CHAPTER 1
Law Enforcement: Crime Does Pay
B O would some Power the gift to give us,
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion.
Robert Burns
In this chapter lawbreakers and law enforcers bump elbows in an informal competition to see who is best suited to lose the fight between good and evil. Inept bunglers from both sides of the law, from con art- ists to beat cops, from judges to crooks, astonish us with their casual disregard for the natural laws of physics.
PICKING THE WINNERS
Contenders for the Darwin Award are selected based on the five criteria of death, self-selection, excellence, maturity, and veracity. But theres more to the selection process than one person writing stories and making a dry comparison with the rules. The selection is a participatory event, a community celebration of the humor found in the inevitable results of foolish choices! Heres how the entire process works.
Submission
A Darwin Award begins its life as a submission to the website. The nominations come from around the world, and without these submissions there would be no Darwin Awards. Enthusiasts are encouraged to keep a sharp lookout for potential contenders in their neighborhoods and local newspapers. If the event is written into a story that highlights its humorous aspects, rather than simply a bare link or newspaper quote, so much the better! Amusingly presented stories are more likely to pass the triple hurdles of moderation, public vote, and Wendys review.
The current system was initiated in January 2002, as I could no longer keep up with the thousands of emails sent every month. The correspondence included submissions, additional information, debates on the merits of candidates, flames, commendations, requests for vaguely remembered stories, and so forth. Much as I enjoy reading these emails, the quantity was simply too much for one person to deal with. In fact, I still have thousands of unread emails and submissions! Thats why the more formal submission system described herein was devised. Now submissions receive quicker treatment, and fewer good stories languish in the dusty recesses of an overflowing inbox.
Moderator Review
Each submission is reviewed by a team of volunteer moderators who decide whether its a potential Darwin Award, Honorable Mention, or Personal Account. Anywhere from two to five moderators rate each story before its moved from the moderation queue to the public Slush Pile. Submissions that dont make the cut are usually repeats, bizarre or macabre stories, or illustrations of poetic justice, rather than examples of Darwinian self-selection. These stories are placed in the public Slush Pile Rejects area.
As the graph illustrates, an average of five hundred stories are submitted per month, and approximately one in six is accepted into the Slush Pile. When a particularly sensational story appears in the news, it can be submitted hundreds of times. The spike in January 2003 was due to the shooting death of a man who decided to beat his misbehaving dog with a loaded gun. The spike in July 2002 was caused by two men fighting over who would go to heaven and who to hell; a shotgun was used to solve the argument. The September 2002 spike resulted in the Darwin Awards Slip Sliding Away, on page 53, and A Rocky Roll on page 30.
Public Review
The stories, with moderator scores and comments appended, are transferred to the website for public review. They land in the Slush Pile or the Slush Pile Reject area, and the submitter is notified by email. The decision may be appealed; however, the moderators are fairly experienced, so stories are only infrequently salvaged from the Reject area. It is rarer yet for a story to be removed from the Slush Pile, as only one in three will, in any case, be moved to the permanent archive. A submission will occasionally be removed for privacy reasons, or if it is the cause of many complaints.
Readers read and rate the stories in the Slush Pile on a scale from 0 to 10, with each story receiving approximately eighty votes, although the number ranges from fifteen to five hundred, depending on how much interest it evokes.
Vote on Slush Pile Submissions!
www.DarwinAwards.com/slush
Wendys Review
After at least a month of public review, I sort the Slush Pile based on popularity and begin reading through the submissions for that month. I refer to the moderator comments and decide whether each story is novel enough, and amusing enough, to write into a Darwin Award, Honorable Mention, or Personal Account. Approximately ten to fifteen stories per month are selected to enter the permanent archive.
The Final Cut
But thats not the end of the process! In fact, its a new beginning, for stories in the archive enjoy a far greater audience than when they first appeared in the Slush Pile. Visitors cast five million votes per month, and mistakes, corrections, and confirmations are frequently reported. Stories that are particularly comment- worthy are linked to a discussion thread in the Philosophy Forum. The Darwin Awards are continually updated (or removed) based on new information, and this final review process continues for as long as the story remains on the website.
The accounts in this book have all been subject to this public scrutiny and are accurate to the best of my knowledge. But because the Darwin Awards are dynamically modified, they are not guaranteed to be entirely accurate, nor in their final form.
The last chapter in this book features stories that have been disqualified, and the reasons for the disqualifications. Most appeared in the website archive, but were later removed based on this final public review.
As you read the tales contained herein, keep in mind the lengthy submission process, and the care with which each gem was culled from dozens of competitors and honed to its current form.
DARWIN AWARD: CONVINCE THE JURY
Confirmed by Darwin
16 JUNE 1871B
Proof that the only good lawyer is a dead lawyer.
Clement Vallandigham was a well-known Northern Democrat who campaiged for states rights during the Civil War. In 1863 Vallandigham was convicted of treason for his speeches attacking the administration of President Lincoln. He was banished to the South, where he continued to voice his political views.
After the war Vallandigham became a lawyer. In his last appearance in the courtroom he represented a client on trial for murder. The accused mans defense was that the victim had drawn his own gun in a fashion that caused it to fire, killing himself. To prove the defense argument, Vallandigham demonstrated the victims method of drawing a gunusing the loaded evidence gun as his prop. The firearm went off, and he lost his lifebut proved his case!
Reference: Klement, Frank L. The Limits of Dissent: Clement Vallandigham and the Civil War. Fordham, Mass.: Fordham University Press, 1998.
Reader Comments:
A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
If only all criminals were so accommodating.
He couldnt extrapolate from the lesson, Dont run with scissors.
This will keep the prison population down.
An argument against gun control.
DARWIN AWARD: FAULTY AIM FATAL
Confirmed by Darwin
7 MARCH 2002, COLORADO
When Gerald was pulled over by police for erratic driving, he decided it was better to flee from the stolen car on foot, rather than face possible jail time for a parole violation. This was the first of two successive mental lapses. Geralds actual thoughts are unknown, but may have been something like this: The officers are merely suspicious and alert now ... why not make them hot, sweaty, tired, and angry, by leading them on a wild chase through dark alleys and fields?
During the subsequent foot chase Gerald attempted to dissuade officers from the pursuit by firing a 9mm Ruger semiautomatic handgun blindly over his shoulder. This was the second illustration of a potential mental deficiency: Officers are running behind me. They have guns. I have a gun! They have eyes in the front of their heads, so they can see to aim at me. I dont have eyes in the back of my head, so Ill fire wildly behind me and see what happens!
Unfortunately, Gerald appears to have been one of those folks who cant chew gum and walk at the same time. Or at least he couldnt flee and fire at the same time. While discharging the weapon over his shoulder, Gerald managed to shoot himself in the head, bringing the chase to a sudden conclusion.
Four shots were fired, none by the officers, who found Geralds pistol next to his fallen body. Gerald was transported to a local hospital where he expired the following day, thus removing a set of genes deficient in both judgment and coordination from the gene pool.
Reference: Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, 9news.com
DARWIN AWARD: CHAIN SAW INSURANCE
Confirmed by Darwin
JANUARY 2002, ITALY
Some people will do anything for money.
Andreas, a twenty-three-year-old bouncer from Italy, was found lying in a pool of blood near a country road. Police initially mistook him for a victim of sadistic mutilation. His left leg had been nearly severed by a chain saw. His last act was an emergency call to operators, who heard only a death rattle. By the time help arrived, copious bleeding had drained his body of blood.
A violent attack on an innocent man? Not quite.
Andreas was the victim of his own conspiracy to commit an insurance scam. In order to reap half a million dollars from numerous insurance policies, permanent disability was all that was required. So Andreas convinced his cousin to cut off his left leg with a chain saw. Andreas relied on his knowledge of first aid to survive the chainsaw incident.
His twenty-nine-year-old cousin confessed that he was the designated assailant, and that he had attackedand inadvertently killedthe younger man in a mutually planned, high-stakes fraud that went badly awry.
The attack took place near a country lay-by. The cousin sawed Andreass leg below the knee, severing a major artery. The gambit for permanent disability was successful, in a sense, yet it was timed too close for Andreas to survive. Emergency crews found him dead, and his cousin fled, tossing the chain saw in a river on the way out of town. Andreass death was a classic example of fate noticing those who buy chain saws.
Reference: www.cnnItalia.it, Glas, Yugoslav daily, La Nazione, news.bcc.co.uk, Ananova
An insurance adjuster commented, This reminds me of a claim where the chap purposely cut off his little finger. We refused it, because he had not lost the use of his limb below the wrist. He apparently didnt follow our reasoning, as six months later, he submitted another claim after axing off the next finger. We still refused the claim!
Darwin Award: Truck Stop
Confirmed by Darwin
31 MARCH 2002, BANGLADESH
Six highway robbers, who had apparently watched too many gangster movies, were caught in their own trap when they blocked a bypass with their car at midnight in a ploy to garner victims. The driver of an oncoming truck carrying a cargo of cows was unable to halt his heavy vehicle in time. The truck rolled right through the blockade, crushing the car and its scheming occupants. Five dacoits died, and the sixth was critically wounded. A cow was also killed in the accident.
Reference: Dhaka (Bangladesh) Independent
A dacoit is a member of a gang of robbers in India. Dacoity is the practice of (armed) gang robbery.
DARWIN AWARD: ANTLERS AHOY!
Confirmed by Darwin
1985, MONTANA
Two locals decided to increase their income by illegally transporting shed elk antlers out of Yellowstone Park. The antlers sell for about seven dollars a pound, and a big set can weigh thirty pounds, making their theft a lucrative venture.
The two men, dollar signs in their eyes, thought long and hard about the best way to get the largest haul of antlers out of the park without being observed. Cars were too risky because there was a ranger checkpoint on the roads. Backpacks couldnt carry enough to make it worth their while. They decided to use a boat.
Well, not exactly a boat. A rubber raft.
These two entrepreneurs decided to take the raft on a nighttime voyage on the Gardiner River, which runs out of Yellowstone and through the town of Gardiner, to minimize the chance of being spotted.
After loading the raft to the bursting point with pointy antlers, the men pushed off and began their journey. It was late springtime, so the river, hazardous in all seasons, now had twice the normal flow of water. They hadnt gone far before they hit some treacherous rapids, and the bouncing antlers punctured the raft.
Deprived of transportation, the men had to fend for themselves against the current. One of the antler thieves swam to shore, hiked the road, and hitched a ride into town. The other was not so lucky. A week later he floated onto a beach used by local sunbathers.
This story was confirmed in an unusual way. The primary source of information is an eyewitness account by a person who gave the survivor a ride into town, and later found the body on the beach. But the story is also described in a book, Death in Yellowstone, by Lee H. Whittlesey, published in 1995. This book cites articles in the Billings Gazette (Body of Antler Smuggler Recovered) and the Livingston Enterprise (Gardiner Horn Hunter Presumed Drowned in Park). I have chosen to use details provided by the eyewitness. While the fact of the antler theft is confirmed, there are some discrepancies regarding the exact nature of the undertaking. According to the book, a man loaded 250 pounds of antlers onto a large raft, then tied it to his own one-man raft, which later overturned on the river.
DARWIN AWARD: SKELETON KEY
Confirmed by Darwin
2001
Another would-be thief has been discovered languishing as a pile of bones, this one uncovered by an artisan brick mason. The protruding foot and leg bones found during building renovations belonged to a thief who had tried to rob a gift shop by way of the second-floor chimney fifteen years before, speculated bemused authorities. Maybe he should have tried a skeleton key.
Reference: Natchez (Mississippi) Democrat, Chicago Tribune
Caution: Natural Selection at Work
DARWIN AWARD: A ROCKY ROLL
Confirmed by Darwin
29 AUGUST 2002, WASHINGTON
An innovative petty crime spree turned into a Darwinian opportunity when a Vancouver man fell out of a minivan while throwing rocks. Five men had been denting mailboxes and terrorizing moving cars with their low-tech missiles, when twenty-three-year-old John decided he needed a wider range of targets. As the Ford Aerostar cruised through a residential neighborhood, he left his compatriots at the windows while he opened the sliding door. One mighty throw later, he pitched through the opening, struck his head on the pavement, and suffered the ultimate penalty for his crime: stone-cold death.
Reference: www.KGW.com, Northwestc NewsChannel 8
Astoundingly, the deceased may not be legally accountable for his own death. A spokesperson for the sheriffs office said that the driver, the person ultimately responsible for the vehicle, could be charged with a range of offenses, from allowing a passenger to ride without a seat belt to vehicular homicide.
DARWIN AWARD: BOOBY TRAPS TRAP BOOB
Confirmed by Darwin
NOVEMBER 2002, BELGIUM
A retired engineer living in Charleroi booby-trapped his home with the intention of killing his estranged family, but died himself after inadvertently triggering one of his own devices.
At first police assumed that the seventy-nine-year-old had committed suicide, as he was found alone with a bullet wound in his neck. Then a detective missed a bullet by inches when he opened a booby-trapped wooden chest. Police beat a hasty retreat from the property and called in military experts.
The experts deciphered an enigmatic series of scribbled clues to locate nineteen death traps in walls, ceilings, and household objects. A pile of booby-trapped dinner plates was revealed, for example, by the clue Cheaper by the Dozen, a reference to a film in which a child throws a plate at someones head. Police speculated that the notes were intended to assist his failing memory.
Other traps included numerous concealed shotguns triggered by threads, and an exploding crate of beer set to detonate once a certain number of bottles was removed. It took three weeks to crack nineteen of the twenty clues, and experts were forced to admit defeat on the final note: The 12 Apostles are ready to work on the pebbles. Said one expert, We have never come across anything like it before. It was all fiendishly clever.
True to form, the fiendishly clever but careless Darwin Award winner was described by neighbors as a taciturn but harmless man who enjoyed puttering in his garage. But relatives say he had never forgiven his wife for divorcing him twenty years earlier. Police believe he began installing the traps four years before the incident, after losing a lengthy battle to keep his home.
Reference: Daily Telegraph (London), The Age (Melbourne, Australia), The Associated Press
Questions have been raised regarding the soundness of this nomination. Perhaps the man was obsessive to the point of insanity, or suffering from senile dementia, and therefore not capable of sound judgment. At age seventy-nine, and possessed of fourteen children and thirty-seven grandchildren, his continuing influence on the gene pool was assured. And furthermore, the workers who discovered and dismantled the devices were placed in harms way, thus innocent bystanders could have been injured. However, the judges have decided that the notion of diminished mental capacity is merely speculative, that offspring and advanced age are not a bar to a nomination, that no innocent bystanders were injured, and that the magnitude of his actions make it imperative that he be given a Darwin Award.
DARWIN AWARD: CAVEAT EMPTOR
Confirmed by Darwin
4 FEBRUARY 2002, NEW MEXICO
Let the buyer beware.
Police say three men tried to rob an Albuquerque man who had placed a newspaper ad to sell a gun. The robbers arranged a meeting, then beat and sprayed Mace on the gun seller in an attempt to steal the weapon.
Surprise! The gun seller was ipso facto a gun owner. Eighteen-year-old Carlos intercepted a bullet and died before rescue crews arrived.
One can understand the mistake of robbing a man who unexpectedly pulls out a gun and shootsbut if a robber singles out a victim because he is selling a gun, theres no excuse for being surprised to discover he is armed.
As a Darwinian bonus theres a fairly good chance that the eighteen-year-old has not yet reproduced...
Reference: KOAT TV, TheNewMexicoChannel.com
DARWIN AWARD: JET SKI SPREE
Confirmed by Darwin
26 JULY 2001, NEVADA
Sometimes fate has perfect vision. Two men found dead at Lake Tahoe were presumed to be homicide victimsone disfigured by severe facial wounds and the other apparently shotuntil investigators discovered that they were actually victims of their own larcenous tendencies. The men had stolen a jet ski from a marina, but, unfamiliar with the lay of the land and piloting in pitch darkness, they had crashed at high speed into a nearby dock. One man died instantly from a broken neck; the other crawled to shore where he, too, expired.
Reference: TheKCRAChannel.com and The Associated Press
Dumb, Dumber, Darwin
DARWIN AWARD: RISKY REENACTMENT
Unconfirmed by Darwin
23 OCTOBER 1993, ILLINOIS
A police officer trying to show another patrolman how their fellow officer accidentally killed himself, accidentally killed himself while reenacting the shooting incident a week later. The twenty-year veteran forgot to unload his .357 Magnum, shot himself in the stomach, and died in a car crash while driving himself to the hospital.
Death comes to all men,
but some just cant wait.
DARWIN AWARD: RETURN TO TREES FAILS
Confirmed by Darwin
18 FEBRUARY 2002, HAWAII
Millennia after an evolving human species descended from the trees, thirty-year-old Joshua reversed the process, removing himself from the gene pool while perched in a tree. Joshua had hiked several miles onto a ranch and climbed a koa tree under cover of darkness, intent upon stealing a branch of the expensive native hardwood. To his credit he was smarter than a classic cartoon character and didnt make the mistake of cutting the branch supporting him. However, he was not smart enough to avoid cutting a branch directly above his head. The severed limb struck and killed him. Authorities found his body still in the tree, suspended twenty feet off the ground.
Reference: Honolulu Star-Bulletin
Famous Last Words:
It seemed like a good idea at the time