Miscellaneous - http://maxpages.com/starfire7s/DARWIN

MAN DIES IN FREAK ACCIDENT

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (Nov. 13)
A 39-year-old Charlottesville man
died Thursday in a freak accident
involving his washing machine.
According to police reports, Samuel
Randolph Strickson was doing laundry
when he tried to speed up the process.
Strickson apparently tried to stuff
approximately 50 pounds of laundry
into his washing machine by climbing
on top of the washer and attempting to
force the clothing into the basin.
Strickson then apparently accidentally
kicked the washing machine's ON button.
When the machine turned on, Strickson
lost his balance and both feet went
down into the machine, where they got
stuck. The machine started its cycle,
and Strickson, unable to free himself,
started thrashing around as the
machine's agitator went into gear.
Strickson's head banged against a
nearby shelf in the laundry room,
knocking over a bottle of bleach,
which poured over Strickson's face,
blinding him. Forensic reports say
Strickson apparently also swallowed
some of the bleach. He then vomited,
but was still unable to free himself.
Strickson's dog, then apparently came
into the laundry room. At about the
same time, according to police, a
large box of baking soda fell from
the shelf, startling the dog, who
then urinated. Urine, like vinegar,
is acidic, and the chemical reaction
between the urine and the baking soda
resulted in "a small explosion,"
according to police reports. The dog,
however, escaped unharmed. Strickson
remained stuck in the washing machine,
which eventually went into its high-
speed spin cycle, spinning Strickson
around at about 70 miles per hour,
according to forensic experts.
Strickson's head then smashed against
a steel beam behind the washing machine,
immediately killing him. A neighbor
heard the commotion and called 911, but
Strickson was pronounced dead at the
scene.

GRAVITY KILLS

A 22-year-old Reston man was found
dead yesterday after he tried to use
occy straps (the stretchy little ropes
with hooks on each end) to bungee
jump off a 70-foot railroad trestle,
police said. Fairfax County (Virginia)
police said Eric A. Barcia, a fast-food
worker, taped a bunch of these strqps
together, wrapped an end around one foot,
anchored the other end to the trestle at
Lake Accotink Park, jumped ..and hit the
pavement. Warren Carmichael, a police
spokesman, said investigators think
Barcia was alone because his car was
found nearby. The length of the cord
that he had assembled was greater than
the distance between the trestle and
the ground," Carmichael said.
Police say the apparent cause of death
was "major trauma." An autopsy is
scheduled for later in the week.

LAUNCHED ON THE FOURTH OF JULY ...

Three young men in Oklahoma were
enjoying the coming fourth of July
holiday and wanted to apparently
test fire some fireworks. Their only
real problem was that their launch
pad and seating arrangements were
atop a several-hundred-thousand-
gallon fuel distillation storage
tank. Oddly enough, some fumes were
ignited, producing a fireball seen
for miles and miles. They were
launched, no doubt, countless
thousands of feet into the air and
were found dead 250 yards from their
respective seats.

DON'T ASK GOD TO PROVE HIMSELF, HE JUST MIGHT...

A lawyer and two of his buddies
were fishing on Caddo Lake in Texas.
A lightning storm hit the lake and
most of the fisherman immediately
headed for the shore. But not our
friend the lawyer. He was alone on
the rear of his aluminum bass boat
and his buddies were in the front.
This gentleman stood up, spread his
arms wide (crucifixion style) and
shouted: "HERE I AM LORD, LET ME
HAVE IT!" Needless to say, God
delivered...if you want to look at
it that way. The other two
passengers on the boat survived.

CATCH!

A man in Alabama died from rattle-
snake bites. Big deal, you may say,
but there's a twist here that makes
him a Darwin Award candidate. It
seems he and a friend were playing
catch with a rattlesnake. You can
guess what happened from here.
The friend (a future Darwin Award
candidate) was hospitalized.

GIMME A LIGHT!
Several years ago, in a west Texas
town, employees in a medium-sized
warehouse noticed the smell of a
gas leak. Sensibly, management
evacuated the building, exting-
uishing all potential sources of
ignition - lights, power, etc.
After the building had been evac-
uated, two technicians from the
gas company were dispatched. Upon
entering the building, they found
they had difficulty navigating in
the dark. To their frustration,
none of the lights worked.
Witnesses later described the
vision of one of the technicians
reaching into his pocket, and
retrieving an object that
resembled a lighter. Upon
operation of the lighter-like
object, the gas in the warehouse
exploded, sending pieces of it up
to three miles away. Nothing was
found of the technicians.

A "not too heavey in the brains
department" car-jacker forced a
business man from his car at
gun point and sped off with the
mans vehicle. Upon taking the
police report, detectives learned
the man had a "for sale" sign in
the cars rear window and a cell
phone on the front seat. These
bright detectives waited two weeks,
dialed the mans cell phone and
told the person answering the
phone they were interested in
buying the car which they had
seen advertised for sale. The
car thief scheduled a time to
meet with the detectives to
discuss the deal and was arrested!
The car was returned to its owner.

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Page Updated Sat Apr 10, 1999 3:39am EDT