Charles Darwin at a green chalkboard.

2001 Darwin Awards

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Random Honoring Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool--by removing themselves from it in the most spectacular way possible.

Rubbish!
2001 Darwin Award Winner
Confirmed True by Darwin

Student Dies in Trash Bin Prank

(1 March 2000, New Zealand) Baldwin Street in Dunedin is listed as the steepest in the world in The Guinness Book of World Records, and it was at the top of this 38-degree incline that Ana and her friend hatched a plan for a midnight downhill slide. The two university students dragged a two-wheeled rubbish bin up the street, climbed in, shoved off, and down they went in their makeshift sleigh.

As they hurtled pell-mell down Baldwin Street in the wee hours of the morning, residents described being awakened by "a hell of a racket" which went on for some time before ending with a sickening crash. Their 50-meter dash ended precipitously when the rubbish bin slammed into a legally parked trailer. Ana, 19, was killed instantly, and her co-pilot suffered serious head injuries, though one wonders how they noticed.

The feat did not make it into the Guinness Book of World Records, as the top speed of the rubbish bin is unknown.

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Submitted by: Randy
Reference: Scott Inglis of the New Zealand Herald, Reuters

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