Tuesday, December 16, 2008

So Many Kinds of Stupid...

"The Darwin Awards Next Evolution - Chlorinating the Gene Pool" by Wendy Northcutt Dutton $19.95 291 pages

The book is neatly divided into types of accidents -- both fatal and those with survivors -- Miscellaneous Mishaps, Electrical Extinctions, Vehicle Victims, Medical Maladies, Criminal Capers (largely thieves of building supplies who cause the elevator to fall on them or the roof to collapse over them,) Work Woes, Combustion Crazies and Animal Antics -- something for everyone's tastes.

I can tell you right now it is not a good idea to try to rope a deer, get drunk and climb into the bears' cage at the zoo or go rafting when the bridge is covered with water ...

It would be a great cautionary read for teenaged boys (or girls for that matter) and is amusing on its own.

At first, I had a little difficulty about reading "funny stories" about people who actually killed themselves doing some of these things. It didn't seem, well, right to be amused, but the more I read of these bone-headed stunts, the more my cynicism peeked back out from its temporary hiding place and I wound up enjoying the book.

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