Category Books

Darwin Awards: Evolution In Action » (Abridged, 3 CDs)

Book cover image of Darwin Awards: Evolution In Action by Wendy Northcutt

Authors: Wendy Northcutt, TBA (Read by), Jason Harris
ISBN-13: 9781885408723, ISBN-10: 1885408722
Format: Compact Disc
Publisher: Listen & Live Audio, Inc.
Date Published: August 2001
Edition: Abridged, 3 CDs

Author Biography: Wendy Northcutt

A graduate of UC-Berkeley with a degree in molecular biology, Wendy Northcutt started collecting the stories that make up the Darwin Awards in 1993, and she founded the Web site soon thereafter. She has been profiled in Salon.com and USA Today, and now divides her time between managing the website and working as an Internet consultant. The Darwin Awards Web site has received awards from Yahoo!, USA Today, and the BBC.

Book Synopsis

"Only two things are infinite-the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not so sure about the universe." — -Albert Einstein

Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, The Darwin Awards vividly portrays the finest examples of evolution in action, and shows us just how uncommon common sense can be.

Marvel at the thief who steals electrical wires without shutting off the current. Gape at the lawnchair jockey who floats to a height of 16,000 feet suspended by helium balloons. Learn from the man who peers into a gasoline can using a cigarette lighter. All three — and many more — contend for Darwin Awards when their choices culminate in magnificent misadventures.

These tales of trial and awe-inspiring error—verified by the author and endorsed by website readers—illustrate the ongoing saga of survival of the fittest in all its selective glory.

San Francisco Weekly

The Darwin Awards is a riot to read. Deeply entertaining.

	The Darwin Awards: What are they?	1
	Survival of the Fittest	1
	Rules and Eligibility	2
	Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution	7
	Uncommon Common Sense	11
	History and Internet Culture	13
	Advice on Reading the Stories	15
Chapter 1	Natural Selection: Animal Misadventures	17
	Can Animals Win Darwin Awards?	17
	Darwin Award: In a Pig's Eye	21
	Darwin Award: Killer Whale Rodeo	23
	Darwin Award: Playing with Cats	26
	Darwin Award: Hungry Python Kills Owner	27
	Darwin Award: Poisonous Pets	29
	Darwin Award: Snake Charmer?	30
	Darwin Award: Burmese Python	32
	Darwin Award: What's New, Pussycat?	33
	Darwin Award: Wild Animal Lesson	34
	Darwin Award: Smarter Animals	36
	Darwin Award: Running of the Bulls	37
	Darwin Award: Silenced by the Lambs	38
	Darwin Award: Human Hitching Post	39
	Honorable Mention: Nine Times a Loser	41
	Honorable Mention: Revenge of the Gopher	42
	Honorable Mention: Woman Disarmed by Tiger	43
	Honorable Mention: Don't Mess with Mama Bear	45
	Urban Legend: Man Glued to Rhino Buttocks	46
	Personal Account: Bug Repellent	48
	Personal Account: Why Kids Leave the Farm	50
Chapter 2	Relatively Dangerous: A Family Affair	51
	Children and Evolution	51
	Darwin Award: Go, Speed Racer, Go	54
	Darwin Award: Wife Tossing in Buenos Aires	56
	Darwin Award: Count Your Chickens	57
	Darwin Award: Father Knows Best	58
	Darwin Award: Laughing Gas	60
	Darwin Award: Murderous Affair	61
	Darwin Award: Avoiding a Fight	63
	Darwin Award: Maine Chainsaw Romance	64
	Honorable Mention: Trash Compactor	66
	Honorable Mention: Darwin Your Bratty Kids	67
	Urban Legend: Missionary Miscalculation	68
	Personal Account: Accidental Safe Sex	69
	Personal Account: Wives with Chloroform	70
Chapter 3	"I Fought the Law ...": Stupid Criminal Tricks	71
	If Evolution Works, Why So Many Idiots?	71
	Darwin Award: Junk Food Junkie	74
	Darwin Award: Copper Caper	75
	Darwin Award: Good Trumps Evil at Church	76
	Darwin Award: Jumping Jack Cash	77
	Darwin Award: Tired of It All	78
	Darwin Award: Modus Operandi Misfires	79
	Darwin Award: Restaurant Thief	80
	Darwin Award: Dum Dum Boutique	81
	Darwin Award: Scrap Metal Thieves	82
	Darwin Award: Wrong Time, Wrong Place	83
	Darwin Award: Clumsy Canadian Burglar	84
	Darwin Award: Escaping Conviction	85
	Darwin Award: Rob Your Neighbor	86
	Honorable Mention: Pick Your Target	88
	Honorable Mention: Armed and Dangerous?	89
	Honorable Mention: Poor Sense of Direction	90
	Honorable Mention: Airbag Weapons	91
	Honorable Mention: Mis-Steak	92
	Honorable Mention: Wile E. Coyote of Burglars	93
	Honorable Mention: Limo and Latte Burglar	94
	Honorable Mention: Spare Some Change?	95
	Honorable Mention: Three Times a Loser	96
	Honorable Mention: Sunny Side Up	97
	Honorable Mention: Official Drug Test	98
	Honorable Mention: Klutzy Crook	99
	Personal Account: Compacted Ignorance	100
	Personal Account: Gangster Blues	102
Chapter 4	Up in Smoke: Fire and Explosions	103
	Awards for Priests and Gays?	103
	Darwin Award: Living on Zionist Time	106
	Darwin Award: Firefighters Ignite!	107
	Darwin Award: Igniting Fireworks the Easy Way	108
	Darwin Award: Justice Is Served	109
	Darwin Award: No Smoking? Ha!	110
	Darwin Award: Dynamite and Boats Don't Mix	112
	Darwin Award: Up in Smoke	113
	Darwin Award: Cigarette Lighter Triggers Fatal Explosion	115
	Darwin Award: Lights Out	116
	Honorable Mention: Chimney Safety	118
	Honorable Mention: I Just Flicked My Bic!	119
	Urban Legend: Scuba Divers and Forest Fires	120
	Urban Legend: Cow Bomb	122
	Urban Legend: Raccoon Rocket	123
	Urban Legend: Hydrogen Beer Disaster	125
	Urban Legend: Cell Phone Destroys Gas Station	128
	Personal Account: Elemental Mistake	129
	Personal Account: Is It Loaded?	130
	Personal Account: Final Flick of Bic	131
Chapter 5	Leaps of Faith: Fatal Falls	133
	John F. Kennedy Jr.	133
	Darwin Award: Don't Drink and Fly	138
	Darwin Award: Lawyer Aloft	140
	Darwin Award: Stoned Sleep	141
	Darwin Award: Homegrown Parachute	142
	Darwin Award: Yosemite Parachute Safety	145
	Darwin Award: Shocking Fall	147
	Darwin Award: Bungee Jumper	148
	Darwin Award: Bridge Bonzai	149
	Darwin Award: One for the Birds	150
	Personal Account: Leap of Faith	151
	Personal Account: One, Two, Three, Heave!	153
	Urban Legend: Misadventure at the Metallica Concert	155
	Urban Legend: Power Plant Fitness Freak	158
	Personal Account: Leveled	160
Chapter 6	Military Intelligence: Uninformed Men	161
	Historical Darwin Awards	161
	Darwin Award: Intelligence Blunders	164
	Darwin Award: Hanging Around Jail	165
	Darwin Award: Peeper Plummets	166
	Darwin Award: Dead Spitter	167
	Darwin Award: New Dating Technique	168
	Darwin Award: Resistance Is Futile	169
	Darwin Award: Wait for Me!	170
	Personal Account: Industrious Brain-Dead Private	172
	Personal Account: 5 Soldiers, 6 Police, 0 Brains	174
	Personal Account: Jet Ski Jock	176
	Personal Account: North Pacific Deckpecker	178
	Personal Account: Flack Vest Testing	180
Chapter 7	Testosterone Poisoning: Macho Men	181
	The Issue of Offspring	181
	Darwin Award: JATO	184
	Darwin Award: Fatal Footsie	186
	Darwin Award: Guy Gulps Goldfish	187
	Darwin Award: Dry Spell	188
	Darwin Award: Sequined Pastie	191
	Darwin Award: Gun Safety Training	192
	Darwin Award: The Winner Gets ... A Postmortem	193
	Darwin Award: I'm a Man, I Can Handle It	195
	Darwin Award: William Tell Overture	196
	Darwin Award: Sink the Cue Ball	197
	Darwin Award: Repairs on the Road	199
	Honorable Mention: Right Tool for the Right Job	200
	Honorable Mention: Kiss Bites Back	201
	Urban Legend: The Dog and the Jeep	203
	Personal Account: One Cool Dude	206
	Personal Account: Out of Their Heads	209
	Personal Account: Round Lake Shortcut	210
	Darwin Award: Chute Boy	212
Chapter 8	Dangerous Liaisons: Unsafe Sex	213
	Evolutionary Hall of Shame	213
	Darwin Award: Love Crushed Sex	215
	Darwin Award: Baby, You Drive Me Crazy	216
	Darwin Award: Sex and Suffocation	217
	Darwin Award: Fatal Flasher	218
	Honorable Mention: Chimney Manners	219
	Honorable Mention: Betrayal of Trussed	220
	Urban Legend: Lightning Date	222
	Urban Legend: Gerbil Rocket	224
	Urban Legend: Hedonist Air Pumpers	225
	Urban Legend: Romeo and Juliet?	227
Chapter 9	Davey Jones' Locker: Watery Demise	229
	Divergent Evolution	229
	Darwin Award: Hurricane Hangover	232
	Darwin Award: Gone Fishin'	233
	Darwin Award: Polar Bear Swim	234
	Darwin Award: Crappy Driving Award	236
	Darwin Award: Can Duck Shooters Swim?	237
	Darwin Award: Yosemite Hike	239
	Darwin Award: Wet Will He	240
	Darwin Award: Hard Work Rewards	241
	Honorable Mention: Loch Ness Monster	242
	Urban Legend: Darwin Beach Death	243
	Personal Account: Quarry Story	245
	Personal Account: The Iceman Exiteth	248
	Personal Account: Rub Dub Dub, Men in a Tub	249
	Personal Account: Surprise Flush	250
	Personal Account: Tide-ally Impaired	252
Chapter 10	Man's Favorite Toy: Penis Envy	253
	Losing the Family Jewels	253
	Honorable Mention: Zany New Zealand Contest	256
	Honorable Mention: Mr. Happy's Vacuum	258
	Darwin Award: Priapism Takes a Penis	260
	Darwin Award: Man Slices Off Penis	262
	Darwin Award: Love from the Heart	264
	Honorable Mention: Scoutmaster Snare	265
	Honorable Mention: Scrotum Self-Repair	266
	Honorable Mention: Horse Drug Experiment	268
	Urban Legend: Frog Giggin' Accident in Arkansas	269
	Personal Account: Jump Rope Blues	271
	Personal Account: Disco Dork	273
	Personal Account: Bridge Bowling	274
	Personal Account: Pissing into the Wind	276
Chapter 11	Foolish Ingenuity: End of the Line	277
	Evolution in Action	277
	Honorable Mention: Lawnchair Larry	280
	Darwin Award: The Last Supper	283
	Darwin Award: Ultimate Price for Smelling Nice	285
	Darwin Award: Midnight Special	287
	Darwin Award: Deadly Reading Habits	288
	Darwin Award: Breatharianism	289
	Darwin Award: Roller Coaster	291
	Darwin Award: Mental Eclipse	292
	Darwin Award: No Bike Lane at the Airport	293
	Darwin Award: The Bumbershoot	294
	Darwin Award: Lemmings in a Well	295
	Darwin Award: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow	296
	Darwin Award: Death of Dracula	298
	Darwin Award: The Daily Grind	299
	Urban Legend: Christmas Roast	300
	Urban Legend: The Laundry Was Clean ...	301
	Urban Legend: Unfortunate Husband	303
	Urban Legend: Overkill	306
	Personal Account: Team Spirit	307
	Personal Account: Cleaning the Head	308
	Appendices	309
I.	Website Biography	309
II.	Darwin Haiku	311
III.	Author Biography	312
	Story Index	313