Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below 
28 January 2001, Japan) A man attempting to commit suicide brought a tank of propane into his apartment, opened its stopcock, and waited to die. Instead he merely lost consciousness. Four hours later he revived and, forgetting the suicide attempt, lit a cigarette. The explosion blew out an apartment wall, and burned the face of the suicidal smoker.
Note from Darwin: The man may have thought the tank contained carbon monoxide (CO) despite the label. Even if it contained CO, however, the suicide attempt would fail unless he had shut himself into a small space with the tank. Apartments are ventilated and the carbon monoxide would dissipate fairly rapildy. Outside air exchange also explains why the explosion was not more severe.
Rattler Got Your Tongue?
(1992, California) Snakes flick their forked tongues in the air to "smell" the world, collecting molecules then pressing the tips into small olfactory pits. An inebriated twenty-year-old man took umbrage when a wild rattlesnake stuck out its tounge at him. Tit for tat! He held the snake in front of his face and stuck his tongue out right back at the rattler. The snake expressed his displeasure at this turn of events by biting the conveniently offered body part. The toxic venom swelled the man's face and throat, choking him to death.
July 16, 2001, United States) An assistant plant manager for Blacklidge Emulsions died when he used an acetylene torch to cut a hole in a 10,000 gallon tank of asphalt emulsion. He was attempting to visually survey the amount of emulsion that remained in the tank, but "no safety precautions were taken before the cutting operation began," stated an OSHA representative. "[His} attention was twice called to a warning sign on the side of the structure which stated the contents were flammable or combustible. In complete disregard of safety procedures," he continued, the erstwhile manager "lit an acetylene torch and began cutting, causing an explosion that blew him 93 feet away.
It's still not clean!
(4 September 1999, Tokyo, Japan) Shoshi was a part-time janitor until his eagerness to do a good job collided with an unhealthy inability to attend to his own safety. The elevator he was cleaning had water leaking from its ceiling, so he rode a second elevator up the shaft, climbed out its hidden side door, and hopped on top of the first elevator. As he cleaned the puddle from the roof, the car rose to the top floor, fatally crushing him. The 24-year-old had forgotten to turn off the leaking elevator before wiping up the spill, leaving the roof messier than before.
(16 February 2001, Florida) Karla, 32, drowned when she fell asleep at the wheel and drove her car into a 30-foot-deep canal. Alarmed by her predicament, she dialed 911 from her cell phone. The operator urged her to roll down her windows or open the door, but she refused. "If I do, all the water is going to come in!"
If you are unlucky enough to find yourself trapped in a sinking car, it is essential to roll the windows down immediately so that you can escape from the vehicle. Once the bottom of your door is even slightly submerged, the water pressure makes it almost impossible to open the door until the car is nearly full, which equalizes the pressure.
It takes a car up to 10 minutes to sink, depending on how well sealed the vehicle is, but the electrical system fails much sooner as the water penetrates the body and short-circuits the wires. In most cars with automatic windows, the motor that powers the window is located halfway up the car door, so you must act fast if you plan to survive.
Karla was a strong swimmer and could have paddled to safety, if only she had managed to escape from her vehicle. When Karla and her 1998 BMW 328 were pulled from the canal, they found the keys to the ignition in her purse, and the left rear window entirely open.
(March 2001, Ghana) Tribal clashes are common in Northern Ghana, and people often resort to witchcraft in the hope of becoming invulnerable to weapons. Aleobiga, 23, and fifteen fellow believers purchased a potion that would render them invincible to bullets.
After smearing the magical lotion over his body for two weeks, Aleobiga volunteered to test the spell. He stood in a clearing while his friends raised their weapons, aimed, fired...
The jujuman who had supplied the defective magic was siezed and beaten for his failure, and Aleobiga is now roaming the great Savannah in the sky.
www.darwinawards.com
Note from Darwin: The man may have thought the tank contained carbon monoxide (CO) despite the label. Even if it contained CO, however, the suicide attempt would fail unless he had shut himself into a small space with the tank. Apartments are ventilated and the carbon monoxide would dissipate fairly rapildy. Outside air exchange also explains why the explosion was not more severe.
Rattler Got Your Tongue?
(1992, California) Snakes flick their forked tongues in the air to "smell" the world, collecting molecules then pressing the tips into small olfactory pits. An inebriated twenty-year-old man took umbrage when a wild rattlesnake stuck out its tounge at him. Tit for tat! He held the snake in front of his face and stuck his tongue out right back at the rattler. The snake expressed his displeasure at this turn of events by biting the conveniently offered body part. The toxic venom swelled the man's face and throat, choking him to death.
July 16, 2001, United States) An assistant plant manager for Blacklidge Emulsions died when he used an acetylene torch to cut a hole in a 10,000 gallon tank of asphalt emulsion. He was attempting to visually survey the amount of emulsion that remained in the tank, but "no safety precautions were taken before the cutting operation began," stated an OSHA representative. "[His} attention was twice called to a warning sign on the side of the structure which stated the contents were flammable or combustible. In complete disregard of safety procedures," he continued, the erstwhile manager "lit an acetylene torch and began cutting, causing an explosion that blew him 93 feet away.
It's still not clean!
(4 September 1999, Tokyo, Japan) Shoshi was a part-time janitor until his eagerness to do a good job collided with an unhealthy inability to attend to his own safety. The elevator he was cleaning had water leaking from its ceiling, so he rode a second elevator up the shaft, climbed out its hidden side door, and hopped on top of the first elevator. As he cleaned the puddle from the roof, the car rose to the top floor, fatally crushing him. The 24-year-old had forgotten to turn off the leaking elevator before wiping up the spill, leaving the roof messier than before.
(16 February 2001, Florida) Karla, 32, drowned when she fell asleep at the wheel and drove her car into a 30-foot-deep canal. Alarmed by her predicament, she dialed 911 from her cell phone. The operator urged her to roll down her windows or open the door, but she refused. "If I do, all the water is going to come in!"
If you are unlucky enough to find yourself trapped in a sinking car, it is essential to roll the windows down immediately so that you can escape from the vehicle. Once the bottom of your door is even slightly submerged, the water pressure makes it almost impossible to open the door until the car is nearly full, which equalizes the pressure.
It takes a car up to 10 minutes to sink, depending on how well sealed the vehicle is, but the electrical system fails much sooner as the water penetrates the body and short-circuits the wires. In most cars with automatic windows, the motor that powers the window is located halfway up the car door, so you must act fast if you plan to survive.
Karla was a strong swimmer and could have paddled to safety, if only she had managed to escape from her vehicle. When Karla and her 1998 BMW 328 were pulled from the canal, they found the keys to the ignition in her purse, and the left rear window entirely open.
(March 2001, Ghana) Tribal clashes are common in Northern Ghana, and people often resort to witchcraft in the hope of becoming invulnerable to weapons. Aleobiga, 23, and fifteen fellow believers purchased a potion that would render them invincible to bullets.
After smearing the magical lotion over his body for two weeks, Aleobiga volunteered to test the spell. He stood in a clearing while his friends raised their weapons, aimed, fired...
The jujuman who had supplied the defective magic was siezed and beaten for his failure, and Aleobiga is now roaming the great Savannah in the sky.
www.darwinawards.com
