Darwin Awards

[NickDRFC]

Other than the regular occurrences on here  , anywhere recently that you've seen examples of some mind-numbing stupidity in everyday life?

Saw a middle aged lady today hosing down steps up to her house to clear the snow. This is a flight of 4-5 stairs leading to a building with a dozen flats in them.

Perhaps I've got her all wrong and she just really dislikes her neighbours, either that or she thinks that the Wet Bandits are coming to rob her over the weekend.

[RedJ]

A former colleague of mine was ironing his shirt and got a little worried because his iron was (he thought) smoking, so he put it in the sink. Wondered why his electric went off.

I wondered how he didn't die.

[drfchound]

A former colleague of mine was ironing his shirt and got a little worried because his iron was (he thought) smoking, so he put it in the sink. Wondered why his electric went off.

I wondered how he didn't die.

That proves how dangerous it can be when men do housework.

[Filo]

I once had to go in the loft but did n't have a torch, so improvised, I had a 500w security light in the shed, so i wired up some flex to it with a plug on the other end, plugged it in, all working fine and dandy, so while I set the step ladders up i laid the security light, stil switched on face down in the carpet, and burnt a perfectly square shaped hole in the carpet

[BillyStubbsTears]

I once set fire to a fridge while trying to defrost it. With a blow torch.

[idler]

Was it that experience that attracted you to engineering Billy?

[Filo]

When my kids were little, we had a problem with the washing machine not unlocking, so I got the too of the machine off unplugged the machine and started fiddling about with the lock, I plugged the machine back in with the intentions of trying to open the door, at that same time the kids started playing up so I was distracted and went to bollock them. Went back to the washer and forgot I'd plugged it in, put my hand on the live connections of the lock and got thrown across the kitchen floor, got up unplugged the washer and tried the door and it opened, nearly electrocuted myself, but got the washer door open 😀

[tommy toes]

I cut through the cable when mowing the lawn. Decided to pick up the cable to have a look. The privet hedge broke my backward flip.

[5minstogo]

I once changed a light fitting. On removing the old one I found lots more wires than I'd expected. After half an hour of turning the electric off and going up and down the ladder trying every combination of wires I got distracted and jammed my screwdriver on a live wire.

One minute I was at the top of the ladder, the next I was at the bottom. The ladder had shifted so hard it left dents in the wood floor. Funnily enough I get an electrician for such things now.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Was it that experience that attracted you to engineering Billy?

I figured I had a talent...

[BillyStubbsTears]

Not sure I’d rely on a sparky, 5mins.

Had my old house re-wired 20 years back. I’m working upstairs when the sparky shouts me down to have a look at what he’d found while stripping out the old wiring. 80-odd years old wiring with wrapped cotton twine for insulation instead of the plastic sheathing you get these days. He said it used to be very common on houses in the early C20th, but you hardly see it these days. That sort of wiring had been condemned as dangerous decades back.

Then he got his snips out to cut it out. He said, “Even when you do see it, it’s never live as they’ll have disconnected it years ag...”

“Snip”

“BANG!”

Poor lad was chucked across the room in a big flash. He’d found the one in a thousand that was still live.

[Draytonian III]

When I bought some land a few years back I was clearing of rubbish,a few trees but also a couple of static caravans that had been left on it. So after smashing said caravans to bits with a big hammer I piled all the debris in the middle of the field in a massive bonfire and set light to it . Standing back to take pride in my endeavours I nearly got hit by the door of the fridge that I'd forgotten that was on the fire. A bit of a Michael Caine moment

[roversdude]

Saw a lad at work go to use a fire extinguisher
Pulled pin hit the top and .....nothing
He then proceeded to look down the hose just as the dry powder arrived
Couple of days in hospital