The Darwin Awards Countdown to Extinction

Darwin Awards #6

by Wendy Northcutt

The hilarious  New York Times  bestselling phenomenon and the perfect funny gift!

The Darwin Awards are more than just a brand. They're a pop culture phenomenon. With six books and a website that draws in more than a million unique visitors every month, the Darwin Awards rivals The Onion and The Simpsons as one of the biggest humor franchises in the world.

Fully illustrated and featuring all-new tales of the marvelously macabre, The Darwin Awards Countdown to Extinction chronicles the astonishing acts of individuals who have taken a swan dive into the shallow end of the gene pool. From attaching a five-horsepower engine to a barstool, to hammering a metal hook into an explosive device, to using a taser to treat a snake bite, these gloriously gruesome incidents prove that the countdown (to human extinction) is well under way. And we won't exit this mortal coil without one last laugh.

Genres: Nonfiction, Humor, Science, Comedy, Short Stories, Death, Essays

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Wendy Northcutt graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in molecular biology. She began collecting the stories that make up the Darwin Awards in 1993 and founded www.DarwinAwards.com shortly after.

Northcutt is the author of the international bestsellers The Darwin Awards: Evolution in Action, The Darwin Awards 2: Unnatural Selection, The Darwin Awards 3: Survival of the Fittest, and The Darwin Awards 4: Intelligent Design. Her newest addition to the series is The Darwin Awards: Next Evolution."

Reviews

[OhWell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some amusing stories, some less so. Good for when you need a collection of loosely related bits and pieces, something that you can easily set aside. I did like the Darwin Awards themselves better than the science articles. Overall I don’t think I’ll remember much in the long run.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I shouldn't laugh at other people's misfortune, I couldn't help myself with some of these stories

[Russ Cross · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. Reading one always makes me feel smarter than the poor sods that end up in the books.

[Caleb · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the sixth collection of shorts from the Darwin Awards website done bathroom-reader style.

It was OK. Not the kind of thing that you read as a novel, but rather in short stretches as a pick-me-up for a bad day. After every chapter it has a scientific aside. some of them were rather interesting but had absolutely nothing to do with the Darwin Awards. I like the humor of the Darwin Awards but after a while it got tedious. Hence the low rating.

the Darwin Awards

[Kirsti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always enjoyed these books, but found this one to be wanting. There were a few amusing anecdotes, but the 'scientific interludes' actually took up far more space in the book than the actual stories themselves. I want to see more Darwin winners and nominees, not learn about genes and sex habits. Eh. Well, as a series these books are great, I just didn't like this one as much as I have in the past. The idea of the Darwin awards though, is brilliant, and I definitely would suggest reading earlier editions.

[Carin · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to review a book like this, but I review all my books. It was funny, as expected. I learned a little science, which was not expected. Stupid people died. Some survived. Some are now infertile and can no longer contribute to the gene pool. This book is great to read if you're looking for a no-brainer, if you're sick, if you need a book to take to a noisy, busy place that will not involve concentration or thought, the Darwin Awards books are ideal. It was cute, funny, and made me feel very smart. What more can you ask for?

[JJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't really find this as funny as I expected to (or at all).

[Scott Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humans are a creative species. We can do so much in life, and we are just as innovative in how we take ourselves out of life, or at least, the gene pool. Enter this installment of the Darwin Awards, where various stories of people ending their lives in stupid and creative ways abound. There are plenty of tales of near misses. You might think that people would learn, but even if we read this, people will still either try to emulate or one-up those engaged in the action. Not to be dwelt upon, but fun nevertheless.

[Maxwell Vetter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Darwin Awards Countdown to Extinction book review.

As this was the first time I had stumbled upon a Darwin Award book, I was skeptical when I first started reading but, as I kept reading my skepticism turned into enthusiasm. Every page was a new interesting anecdote with the same unfavorable outcome of being awarded the Darwin award. The book did not just have small anecdotes, the book also had small sections were it would teach the reader about some unusual factoid (in this case they were based around reproduction and other intriguing sexual facts).

The reading of Countdown to Extinction was not a challenging one and because of it being split up into small one page stories I was able to start and stop reading at my leisure. This book is great for the people who want to sit down for 10 min to read why they should not put their hand into a lion cage or, why they should not pick up a wild raccoon on a Saturday night. After reading I feel that I am slightly smarter and have gained some more wild stories to tell to friends. I recommend you go out at least glance at a Darwin Award book and get a good chuckle out of someone else misfortune.

[Eva Müller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biology was the only subject at school I could never stand, no matter which teacher we had (OK, apart from sport but that isn't relevant here). I just don't care about it at all. And so I also don't really care about the Science Interludes in the Darwin Awards. I do get, that it makes sense to have some info on eveolution in a book named after Darwin but I just feel that it's getting more and more but with less and less connection to the actual topics of the book (I think in the 4th volume, where they really started with the science interludes, they had at least some very vague connection to the chapters they were in, here it's just random).
Why not extend it a bit and write e.g. about physics and chemistry? Some stories have already smaller scienc-y appendixes about snake-venom or aluminium-oxide...why not extend on those a bit, instead of...I have actually already forgotten all the things the interludes were about (and I skipped half of them anyway...). Or perhaps I'm the only person that uninterested in biology?
The Award-stories itself were enjoyable as always.

[C.M. Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever seen someone acting ridiculous and thought to yourself, "I sincerely hope they do not breed." That is the basis of the series, death is not humorous in itself but when seen through the eyes of the author and editors it's easy to see the funny side in these stories. More often that not you are left asking, "How could they not see that coming?" Like the other books in the series this one is good for short breaks as each story is only 1-2 pages long and lets the reader grab a quick bite of humor when they need it. There are also short informative and entertaining scientific articles between each chapter that sometimes leave facts wandering through your mind long after the failed challenges accepted by the individuals starring in the brief stories.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the 6th Darwin Awards book, and it was a typical collection of true and some "not confirmed true" stories of unbelievably stupid things people have done. What stood out for me with this book were the science essays in between chapters. Those were fascinating! I learned things about genetics that I never knew before. In fact, I took notes! Northcutt included the best, simplest, most layperson-understandable explanation of how cancer cells work that I've ever read. The book is worth reading just for those essays, if you're not interested in the other stuff.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

More hilarious and epic-ally stupid ways that various members of the human race have removed themselves from the gene pool through poor decision making and sheer stupidity. Northcutt again helps the reader keep their IQ (and their sanity) with science interludes which are as interesting as they are informative and there are a good few FAQs at the back, some of which have been covered in previous volumes but some that are entirely new. Northcutt also provides a nice little summary of the lessons learnt from the stories in this volume.

[Jeannie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've always been a fan of the Darwin Award books but for me this one just fell flat. Could have been the lengthy and boring Science Interlude chapters between each chapter that seemed longer than the chapters themselves. Bad idea! This book series should come to an end unless she can come up with better stories than these! Sorry Wendy!

[Sparrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another volume with great science essays and bitter but amusing Darwin Awards. One thing I loved about this volume was the rearranged chapters - all of the tedious explanation of the Darwin Awards and its rules are now at the END, which I think is a great organizational move. Makes it much easier to get into the book.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice and amusing read that I picked up at The Book Thing while scoping out books to give away at Kensington. I was especially interested in the fact that the author was honest enough to start the book with her own near brush with death as a result of her own stupidity. The ingenuity with which humans inadvertently end their own lives never ceases to amaze and, yes, amuse me.

[Nurshafiqa · Rating 2 out of 5]

lost interest halfway through.

i don't know.. i feel like stupidity is sometimes good for humanity. so i don't like the idea of this book celebrating the inability of "stupid" people to reproduce and pass on their genes or whatever.
um.. can stupidity even be inherited?

[Rebecca King · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. I couldn't have been much more bored with the "science interlude" sections between chapters. First time I've read one of these cover to cover and I don't think I'll bother again. Picking up the odd silly story here and there is amusing, but reading it straight through is pretty bland.

[Angus · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Darwin Awards were an entertaining, and funny collection of stories about stupid people who remove themselves from the human gene pool. Its a good book but isn't a novel, and is best read for pleasure.

[Ashish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not that big a fan... it's funny but also a bit depressing. sure, it's great i don't have to share the planet with these idiots any more, but there's a new one born every minute... and after ------- funniest videos and YouTube, a book version of the same feels redundant.

[Vicky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly less interesting than I thought it would be. I think maybe if it was a lot shorter and was all about actual Darwin Award winners, not all these 'almost's and science interludes. Didn't realise I was so bloodthirsty but there you are.

[Beau Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I shouldn't laugh, but what sort of person does this stuff? Really? How baked do you have to be to think doing any of these things is a good idea?

They make Homer Simpson look like a genius.

[Afshin Afshar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting collection of short stories that clearly demonstrate the stupidity of humankind! What is more scary is that improvements in medical field could be negating the useful function of natural selection!!

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun enough. Very different from what I usually read, and not something I would probably pick up for myself. Lots of short vignettes on various hilarious and horrible things that happen to people, both award winners and near misses.

[Anna]

I shelved this under the humor/to read section, although I suppose the stories are funny only if you weren't involved in any way with them

[Terrance · Rating 4 out of 5]

hilarious and I loved the little science interludes

[Jeremy Snow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't recommend. The earlier books were much funnier.

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memorable for the section on bat's extracurricular activities, if nothing else. And a hoot to listen to while trying to keep a straight face at work!

[Lghamilton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good bathroom reader!

[Maddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent book, for it's genre. Little more then a compendium of stupid wars to die. Hilarious, but not for readers who feel sympathy.