Darwin Awards Nominees

The Darwin Awards * pay tribute those who improve the human gene pool...
(by removing themselves from it)

[Associated Press, Kincaid, W. VA]
Man Loses Face at Party.
"A man at a party popped a blasting cap into his mouth and bit down, triggering an explosion that blew off his lips, teeth and tongue" said state police on Wednesday.

Jerry Stromyer, 24, of Dincaid, "...bit the blasting cap as a prank during a party late on Tuesday night", said Cpl. M.D. Payne. "Another man had it in an aquarium, hooked to a battery, and trying to explode it," Payne said. "It wouldn't go off and this guy said, 'I'll show you how to set it off'. He put it in his mouth and bit down. It blew all his teeth off, his tongue and his lips... ...I just can't imagine anyone doing something like that,"

Stromyer was listed in guarded condition Wednesday with extensive facial injuries, according to a spokesman at Charleston Area Medical Division.