Named after Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards pay homage to those who improve our gene pool—by removing themselves from it.
Most of us know instinctively that igniting a blasting cap in our mouth is a recipe for disaster. Darwin Award winners do not. Most of us have basic sound judgment that eliminates the need for no smoking signs at ammo dumps. Darwin Award winners do not. Whether it's head-butting motorcyclists, thallium-snorting soldiers, or hatchet-wielding men who mistake a body part for a chicken neck, there's no shortage of creative Darwin Award winners. There's a reason the instructions say, "Don't heat your lava lamp on the stove." Only a Darwin Award winner would learn the fatal reason why.
Filled with over a hundred new tales of evolution in action, science essays by guest writers, and a parody research paper supporting intelligent design, The Darwin Awards 4 shows that when it comes to common sense, natural selection still has a long way to go.
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"It's always a joy to read about other peoples stupidity and the insights of other who see it coming. The title and concept is a great idea and I thought it was an appropriate read for his birthday."
— Keith (4 out of 5 stars)
" Like it's predecessors, merely a compendium of annihilation by stupidity. Not for those with weaker stomachs. "
— Matt, 1/20/2014" It's always fun to hear of the dumb things people do... "
— Angela, 1/19/2014" Laugh-out-loud funny. A must read. "
— Summer, 1/7/2014" I don't know why I read these books. Must be some superiority complex or something. The stories tend to get repetitous and obviously predictable. I'll probably keep reading them though! "
— John, 12/29/2013" As always, a fun, quick read that gives great laughs. "
— Heather, 12/15/2013" Another one in the series that didn't disappoint me in the least. "
— Jeannie, 11/26/2013" Too many personal accounts/honorary awards/unconfirmed reports "
— Callee, 10/15/2013" Fun! Funny! There is no end to ignorance. I suppose that for every Stephen Hawking, there needs to be someone at the other end of the spectrum to keep things in balance. "
— Grady, 9/24/2013" People will truly do the most ridiculous things! I could only read a few at a time because I got so annoyed at the people. It's a good book for the bathroom. "
— Allison, 7/8/2013" Another great edition. I really enjoy how the awrds are organized. The fact that ruining your junk gets you an honorable mention only adds to the whole experience. "
— Erin, 6/24/2013" Not as funny or interesting as I thought it would be. Kind of boring. "
— Kristina, 2/9/2013" I hate to laugh at this but I just can't help it. How can people be so stupid? "
— Aileen, 10/14/2012" Well, I usually get my Darwin dose on the website, but I saw this book for the amazing low price of $1.99 -- what book lover could resist? There were a few essays added -- a couple of them were funny and I found one of the a bit on the snippy side, but maybe it was just me. "
— Elise, 10/5/2012" I love the Darwin series of books. It gives me some faith that certain people remove themselves from the gene pool before procreating. The book was very entertaining. "
— Merrie, 6/20/2012" Again, this volume delivered with some awesome science essays before each chapter. I think now I'm only continuing this series to read those instead of the actual Darwin awards, which are getting repetitive and more black in humor. "
— Anna, 5/2/2012" The first Darwin Awards book I read (even though it technically is the fourth in the series), and I found it ridiculously funny. Love it. "
— Katie, 2/7/2012" A further collection of amusing tales of how people have removed or nearly removed themselves from the human gene pool. Will this series ever end, more amusing tales of stupidity and recklessness, can't wait to get my hands on the fifth volume (which I'm sure there'll be) "
— Sam, 8/16/2011" It constantly amazes me, how stupid some people can be. "
— Sharon, 4/27/2011" honestly... evolution was enough for me to realize that well I didn't feel the need to finished this book.... "
— Nick, 4/10/2011" Classic darwinism, not much else can be said as it is like any other Darwin Award book out there. "
— Amanda, 3/6/2011" Stupid people doing stupid things. Some stories were pretty hilarious, others were rather, um, stupid. "
— uintahiker, 2/7/2011" Love how humorous the topic is presented, in fact, the humor is in the acts of stupidity. Enjoyable! "
— Margot, 1/11/2011" The stories were funnier (although just as sad as/) than I thought they'd be. I wasn't expecting the "science interludes," but those were my favorite part of the book, covering all kinds of topics, including the history of making insulin from E. coli and mantle plumes "
— Magda, 3/15/2010" Better than the previous Darwin Awards books because of the organization and extra tidbits. "
— Rosalía, 11/26/2009" Really interesting how so many people can be so stupid. The book is named so correctly. Those people really do need to be removed from the gene pool. "
— Sally, 5/18/2009" Picked this up from the New Book shelf at the library and it wasn't as entertaining as I expected. I've read more interesting and detailed accounts of the awards on the Internet. "
— April, 3/30/2009" This is the perfect book to read in short spurts. I loved all of the stories. "
— Mary, 3/27/2009" Reading about 10 of these vignettes would have enough. And it really felt like a cop-out that some of these stories aren't even validated - so it's just recycling bunch of likely-not-true myths. Read a few of the real, validated ones on her website and skip the book. "
— Daniel, 3/7/2009" It's a bit depressing to read a bunch of these stories all at one time. Really, are any of us certain we aren't going to end up like this? "
— Patty, 2/4/2009" Two thoughts kept running through my head while reading this. <br/>1) These are almost exclusively about men <br/>2) How on earth am I going to be able to warn my sons about all the idiotic things they might consider doing, but shouldn't. "
— Heather, 1/31/2009Patrick Lawlor, an award-winning narrator, is also an accomplished stage actor, director, and combat choreographer. He has worked extensively off Broadway and has been an actor and stuntman in both film and television. He has been an Audie Award finalist multiple times and has garnered several AudioFile Earphones Awards, a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and many starred audio reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.
Patrick Lawlor, an award-winning narrator, is also an accomplished stage actor, director, and combat choreographer. He has worked extensively off Broadway and has been an actor and stuntman in both film and television. He has been an Audie Award finalist multiple times and has garnered several AudioFile Earphones Awards, a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and many starred audio reviews from Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews.