# Am I the only one who has a problem with Darwin Awards? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 27, 2003, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458 "2003-03-27T04:17:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Robb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Robb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robb)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/41 "2003-03-27T16:49:26Z")
Your pain is funny. My pain is real. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/42 "2003-03-27T17:34:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pizzabrat \* > **Ok, we’re all refusing to read, I see. I never even said I had a problem with laughing [snip]** Well, maybe we’re just giving you the benefit of the doubt, assuming you actually couldn’t be stupid enough to think that the Darwin Awards are really there to ‘commemorate’ and ‘applaud’ the deaths of people’; that surely you know that whole thing is meant to be funny. Stop trying to prove us wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/43 "2003-03-27T19:17:58Z")
I just wish they’d retire the died-while-trying-to-steal-copper-wire category. There seem to be two such entries every month: one guy who gets electrocuted and one guy who falls. Enough already. And the same goes for tried-to-break-in-somewhere-and-got-stuck. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/44 "2003-03-27T21:44:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by alice\_in\_wonderland \* > \*\ ***LIONsob** , dude, my friend. > > Just because _SOME_ of the stories are real, doesn’t mean they _ALL_ are. > > At least 75% of the stories on the page say “Unverified by Darwin”, meaning they’re faux. > > There is a real story on there from these parts too - a guy sent himself down a comercial garbage chute into the incinerator for fun, according to his buddys. Can I believe this? Sure. Can I belive that somehow some guy managed to sever his own arms, legs and head with a chain-saw? No, sorry. \*\* oh [**alice**](http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1996-07.html)… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/45 "2003-03-27T22:07:52Z")
From your site **Guin** > [@](#): > > “This story is not entirely true. I am Polish and I remember reading about this incident in newspapers. Two guys got drunk and started to make macho type bets. You overestimate the wealth of polish peasants if you believe they were using a chain saw. I remember the bet was resolved using an axe. One man laid his head down and bet the one with an axe that he was not be brave enough to make the cut.” Could some guy hack of some other guy’s head with an axe? Sure. Could some guy hack of his own head with a chainsaw? I seriously doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/46 "2003-03-27T22:22:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by alice\_in\_wonderland \* > \*\*From your site **Guin** > > Could some guy hack of some other guy’s head with an axe? Sure. Could some guy hack of his own head with a chainsaw? I seriously doubt it. \*\* Sure he could. Once he sets the chainsaw in motion, it’s inertia would carry it through the cut. No, I’m _not_ going to demonstrate. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/47 "2003-03-27T22:27:19Z")
**Q.E.D.** - I’ve used a chain-saw - you still have to apply some force, and you have to push down the “activation mechanism” How the hell am I supposed to know what it’s called?!?! Anyhow - I’m thinking as soon as the blade touched your neck, you’d quit holding the button and the saw would bounce off - you have to use a fair bit of force to keep the thing straight - could you nick yourself enough to bleed to death? Sure. Could you cut your head clean off as described in the story? Nah, I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/48 "2003-03-27T22:40:18Z")
Well, maybe it’s proof that we remain conscious for a nanosecond after decapitation? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/49 "2003-03-27T22:42:17Z")
I dunno. I’ve heard of coroners needing to pry things out of the hands of corpses because they had what’s colloquially termed a “death grip” on them. I suppose the fool wielding the chainsaw could conceivably hold down the trigger through the cut. Most of the neck is soft tissue and easily cut. Say, anyone out there willing to settle a bet? ---
**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/50 "2003-03-28T00:23:14Z")
Don’t you think the Polish guy thought this thing through? I’m certain he probably had something to tie down the throttle of the chainsaw when he cut his head off. THINK people! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![non-native](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@non-native](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/non-native)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/51 "2003-03-28T07:54:07Z")
To bring the thread back on track… I’m glad I’m not only person somewhat disturbed by the Darwin Awards. If it does in fact consist of real life deaths I think it’s extremely disrespectful. Maybe I’m old fashioned or just plain nuts, but I always thought that there should be a certain amount of respect given to the dead, even if they are complete strangers. And a lot of the mistakes they made that led to their death are not even acts stupidity. Sometimes it’s just accidents that resulted from clumsiness or just plain bad luck. Hey, why don’t we make fun people that die in car accidents while we’re at it? I mean, what the hell kind of idiot doesn’t stop at a stop sign? LOL, he deserved to die to making a mistake that stupid. If my sister died under unusual and somewhat entertaining circumstances i wouldn’t want anyone, better yet random strangers making fun of her. I wouldn’t want my sister’s death to be a funny anecdote so that the world can laugh at her death. I mean they’re dead. Do we really need to rub it in? (note: I actually enjoy dark humor because it’s _fiction_. ) ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/52 "2003-03-28T08:33:17Z")
Hard to believe this went to a second page, or worse, that I _read_ the whole thing. **pizzabrat** , you started with the assumption that anyone _applauded_ the death of another. When most of the other posters tried to tell you it wasn’t applause, but laughter you still insisted on your premise. I remember the one about a burglar who tried to break into a store of some kind through a skylight by lowering himself down by a rope looped over his feet and slung over a pully, thereby avoiding the alarm system which he knew was only attached to the windows and doors. Since his hands were occupied with the rope he stuck his long, thin flashlight in his mouth so he could see where he was going. Somehow he lost his grip on the rope, dropped face-first to the floor and drove the flashlight into his brain. The owner of the store found him dead the next morning. Now, I didn’t applaud that poor schnook’s death, but I laughed my ass of at the manner of it. Hell, if most people couldn’t laugh at stupid folks Bill Engvall would starve to death. ---
**Author:** ![non-native](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bc8723/32.png) [@non-native](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/non-native)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/53 "2003-03-28T08:38:38Z")
**DesertGeezer** : But rarely are Darwin Awards deaths that sort of poetic justice. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/54 "2003-03-28T08:58:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by non-native \* > \*\* > If my sister died under unusual and somewhat entertaining circumstances i wouldn’t want anyone, better yet random strangers making fun of her. I wouldn’t want my sister’s death to be a funny anecdote so that the world can laugh at her death. > \*\* I would. I love my sister to death, and would chose my own death over hers without a second thought, but if she did something stupid enough to be a Darwin award winner, I’d laugh. I’d laugh through the tears because she’s my sister, but I’d laugh. Ironicly. Painfully.With full realization of what I’d lost. But I’d see the humor. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/55 "2003-03-28T14:04:35Z")
The thing that bothers me most is not the disrespect for the dead (although that does kind of bother me) but fact that it’s couched in language of social engineering through genetic cleansing. Every time I see some slob laughing and cheering at someone who “removed themselves from the gene pool” I think “Oh yeah, _your_ genes are _so_ much more worthy of preservation than some anonymous stranger’s. _Your_ contribution to our species is simply vital. _He_ was the one bringing us down with his _genes_, not you with your postmodern Brave New World dystopian master-race fantasies. Just keep telling yourself that, asshole, it’ll all be over soon.” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/56 "2003-03-28T16:42:11Z")
I admit, I usually laugh as hard as anyone when I read about the Darwin Awards, so I sure don’t condemn anyone who finds them amusing. But every so often, I’ll read one that makes me say, “Hey… my friends and I used to do stupid things like that all the time when we were kids.” And then, for a moment at least, it’s not so funny. How many of us have NEVER attempted a ridiculous stunt that could have ended in disaster? Most of us escape more-or-less unscathed, perhaps just a little embarrassed, and get to laugh at ourselves later. But every now and then, someone gets killed doing the same thing. I’m not trying to be a party pooper here. As I said, I’ve laughed at those stories myself. It’s just worth remembering that MOST of us could have been fodder for such posts, and still could be. ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/57 "2003-03-28T16:58:17Z")
Darwin Awards are stupid in my opinion. Not the idea of cleaning the gene pool, but… > [@](#): > > I mean, c’mon, some moron DECAPITATED HIMSELF WITH A FRIGGIN CHAIN SAW!!! …the hilarity this ensues. Three words: stupid, ghastly, tragic. I imagine you also laugh when you see someone trip and land on their face. And the comical value of a home video depicting a well placed kick in the balls is priceless. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/58 "2003-03-28T17:24:21Z")
Yes, yes I do. Tripping is funny. I laugh at myself when I fall. If you can’t laugh, well, what else CAN you do? ---
**Author:** ![Pedro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/919ad9/32.png) [@Pedro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pedro)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/59 "2003-03-28T18:10:43Z")
Which begs the question, why must you do anything? If I trip and fall I’ll shrug it, maybe smile to the cute girl with the worried look standing on the corner. Anyway a few suggestions if I may: [ul] [li]Help.[/li][li]Not humiliate someone who is probably embarassed already, especialy if said person is not agile enough to get swiftly back on his/her feet.[/li][li]Edumacate the snickering kids standing beside you.[/li][li]Not send the stupid story to the stupid Darwin Awards.[/li][/ul] Different points of view I guess. > [@](#): > > (…) Somehow he lost his grip on the rope, dropped face-first to the floor and drove the flashlight into his brain. The owner of the store found him dead the next morning. Now, I didn’t applaud that poor schnook’s death, but I laughed my ass of at the manner of it. :dubious: I really don’t get it. I’m not a surly guy, honest! I made my point, I’m out. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2003, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458/60 "2003-03-28T19:59:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JohnnyIsGood \* > \*\*I really don’t get it. I’m not a surly guy, honest! I made my point, I’m out. \*\* Sure you’re out. You got your dose of “I’m superior” for the day, so fuck those who disagree. Look, sport, there _may_ be a few people in here who really think eugenics is a good idea, and there _may_ be a doper or two that would actually applaud the death of somebody stupid enough to do himself in accidentally. But there are certainly a great many Dopers who know how to laugh at the stupid shit in life and not take it – ir themselves – too seriously. Lighten up already. You’ll live longer. Of course, since you had your say and opted out of this thread, you won’t read this. Your “superiority” won’t be disturbed. Good for you. “Edumacate?” :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-one-who-has-a-problem-with-darwin-awards/164458.md?page=4)