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The Darwin Awards VI: Countdown to extinction by Wendy Northcutt

This book is based on the popular website by the same author. It is named after the father of the evolution theory. The theory that says only the fittest, smartest, most intelligent and most adaptive of a species will survive because of natural selection. By his laws everyone in this book should be the last of their gene pool. This book shows us that not all humans seem to be of higher intelligence or even possess basic common sense.

Usually the award is posthumous, because the recipients must eliminate themselves in a verified true and alarmingly stupid way. There are however plenty of at risk survivors nominated and also featured in this book. Past books have included someone who peered into a gas tank with a lighter and a farmer who tried to stop bee stings by sealing his head in a plastic bag.

This book starts with a surprising nominee, the author herself when she fell through a grate in the floor that she left open. She survived though, and it is just as well as it gives us that pleasure that this book and the website thrives on, laughing at others misfortune. If you love laughing at the idiotic or true stories of utter stupidity, this book is for you. It is black humour at its best.

The Darwin Awards do not just offer a change to laugh at others though. They do offer an educational experience. Firstly you can learn from the mistakes made by the unfortunites featured in the book and secondly the book contains many interesting science interludes that help the reader understand more about nature and humans. Some even explain more about diseases and may one day provide a cure for some of the most dangerous diseases we face today.

RRP $30.00
Published and distributed by Penguin Group

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