Darwin Awards

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My favorite so far is the Stubbed Out

DARWIN AWARD (17 April 2006, England) There's always someone who thinks that good advice doesn't apply to them. For example, if advised by a doctor that you are to be covered wtih a flammable material, and the one thing you must not do is go near a naked flame, most people would be able to take this advice onboard, and not strike a match until the flammable material smeared on your body had been taken off.
However, Phillip, 60, decided he knew better. He was in hospital for the treatment of a skin disease, which consisted of being covered with a paraffin-based cream. He was warned that the cream was flammable and that he definitely shouldn't smoke. But Phillip couldn't live without his cigarettes.
Smoking was not permitted in the ward, but Phillip took this setback in stride, and sneaked out onto a fire escape. Once he was in his little hiding place, he lit up... ahh. Everything went well as he got his nicotine fix; things went downhill only after he finished his cigarette, and ground out the butt with his heel.
Unfortunately, the paraffin skin cream had been absorbed by his clothing. As he stamped out the butt, it lit the fumes coming off his pyjamas. The resulting inferno treated his skin ailment, and left him with first-degree burns over 70% of his body. Despite excellent emergency treatment, he died in the intensive care unit.
Using the Darwin checklist:
1.Reproduction -- if he has children, he's not having any more.2.Excellence -- this is one that I'll remember.3.Self-Selection -- he was warned that paraffin and flames don't mix.4.Maturity -- At 60 I'd guess he was old enough to make his own decisions.5.Veracity -- All the major news carriers in the UK had the story.
This ticks all the boxes, and though I feel sorry for the family, I think that it acts as a warning that if a doctor tells you not to smoke, there's probably a very good reason.
There's always someone who thinks that advice doesn't apply to them.
For example, usually if a person was told by a doctor that they were going
to be covered in a flammable material and that the one thing they
shouldn't do is go near a naked flame, most people would be able to take
this advice on board and not set anything on fire until they were told that
the stuff smeared on their body had been taken off.
One man however, Phillip Hoe (60), decided that he knew better. He was in
hospital for treatment of a skin disease, the medication consisted of
covering him in a paraffin based cream. The gentleman was warned that the
cream was flammable and that he definitely shouldn't smoke, however he
decided that there was no way he could go without his cigarettes. There
was no smoking allowed inside the hospital, but Mr. Hoe took this minor
problem in his stride and managed to sneak out of the ward and find a fire
escape. Once this little hiding place had been discovered, he decided it
would be OK to light up. Everything went swimmingly well as he got his
nicotine hit, however things went a little awry when he finished his
cigarette. Mr Hoe decided to dispose of his cigarette in the time-honoured
fashion of dropping it onto the floor and then stamping on it.
Unfortunately for Mr. Hoe the paraffin applied to his body had been
absorbed by his pyjamas, and as he stamped out the cigarette it lit the
fumes coming off the paraffin. The injuries from the resulting inferno
(can't quite get that scene with the candle from Saw out of my head)
left Mr. Hoe with first degree burns over 70% of his body, he received
emergency treatment at an intensive care unit, but unfortunately died.
Using the Darwin checklist:
1.Reproduction -- Don't know if he's got children, but he's not having any more.
2.Excellence -- It's one that I'll remember.
3.Self-Selection -- He was warned that paraffin and flames were not a good combination.
4.Maturity -- At 60 I'd guess he was old enough to make his own decisions.
5.Veracity -- All the major news carriers in the UK had the story.
I think it ticks all the boxes, and though I feel sorry for the family, I
think that it acts as a warning that if someone tells you not to do
something, there's probably a very good reason.