Darwin Awards - Thou Shalt Not Steel

Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.

Here's one of the most recent stories:


Thou Shalt Not Steel
2008 Darwin Award Nominee - Confirmed True by Darwin
(8 March 2008, Czech Republic)

Steel is valuable, especially the high-grade alloy used in steel cable.
Scrap metal dealers do not ask questions. They pay in cash.

And a good supply of steel cable can be found in elevator shafts.

This particular gold mine was a towering shaft inside an empty granary near Zatec, forty miles northwest of Prague.
The cable was tightly fastened, and the far end of it disappeared into the shadowy distance above.
After substantial wear and tear on a hacksaw, our man finally cut through the strong steel cable.
At that instant the counterbalance, no longer held in check, started to move silently downward, accelerating until it reached the bottom of the shaft.

Result: one proud winner of a "terminal velocity" Darwin Award.


More stories in www.darwinawards.com. Don't miss it!