Darwin Awards 2021

Darwin Awards 2021: A Selection of Surprisingly Stupid (and Sadly Fatal) Mishaps

Introduction:

Ever wondered about the ultimate price of poor decision-making? The Darwin Awards, a tongue-in-cheek recognition of those who unintentionally remove themselves from the gene pool through remarkably unwise actions, have captivated the internet for years. While the official Darwin Awards organization doesn't release an annual list, the spirit of the awards lives on through countless online discussions and news stories chronicling acts of incredible folly. This post dives deep into the most talked-about contenders for the unofficial "Darwin Awards 2021," exploring the bizarre circumstances and offering a cautionary tale about the importance of common sense – or at least, a healthy dose of self-preservation. We'll dissect several reported incidents, analyzing the contributing factors and highlighting the lessons learned (or perhaps, not learned). Get ready to cringe, chuckle, and maybe just maybe, learn a thing or two about survival.

The Contenders for Unofficial Darwin Awards 2021:

1. The "Self-Made" Explosive Device:

Reports circulated online detailing an individual attempting to create a homemade explosive device using readily available household materials. The resulting explosion, predictably, resulted in significant injury (and thankfully, no fatalities). This case highlights the dangers of amateur experimentation, especially with potentially lethal substances. Lack of knowledge, combined with a disregard for safety protocols, created a recipe for disaster. The "award" here goes to a blatant disregard for basic physics and chemistry.

2. The Unintentional Bungee Jumping Accident:

While not strictly a Darwin Award-worthy fatality, several near-misses involving improvised bungee jumping setups gained traction on social media in 2021. Individuals, lacking proper equipment and understanding of physics involved, attempted the extreme sport with homemade contraptions. These attempts often resulted in serious injury, highlighting the importance of utilizing professional equipment and adhering to safety guidelines. The lack of understanding of gravity and tensile strength led to these near-tragic events.


3. The Wildlife Encounter Gone Wrong:

Numerous reports emerged throughout 2021 documenting unfortunate encounters with wildlife. From individuals attempting to handle venomous snakes without proper training to those getting too close to aggressive animals, these incidents underscore the risks of interfering with wild animals. Respecting wildlife's space and understanding their behavior is crucial for both human and animal safety. The key takeaway? Sometimes, admiring wildlife from a distance is the best approach.


4. The "I'll Just Climb That…" Misadventure:

Social media showcased numerous instances of individuals attempting to scale precarious structures without any safety measures. Whether it was a sheer cliff face, a crumbling building, or a dangerously unstable tree, these acts of recklessness underscore a lack of judgment and awareness of personal risk. This category highlights the dangers of overestimating one's abilities and underestimating the power of gravity.


5. The Transportation Triumphs (or Tragedies):

2021 saw a collection of transportation mishaps that defied logic. From individuals attempting to cross bodies of water on makeshift rafts to those driving dangerously under the influence, these incidents emphasize the importance of safe travel practices and adherence to traffic laws. Some cases were fueled by alcohol and/or drugs, others by sheer hubris. In every instance, safe transportation practices were completely ignored.


6. The "It'll Be Fine" Mindset:

A recurring theme in many near-Darwin Award situations is the "it'll be fine" mentality. This attitude, characterized by a disregard for potential risks and a belief that everything will work out, often leads to disastrous consequences. It's the embodiment of poor risk assessment and a dangerously optimistic outlook on life-threatening situations.


7. The "Social Media Stunt" Gone Wrong:

The pressure to impress others on social media can lead to incredibly risky behavior. Many incidents involved individuals attempting dangerous stunts in pursuit of online fame or attention, highlighting the dangers of prioritizing social media validation over personal safety.


8. The Misunderstanding of Technology:

In the digital age, misunderstandings and misuse of technology led to some unexpected incidents. People attempting risky repairs of electrical equipment, ignoring safety warnings on machinery, or misinterpreting instructions on chemicals all contributed to unfortunate outcomes.


9. The Underestimation of Nature's Power:

Several individuals underestimated the power of nature’s forces, leading to preventable accidents. Whether it was ignoring weather warnings, entering dangerous terrain during storms, or disregarding warnings about dangerous currents in the sea, these incidents showcase a lack of respect for the environment and its potential dangers.


Analysis and Conclusion:

The purported "Darwin Awards 2021" candidates – while often humorous in retrospect – serve as grim reminders of the importance of common sense, risk assessment, and respect for both oneself and the environment. Each incident showcases a failure in judgment, often amplified by a lack of knowledge or a reckless disregard for safety. While we can find amusement in the absurdity of these events, the underlying message is clear: survival often depends on making wise choices.

Article Outline:

I. Introduction: Hooking the reader with intriguing examples and setting the context of Darwin Awards.
II. The Contenders: Detailed examination of several notable incidents from 2021.
III. Common Threads: Identifying recurring themes and patterns among the incidents.
IV. Lessons Learned: Drawing conclusions and offering safety tips based on the analysis.
V. Conclusion: Reiterating the importance of making safe and responsible choices.


(Detailed explanation of each point in the outline is provided above in the main body of the article.)


FAQs:

1. Are the Darwin Awards official? No, the Darwin Awards are not officially sanctioned; they're a humorous online phenomenon.
2. What makes an incident a Darwin Award contender? Typically, it involves a self-inflicted, fatal accident resulting from incredibly poor judgment.
3. Are all Darwin Award stories true? Many are based on real news reports or anecdotes, but some are embellished or fictional.
4. Why are Darwin Awards popular? The combination of humor and a morbid fascination with human folly makes them captivating.
5. Is it ethical to make light of fatal accidents? The ethical considerations are complex; the awards aim to highlight the importance of safety, not to mock victims.
6. How can I avoid becoming a Darwin Award candidate? Practice common sense, assess risks thoroughly, and always prioritize safety.
7. Are there Darwin Awards for near misses? Yes, many incidents involve near-fatal accidents that are still considered humorous and cautionary.
8. What is the impact of social media on Darwin Award stories? Social media has amplified the spread of these stories, both real and fabricated.
9. Are there geographical trends in Darwin Award-type incidents? No clear geographical trends exist; poor judgment is universal.


Related Articles:

1. Darwin Awards: The History and Controversy: An exploration of the origin and ethical debates surrounding the Darwin Awards.
2. The Psychology Behind Risky Behavior: A psychological analysis of the decision-making processes leading to accidents.
3. Top 10 Most Bizarre Darwin Award Contenders: A countdown of the most outlandish and unbelievable incidents.
4. Darwin Awards and Natural Selection: A discussion of the connection (or lack thereof) between the awards and evolutionary theory.
5. How to Improve Your Risk Assessment Skills: Practical tips and strategies for evaluating potential dangers.
6. Safety Tips for Adventurous Activities: Guidance on reducing risks in high-risk activities.
7. The Role of Alcohol and Drugs in Darwin Award-Type Accidents: An analysis of substance abuse as a contributing factor.
8. Urban Legends and the Darwin Awards: Differentiating between genuine incidents and fictional stories.
9. The Impact of Social Media on Risk-Taking Behavior: A look at the influence of social media on risky choices and stunts.


  darwin awards 2021: The Darwin Awards Wendy Northcutt, 2001 One of the best known and most frequently visited web sites is the Darwin Awards web site. Practically everyone who is on the net has received a Darwin story in their e-mail at one time or another. It is one of those legendary sites which has become part of the fabric of being on-line. Started in 1993 by biologist Wendy Northcutt she set out to collect together and authenticate stories of individuals around the world who, through their stupidity, have removed themselves from the gene pool, (i.e. killed themselves). These are the people for whom warnings such as 'coffee is hot' and 'this superman cape does not enable the wearer to fly' were made. This is black humour elevated to its purest commercial form. There are rules here too. The candidate must: exhibit astounding misapplication of judgement; remove himself/herself from the gene pool; be capable of sound judgement; be self selecting (i.e. it was their fault) and the event must be verifiable.
  darwin awards 2021: Dying and Death in Canada, Fourth Edition Herbert C. Northcott, Donna M. Wilson, 2021-11-01 Dying and Death in Canada provides a comprehensive, up-to-date examination of dying, death, and bereavement from a Canadian perspective. The fourth edition covers current issues and recent developments in the field, such as the implementation of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) and the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. New topics include death doulas, death tourism, psychogenic death, bonds between the living and the dead, mass death events, and cultural diversity, sensitivity, and competence. This edition combines current research and language used to destigmatize conversations surrounding suicide, while new case studies offer personal accounts from doctors, nurses, and family members of the deceased. Exploring the significance of end-of-life experiences, Dying and Death in Canada shows that how we live influences how we die, and the society and culture in which we live has a profound effect on how we behave when confronted with dying and death.
  darwin awards 2021: Llewellyn's 2021 Sun Sign Book Alice DeVille, 2020-07-08 Achieve your goals and let your light shine all year with Llewellyn's 2021 Sun Sign Book. Providing in-depth horoscopes and forecasts for every sun sign, this accessible almanac shows you how to use planetary wisdom to find exciting opportunities in your future. It also helps you answer important questions about love, money, family, and more. Discover which areas in your life have potential for great success and which require extra attention. Explore which days each month will be rewarding and which will be challenging. This practical guide also includes a list of the best dates for big ventures, such as finding a job, taking a vacation, buying a home, and getting married.
  darwin awards 2021: Cooperative Evolution Christopher Bryant, Valerie A. Brown, 2021-03-16 Cooperative Evolution offers a fresh account of evolution consistent with Charles Darwin’s own account of a cooperative, inter-connected, buzzing and ever-changing world. Told in accessible language, treating evolutionary change as a cooperative enterprise brings some surprising shifts from the traditional emphasis on the dominance of competition. The book covers many evolutionary changes reconsidered as cooperation. These include the cooperative origins of life, evolution as a spiral rather than a ladder or tree, humans as a part of natural systems rather than the purpose, relationships between natural and social change, and the role of the individual in adaptive radiation onto new ground. The story concludes with a projection of human evolution from the past into the future. ‘Environmental studies courses have needed a book like Cooperative Evolution for a long time. It is a boon for those teaching the complexity of the evolutionary story.’ — Dr John A. Harris, BSc(Hons) MSc PhD, School of Environmental Science, University of Canberra ‘As a regenerative, holistic-thinking farmer I daily witness the results of cooperative evolution as the seasons unfold. A pleasure to read, Cooperative Evolution gives entry to recent thinking on evolutionary processes.’ — David Marsh, MSA, ‘Allendale’, Boorowa, New South Wales, 2018 National Individual Landcarer Award recipient ‘This book is an engaging new look at ideas about evolution as we know it today. In the hands of two eminent biologists, it presents an approachable yet challenging argument. I heartily recommend it.’ — Emeritus Professor Sue Stocklmayer AO, BSc MSc PhD, Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, The Australian National University
  darwin awards 2021: Charles Darwin J. David Archibald, 2018-12-15 Charles Darwin: A Reference Guide to His Life and Works provides an important new compendium presenting a detailed chronology of all aspects Darwin’s life. The extensive encyclopedia section includes many hundreds of entries of various kinds related to Darwin – people, places, institutions, concepts, and his publications. The bibliography provides a comprehensive listing of the vast majority of Darwin’s works published during and after his lifetime. It also provides a more selective list of publications concerning his life and work. Includes a nearly year by year chronology detailing Charles Darwin’s life, family, and work. The A to Z section includes many entries on concepts and people important in Charles Darwin’s life and his work, emphasizing during his lifetime but extending somewhat backwards and forwards from there. The bibliography includes all of Charles Darwin's articles and books published in his lifetime in English and other languages, as well as a selective list of works about him and his work. The index thoroughly cross-references the chronological and encyclopedic entries.
  darwin awards 2021: Baseball Prospectus 2021 Baseball Prospectus,, 2021-01-23 The 2021 edition of The New York Times Bestselling Guide. PLAY BALL! The 26th edition of this industry-leading baseball annual contains all of the important statistics, player predictions and insider-level commentary that readers have come to expect, along with significant improvements to several statistics that were created by, and are exclusive to, Baseball Prospectus, and an expanded focus on international players and teams. Baseball Prospectus 2021 provides fantasy players and insiders alike with prescient PECOTA projections, which The New York Times called “the überforecast of every player’s performance.” With more than 50 Baseball Prospectus alumni currently working for major-league baseball teams, nearly every organization has sought the advice of current or former BP analysts, and readers of Baseball Prospectus 2021 will understand why!
  darwin awards 2021: Oakland Athletics 2021 Baseball Prospectus,, 2021-05-23 The team edition based on The New York Times Bestselling Guide. This more portable team edition of the full 26th edition of the industry-leading baseball annual contains all of the important statistics, player projections, and insider-level commentary that readers have come to expect, but focused on your favorite organization. It also features detailed reports on the top prospects, data visualization, and deeper statistical profiles. Take it out to the ball game or wherever you follow your team!
  darwin awards 2021: Darwin's Dragons Lindsay Galvin, 2020-12-01 Syms Covington has landed the job of a lifetime on Charles Darwin’s ship. But after being shipwrecked on a Galapagos island, he makes a discovery that could change the world—and make his fortune. Should he share his find, or will it lead to the extinction of a legendary species?
  darwin awards 2021: The Evolution of Beauty Richard O. Prum, 2017-05-09 A FINALIST FOR THE PULITZER PRIZE NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, SMITHSONIAN, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL A major reimagining of how evolutionary forces work, revealing how mating preferences—what Darwin termed the taste for the beautiful—create the extraordinary range of ornament in the animal world. In the great halls of science, dogma holds that Darwin's theory of natural selection explains every branch on the tree of life: which species thrive, which wither away to extinction, and what features each evolves. But can adaptation by natural selection really account for everything we see in nature? Yale University ornithologist Richard Prum—reviving Darwin's own views—thinks not. Deep in tropical jungles around the world are birds with a dizzying array of appearances and mating displays: Club-winged Manakins who sing with their wings, Great Argus Pheasants who dazzle prospective mates with a four-foot-wide cone of feathers covered in golden 3D spheres, Red-capped Manakins who moonwalk. In thirty years of fieldwork, Prum has seen numerous display traits that seem disconnected from, if not outright contrary to, selection for individual survival. To explain this, he dusts off Darwin's long-neglected theory of sexual selection in which the act of choosing a mate for purely aesthetic reasons—for the mere pleasure of it—is an independent engine of evolutionary change. Mate choice can drive ornamental traits from the constraints of adaptive evolution, allowing them to grow ever more elaborate. It also sets the stakes for sexual conflict, in which the sexual autonomy of the female evolves in response to male sexual control. Most crucially, this framework provides important insights into the evolution of human sexuality, particularly the ways in which female preferences have changed male bodies, and even maleness itself, through evolutionary time. The Evolution of Beauty presents a unique scientific vision for how nature's splendor contributes to a more complete understanding of evolution and of ourselves.
  darwin awards 2021: Leading Wisely Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, 2022-04-26 Discover true leadership with this actionable guide from a world renowned leadership expert, psychoanalyst, and executive coach In Leading Wisely: Becoming a Reflective Leader in Turbulent Times, renowned leadership expert, psychoanalyst and executive coach Manfred Kets De Vries delivers an insightful and unique exploration of what it means to lead with wisdom. The book demonstrates that exclusive reliance on knowledge, data, and information yields a superficial leadership style lacking in depth and discernment. What's more important in the wisdom equation is possessing humility, judgment, empathy, compassion, and night vision. With eleven chapters full of anecdotes and tales from a variety of spiritual and cultural traditions that enrich and lend a deeper significance to the choices we make as leaders and members of organizations, Leading Wisely provides readers with: A thorough exploration of dealing with negative—but entirely natural motivations, like envy and greed An emphasis on the Golden Rule—treating others as we like to be treated ourselves An opportunity to be courageous—to consciously and intentionally pick our battles, saving energy for what really matters Lessons on how to listen intently and actively, truly hearing what our colleagues, friends, family, and followers are saying before reacting Finding happiness within ourselves Leading Wisely: Becoming a Reflective Leader in Turbulent Times is a startlingly incisive book, filled with messages that make the book required reading for anyone in a position of leadership or power. It also belongs in the libraries of well-being and health practitioners who frequently deal with businesspeople as clients or patients.
  darwin awards 2021: A Most Interesting Problem Jeremy DeSilva, 2022-11-29 Leading scholars take stock of Darwin's ideas about human evolution in the light of modern science In 1871, Charles Darwin published The Descent of Man, a companion to Origin of Species in which he attempted to explain human evolution, a topic he called the highest and most interesting problem for the naturalist. A Most Interesting Problem brings together twelve world-class scholars and science communicators to investigate what Darwin got right—and what he got wrong—about the origin, history, and biological variation of humans. Edited by Jeremy DeSilva and with an introduction by acclaimed Darwin biographer Janet Browne, A Most Interesting Problem draws on the latest discoveries in fields such as genetics, paleontology, bioarchaeology, anthropology, and primatology. This compelling and accessible book tackles the very subjects Darwin explores in Descent, including the evidence for human evolution, our place in the family tree, the origins of civilization, human races, and sex differences. A Most Interesting Problem is a testament to how scientific ideas are tested and how evidence helps to structure our narratives about human origins, showing how some of Darwin's ideas have withstood more than a century of scrutiny while others have not. A Most Interesting Problem features contributions by Janet Browne, Jeremy DeSilva, Holly Dunsworth, Agustín Fuentes, Ann Gibbons, Yohannes Haile-Selassie, Brian Hare, John Hawks, Suzana Herculano-Houzel, Kristina Killgrove, Alice Roberts, and Michael J. Ryan.
  darwin awards 2021: Darwin's Children Greg Bear, 2003-03-04 Greg Bear’s Nebula Award–winning novel, Darwin’s Radio, painted a chilling portrait of humankind on the threshold of a radical leap in evolution—one that would alter our species forever. Now Bear continues his provocative tale of the human race confronted by an uncertain future, where “survival of the fittest” takes on astonishing and controversial new dimensions. Eleven years have passed since SHEVA, an ancient retrovirus, was discovered in human DNA—a retrovirus that caused mutations in the human genome and heralded the arrival of a new wave of genetically enhanced humans. Now these changed children have reached adolescence . . . and face a world that is outraged about their very existence. For these special youths, possessed of remarkable, advanced traits that mark a major turning point in human development, are also ticking time bombs harboring hosts of viruses that could exterminate the “old” human race. Fear and hatred of the virus children have made them a persecuted underclass, quarantined by the government in special “schools,” targeted by federally sanctioned bounty hunters, and demonized by hysterical segments of the population. But pockets of resistance have sprung up among those opposed to treating the children like dangerous diseases—and who fear the worst if the government’s draconian measures are carried to their extreme. Scientists Kaye Lang and Mitch Rafelson are part of this small but determined minority. Once at the forefront of the discovery and study of the SHEVA outbreak, they now live as virtual exiles in the Virginia suburbs with their daughter, Stella—a bright, inquisitive virus child who is quickly maturing, straining to break free of the protective world her parents have built around her, and eager to seek out others of her kind. But for all their precautions, Kaye, Mitch, and Stella have not slipped below the government’s radar. The agencies fanatically devoted to segregating and controlling the new-breed children monitor their every move—watching and waiting for the opportunity to strike the next blow in their escalating war to preserve “humankind” at any cost.
  darwin awards 2021: CRISPR People Henry T. Greely, 2022-03-01 What does the birth of babies whose embryos had gone through genome editing mean--for science and for all of us? In November 2018, the world was shocked to learn that two babies had been born in China with DNA edited while they were embryos—as dramatic a development in genetics as the 1996 cloning of Dolly the sheep. In this book, Hank Greely, a leading authority on law and genetics, tells the fascinating story of this human experiment and its consequences. Greely explains what Chinese scientist He Jiankui did, how he did it, and how the public and other scientists learned about and reacted to this unprecedented genetic intervention. The two babies, nonidentical twin girls, were the first “CRISPR'd” people ever born (CRISPR, Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, is a powerful gene-editing method). Greely not only describes He's experiment and its public rollout (aided by a public relations adviser) but also considers, in a balanced and thoughtful way, the lessons to be drawn both from these CRISPR'd babies and, more broadly, from this kind of human DNA editing—“germline editing” that can be passed on from one generation to the next. Greely doesn't mince words, describing He's experiment as grossly reckless, irresponsible, immoral, and illegal. Although he sees no inherent or unmanageable barriers to human germline editing, he also sees very few good uses for it—other, less risky, technologies can achieve the same benefits. We should consider the implications carefully before we proceed.
  darwin awards 2021: The Darwin Expedition Diane Tullson, 2007-03-01 Tej and Liam are going snowboarding. When they take a shortcut over a treacherous logging road and have an accident, their adventure becomes more about survival than fresh powder. Tracked by a hungry bear, while trying to outrun the weather without any food, Tej and Liam learn about their friendship and what it will take to survive. When Tej is hurt, Liam decides he has to go for help—alone.
  darwin awards 2021: Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History Stephen Jay Gould, 1992-07-17 More than any other modern scientists, Stephen Jay Gould has opened up to millions the wonders of evolutionary biology. His genius as an essayist lies in his unmatched ability to use his knowledge of the world, including popular culture, to illuminate the realm of science. Ever Since Darwin, Stephen Jay Gould's first book, has sold more than a quarter of a million copies. Like all succeeding collections by this unique writer, it brings the art of the scientific essay to unparalleled heights.
  darwin awards 2021: The Mushroom at the End of the World Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, 2021-06-08 A tale of diversity within our damaged landscapes, The Mushroom at the End of the World follows one of the strangest commodity chains of our times to explore the unexpected corners of capitalism. Here, we witness the varied and peculiar worlds of matsutake commerce: the worlds of Japanese gourmets, capitalist traders, Hmong jungle fighters, industrial forests, Yi Chinese goat herders, Finnish nature guides, and more. These companions also lead us into fungal ecologies and forest histories to better understand the promise of cohabitation in a time of massive human destruction.--Publisher's description.
  darwin awards 2021: The Mystery of Charles Dickens A.N. Wilson, 2020-08-04 Winner of the Plutarch Award for Best Biography A lively and insightful biographical celebration of the imaginative genius of Charles Dickens, published in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of his death. Charles Dickens was a superb public performer, a great orator and one of the most famous of the Eminent Victorians. Slight of build, with a frenzied, hyper-energetic personality, Dickens looked much older than his fifty-eight years when he died—an occasion marked by a crowded funeral at Westminster Abbey, despite his waking wishes for a small affair. Experiencing the worst and best of life during the Victorian Age, Dickens was not merely the conduit through whom some of the most beloved characters in literature came into the world. He was one of them. Filled with the twists, pathos, and unusual characters that sprang from this novelist’s extraordinary imagination, The Mystery of Charles Dickens looks back from the legendary writer’s death to recall the key events in his life. In doing so, he seeks to understand Dickens’ creative genius and enduring popularity. Following his life from cradle to grave, it becomes clear that Dickens’s fiction drew from his life—a fact he acknowledged. Like Oliver Twist, Dickens suffered a wretched childhood, then grew up to become not only a respectable gentleman but an artist of prodigious popularity. Dickens knew firsthand the poverty and pain his characters endured, including the scandal of a failed marriage. Going beyond standard narrative biography, A. N. Wilson brilliantly revisits the wellspring of Dickens’s vast and wild imagination, to reveal at long last why his novels captured the hearts of nineteenth century readers—and why they continue to resonate today. The Mystery of Charles Dickens is illustrated with 30 black-and-white images.
  darwin awards 2021: The Unwanted Dead Chris Lloyd, 2021-03-18 Paris, June 1940. The Nazi occupation of Paris begins. Detective Eddie Giral - a survivor of the last World War - watches helplessly on as his world changes forever. But there is something he still has control over. Finding whoever is responsible for four murdered refugees: the unwanted dead, forgotten amid the headlines. To do so, he must tread carefully between the Occupation and the Resistance, all the while becoming whoever he must be to survive in this new and terrible order descending on his home.
  darwin awards 2021: Darwin Tess Lea, 2020 Darwin is a survivor, you have to give it that. Razed to the ground four times in its short history, it has picked itself up out of the debris to not only rebuild but grow... Darwin has known catastrophes and resurrections; it has endured misconceived projects and birthed visionaries. To know Darwin, to know its soul, yo have to listen to it, soak in it, taste it. This is a book about the textures, colours, sounds and frontier stories of Darwin, Australia's smallest and least-known capital city. Darwin is a place that has to be felt to be known. Readers will sense the heart, smell the odours, hear the birds and the frogs, encounter the mosquitoes, fathom racial politics and learn how the moon-base that is Darwin is kept alive. They will understand that Darwin is a military garrison and a portal into Australia's possible futures. In a new postscript, Tess Lea suggests how Darwin might deliver lessons for living under the climatically assaulting and culturally uncomfortable times of the Anthropocene.
  darwin awards 2021: Yellow Truck Road Train Mandy Tootell, 2020-06-02 Dad is waiting for the wet season to end so Yellow Truck Road Train can get back to work. There are cattle and donkeys to load, kangaroos to look out for, heat and dust, and always plenty to do. Come aboard Yellow Truck Road Train and experience life in the outback and on the road!
  darwin awards 2021: Live Long and Evolve Mohamed A. F. Noor, 2020-02-25 In Star Trek, crew members travel to unusual planets, meet diverse beings, and encounter unique civilizations. In these remarkable space adventures, does Star Trek reflect biology and evolution as we know it? What can the science in the science fiction of Star Trek teach us?--Back cover
  darwin awards 2021: Darwin in the Archives E. Charles Nelson, Duncan M. Porter, Society for the History of Natural History, 2009 A Special Publication of the journal Archives of Natural History to coincide with the bicentenary of Darwin's birth.
  darwin awards 2021: The Gift of Violence Matt Thornton, Peter Boghossian, 2023-04-11 In today's modern world, we are largely isolated from the kind of savagery our ancestors faced on a daily basis. Although violence was as natural to our evolutionary development as sex and food, it has become foreign to most of us: at once demonized and glamorized, but almost always deeply misunderstood. Our hard-earned and hard-wired instincts—our evolved and trained ability to survive and overcome violent encounters—have been compromised. Yet, as even a cursory look at news headlines or a police blotter will reveal, the threat of violent crime is ever-present, and those we've entrusted to protect us cannot always be relied upon. The Gift of Violence tells the story of this vulnerability and provides the average person with all the knowledge they need to reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of violence and to increase their chances of surviving a violent encounter. Based both on the author's decades of experience teaching everyday people how to defend themselves and on a rational approach to the scientific data, The Gift of Violence offers clear, easy-to-remember lessons for people of all ages and abilities. It is designed to empower those who've been affected by violence or are concerned that they or their loved ones could be—in short, it was written to help good people become more dangerous to bad people. Every reader will be armed with the necessary knowledge to harness the power of violence for him- or herself—and, in the process, to be not just smarter and stronger but also safer.
  darwin awards 2021: Catch Me If I Fall Barry Jonsberg, 2023-03-07 Twins Ashleigh and Aiden have always promised to protect each other, but after an accident on a school trip, Aiden starts behaving strangely. Are they just growing apart, or is something more sinister going on? In a future Australia ravaged by climate change, twins Ashleigh and Aiden Delatour have always promised to protect and be there for each other, no matter what. Their privileged upbringing and loving, wealthy parents leave them with little to worry about. But when Aiden is seriously injured during a school trip, the twins’ entire world begins to unravel. Back home from the hospital, something about Aiden seems different and Ashleigh’s quest to find out why will uncover dark truths about the world they thought they knew, challenge their bond as twins and push how far they are willing to go to keep their promises. Catch Me If I Fall is a thrilling, timely examination of the possible future of our planet, the true meaning of family and our responsibilities to each other. Key Text Features chapters dialogue epilogue explanation prologue Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3 Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6 Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3 Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.
  darwin awards 2021: Dispelling The Darkness: Voyage In The Malay Archipelago And The Discovery Of Evolution By Wallace And Darwin John Van Wyhe, 2013-05-10 “The facts of variability, of the struggle for existence, of adaptation to conditions, were notorious enough; but none of us had suspected that the road to the heart of the species problem lay through them, until Darwin and Wallace dispelled the darkness.”T H Huxley (1887)Darwin is one of the most famous scientists in history. But he was not alone. Comparatively forgotten, Wallace independently discovered evolution by natural selection in Southeast Asia. This book is based on the most thorough research ever conducted on Wallace's voyage. Closely connected, but worlds apart, Darwin and Wallace's stories hold many surprises. Did Darwin really keep his theory a secret for twenty years? Did he plagiarise Wallace? Were their theories really the same? How did Wallace hit on the solution, and on which island? This book reveals for the first time the true story of Darwin, Wallace and the discovery that would change our understanding of life on Earth forever.
  darwin awards 2021: How Birds Evolve Douglas J. Futuyma, 2024-10-29 Why are male birds often so brightly colored? Why do some birds lay more eggs than others? Will bird species adapt to climate change? In How Birds Evolve, Douglas Futuyma invites readers into the amazing world of bird evolution to answer these and other questions. Futuyma's goal in this book is not to offer a comprehensive evolutionary history of birds, but to explore how the processes of evolution produced the distinctive features and behaviors we observe in birds today as well as their impressive diversity. Using one or two birds per chapters as a lens into broader questions, Futuyma explores how a bird's evolutionary history helps us understand the diversity of species and the bird tree of life and how natural selection explains most of the characteristics of birds from how populations adapt to sexual selection and birds' amazing social behavior. Futuyma concludes by discussing the future of birds, particularly patterns of extinction and whether they can adapt to a changing climate. Ultimately, Futuyman wants readers to see that evolutionary biology helps us to better understand birds, and that the reverse is also true: studies of birds have informed almost every aspect of evolutionary biology, from Darwin to today--
  darwin awards 2021: The Boy from Birdum Bill Dempsey, 2021-04-01 Bill Dempsey is a humble achiever. He is known primarily as a champion footballer with West Perth and the Darwin Buffaloes. A premiership captain who played over 400 games in 20 seasons in Perth and the Northern Territory, and a member of the AFL's Indigenous Team of the Century, his record and his achievements compare with the very best. He is revered as a true legend at West Perth. Bill has led a remarkable life. Born in the shadow of Japanese bombing raids in 1942. Forcibly removed from his mother after the death of his father and baby sister, he was a stolen child who never lost contact with his family and found a second family amongst his fellow inmates at the Retta Dixon Home. Brought to Perth at the age of seventeen as a 'spare wheel' to his mate Jim Anderson, he stayed on to become a football champion and a trailblazer as an Aboriginal entrepreneur throughout the 80s. In The Boy from Birdum, Bill tells his story frankly, courageously, and with the charismatic flair of a natural-born yarn spinner. 'By contrast some books demand to be written and read...This book is one of those...Bill Dempsey writes about matters of consequence. His memory is vivid because he gives matters of importance a face...He had all the pieces a champion footballer needed to have!' — Dennis Cometti AM, Australian sports commentator, former player and coach of AFL
  darwin awards 2021: You Don't Want to Know James Felton, 2021-10-07 JAMES FELTON'S ASSHOLES IS OUT NOW With his trademark brand of bulldozer-banter, Twitter legend James Felton guides you through the most morbidly fascinating facts you'll then wish you could forget. Ever wondered why the chainsaw was invented?* How authorities dealt with a beached whale back in ye olde days of 1970?** Or what being a human decanter entails?*** Then you've come to the right place! Within these pages you'll find the maddest, strangest and downright grossest stories from history, nature and science that you don't want to know. (Except secretly you really do you masochistic, beastly person you.) Illustrated, painfully funny and drop-your-jaw ridiculous, this is trivia from the cesspit of time that you won't be able to stop reading once you start. *To aid childbirth. **They exploded it with 100 times too much dynamite and rained blubber down on unsuspecting people and buildings. ***Decency prevents us from answering this one here. You'll have to buy the book to find out.
  darwin awards 2021: Darwin's Origin of Species Janet Browne, 2012-11-01 No book has changed our understanding of ourselves more than Darwin's Origin of Species. It caused a sensation on its first day of publication in 1859 and went on to become an international bestseller. The idea that living things gradually evolve through natural selection profoundly shocked its Victorian readers, calling into question what had been for many the unshakeable belief that there was a Creator. In this book, Janet Browne, Charles Darwin's foremost biographer, shows why Darwin's Origin of Species can fairly claim to be the greatest science book ever published. She describes the genesis of Darwin's theories, explains how they were initially received and examines why they remain so contentious today. Her book is a marvellously readable account of the work that altered forever our knowledge of what it is to be human.
  darwin awards 2021: Who Was Charles Darwin? Deborah Hopkinson, Who HQ, 2005-05-19 As a young boy, Charles Darwin hated school and was often scolded forconducting “useless” experiments. Yet his passion for the natural world was so strong that he suffered through terrible seasickness during his five-year voyage aboard The Beagle. Darwin collected new creatures from the coasts of Africa, South America, and the Galapagos Islands, and expanded his groundbreaking ideas that would change people's understanding of the natural world. About 100 illustrations and a clear, exciting text will make Darwin and his theory of evolution an exciting discovery for every young reader.
  darwin awards 2021: Aunty's Wedding Miranda Tapsell, Joshua Tyler, Samantha Campbell (Fry), 2020-09-01 Everyone on the island is getting ready for Aunty's wedding. Maningawu puts on her best hat and I can wear a wurrijinga in my hair. Lucky! We all dress up, but I still don't understand. Why do people have a wedding? A warm family story that celebrates love and culture from actor, activist, writer and Australian sweetheart, Miranda Tapsell, and Joshua Tyler, co-writer of Top End Wedding, lushly illustrated by Samantha Fry.
  darwin awards 2021: Becoming Human Michael Tomasello, 2019-01-14 Winner of the William James Book Award Winner of the Eleanor Maccoby Book Award “A landmark in our understanding of human development.” —Paul Harris, author of Trusting What You’re Told “Magisterial...Makes an impressive argument that most distinctly human traits are established early in childhood and that the general chronology in which these traits appear can...be identified.” —Wall Street Journal Virtually all theories of how humans have become such a distinctive species focus on evolution. Becoming Human looks instead to development and reveals how those things that make us unique are constructed during the first seven years of a child’s life. In this groundbreaking work, Michael Tomasello draws from three decades of experimental research with chimpanzees, bonobos, and children to propose a new framework for psychological growth between birth and seven years of age. He identifies eight pathways that differentiate humans from their primate relatives: social cognition, communication, cultural learning, cooperative thinking, collaboration, prosociality, social norms, and moral identity. In each of these, great apes possess rudimentary abilities, but the maturation of humans’ evolved capacities for shared intentionality transform these abilities into uniquely human cognition and sociality. “How does human psychological growth run in the first seven years, in particular how does it instill ‘culture’ in us? ...Most of all, how does the capacity for shared intentionality and self-regulation evolve in people? This is a very thoughtful and also important book.” —Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution “Theoretically daring and experimentally ingenious, Becoming Human squarely tackles the abiding question of what makes us human.” —Susan Gelman “Destined to become a classic. Anyone who is interested in cognitive science, child development, human evolution, or comparative psychology should read this book.” —Andrew Meltzoff
  darwin awards 2021: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Darwin and Evolutionary Thought Michael Ruse, 2013-02-28 This volume is a comprehensive reference work on the life, labors, and influence of the great evolutionist Charles Darwin. With more than sixty essays written by an international group representing the leading scholars in the field, this is the definitive work on Darwin. It covers the background to Darwin's discovery of the theory of evolution through natural selection, the work he produced and his contemporaries' reactions to it, and evaluates his influence on science in the 150 years since the publication of Origin of Species. It also explores the implications of Darwin's discoveries in religion, politics, gender, literature, culture, philosophy, and medicine, critically evaluating Darwin's legacy. Fully illustrated and clearly written, it is suitable for scholars and students as well as the general reader. The wealth of information it provides about the history of evolutionary thought makes it a crucial resource for understanding the controversies that surround evolution today.
  darwin awards 2021: Extinct Barbara Penner, Adrian Forty, Olivia Horsfall Turner, Miranda Critchley, 2021-11-11 Blending architecture, design, and technology, a visual tour through futures past via the objects we have replaced, left behind, and forgotten. So-called extinct objects are those that were imagined but were never in use, or that existed but are now unused—superseded, unfashionable, or simply forgotten. Extinct gathers together an exceptional range of artists, curators, architects, critics, and academics, including Hal Foster, Barry Bergdoll, Deyan Sudjic, Tacita Dean, Emily Orr, Richard Wentworth, and many more. In eighty-five essays, contributors nominate “extinct” objects and address them in a series of short, vivid, sometimes personal accounts, speaking not only of obsolete technologies, but of other ways of thinking, making, and interacting with the world. Extinct is filled with curious, half-remembered objects, each one evoking a future that never came to pass. It is also a visual treat, full of interest and delight.
  darwin awards 2021: Out of My Depth Anne Darwin, David Leigh, 2016-10 The true story of my journey from ordinary housewife to Canoe Widow, Panama and prison--Cover.
  darwin awards 2021: Brother Moon Maree McCarthy Yoelu, 2020-03 Great-Grandpa Liman lives in a small house by the sea. There are no lights -- just stars as far as the eye can see. Brother Moon is a powerful story lovingly told by a great-grandfather to his great-grandson. Beneath the dark sky of the Northern Territory, Hippy-Boy is captivated when Great-Grandpa Liman tells him the mysterious story of his brother and how it guides his connection to Country. Great-Grandpa is a masterful storyteller and, as the tale unfolds, he finally reveals his brother is the moon -- a wonder of the universe. Hippy-Boy learns how his greatgrandfather uses the phases of the moon when he goes hunting and fishing, and why it is important for us all to have an understanding of the natural world. Liman (Harry Morgan), the author's grandfather, was a respected Wadjigany man -- a leader amongst his people and the community. Liman was born at Manjimamany in the Northern Territory in 1916. He was a canoe maker, hunter, community mediator, and a family man who lived off the land and travelled the seas. Liman spoke Batjamalh, his first language, and other languages from the Daly River area.
  darwin awards 2021: Inventing the Thrifty Gene Travis Hay, 2021-09-10 Though First Nations communities in Canada have historically lacked access to clean water, affordable food, and equitable healthcare, they have never lacked access to well-funded scientists seeking to study them. The Science of Settler Colonialism examines the relationship between science and settler colonialism through the lens of Aboriginal diabetes and the thrifty gene hypothesis, which posits that Indigenous peoples are genetically predisposed to type-II diabetes and obesity due to their alleged hunter-gatherer genes. Hay's study begins with Charles Darwin's travels and his observations on the Indigenous peoples he encountered to set the context for Canadian histories of medicine and colonialism, which are rooted in Victorian science and empire. It continues in the mid-twentieth century with a look at nutritional experimentation during the long career of Percy Moore, the medical director of Indian Affairs (1946-1965). Hay then turns to James Neel's invention of the thrifty gene hypothesis in 1962 and Robert Hegele's reinvention and application of the hypothesis to Sandy Lake First Nation in northern Ontario in the 1990s. Finally, Hay demonstrates the way in which settler colonial science was responded to and resisted by Indigenous leadership in Sandy Lake First Nation, who used monies from the thrifty gene study to fund wellness programs in their community. The Science of Settler Colonialism exposes the exploitative nature of settler science with Indigenous subjects, the flawed scientific theories stemming from faulty assumptions of Indigenous decline and disappearance, as well as the severe inequities in Canadian healthcare that persist even today.
  darwin awards 2021: What's in Your Pocket? Heather L. Montgomery, 2021-09-14 Charles Darwin, George Washington Carver, and Jane Goodall were once curious kids with pockets full of treasures! When you find something strange and wonderful, do you put it in your pocket? Meet nine scientists who, as kids, explored the great outdoors and collected treasures: seedpods, fossils, worms, and more. Observing, sorting, and classifying their finds taught these kids scientific skills--and sometimes led to groundbreaking discoveries. Author Heather Montgomery has all the science flair of a new Bill Nye. Book includes the Heather's tips for responsible collecting.
  darwin awards 2021: This One is Ours Kate O’Donnell, 2020-09-29 Sixteen-year-old Sofie is a dreamer, an artist and a romantic. When she goes on exchange to Paris, she is expecting magnificent adventures of the heart and mind. Yet France isn't what she imagined. It's cold and grey, and she finds speaking another language exhausting. Sofie's more homesick than lovesick. But then her host sister, Delphine, and fellow artist Olivier show Sofie a different side of Paris, and she starts to question her ideas about art, beauty and meaning. About everything. There's truth in what her best friend, Crow, has been saying all along: the earth is in crisis and people need to take notice. But what can one girl do? Will Sofie be able to find the courage to fight for change? This One is Ours is a call to action for anyone who feels helpless about the state of the world, as well as an ode to all the tiny beautifuls that make it worth saving.
  darwin awards 2021: The Revolutionary Origins of Life and Death Pierre M. Durand, 2020-12-09 The question of why an individual would actively kill itself has long been an evolutionary mystery. Pierre M. Durand’s ambitious book answers this question through close inspection of life and death in the earliest cellular life. As Durand shows us, cell death is a fascinating lens through which to examine the interconnectedness, in evolutionary terms, of life and death. It is a truism to note that one does not exist without the other, but just how does this play out in evolutionary history? These two processes have been studied from philosophical, theoretical, experimental, and genomic angles, but no one has yet integrated the information from these various disciplines. In this work, Durand synthesizes cellular studies of life and death looking at the origin of life and the evolutionary significance of programmed cellular death. The exciting and unexpected outcome of Durand’s analysis is the realization that life and death exhibit features of coevolution. The evolution of more complex cellular life depended on the coadaptation between traits that promote life and those that promote death. In an ironic twist, it becomes clear that, in many circumstances, programmed cell death is essential for sustaining life.