The Darwin Awards III: Survival of the Fittest

By Wendy Northcutt

Book Overview

One of America's most popular humor series returns with a brand-new collection of hilariously macabre mishaps and misadventures. Honoring those who improve our gene pool by inadvertently removing themselves from it, The Darwin Awards III: Survival of the Fittestshows once more how uncommon common sense still is. Featuring science and safety discussions, and filled with illustrations depicting inspiring examples of evolution in action, The Darwin Awards IIIincludes over one hundred all-new stories. Readers will celebrate Darwin Award winners who made the "ultimate sacrifice," wonder at the misguided pluck of Honorable Mentions who survived their own bad judgment, and look on in awestruck amusement at Personal Accounts shared with the world by the perpetrators themselves. From the sheriff who inadvertently shot himself twice, to the highway robbers who blocked traffic with their car and were hit by a truck; from the artist who strung a "shell" necklace of live ammunition, to the man crushed by the branch he'd just severed, The Darwin Awards IIIproves again that when it comes to stupidity, no species does it like we do.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525947736
• ISBN13: 9780525947738
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Dutton Adult
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.7" x 1.0" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Incomprehensible Stupidity never gets old

Some readers of the first edition have reviewed the second and third editions as "old" or "unoriginal".I beg to differ. Every darwin award story is quite original! Oh please let them be original.. if these people do what they do (often fatal or permanentaly mutating actions I might add) for attention, then THANK YOU for removing them from the gene pool.This isn't a book to read and think "OK, I will never do THAT" - gosh I hope it's not- otherwise You Too need to be sterilized. This is simply another in a pleasantly increasing line of books about the AMAZING bounds of stupidity in human nature.Definate BUY on this one, great "sitting on the toilet" book. 2 thumbs and 8 other digits UP review.

D'oh!

As stupid as they are, Homer Simpson, Wile E. Coyote, and The Three Stooges never died from their idiocy. Of course, they're fictional characters, and don't have to obey the laws of nature. Their real-life counterparts aren't so lucky. In a sense, this collection is arguably the best of the best, as these people did something so stupid, they removed themselves from the gene pool. You could say they fell out of the Stupid Tree and hit every branch on the way down. Though there aren't as many stories here as in other collections (Leland Gregory's HEY IDIOT!, for example), these are (mostly) confirmed true and most likely to attain Classic status.Also contains rules for inclusion, philosophical commentary, and index.

It's nice being capable of intellectual thought

The Darwin Awards create a reason to live for myself. Knowing that there are people out there to lessen competition in life just pleases me. The human race is made up of individuals who are below average (Darwin Awards), average (Honorable Mentions), and above average (those who can write books about these kind of things). For all of those who think that these stories are boring to read by oneself, you should do the following when you are with friends, on a long flight or ride in the car with family, etc.: Take turns passing the book around and reading stories. Merely open the book to random pages and read the passages. This provides several hours of entertainment (On a band trip in Orlando, we did this on the charter bus for the entire week).

Pretty Good! Restroom Reading.

These little stories really have my family and friends rolling down the aisle. It's a good conversation starter, as a good Darwin Award often leads to spontaneous "How I Got That Scar" competitions. I highly recommend this book.

Inspiration! And hope for a better future.

I've never laughed so hard -- I mean, who can't see an accident waiting to happen when you set up 19 deadly booby-traps in your home? What criminal "mastermind" thinks she'll get away with robbing the local bank in her 300-resident community? And the guy who tried to commit suicide by swallowing those little nitroglycerine heart pills, then slamming himself against a wall to make them explode... Do people this stupid really exist? Of course they do, you see them every day, weaving on the road and talking on a cell phone, slowly trying to count out change for their purchase, etc. The Darwin Awards are sweet revenge for all those little annoyances inflicted on us by idiots. Great book, I highly recommend it.