Thinning of the Herd

My friend Jeff brought this news story to my attention today... Teen hurt whacking bullets with hammer.

Basically an eighteen year old was clamping bullets in a vise and setting them off so he could collect money for the brass casings. One ended hitting him in the gut, just a minor flesh wound.

This reminds me of my theory of the downfall of modern civilization...

We have, with science and legislation, all but made natural selection non-existent. Before we harnessed fire, made planes, trains and automobiles (those aren't pillows!), we were located on the food chain somewhere between rabbits and coyotes. Many creatures were faster, bigger, and stronger than us. Our only advantage was smarts. Back then, young Mr. Mosher, instead of 'whacking bullets', would have probably been taken down by a sabre-toothed tiger after waking it with a swat to its behind with a willow branch. Most likely many years before he was of legal voting age. Back then the smart survived and future generations benefited.

Today, with our air-bag equipped automobiles, helmet laws, speed limits, modern medicine, medi-vac helicopters, and zoos, the stupid thrive!

But alas, there are a select few that are able to buck the trend and bring back natural selection. My favorite example comes from right here, beautiful Seattle.

From the Seattle Times

A man fell from a Seattle overpass early this morning onto Interstate 5 where he was hit by two vehicles and killed, police said.

The man, who has not been identified by investigators, and another man, age 31, had been drinking and were trying to see who could hang above the interstate from the Olive Way overpass the longest, Seattle police spokeswoman Debra Brown said.

The unidentified man struggled and could not pull himself up, Brown said. The other man tried to help him, but he slipped and fell to the traffic below.

The man was hit by a semi-truck, then another vehicle, both going 60 mph, Brown said.

It is unlikely there will be any further investigation, Brown said.

Now, I have been known to toss a few back every now and then, but I have never had the urge to hang from an overpass. I typically just laugh more. ...And sleep in the garage.

This is a classic example of what I call 'thinning of the herd'. There were no innocent victims. This fella died because he was stupid, and thank God, didn't take anyone with him. Nothing makes me more angry than when an idiot ruins others lives, injuring or killing someone else in their stupidity. That is a tragedy and I find nothing humorous about that.

Let me know if you have any good examples of a 'thinning of the herd' story. Post them in the comments. Please, no Darwin Awards links. I want actual newspaper stories.