2011 Darwin Awards

And the Darwin Award goes to.... Although not as glamorous or as noteworthy as other awards, recipients of Darwin awards are held in a special type of regard. Sometimes sad, but ultimately a little funny, this year's award winners all help humanity evolve to a better creed. As the old saying goes "Daar is nie pille vir domgheid nie!" Who are they and where can you pay your respects? Here is our world tour of this year's Darwin award winners.

New York, USA

Teach them at a young age!

Image by justinkuri.com

What better place to start! In July of this year, Phil Contos took the street to protest motorcycle helmet laws. Bare headed, he accidentally hit his brakes, fishtailed and lost control of his motorbike and flipped over the handlebars! He hit his head in a fatal crash. But don't cry for Phil, according to his elder brother "He'd do it again!" Oh Phil, I think you might have been your own worst enemy...

Brisbane, Australia

Living on the edge?

Image by planking.mobi

We all know planking right? This year the social media craze where you took a photo of yourself lying in strange places stiff like a plank challenged plankers to outdo each other. Mr Acton B was bitten a little bit hard by the planking bug and decided to plank where no man had planked before! If he had done his homework (or used logic) he might have realized that balancing on balconies are the leading contributor to gravity related Darwin awards... As you can imagine, when he stretched himself out on his balcony railing, he tipped over the edge of glory and fell seven stories to his Darwin doom.

Leeds, UK

BZZZ!

Image by bridgat.com

We have all experienced the frustration of cable theft. Whether on the Gautrain, or left without electricity, it is a royal pain in the bum! Speaking about the royals, in fairest England one such thief met his untimely end while stealing copper cables. Eish. The unnamed 16 year old didn't heed the warnings of CE Electric UK when he cut the wires with his bolt cutter. They stated early in 2011, "We are pleading with thieves to think about the consequences and how much they are risking for such a small return. DANGER OF DEATH signs are posted for a reason!" Hopefully this Leeds teen will help others not to make the same shocking mistake.

Delhi, India

Stylish yet deadly

Image by wikipedia.org

Now this is a little confusing, so read carefully. A pre-wedding Henna party turned ugly when well known "red headed stripper" Indira Vegas attacked and killed a burglar with her 5 inch stiletto heels who was interrupting the festivities. What is peculiar is that the burglar had the appearance of a zombie and entered the house in what appeared to be a cloud of tear gas. Weird. After all the commotion, Vegas put her shoe back on and accidentally ‘infected' her sister-in-law by stepping and jabbing the heel into her sister-in-law's foot. She subsequently felt ill and went to lie down.

While the rest of the party was trying to figure out who was to report the break in, the bedroom door flung open and the zombie-like sister in law attacked Vegas, who in turn sought to menace the photographer. The photographer knocked her out with his tripod but that was enough for the other ladies in the room. Fearing what seemed like a zombie invasion they all stampeded out of the room, trampling the bride underfoot with their own nasty nailed heels. The police eventually attributed the bizarre occurrence to a schizophrenic breakdown on Vegas' part. And you thought you had pre-wedding jitters?

Do you know anyone who came close to winning a Darwin Award? Share your stories below!

Let's hope evolution is on the right track for 2012. Keen for a few more profound records? Be sure to check out South Africans in the Guinness Book of World Records.