What is a Darwin Award?

The Darwin Awards are a tongue-in-cheek honor given to individuals who supposedly contributed to human evolution by removing themselves from the gene pool in an exceptionally stupid manner, thus preventing their supposedly deleterious genes from being passed on to future generations. The award was established in 1993 by Wendy Northcutt and has since become an internet phenomenon.

The criteria for receiving a Darwin Award are as follows:

1. The nominee must be dead or sterilized as a result of their own actions.

2. The nominee's actions must have been voluntary and intentional.

3. The nominee's actions must have been extraordinarily stupid.

4. The nominee must not have been mentally impaired or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Some notable Darwin Award winners include:

* A man who was killed while trying to rob a vending machine with a gun.

* A woman who died after trying to use a frozen turkey to put out a grease fire.

* A man who was killed when he fell out of a tree while trying to retrieve his cat.

The Darwin Awards are not meant to promote reckless behavior, but rather to highlight the importance of common sense and personal safety. By learning from the mistakes of others, we can all help to prevent ourselves from becoming Darwin Award winners.