Assisted Take-Off
1995 Darwin Awards Winner

The Arizona Highway Patrol were mystified when they came upon a pile of smoldering wreckage embedded in the side of a cliff rising above the road at the apex of a curve. The metal debris resembled the site of an airplane crash, but it turned out to be the vaporized remains of an automobile. The make of the vehicle was unidentifiable at the scene.

The folks in the lab finally figured out what it was, and pieced together the events that led up to its demise.

It seems that a former Air Force sergeant had somehow got hold of a JATO (Jet Assisted Take-Off) unit. JATO units are solid fuel rockets used to give heavy military transport airplanes an extra push for take-off from short airfields.

Dried desert lakebeds are the location of choice for breaking the world ground vehicle speed record. The sergeant took the JATO unit into the Arizona desert and found a long, straight stretch of road. He attached the JATO unit to his car, jumped in, accelerated to a high speed, and fired off the rocket.

The facts, as best as could be determined, are as follows:

The operator was driving a 1967 Chevy Impala. He ignited the JATO unit approximately 3.9 miles from the crash site. This was established by the location of a prominently scorched and melted strip of asphalt. The vehicle quickly reached a speed of between 250 and 300 mph and continued at that speed, under full power, for an additional 20-25 seconds. The soon-to-be pilot experienced G-forces usually reserved for dog-fighting F-14 jocks under full afterburners.

The Chevy remained on the straight highway for approximately 2.6 miles (15-20 seconds) before the driver applied the brakes, completely melting them, blowing the tires, and leaving thick rubber marks on the road surface. The vehicle then became airborne for an additional 1.3 miles, impacted the cliff face at a height of 125 feet, and left a blackened crater 3 feet deep in the rock.

Most of the driver's remains were not recovered; however, small fragments of bone, teeth, and hair were extracted from the crater, and fingernail and bone shards were removed from a piece of debris believed to be a portion of the steering wheel.

Ironically a still-legible bumper sticker was found, reading
"How do you like my driving? Dial 1-800-EAT-SHIT."

Quote: pacomartin

Jet Assisted Take-Off
1995 Darwin Awards Winner

Wow! The actually have an urban legend category? I'm stunned.

Seriously, the Mythbusters cracked the hell out of that one in the first season.

Quote: Nareed

Seriously, the Mythbusters cracked the hell out of that one in the first season.

Now hang on, I found this on the internet, so it must be true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g9ssQSV6UA

Quote: MrV

Now hang on, I found this on the internet, so it must be true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g9ssQSV6UA

That's got some of the worst acting I've ever seen!

I know that the JATO is probably an urban legend, but it makes a damn good story.

This has got to be the best one ever. The video
horrifying and amusing at the same time.

http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2010-08.html

Darwin attempt.

They hand a chimp a loaded gun and we
have to wonder who's the smart one here.

No we don't..

Quote: rxwine

Darwin attempt.

I haven't laughed like that for a while.

Quote: Daddydoc

Quote: rxwine

Darwin attempt.

I haven't laughed like that for a while.

I love that video, but unfortunately, it's fake. It was made for the Planet of the Apes movie.

So they don't have to actually croak to qualify for Darwin Award nomination? Oh good, because I love collecting all sorts of Stupid Tourist Tricks, and have been tempted to start a "Hold my beer and watch this..." thread for them, what with Las Vegas usually being a target rich environment. But oddly enough this one isn't from LV, even though it probably should be:

The Guardian: US student is rescued from giant vagina sculpture in Germany




Time: No word yet on whether he was trying to take a selfie

Suck dope, watch TV, make up stuff, be somebody on the internet.

Couple Locked Inside a Keyless Car Nearly Wins Darwin Award


http://thenewswheel.com/couple-locked-inside-keyless-car-nearly-wins-darwin-award/

Here's one with a great ending.

ha ha ha

Quote: MrV

Here's one with a great ending.

ha ha ha

They'd probably done it many times, not
a place for over confidence.

Quote:

... (chimp and AK47)...

check out the ending! That's a 'planet of the Apes' movie come to life!

Washington Post:

People keep sticking their hands in snowblowers without turning them off first, data show

Quote: DrawingDead

Washington Post:

People keep sticking their hands in snowblowers without turning them off first, data show

I was clearing mine out last week while it was off and was worried it would magically start up.

I would bet that most of the happen when clearing the shoot. I clear mine with the blower running but the auger is off.

Drawing Dead,

Actually they have to either die or somehow lose the ability to reproduce, thus removing themselves from the gene pool.
I.E. a guy shooting himself in the Gentlemen Bits. Whether he lives or dies from the GSW, he's now a Darwin Award Candidate.

Quote: BoulderDamIt

Drawing Dead,

Actually they have to either die or somehow lose the ability to reproduce, thus removing themselves from the gene pool.
I.E. a guy shooting himself in the Gentlemen Bits. Whether he lives or dies from the GSW, he's now a Darwin Award Candidate.

I see, that stipulation makes sense. And in some cases should probably be encouraged, in my opinion. I guess there probably aren't too many mere injuries involving reproductively useful parts and a snow blower. Or are there? Where there's an evolutionarily challenged will, there may be a creative way. Since I don't have a lot of use for that sort of equipment (the snow blowing kind) in the Mojave Desert I probably wouldn't even know what it was and which end was up if someone left one of them on my doorstep.

Quote: DrawingDead

I probably wouldn't even know what it was and which end was up if someone left one of them on my doorstep.

It's quite easy to infer which end is up - the wheels usually go on the bottom.

It appears we have a new entry for the Darwin award..........

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/pilot-taking-selfies-before-fatal-colorado-crash-report/ar-AA8Ws2v