Have you seen a story series with horrible warnings in the form of confirmed stories that had happened to people who would have gained from the kind of science related to certain decisions they made which became their final ones. I have always considered one treasure spot for this kind of cases: www.darwinawards.com. It is the website that grew out of a book with the same title by Wendy Northcutt — a book which had me laughing like a mad woman while I was alone on a train ride when the first edition came out around six years ago. The Darwin Award is necessarily a posthumous one that “honors those who improve the species…by accidentally removing themselves from it!†Below are a mix of gems from 2007 and 2008 even if the current year’s list is still open. Below, I give you a brief and the science lesson I think these awardees could have benefited from.
1. Entitled “The Enema Within,†this story involved a Texan guy who loved booze so much that let us just say, he literally did a “bottoms up†of 1.5 liters of sherry. Apparently, alcohol gets more absorbed through the rectal cavity than the standard way which is through an opening right below the nose called the “mouth.†When doctors examined him, he had a .47 percent blood alcohol level which the award citation described to be enough to “embalm†himself and definitely way beyond what is required for you to keep from “spiriting†toward the afterlife.
Science lesson he should have known: While alcohol may smell the same, there are different amounts required for partying and embalming yourself. It is useful to know these amounts before you consume any alcohol so you are sure to match the amount with your goal.
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