Customer Reviews

The Darwin Awards Next Evolution: Chlorinating the Gene Pool

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You can't help but shake your head and laugh over the incredibly dumb things people do that eliminate them from the gene pool. Wendy Northcutt offers up her next installment of these gems in her book The Darwin Awards Next Evolution. It's not a long read (I think I read it in a couple of hours), but it's well worth the entertainment value. You'll laugh, shake your head, and cringe at how people (usually men) can be so stupid and short-sighted in their activities...

The book is divided up into chapters that cover miscellaneous mishaps, electrical extinctions, vehicle victims, medical maladies, criminal capers, work woes, combustion crazies, and animal antics. There are both true Darwin award winners (people who either died or made themselves unable to reproduce, therefore cleansing the gene pool) and at-risk survivors (those who came real close to leaving the gene pool, but by some miracle survived to get a second chance). Northcutt also attempts wherever possible to confirm the story or list it as possible but with no background documentation (like news stories). So generally speaking, you're getting honest-to-goodness boneheaded plays here.

There's the guy who decided to get drunk by somewhat unconventional means (alcohol enemas, anyone?), and "consumed" three liters of sherry. Needless to say, the next morning he had the ultimate hangover (dead) with a BAL of .47. Then there's the two kids in Denmark who took their uncle's car out onto the frozen Baltic Sea, thinking the ice was solid enough to hold them. It wasn't, but fortunately wasn't very deep. They followed this brilliant idea by getting a second car out onto the ice to pull the first one out. Same result. At least the third time they tried a tractor. And yes, that one fell through also. Consider them survivors at risk. And then there's my favorite (an at-risk survivor)... Three guys decide to do flaming alcohol shots. Problem is, no one told them they were supposed to blow out the flame before drinking. One of the guys finally gets enough courage and downs the shot (flame and all). The flame goes out, but his mouth is pretty toasted on the inside. Not to be outdone, his friend fills up a shot glass to the rim and lights it. Of course, it sloshes and starts his hand and the counter on fire. To stop the damage, he tries to drink the rest, only to spill it on his sweatshirt and face. Now *everything's* burning! His friends stop laughing long enough to beat out the flames with kitchen towels before anyone or anything is too damaged. No Darwin award, but so funny to image...

Unless you have a soft spot for those of the human species who lack the common sense gene, you'll have a great time reading Next Evolution. It'll also make you feel much better about your own stupid decisions...

Certain gems in the Darwin Award Series have stood out for me among the others. Not since the first book, has one of the stories been such a highlight as "Crutch, Meet Crotch". While there are other great tales, the mentioned incident is clearly the highlight.

For five unique editions, Wendy Northcutt and the rest of the gang have been helping us to delight in the stupidity of others. Best enjoyed in short increments, like toilet reading, it is often difficult not to smile at the misfortune of others. With the boundaries of stupidity being infinite, the next book in the series can not be far behind.

A fool and his life can be quickly parted. Since 1993, Wendy Northcutt has memorialized hundreds of anonymous idiots with her Darwin Awards. If you go to her website at www.DarwinAwards.com you can see the criteria that she uses for honoring these unfortunates.

This latest offering is morbidly entertaining. How many ways can a person die? How many ways can a person die as the result of a stupid, self-inflicted accident? Apparently, the possibilities are endless.

This is a very funny book in a very sick way. There's something hilarious about these ridiculous demises and tragic maimings. I'm not sure what it is? It's not ghoulish, just foolish.

There, but for the grace of a slightly higher IQ (I hope), go I.

I own the previous Darwin Award books. I consider all of them, including this one, very interesting and entertaining reading. Consider visiting the website, darwinawards.com, to get an idea what the books is all about.

This book continues the series of mishaps and misadventures of those that have perished or nearly perished.
The articles regarding the chemical break down of Mosquito saliva in the blood stream add an intellectual spin to this bathroom collection.

Amazon, of course, doesn't set book publishers' suggested retail price, but the prediscounted $19.95 for a book whose size barely warrants a hardcover version, especially when the Darwin Awards has its own website and people like me will blog about true crime, including fatal true crime, and similar stuff, is kind of steep.

That said, as to the book itself?

This type of stuff IS great reading material for laughs and giggles. As recently exemplified by the LA. Comuniter train crash where text messaging appears to be involved, there are people still dumb enough to find ever new ways to eliminate themselves - and sadly, others with them at times - from the gene pool.

In this latest installment, you'll find people doing dmb things with driving, with explosives, with chemistry and more.

Mencken's anecdote about never underestimating the stupidity of the American people shows itself to have worldwide reach.

This one is actually my favorite of the Darwin Awards books. I thought that the past ones had far too many Urban Legends and unconfirmed stories (though I still liked them), not to mention too many runner ups (which are now renamed at-risk survivors). This one just felt more complete.

For those that are unfamiliar with the Darwin Awards, they are stories about people who remove themselves from the gene pool in extremely foolish ways (through death or reproductive damage). They have to have "astounding lack of judgment", not just simply have an unfortunate accident. Quite often, these awards are earned while under the influence. An example would be someone who fires a gun and when it doesn't go off, they look down the barrel and fire again. They do not include children or the handicapped, nor does it include examples where innocent bystanders were harmed or killed. It is meant for amusement, and the extremely poor judgment shown by many can be quite amusing.

The Darwin Awards Next Evolution
Review by Richard L. Weaver II, PhD.

This 291-page (small) book) should take you a couple of amusing hours to read. Although there are 100 essays, divided into eight chapters or categories, each essay, ranging in length from one paragraph to as many as ten or so, describes the pure idiocy of a human lunatic. You just cannot believe that humans can be so incredibly stupid, and yet I found them mesmerizing and captivating none-the-less. Chapter 9, called "FAQ," provides some excellent additional information. One question I had as I read through these essays is why are most all of them executed by males? There are only 11 stories featuring a femme fatale. Why aren't more females represented in Northcutt's examples? It is one of the FAQ (frequently asked questions). A concerned reader asks it: "Nearly all Darwin Award nominees are male. I am aware that males are responsible for aggressive and irrational phenomena like wars, organized religion, drunken driving, et cetera, but pure statistics lead me to believe that more females should be candidates. Is a feminist conspiracy at work in the selection of the candidates?" Northcutt responds: "I call'em as I see `em. I choose as many women as I can -- but I can't use material I don't have. Most of the idiots nominated for this ignominious award are male" (pp. 263-64). I loved this book, and I think you will, too. It will make a great gift -- whether you choose to give it to an idiot, your closest friend, a family member, or, perhaps, they are all one and the same!

I bought this book thinking it would be something kind of serious, but once I found out it wasn't, I grew to love it even more!

I'm not sure if you're are supposed to find other people's misfortunes this funny, but it sure to happen when you read The Darwin Awards. We just can't get enough!