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The
Darwin Awards
This little piece of Internet history has been with us since 1994, growing out of a LISTSERV began by Wendy Northcutt, then a student at Stanford, who subsequently gave up her university studies and professional work in microbiology to pursue the "awards" full time. The "award" is essentially just recognition by her website, http://www.DarwinAwards.com, and is determined by a set of rules and votes by frequenters of the site. Wendy has several books out, and a strong international and seemingly largely adolescent following.
The Darwin Awards are not for the feint of heart. To receive one , you
- must be dead, and
- have become so by a significant (and humorous) error in judgment.
The award is named for a somewhat distorted and sarcastic interpretation of what impact such a demise might have on the overall state of the homo sapiens gene pool.
Most of the early Darwin Awards were merely urban legends - interesting and funny, but eventually shown to be false. The most famous urban legend, the 1995 "Jet Assisted Take Off," describes a gentleman who somehow attached a U.S. Air Force Jet Assisted Take-Off (JATO) device to his Chevy, and managed to stay with the vehicle long enough to plunge into the side of a cliff. The story circulated by email for years before the Arizona Department of Transportation laid it to rest - but not before it had pretty much become the archetype for the Award. The author of this legend has not been identified to this day.
When Ms. Northcutt launched the public website, verification of stories became easier as documentation came to her, and most submissions are now either confirmed or confirmed false. Below are a few of the more famous Darwin Award winners, runners-up, and nominees.
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Bungee Jumper 1997 Darwin Awards Runner-Up Confirmed True by Darwin (13 July 1997, Virginia) Eric A. Barcia, a 22-year-old Reston, VA resident, was found dead yesterday after he used bungee cords to jump off a 70-foot railroad trestle, police said. The fast food worker taped a number of bungee cords together and strapped one end around his foot. Barcia had the foresight to anchor the other end to the trestle at Lake Accotink Park, and he even remembered to measure the length of the bungee cords to make sure that they were a few feet short of the 70 foot drop. He proceeded to fall headfirst from the trestle, and hit the pavement 70 feet below several seconds later. Fairfax County police said "The stretched length of the cord that he had assembled was greater than the distance between the trestle and the ground." |
| Ski Theft Backfires 1998 Darwin Award Nominee Confirmed by Darwin (February 1998) Matthew and his friends were sliding down a Mammoth Mountain ski run on a foam pad at 3am, when he crashed into a lift tower and died. His makeshift sledge of yellow foam had been stolen from the legs of a lift tower on Stump Alley. The cushion is meant to protect skiers who hit the tower, and the tower Matthew ran into was the one from which he had created his sledge. |
| Do It Yourself, Do Yourself In 2000 Darwin Award Winner Confirmed True by Darwin (2000, Colorado) Charles, 34, a Denver masonry contractor, had worked on houses and watched electricians install wiring. He believed this qualified him as a member of the Junior Electrician Society. He figured he could handle any electrical issue that came up around his own home. One day on the job, Charles had the great idea! He would build an electric fence in his own backyard. "An electric fence will keep the dogs in." Charles connected a wire to an extension cord, and managed to encircle his backyard with a 120-V strand of wire without mishap. His dogs will not be sued for puppy support with this security system in place! The household became accustomed to the fence, and things settled down to normal, until Charles picked up a passion for gardening. One day he reached for a tomato, put his hand on the electrified wire, and there's really no need to explain what happened next... |
| Think Before You Leap 2001 Darwin Award Winner Confirmed True by Darwin (21 July 2001, Idaho) When his brakes failed while driving down a steep mountain road, Marco bailed out on his eight passengers and leapt from his Dodge van...Another passenger was able to bring the vehicle to a stop a short distance away. Marco struck his head on the pavement and died at the scene. No one else was injured. |