It's only a number...
Find out exactly what is going on in the world... at a glance.
Gossip by any other name
Have a chat with the literary geniuses of our history... and find out all you ever wanted to know...
Photographic evidence
Hands up everyone who has a computer full of great photos that are becoming resigned to their digital destiny... we have the solution!
Mum's the word
A gift to all mums for Mother's Day... with no calories!
Wake up in style
If you could invent the perfect way to wake up, this may just be it...
Mischief Making
Want to throw a custard pie at your least favourite MP or celebrity? Be my guest...
Zzzzzzzzz...
Join me and indulge yourself in the best National Something Day ever!
The Darwin Awards are designed to celebrate those people who have removed themselves from the gene-pool thus improving the average human genome.
The latest example on the home page is that of two youngsters, aged 17 and 21, who decided it was a great idea to impersonate Darth Vader. They built themselves a light sabre by opening up a fluorescent light tube, filling it with gasoline and then guess what? Yes, they lit it! Only one survived to tell their extraordinary tale!
This site is heavily moderated with many people checking the validity of the story and there are no references to deaths involving minors. If a story is thought to be urban legend, it is flagged up as such and the reader is left to make up their own mind.
Some of the stories are taken from the media whilst others are offered by the readers themselves.
One with contributions from both sources is a rather painful tale but, surprisingly, does not prove to be fatal.
(8 February 2005, Caerphilly, Wales) "If Wales wins, I'll cut my balls off," Geoff told his mates at a social club while watching the rugby match between England and its arch-rival. His friends thought the 26-year-old was joking, but after Wales' 11-9 victory over England, he went home, castrated himself with a knife, and walked the length of two rugby fields back to the bar to show his shocked friends the evidence. It was Wales' first home win over England in 12 years. Geoff was taken to a hospital where he remained "in a seriously ill condition."
In addition to readers' comments, visitors to the site offer additional details to some stories. Personally, I could have done without this extra piece of information from a reader by the name of Dale, "He used a (blunt) pair of wire cutters, or so it was reported in the British press. It apparently took him 10 mins to complete his task!!!"
Stories such as this make very uncomfortable reading whilst others will have you gasping in disbelief. Some of the urban legends are good fun as you are cushioned from the bleakest outcome by the question of its validity.
There are confessionals too which begs the question, why would you confess to a level of stupidity that puts you top of a list for removal from the gene pool? However, reality TV tells us that some people will do anything for fame or notoriety and the Darwin Awards certainly attract their fair share of numpties! This has to include the guy who drank liquid nitrogen in an attempt to prove a cryogenic theory. He ended up with a collapsed lung and having part of his stomach removed! He claims cheerily that the good news is that he is the first victim of cryogenic ingestion and revels in his new nickname of 'NitroMike'! You couldn't make it up!
The Darwin Awards are designed to celebrate those people who have removed themselves from the gene-pool thus improving the average human genome.
