From: Michael S. Lorrey (retroman@turbont.net)
Date: Sun Aug 29 1999 - 22:25:23 MDT
GBurch1@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 99-08-24 23:50:26 EDT, spike66@ibm.net (Spike Jones) wrote:
>
> > Robert, I get the Darwin awards from various sources in my email,
> > [I didnt post these] but they always sound urban legendy. I havent
> > figured out how to verify, so I must treat them as fiction. The one
> > about the guy who tried to hang/shoot himself, missed, bullet cut
> > the rope, etc, now that just couldnt be true. Why do *I* always
> > end up being the nay-sayer? spike
>
> For some reason, lawyers (especially tort lawyers) have been fascinated by
> the Darwin Awards since the beginning of the net. So I receive these from
> many, many sources. Over the years we've speculated on the reality of the
> stories in my office and, eventually, we found a site that delves pretty
> deeply into the urban legend status of the stories:
>
> http://www.officialdarwinawards.com/index.html
>
> As you'll see, many (in fact most) of the stories aren't true. They're
> entertaining, nevertheless . . . [why am I responding to this thread when
> I've got dozens of messages in my in box to which I haven't responded?]
My own perception as to the truth of the awards is what was left out. An
incident that happened locally here, on Mascoma Lake in Enfield, NH
(where I live) should have at least made an honorable mention, if not a
win, but it did not even get picked. Here goes (this can be verified
through the Valley News in West Lebanon, NH):
January of last year, a guy was doing some construction work on one side
of the lake with a bulldozer. He lived on the other side of the lake,
and wanted to use the bulldozer on some work in his yard, but could not
use the public roads with the tracked vehicle, so he figured that since
the lake ice was 28 inches thick, it ought to be able to take the weight
of the bulldozer, which it did till he was about a hundred yards from
the opposite shore. Apparently a stream on that side of the lake caused
a current that wore away the underside of the ice a bit, so it was only
16 inches thick. The bulldozer broke through the ice and sank in 35 feet
of water, drowning the driver (his body was not recovered for six
months).
The day after this happened, I was riding the bus to work, as my jeep
was in the shop getting worked on. They mentioned this incident on the
radio they were playing on ths bus and I said,"That guy has got to be
the biggest moron on the planet." The woman in front of me retorted,"He
was my brother in law, and he was NOT retarded." I replied,"Ma'am, I
didn't say he was retarded, I said he was a moron. There is a
difference..." The rest of the bus passengers just cut up at this...
Mike Lorrey
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