Is this weird??

[Jonmo1]

There was one where a guy was robbing a house (or trying to) and tripped and fell and broke his leg or something. He then sued the owners of the house for liability. I think he won.

You can find all kinds of stories of people doing really stupid things at www.darwinawards.com
A website dedicated to
"Honoring those who improve the species...by
accidentally removing themselves from it! "

 

[Patience]

Oh I LOVE the Darwin Awards!

And yes I think I heard about the robbery (except I am so tired (and dense) that I read it five times as 'horse') and I think you are right. I think he did win. Though I can't think where I read it to back it up.


Edit:

http://www.darwinawards.com/stupid/stupid2006-07.html

I promise you this wasn't the party I was at... but it almost could have been...

 

[Oaktree]

When I was a student, one of my friends fell in the river because he was too busy thinking about quaternions...

I'm missing the cause/effect relationship there, Emma. Or, is that an acceptable excuse for anything in the UK?

Maybe I should try that out here:
"Sorry, boss... I'm late for work because I was busy thinking about quaternions"
"Yes, I know I'm late on my payment...but, I've been thinking about quaternions."
"Was I speeding, officer? I must have been distracted by thoughts of quaternions."

 

[cornflakegirl]

must try that first one myself!

He claimed not to have seen the river. His explanation was entirely plausible.

 

[Cindy Ellis]

What makes it more funny is that according to Wikipedia (yep...I too had to google it), the inventor of quaternions came up with the approach while walking alongside a river:

On October 16, 1843, Hamilton and his wife took a walk along the Royal Canal in Dublin. While they walked across Brougham Bridge (now Broom Bridge), a solution suddenly occurred to him.

...(remainder of article describing how to divide numbers that I think I'll never need to divide!)
Cindy

 

[cornflakegirl]

Didn't he scratch the theory into the bridge? (I may be mis-remembering that.)

 

[Patience]

It sounds as if the bridge is the key. This guy was thinking about quartewhatsits, and figured it out - and lo a bridge appeared before him.

Your friend didn't figure it out in time for the bridge of the enlightened to appear before him.

 

[riaz]

Your friend didn't figure it out in time for the bridge of the enlightened to appear before him.

Maybe his spanner was still in the works.

 

[cornflakegirl]

Anyone else feel that lo is a really underused word?

 

[riaz]

Anyone else feel that lo is a really underused word?

I've heard it used a lot, but never in its Olde English sense. The current usage I've come across is as a prelude to the punch line.

eg

Out of the gloom a voice said unto me, "Smile, and be happy, things could be worse."
So I smiled, and was happy, and lo and behold, things did get worse.