Google Told Him to Do It!

[TLS Guy]

This story is getting a lot of comment up here!

Leading candidate for a Darwin Award.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

How stupid can people be these days? Google told me to! Maybe a Darwin Award would be appropriate? I wouldn’t be surprised to a Stella award come out of this. People...

 

[KEW]

The man, who was visiting from out of state, had a mild case of hypothermia

...and a severe case of stupid!

 

[highfigh]

Not the first time someone blindly followed instructions from an electronic device and had problems-

Man drives semi over 2 pedestrian bridges, gets stuck, blames GPS

A man who drove his tractor-trailer onto a walkway at a Milwaukee park, getting it stuck on a foot bridge, says his GPS device is to blame.

abc7chicago.com

Not only is the bridge unusable, the road below has been blocked at both ends since this happened.

 

[Swerd]

A Darwin Award for a guy who suffered only mild hypothermia because he followed google maps directions? It was 3 am. Was he drunk? For a Darwin Award, the consequences of the nominee's stupidity have to be more consequential. Natural selection requires that.

That StarTribune report did get this part right:

"Don't trust the internet for everything."​

It may seem crueler, but I nominate this for a Darwin Award:

• On Facebook, anti-vaxxers urged a mom not to give her son Tamiflu. He later died.
• Boy Dies Of Flu After Facebook Anti-Vaxxer Group Told His Mother To Try "Natural Cures"
• 4-year-old dies from flu after members of anti-vax Facebook group advise his mom to use thyme and elderberries instead of Tamiflu

The 3rd article from CBS News says:

… screenshots from an anti-vax Facebook group called "Stop Mandatory Vaccination" are circulating online, and they appear to show that the week before Najee died, his mother sought advice on how to treat her sons' illness. Members of the group advised giving the boys vitamins, botanicals, and fruits and vegetables rather than the Tamiflu that their doctor prescribed.​

​

In the thread, which has now apparently been scrubbed from the group's Facebook page, the mom wrote, "The doc prescribed tamaflu [sic] I did not pick it up." One user advises, "You're better off taking Vitamin D and C, Elderberry, Zinc, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables."​

​

"Ok perfect I'll try that," she responds. …​

​

Later in the conversation, which can still be viewed in screenshots published by the Colorado Times Recorder, the panicked mother notes that she has been using the elderberry, peppermint oil and Vitamin C that the group members recommended, but her sons' fevers are still not breaking.​

​

"Any other tips I'm terrified for another seizure," she writes. "Please no hard comments I am a momma freaking out all alone in this with a family who believes in none [but] natural ways so I'm going through alone and they are making me feel bad for not putting him on Tamiflu."​

​

"Boil thyme on the stove," a group member chimes in. "Vit C until diarrhea."​

It's not clear if the 4-year old boy had been vaccinated, but I doubt it.

"The child had not been diagnosed yet, but he was running a fever and had a seizure, the mother wrote. She added that two of her four children had been diagnosed with the flu and that the doctor had prescribed the antiviral Tamiflu for everyone in the household."​

I'd like it if medical organizations in the USA marched on Facebook – with pitchforks & torches. They should demand that FB immediately cease permitting reckless & irresponsible posts as if they were reasonable medical advice. FB's shut down would be the ultimate Darwin Award.

 

[lovinthehd]

Or just general assumptions https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/other/people-are-confusing-coronavirus-with-corona-beer/ar-BBZpJym

 

[Swerd]

This topic is quickly changing from a joke about Darwin Awards nominations to something much more serious. Apparently, a US Senator (Tom Cotton GOP, Arkansas) has said that that the novel coronavirus may have come from China's biological weapons program.

I'm no defender of the Chinese Communist government, but such an unsubstantiated statement coming from anyone is difficult to believe. Coming from a US Senator, it's reckless & irresponsible. Coming from a GOP Senator, it's shocking, but unfortunately, all too predicatable.

Frankly, I think Sen Cotton should be put on the next plane to Wuhan to investigate this dangerous possibility first hand – without any class N95 masks! Give him all the Vitamins C, D, Elderberry, and Zinc he wants. And if he comes down with the virus… too bad. Give him a posthumous Darwin Award.

In the CBS News transcript of Face The Nation, scroll about ½ way down and see the paragraph I quoted below:

AMBASSADOR CUI: I think it's true that a lot is still unknown and our scientists, Chinese scientists, American scientists, scientists of other countries are doing their best to learn more about the virus, but it's very harmful. It's very dangerous to stir up suspicion, rumors and spread them among the people. For one thing, this will create panic. Another thing that it will fend up racial discrimination, xenophobia, all these things, that will really harm our joint efforts to combat the virus. Of course, there are all kinds of speculation and rumors. There are people who are saying that these virus are coming from some- some military lab, not of China, maybe in the United States. How- how can we believe all these crazy things?​

 

[TLS Guy]

This topic is quickly changing from a joke about Darwin Awards nominations to something much more serious. Apparently, a US Senator (Tom Cotton GOP, Arkansas) has said that that the novel coronavirus may have come from China's biological weapons program.

I'm no defender of the Chinese Communist government, but such an unsubstantiated statement coming from anyone is difficult to believe. Coming from a US Senator, it's reckless & irresponsible. Coming from a GOP Senator, it's shocking, but unfortunately, all too predicatable.

Frankly, I think Sen Cotton should be put on the next plane to Wuhan to investigate this dangerous possibility first hand – without any class N95 masks! Give him all the Vitamins C, D, Elderberry, and Zinc he wants. And if he comes down with the virus… too bad. Give him a posthumous Darwin Award.

In the CBS News transcript of Face The Nation, scroll about ½ way down and see the paragraph I quoted below:

AMBASSADOR CUI: I think it's true that a lot is still unknown and our scientists, Chinese scientists, American scientists, scientists of other countries are doing their best to learn more about the virus, but it's very harmful. It's very dangerous to stir up suspicion, rumors and spread them among the people. For one thing, this will create panic. Another thing that it will fend up racial discrimination, xenophobia, all these things, that will really harm our joint efforts to combat the virus. Of course, there are all kinds of speculation and rumors. There are people who are saying that these virus are coming from some- some military lab, not of China, maybe in the United States. How- how can we believe all these crazy things?​

Swerd, there is Tinfoil Hat stuff all over the Internet.

China did not need a biological weapons department to cause this. Their "wet markets" and peculiar animals for human consumption have been quite enough. It seems the bat is the primary reservoir, and now a rare critter called a Pangolin, a scaly ant eater, was likely an intermediate host to humans.

As you know I can get the BBC in the UK. On the BBC news a few days ago there was an extended interview with a professor of infectious disease in Hong Kong about this. He said in Hong Kong they have vigorously cleaned up their "wet markets" to try and prevent just the issue that has now occurred in Wuhan. He showed pictures of before and after their crackdown on these markets in Hong Kong. Further he stated they had given numerous warnings to China that they need to clean up these markets. Basically his point was that this crisis was predictable.

In addition in the initial phase of this outbreak the actions of the Chinese authorities was totally inappropriate and oppressive, and has contributed to this becoming the crisis it is and may become

I would say the Chinese doctors in China have been very brave. Against the rules they got detailed clinical data out of China to colleagues in Hong Kong of 99 cases of Coronovirus. This included not only details of the clinical course, but also X-rays and CT scans of the chest. These details were sent from Hong Kong to London and published in Lancet. I have read the report. The reaction of the authorities was to monitor and try to exclude information getting out of their medical centers. Despite the crackdown, the Chinese doctors managed to get out details of another 138 cases. These came across my Internet feed on the AMA wire on Friday afternoon. So we now have detailed clinical, biochemical and radiological data on over 200 cases.

I don't want to go into detail on all this. The authorities need time to responsibly get out information the public needs to know at the right time and how to react if widespread infections start to occur in populations outside China. I would say only this. Stay tuned. Avoid hysteria and don't start rumors. No Tin Foil hat stuff.
It is widely known that respected infectious disease experts think this is certainly a possibility. Dr Faucci even believes it to be likely and others do. My view is that it is not certain that it will get a serious hold out of China. We may yet cut it off at the pass. Should the worse happen, people need to listen and heed the advice of authorities.

The AMA put out an audio message from Dr Faucci on how to handle the initial part of an outbreak today.

I do know that advanced planning was taking place in the Twin Cities last week and I assume in other jurisdictions in this country and around the world.

This is serious and yes, tin foil hat stuff is the last thing we need.

 

[Midwesthonky]

Swerd, there is Tinfoil Hat stuff all over the Internet.

This is serious and yes, tin foil hat stuff is the last thing we need.

I agree with you. The internet is great but it also allows a forum for the crazies to push all kinds of unsubstantiated stuff out to everyone. In the past, those people would be the ones holding a sign on the street corner or talking to themselves while parents moved their kids way from them. Unfortunately, a number of them have been elected to the US government.

I'm trying to limit my Tinfoil hat thoughts to just not trusting the official numbers coming out of China. The initial response from the Chinese government compared to the low numbers of sick surprised me which leads me to wonder what the real numbers are. But beyond that, speculating how it arrived does not do much good as we need to focus on what it really is and how to combat it.

As it is a virus, taking the usual flu precautions is probably the best bet for those of us in countries other than China. Wash your hands. Don't touch your mouth or food after touching a common surface like doors and handrails. Make your own sandwich instead of a fast food burger...

 

[Midwesthonky]

This story is getting a lot of comment up here!

Leading candidate for a Darwin Award.

As for the original post, I highly suspect some sort of alcoholic beverages were involved. On the other hand, I have met a few people that would not need alcohol to do what this guy did. The level of thought or lack of can be quite shocking.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Little somethin I’ve been workin on...

 

[Swerd]

Little somethin I’ve been workin on...

Just an idea, but it would be great if you could add a drool cup to the chin strap.

 

[Midwesthonky]

Just an idea, but it would be great if you could add a drool cup to the chin strap.

Is it better to have a drool cup or an absorbent pad?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Just an idea, but it would be great if you could add a drool cup to the chin strap.

Is it better to have a drool cup or an absorbent pad?

Very interesting. I may try both. The cup could be plumbed with a piece of hose to run out the pants leg. I think the pad would smell horrible after a few uses, but maybe it could be changeable and washable. Or use some material that helps with that.
I was considering an “add on”. Imagine a holder that will accept a huge marks a lot marker and keep it just in front of the nose. Seems like the perfect accessory. No?
I do like the point of addressing the drool though. Why didn’t I.......

 

[davidscott]

My favorite Darwin award story went to a man in a Chicago tower that was attempting to show a fellow employee how the full length windows were absolutely shatterproof. To prove his point he charged the window at full speed and well you can guess the outcome. Not sure if it was true but it was definitely a Darwin award moment.

 

[Mr._Clark]

My favorite Darwin award story went to a man in a Chicago tower that was attempting to show a fellow employee how the full length windows were absolutely shatterproof. To prove his point he charged the window at full speed and well you can guess the outcome. Not sure if it was true but it was definitely a Darwin award moment.

This appears to be a true story:

Garry Hoy, a 39-year-old senior partner with the law firm of Holden, Day, Wilson, had an unusual habit: bodychecking the windows of his office at Toronto’s TD Centre, notionally to demonstrate their tensile strength.

On July 9, 1993, Hoy decided to liven up a party for incoming articling students by making his signature move on a 24th-storey window.

At his first attempt, the window held. As it dawned on the assembled youth that they’d hitched their career wagons to a firm where senior partners batter themselves against windows like demented houseflies, Hoy took a second run. This time the glass popped out of the frame, sending Hoy free-falling to the courtyard below. Lamentably, if predictably, he died from his injuries.

We can never know what motivated Hoy: a desire to prove the robustness of modern construction techniques, whimsey, or just simply showing off.

We do know that his early demise could have been avoided had he left the testing to the experts. Or consulted with structural engineer Bob Greer, who later told the Toronto Star “I don’t know of any building code in the world that would allow a 160-pound man to run up against a glass and withstand it.”
Hoy’s defenestration left him more celebrated in death than he’d ever been in life, netting him a 1996 Darwin Award, sizeable Snopes and Wikipedia entries, and segments on the television shows 1000 Ways to Die and Mythbusters.

Daily Hive | Torontoist

The Torontoist was sold to Daily Hive

torontoist.com

 

[Mr._Clark]

China did not need a biological weapons department to cause this. Their "wet markets" and peculiar animals for human consumption have been quite enough. It seems the bat is the primary reservoir, and now a rare critter called a Pangolin, a scaly ant eater, was likely an intermediate host to humans.

. . .

As you know I can get the BBC in the UK. On the BBC news a few days ago there was an extended interview with a professor of infectious disease in Hong Kong about this. He said in Hong Kong they have vigorously cleaned up their "wet markets" to try and prevent just the issue that has now occurred in Wuhan. He showed pictures of before and after their crackdown on these markets in Hong Kong. Further he stated they had given numerous warnings to China that they need to clean up these markets. Basically his point was that this crisis was predictable.

I ran across an article from 2017 entitled "Is China Ground Zero for a Future Pandemic?" The problems with viruses jumping species in these conditions appears to be almost predictable.

Is China Ground Zero for a Future Pandemic?

Hundreds there have already died of a new bird flu, putting world health authorities on high alert

www.smithsonianmag.com

 

[Swerd]

We can never know what motivated Hoy: a desire to prove the robustness of modern construction techniques, whimsey, or just simply showing off.

Maybe he was only trying to convince the students that there was always room for promotion at Holden, Day & Wilson.

 

[lovinthehd]

My favorite Darwin award story went to a man in a Chicago tower that was attempting to show a fellow employee how the full length windows were absolutely shatterproof. To prove his point he charged the window at full speed and well you can guess the outcome. Not sure if it was true but it was definitely a Darwin award moment.

Yeah that one made it into the movie The Darwin Awards

 

[Alex2507]

So that's where they got the idea for the movie:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="

" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

In the past, those people would be the ones holding a sign on the street corner

Lazy @ss Millennials being crazy from home ... zero work ethic.

Not saying Chinatown in Toronto and Boston have wet markets but the decade in between me being in those areas didn't make me forget the smell which I simply referred to as "chicken death".

There use to be a site called News of the Weird which featured a story about a couple of guys who went "frogging" one night. When the fuse for the headlights blew on their way home, the driver inserted a 22 caliber bullet which heated up, and blew one of the driver's testicles off. His wife upon hearing the news asked if anybody thought to put the frogs on ice.

This one was good too.