The Darwin Awards 4: Intelligent Design

Wendy Northcutt & Co. have brought us yet another great set of anecdotes about how NOT to "maximize your reproductive fitness". As has been noted before: it's fun to watch, from a position of safety of course, the antics of the truly foolish and stupid. (Consider the long-standing popularity of clown acts, for example.) We get to laugh in a self-reassuring way, thinking "There but for the grace of...well, Darwin, go I." We know, or at least we believe, that OUR brains won't be victims of what some wit has labeled "testosterone poisoning", which too often leads to such famous last words as "Hey, y'all, watch this!" (Alcohol poisoning seems to exacerbate the testosterone poisoning, as in the case of the two drunken young men who made a bet to see who could dangle the longer from a freeway overpass one night. They both lost the bet, dying when they fell into traffic after they could no longer hold on.) So get ready to shake your head in amazement, and have many a chuckle along the way, as you read the latest round-up of human idiocy. You'll learn some other fascinating things too, in the science essays that introduce the chapters. Enjoy!

Informative, full of life's little lessons for all of us, like why you shouldn't munch on glass. Entertaining, humorous, even hilarious at times. Not that death is funny. Just that realizing that sometimes common sense takes a flying leap out the penthouse window... with the Darwin Award winner himself close behind. But I also appreciated the format of the book. It can be taken in little doses, like when waiting in the emergency room for your non-life-threatening treatment, or swallowed all at once. A great gift for the person lacking common sense, or those who love the bizarre. I guess both describe me!

What some may see as a purient glimpse into the deaths of others,. . . well possibly that is the attraction. What interested me is the astounding ways that people can come to harm, probably against their better instincts. If only they had listened to that little voice inside that whispered, "Is this really a good idea". I think most of us have that tendency toward self preservation, a step forward in evolution that some apparently have not taken. Anyway, there are some very good stories here and some fine science writing as well, which is a new addition to The Darwin Awards series, and a good one.

Yes, death can be funny. The winners and honorable mentions are both entertaining as well as educational... if you need to be educated on something as basic as not stepping out of a bus moving at 60 miles an hour in the hopes of having a cigarette that is. Or maybe you're not sure how to thaw out the frozen engine of your car and you're thinking of stuffing the engine compartment full of newspapers and lighting them on fire. In addition to the DAs in this book contains some fascinating essays at the start of each section. I was particularly enlightened by the essay on Forensic Analysis and the frightening aspects of 'eyewitness testimony' in the American legal system. For example, did you know that eyewitness testimony "convicts innocent and guilty people with roughly the same frequency?" I didn't. I also found the essay on endogenous retroviruses (ERV) in human and chimp DNA to be utterly fascinating. The bottom line is that this book is both educational and entertaining on many levels.

A great Christmas present for anyone who like a little macabre in their life. The stories show that idiots can be more inventive that the brightest among us.