Yet another Darwin Award candidate

[tc]

Ignoring, for the moment, the rich pool of possibilities at and around the political conventions, this would have to be a serious candidate:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Man- ... 819352.php

[jeremyp]

Ignoring, for the moment, the rich pool of possibilities at and around the political conventions, this would have to be a serious candidate:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Man- ... 819352.php

Never trust a man with a three barrelled name.

[KDFINE]

Why is it called the Darwin Award?
Is it because this example is "proof" that evolution isn't necessarily going forward?

[scottmitchell74]

Natural Selection. These people who doing mind-numbingly stupid things "select" themselves to be removed from the gene pool. Darwin's theory in action.

[jazzcyclist]

Here's the link for an ongoing thread on this topic.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=34939&p=529118&hilit=darwin#p529118

[KDFINE]

Thanks for the (now obvious) explanation.

[18.99s]

Stupidity is not illegal, but sometimes it carries the death penalty.

[lapsus]

I prefer the Ig-Nobels myself these days because usually there's more variety, and also because some recipients will actually come to the ceremony and even appear to be pleased by the award.

I do have to admit that according to the news report, this case was one of the more novel, dare I say innovative, candidates. Sometimes I worry if there are people trying to intentionally win the award...

[DrJay]

Stupidity is not illegal, but sometimes it carries the death penalty.

One of the best bumper stickers I've seen: "Stupidity should be painful"

[Walt Murphy]

And one more example
http://www.mandatory.com/2012/08/30/romantic-gestures-gone-wrong?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl6%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D199170

[Conor Dary]

Wow, that is incredible. Who would ever think of something so dumb. I wouldn't send a dog in the mail.

You would think of at least having a knife to get out in case you got lost in the mail, which was the second dumb thing, or at least poking a hole...

I really think this takes the Grand Prize.

[lonewolf]

He was lucky the mail was misplaced for only three hours.. how about three days?

[bekayne]

And one more example
http://www.mandatory.com/2012/08/30/romantic-gestures-gone-wrong?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl6%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D199170

Life imitates art. At least he fared better than poor Waldo:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift_( ... round_song)

[tandfman]

Ignoring, for the moment, the rich pool of possibilities at and around the political conventions, this would have to be a serious candidate:

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Man- ... 819352.php

Not only did this guy get himself killed, he may have spent a few bucks doing so. Ghillie suits, apparently, are not cheap.

http://www.ghilliesuitsource.com/

[tandfman]

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/10/08/3 ... ating.html

They say it wasn't cause and effect, but one has to wonder.

[Marlow]

After downing more than 20 giant creepy-crawlies [cokroaches], Archbold vomited, collapsed and died.
Investigators with the Broward Sheriff’s Office are awaiting an autopsy report to determine what killed him.

Not to mock the dead, but may I hazard a guess . . .

[Conor Dary]

Unbelievable.

[DrJay]

From the medical/pathology angle I find this one really interesting. What will they find as the cause? There was mention of super worms. My son's lizard (a bearded dragon) eats mostly crickets but also some meal worms. The larger ones from the pet store are labeled "super worms" and they have some sort of pincers that I learned about while picking one up to put in the aquarium. Maybe he downed some of those live and they chewed through his stomach wall? Seems unlikely as he died at the scene, I believe, and with a perforated ulcer you have a good bit of time, often hours, before the surgeon is truly behind the 8-ball.

[Marlow]

they have some sort of pincers that I learned about while picking one up to put in the aquarium. Maybe he downed some of those live and they chewed through his stomach wall?

OK, I just threw up a little, in my mouth. I assumed he chewed them up - did he swallow them whole?! If so, he absolutely gets this year's Darwin Award!!

[Pego]

From the medical/pathology angle I find this one really interesting. What will they find as the cause? There was mention of super worms. My son's lizard (a bearded dragon) eats mostly crickets but also some meal worms. The larger ones from the pet store are labeled "super worms" and they have some sort of pincers that I learned about while picking one up to put in the aquarium. Maybe he downed some of those live and they chewed through his stomach wall? Seems unlikely as he died at the scene, I believe, and with a perforated ulcer you have a good bit of time, often hours, before the surgeon is truly behind the 8-ball.

I suspect some toxic substance in the bugs.

[lonewolf]

[
I suspect some toxic substance in the bugs.

That was my unprofessional guess too but why were the other contestants not affected?

[tandfman]

It may be weeks before they figure out why he died.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10 ... perts?lite

[tandfman]

They've now figured it out. He choked to death.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/26/us/florid ... ing-death/

[Conor Dary]

This is the big story in Chicago. One of the dumbest things I have heard of.

Nick Wieme, the aspiring stand-up comedian who made the fatal mistake early Thursday morning of climbing above the iconic domed rooftop of the InterContinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue to take pictures, was a “fantastic human,” his brother said.

Nick was “awesome,” Jamie Wieme said of his sibling who loved his family “fiercely.”

“We need a stadium to hold his funeral.”

But then Jamie Wieme asked to be left alone so he could grieve with loved ones the sudden and bizarre death of the 23-year-old Minnesota transplant who fell down a chimney at the hotel at 505 N. Michigan and died after rescue crews pulled him from the shaft.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/16987022-4 ... hotel.html

[tandfman]

I have to assume some alcohol was involved in that photo shoot decision.

[jhc68]

I love this: Storage Wars (a "reality" TV show) is being sued by Dave Hester, one of the "stars", for wrongful termination claiming that he was fired after butting heads with the producers of the show because he suddenly realized that the show was fraudulent (that is to say, not "reality" at all but completely manipulated) and his objections resulted in his dismissal... there are 3 distinct manifestations of stupidity here:

1) Apparently it took several seasons of the show for Hester to figure out that the producers were supplying their own bogus versions of "reality" right before his very eyes.

2) Hester was then so dumb that he bit the hand that feeds him by pissing off the producers.

3) Best of all, masses of TV fans and media observers are astounded and outraged by the idea that "reality" TV shows are not factual documentaries!!! WTF.

I sometimes watch the show because I like to Barry, one of the regulars and a wonderfully entertaining eccentric. No rational person (and I include myself rather uncertainly in this category) could ever have believed that any of the BS that went in on the episodes was real and it is tough to digest the idea that anyone might have ever thought the show was "reality". Duh.

[gh]

Thank goodness this thread wasn't renewed for the xth revival of the "x-year Darwin Awards": have you ever noticed that every year (or more frequently) this crap stuffs your in-box, but basically it's the same stories every year? It's not like the Darwin Committee meets side-by-side with the Nobel people and they have a big annoucement in Stockholm.

This is free-form internet bullshit people. Hello!

[Blues]

This is the big story in Chicago. One of the dumbest things I have heard of.

Nick Wieme, the aspiring stand-up comedian who made the fatal mistake early Thursday morning of climbing above the iconic domed rooftop of the InterContinental Hotel on Michigan Avenue to take pictures, was a “fantastic human,” his brother said.

Nick was “awesome,” Jamie Wieme said of his sibling who loved his family “fiercely.”

“We need a stadium to hold his funeral.”

But then Jamie Wieme asked to be left alone so he could grieve with loved ones the sudden and bizarre death of the 23-year-old Minnesota transplant who fell down a chimney at the hotel at 505 N. Michigan and died after rescue crews pulled him from the shaft.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/16987022-4 ... hotel.html

Sad story.. As somebody with a passion for photography myself, I can understand someone taking a risk for a unique photo opportunity. It was dark, and maybe he slipped on ice or soot or encountered a sudden gust of wind, or didn't see the outer octagonal opening on top of the smokestack (see photo link below) and fell into that. I'm afraid that if I had a rare opportunity to get a few once in a lifetime photos (like a clear view of Chicago at night from a vantage point at the top of a hotel smokestack), it's possible that I might do a little climbing too.

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/chicago%20hotel.jpeg

[Conor Dary]

Sad story.. As somebody with a passion for photography myself, I can understand someone taking a risk for a unique photo opportunity. It was dark, and maybe he slipped on ice or soot or encountered a sudden gust of wind, or didn't see the outer octagonal opening on top of the smokestack (see photo link below) and fell into that. I'm afraid that if I had a rare opportunity to get a few once in a lifetime photos (like a clear view of Chicago at night from a vantage point at the top of a hotel smokestack), it's possible that I might do a little climbing too.

I do a lot of photography myself, but you have to use common sense, which was obviously lacking in this case.

[Blues]

Sad story.. As somebody with a passion for photography myself, I can understand someone taking a risk for a unique photo opportunity. It was dark, and maybe he slipped on ice or soot or encountered a sudden gust of wind, or didn't see the outer octagonal opening on top of the smokestack (see photo link below) and fell into that. I'm afraid that if I had a rare opportunity to get a few once in a lifetime photos (like a clear view of Chicago at night from a vantage point at the top of a hotel smokestack), it's possible that I might do a little climbing too.

I do a lot of photography myself, but you have to use common sense, which was obviously lacking in this case.

Maybe. But the area wasn't locked, and there's always a possibility that he didn't know the tower was a smokestack, since it was designed not to look like one from the outside. Allegedly he fell into the smokestack when he tripped after stepping out onto what he thought was a ledge to try to get a better photo, after climbing to the top. Since it was dark I wonder if he tripped over the octagonal opening and then fell into the 6 foot circular opening which was about 2 feet away toward the center of the structure, or if he mistakenly assumed that the entire upper surface was a solid roof or deck. Since he didn't break in, it'll be interesting to know what, if any, posted warnings he ignored.

[Conor Dary]

Since he didn't break in, it'll be interesting to know what, if any, posted warnings he ignored.

Lord, protect us because we are too dumb to do it ourselves...

[Blues]

Since he didn't break in, it'll be interesting to know what, if any, posted warnings he ignored.

Lord, protect us because we are too dumb to do it ourselves...

I'll agree with you if and only if he knew he was walking on top of a giant smokestack. If he thought it was an additional observation deck or something similar (since it was in the area of the hotel's observation deck and obviously not made to look like a smokestack), and if there were no warnings to the contrary and no locks on the doors or ladders, I might choose to call him adventurous or curious rather than dumb...

[Pego]

Since he didn't break in, it'll be interesting to know what, if any, posted warnings he ignored.

Lord, protect us because we are too dumb to do it ourselves...

I'll agree with you if and only if he knew he was walking on top of a giant smokestack. If he thought it was an additional observation deck or something similar (since it was in the area of the hotel's observation deck and obviously not made to look like a smokestack), and if there were no warnings to the contrary and no locks on the doors or ladders, I might choose to call him adventurous or curious rather than dumb...

Let me ask you this, Blues. If you wanted that particular vantage point for your pics, would you not explore it during the daylight first? Would you not ask maintenance personnel familiar with the building for some tips? From what I learned about you on this forum, I bet that you would all that and probably more.

[Conor Dary]

I might choose to call him adventurous or curious rather than dumb...

You sure have a strange sense of adventure. To me an adventure is a mountain climb or a canoe trip into a wilderness area, prepared for whatever many happen.

Going up a ladder on a tower on top of a downtown building, in the dark, and after probably drinking and where you have no business being and have zero idea what the dangers are is dumb.

As for warning signs he probably would have ignored them. Just like the folks in the Grand Canyon and Yosemite who ignore the signs and the railings and go next to the edge in order to get that 'perfect picture'. And it is the last thing they do.

http://www.amazon.com/Over-Edge-Death-G ... r+the+edge

http://www.amazon.com/Off-Wall-Yosemite ... im_sbs_b_2

[Blues]

Since he didn't break in, it'll be interesting to know what, if any, posted warnings he ignored.

Lord, protect us because we are too dumb to do it ourselves...

I'll agree with you if and only if he knew he was walking on top of a giant smokestack. If he thought it was an additional observation deck or something similar (since it was in the area of the hotel's observation deck and obviously not made to look like a smokestack), and if there were no warnings to the contrary and no locks on the doors or ladders, I might choose to call him adventurous or curious rather than dumb...

Let me ask you this, Blues. If you wanted that particular vantage point for your pics, would you not explore it during the daylight first? Would you not ask maintenance personnel familiar with the building for some tips? From what I learned about you on this forum, I bet that you would all that and probably more.

I applaud you for being able to confidently predict my actions just from reading my posts in this group... In this case however, I might have taken at least a calculated risk, if I felt that it might be my only opportunity for a once in a lifetime photo. Asking maintenance personnel for tips might ruin a great opportunity, and if my first trip there was at night and I had access, I might not risk losing that access by waiting til another time. It's all about the chance for a unique photo, and being passionate about the hobby.

Below is a photo of the smokestack and ladder Mr. Wieme climbed, from the viewpoint he would have seen it from on the floor of the regular observation deck prior to climbing to the top, although obviously it was dark out and the tower was lit by colored spotlights rather than daylight. If I didn't realize that it was a smokestack and assumed it was another observation tower, I might have thought about climbing the short distance too if there were no locks and no signs warning me that it was a smokestack (although I probably wouldn't have stepped out onto the top if there was no railing to hold on to..). Even the architecture of the stack could be misleading as to what it was. Anyway, it's no big deal that we disagree, and if I didn't sense a rare opportunity for an incredible photo, I probably wouldn't have considered climbing the ladder.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a397/ ... 86acb4.jpg

Photo source: http://www.chicagocarless.com/2008/05/1 ... ago-hotel/