Charles Darwin at a green chalkboard.

2002 Darwin Awards

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? 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.

Human Torch
2002 Darwin Award Winner
Confirmed True by Darwin

(23 November 2002, Oslo, Norway) Around 4:45 p.m., neighbors reported hearing a loud pop followed by a fire at a rail yard in Filipstad, just outside Oslo. Fearing a potential terrorist attack, fire and police crews rushed to the scene. The top of an electric train was burning! When the fire died down, investigators pieced together its cause.

The spray cans and wet paint on the side of the train were the first clues. Inner-city Norwegian youth, victims of a society polite to its core, were lashing out in desperation at the brutal cleanliness and order of a country where the trains always run on time, and sticking it to The Man by tagging the symbol of their oppression. So desperate were they to make their political point that they walked right past several signs warning of the danger of high voltage, and climbed over fences to reach their objective.

One of them, a 17-year-old, wanted to tag where no man had tagged before--on the roof of the train. The fact that few people would ever see his art was no impediment to this brave young man as he sought to subvert the dominant paradigm. He climbed atop the train, sprayed his creation, and rose up to proclaim his accomplishment -- touching the main power line and lighting up the neighborhood as 15,000 volts coursed through his body. His remains were so badly burned that authorities were initially unable to determine that the victim was human.

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Submitted by: knut
Reference: Dagbladet, Aftenpost

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