Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2013 09:25:38 -0500
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From: forum email <nij.forum@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Friday NVC: DARWIN Awards ... 2005 (old but good)
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and heres a bus related one!!!!
(27 July 2005, California) Robert, 35, was eager to hang out with the
nudists at the Palm Springs campground, in a part of Death Valley where
temperatures reached 136 degrees. The track was rough but passable until he
was lured into the Saline Mud Flats by the deceptively dry appearance of
its crackled surface, radiating heat in the baking sun. Within a few feet,
the wheels of his VW microbus sunk deep into the muck that lay hidden
beneath the crust.
Robert was miles from nowhere, surrounded by the bleached skulls of other
animals that had become trapped in the mire. But he had plenty of water, so
he waited for help to find him on the remote dirt track. After six days, he
abandoned the microbus and began walking to a less deserted location where
someone was more likely to pass.
Luck was with him! As he was shaking the last drop of water from his
bottle, help arrived in the form of 14-year-old British lads from the
League of Venturers, who were training in search-and-rescue techniques. "He
was crying and completely hysterical. I don't think he expected to last the
day," said the unit leader. They gave him a lift to the nearest ranger
station, 80 miles away, where he kissed the ground in gratitude.
Robert had cheated death once, but that didn't stop him from tempting fate
again.
In nearby Bishop, he found someone to tow the microbus out of the mudflats.
Alas, it had two flat tires and other mechanical problems, so he returned
to Bishop for automotive supplies. He snagged another ride into Death
Valley, this time with a couple who took an unfamiliar route from the
north, and dropped him off at a washout in the road about 15 miles from the
Palm Springs campground.
His plan was to locate the campground and enlist help fixing his vehicle.
He stashed his supplies and began walking. His body was found three days
later, without a map, a GPS, or even water. Authorities estimated that he
had walked along the road for 10 miles before heading into the open desert,
seeking water.
On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 8:15 AM, Hector Zapata <hlzapata@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yes, it's that magical time of the year again when the Darwin Awards
> are bestowed, honoring the least evolved among us. Here then, are the
> glorious winners:
>
> 1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at the inteded victim
> during a hold-up in Long Beach, CA, would-be robber James Elliot did
> something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and
> tried to trigger again. This time, it worked...
>
>
> The honorable mentions:
>
> 2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a
> meat-cutting machine and, after a little hopping around, submitted a claim
> to his insurance company. The company, expecting negligence, sent out one
> of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and lost a
> finger. The chef's claim was approved.
>
>
> 3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car
> during a blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman had
> taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.
>
> 4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus
> driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transporting
> from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence,
> the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a
> free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, telling
> the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre
> fantasies. The deception wasn't discovered for 3 days.
>
>
> 5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious
> head wounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received
> the injuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how
> close
> he could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.
>
>
> 6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the
> counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the
> man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the
> clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled,
> leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from
> the drawer...$15. (If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is
> a crime committed?)
>
>
> 7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided
> that he'd just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab
> some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his
> head at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be
> thief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window was
> made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.
>
>
> 8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man
> grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman
> was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within
> minutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and
> drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car and told
> to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes, officer,
> that's her. That's
> the lady I stole the purse from."
>
>
> 9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into
> a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5 a.m., flashed a gun, and
> demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn't open
> the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings,
> the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man, frustrated,
> walked away.
>
>
> A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER:
>
>
> 10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on
> a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived
> at the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home
> near spilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to
> trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home's
> sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to press charges,
> saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.
>
> - - - - - - -
>
> In the interest of bettering humankind please share these with
> your friends and family... unless of course one of these 10 individuals, by
> chance, is a distant relative or long lost friend. In that case be glad
> they are distant and hope they remain lost.
>
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