While the Noble Committee recognizes the genius of scientists and diplomats, the Internet-based Darwin Awards "honors" peoplewho help out the human species in a different way-—by eliminating themselves (or coming close) from society through naturalselection (i.e., their own stupidity). The tongue-in-cheek award has gained momentum and popularity in recent years, spawning a variety of e-mails that have been entertaining and stunning readers across the country. One of these emails happened to land on a CSDeditor's desk, and we just couldn't resist the urge to share some of this year's most notable winners.
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A would-be robber in Long Beach, Calif. raninto a problem when his .38 caliber revolverwouldn't fire. Curious, he took a peek into the barrel and fired it off to catch a glimpse of the problem. Unfortunately for him, this time it worked. On the upside, he's not likely to try that one again.
- Showing the ultimate example of "What goesaround comes around," a robber attempted breaking into a liquor store by hurling a cinder blockover his head and into the store's frontwindow…the store's Plexiglas front window.Needless to say, the cinder block bounced off,smashing the robber across his empty head andrendering him unconscious. The robber lived, butthe incident was caught on tape, thus securing hishumiliation for years to come.
- Because originality apparently isn't aconcern for crooks these days, a robbertook the clichéd approach and snatcheda woman's purse as she was exiting aconvenience store in New York. The store clerk immediately called the police who quickly nabbed the thief. The police brought thecrook back to the woman, pulled him out of thecar and told him to hold still for a positive I.D.,to which the crook responded, "Yes, that's her.That's the woman I robbed." Fortunately forhim, New York doesn't have any laws againstunoriginality or stupidity…yet.
- Looking for a quick cash fix, a robber placed a $20 bill on the counter ofa Louisiana Circle K and waited for theclerk to open the register. As the clerkdid, the crook pulled a gun anddemanded all the cash in the register.Diligently following the company's "no resistance" policy, the clerk complied, giving the robber the$15 in the register. The thief quickly departed with thecash, leaving the original $20 on the counter. His stupidity doesn't deserve a punch line.
For more information onthe Darwin Awards, visitwww.darwinawards.com.