Northcutt, Wendy. The Darwin Awards.

Title

The Darwin Awards: Evolution in Action: Commemorating those individuals who ensure the long-term survival of our species by removing themselves from the gene pool in a sublimely idiotic fashion/180 bizarre true stories of how dumb humans have met their maker

Author

Northcutt, Wendy

Publisher

Dutton

Year

2000

ISBN

0525945725 (Hardcover)

Table of Contents

The Darwin Awards: What are they?
- Survival of the Fittest
- Rules and Eligibility
- Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution
- Uncommon Common Sense
- History and Internet Culture
- Advice on Reading the Stories
Natural Selection: Animal Misadventures
- Can Animals Win Darwin Awards?
Relatively Dangerous: A Family Affair
- Children and Evolution
"I Fought the Law...": Stupid Criminal Tricks
- If Evolution Works, Why So Many Idiots?
Up In Smoke: Fire and Explosions
- Awards for Priests and Gays?
Leaps of Faith: Fatal Falls
- John F. Kennedy Jr.
Military Intelligence: Uninformed Men
- Historical Darwin Awards
Testosterone Poisoning: Macho Men
- The Issue of Offspring
Dangerous Liaisons: Unsafe Sex
- Evolutionary Hall of Shame
Davey Jones' Locker: Watery Demise
- Divergent Evolution
Man's Favorite Toy: Penis Envy
- Losing the Family Jewels
Foolish Ingenuity: End Of The Line
- Evolution in Action
Appendices
- Website Biography
- Darwin Haiku
- Author Biography

Index

Story Index

Pages

327

Categories

nonfiction, entertainment, humor, evolution, survival of species, gene pool, social sciences, sociology, death, American, stupidity, anecdotes, dying, biology

Language

English (en), German (de), French (fr)

My Summary

Caution: This is not a treatise on Charles Darwin, his views or works, but rather a humorous attempt to illustrate his theory of natural selection as applied to the human species by using true stories of stupidity that have led to death or sexual dysfunction.
—Robbin D. Knapp © 2001

From the dust jacket

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, showing us just how uncommon common sense can be.
Meet the absentminded terrorist who opens a mail bomb returned to him for insufficient postage. Marvel at the thief who steals electrical wires without shutting off the current. Gape at the would-be pilot who flies his lawnchair suspended from helium balloons into air-traffic lanes. And learn from the man who peers into a gasoline can using a cigarette lighter. All four contend for the 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. Including new material never before seen, as well as favorite award winners from years past, The Darwin Awards vividly portrays the finest examples of evolution in action.
Wendy Northcutt is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in molecular biology. She started collecting the stories that make up the Darwin Awards in 1993, and founded www.DarwinAwards.com soon thereafter. She has been profiled in Salon magazine, and now divides her time between managing the website and working as an Internet consultant. Her award-winning website is one of the most popular humor sites on the web today, with over 400,000 visitors a month and growing. It has received acclaim from USA Today, the BBC, and Yahoo!, and was chosen as a Cool Site of the Year 2000.

From the copyright page

The Darwin Awards: Evolution in Action contains cautionary tales of misadventure. It is intended to be viewed as a safety manual, not a how-to guide. The stories illustrate evolution working through natural selection: Those whose actions have lethal personal consequences are weeded out of the gene pool. Your decisions can kill you, so pay attention and stay alive.

See and/or order this title at Amazon.com:

Hardcover, 327 pages, Dutton, 2000

See and/or order this title at Amazon.co.uk:

Paperback, new edition, 288 pages, Orion, 2001

See and/or order this title at Amazon.de:

See and/or order this title at Amazon.fr:

No longer available (but if you send me an e-mail message, I'll try to find you a used copy):

Paperback, 286 pages, Orion, 2000, ISBN 0752838717