Darwin Awards Victorian (3 photos) Bashny.Net

Victorian era - the reign of Queen Victoria of England (1837-1901) and the flowering of the theory of evolution and Darwinism. I present to you the top ten most ridiculous deaths, which can rightly be attributed to the very first nominee Darwin



Rejected lover took a dummy for the opponent: Illustration of «the Illustrated Police News», November 9, 1872 Killed mouse

Women = + mice fuss was about. This formula is a hackneyed cliché teleserialnym that one can not be surprised. However, our story takes place in reality. It was in England in 1875. A harmless mouse suddenly jumped to the desktop at a London factory.

In the general confusion that followed this small, seemingly incident, a gallant young man stepped forward and caught the rodent. For women who fled in all directions, he became a hero and savior. However, the joy of victory over the mouse did not last long. Rodent slipped from the hands of Man, got under his arm and jumped out from under the collar of his shirt. Surprise the young man opened his mouth, and the mouse for a long time without thinking, jumped back. Young man with surprise and did not notice that an animal has swallowed.

As reported in the Manchester Evening News: «The fact that the mouse can live without air for some amount of time - has long been considered a common belief that, unfortunately, turned out to be a reliable fact. Inside the mouse start to bite in the throat and chest accident, and the guy died in terrible agony ».

Crushed by his own invention

Vordell Sam could not afford to sleep. He served as a lamplighter in the New York town of Flatbush in the mid-1880s. Work as it was to light the street lights in the evening and at dawn to extinguish them. This was not a job for the lazy.

Ingenuity Sam evolved in direct proportion to the temptation to spit on everything and sleep longer. Once he took an ordinary alarm clock, and perfected it. The watch Sam stretched wire, the other end of which is tied to the stone chetyrёhkilogrammovomu that placed on the shelf. When the alarm rang, the regiment fell, and stone with a roar rolled on the floor.

Everything worked just fine up until Vordell not started permutation. One Christmas Eve he invited his friends to a party and removed from the room all the furniture to make room for the guests. When the friends are gone, Sam pulled back to bed, but from exhaustion did not pay much attention to the place where it has set. Exactly at five in the morning, as usual, the alarm rings and the stone fell right onto the head of the sleeping Sam Vordellu.

Killed coffin


Henry Taylor died an absurd death. He carried the coffin during the funeral ceremony, held at London cemetery Kensal Green Cemetery, but suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground. Those who carried the coffin with him, released him from his hands, and he in turn overturned lying on poor Henry.

Newspaper Illustrated Police News from 1872 reported on the terrible confusion that arose among those present at the funeral of an unexpected incident, in which the dead were two. A widow (who were going to bury), became hysterical.

She died after eating own hair

The doctors were baffled. It was evident that the patient is seriously ill, but no one could understand the cause of the disease. When 30-year-old girl died in her village in the county of Lincolnshire, the doctors asked the grieving relatives for permission to her autopsy. But pathologists could not assume that find a solid lump of human hair, which weighed 900 grams.

This concretion caused thickening and ulceration of the stomach, which subsequently caused the death of the unfortunate.

Liverpool Daily Post newspaper wrote in 1869: "On the question of doctors about what ate the dead woman, her sister said that for the past 12 years she had the habit of eating their own hair».

He died like a zombie

Burial in a Russian village was in full swing when the lid of the coffin suddenly stood up, and the "corpse" began to get out of it. Agree - an unexpected turn of events. Pale with fear the priest and accompanied the dead man's relatives began to run out of the church, hiding in their houses, zakolachivaya doors. Then the ill-fated "vampire" wobbly gait came to the house of one of the old woman, who was not so prudent and not shut the door properly.

When the priest came to, I realized that the "dead" is actually all this time was in a coma, and the funeral regained consciousness. It is a pity that the priest never had it in the head. Parishioners of the parish entrusted to him had the courage and armed with guns and sticks, to drive out evil spirits of his village. By the time the priest arrived, "zombie" has been put to death and his body thrown into a swamp.

Torn apart cats


You know how it is: you wind the cat to enjoy his company and have fun with it, and all that get in return - a rare manifestation of his selfish love. Then you are to have another, and then another ... Pretty soon you stop to look friends, and remind yourself you're a disheveled wild cat owner.

In 1870, in Iran a wealthy eccentric lady and acted - fruits and buying cats for fun and whiled away the days in stinking society, but such cherished pets purring.

Then disaster struck - the fire started and spread through the house, cats also appeared in a fiery trap outside the door. Then the two maids were told to rescue them from captivity, but the flame has reduced animals crazy. When the door opened, cats suddenly pounced on the poor girls, they ruthlessly digging claws. Their wounds were so deep that the two maids soon died.

Drowned out of politeness

We are all prone to stereotypes. For example, some believe that the people in the days of the Victorian era were a bunch of conservative, punctuality moralists obsessed compliance with the rules of etiquette, and at every opportunity using her smelling salts. This, of course, a gross generalization. But in some cases, our stereotypes are true.

Here's the proof. It was in 1892 in Bermuda, when visiting the Shore several sailors back to their ship on the boat. Among the sailors got into an argument that turned into a fight, and one of them fell overboard. Then another sailor rushed to his aid and began to throw off his clothes. However, the officer ordered him to stop immediately, as on board were ladies.

As the newspaper the Western Daily Press: «The girls in every way showed sympathy for the drowning behind, but opposed to the sailor jumped into the sea, is not properly dressed. So fashion victory for common sense.

In the end, to help the sailor still decided to send volunteers until the titanic efforts, he still kept afloat. Five people have dived over the side, but it was too late - the sailor drowned.

Killed by a drunk bear

Small test. You offer to have as a pet bear. You:

A) refuse, as it is too cruel to bear;

B) agree, as you may be able to teach him to drink.

In Vilnius in 1891, he was a man who would choose the second option. He was a big, but hand-bear who loved vodka. Once the bear decided to visit a village pub and grab a barrel of vodka. Owner places Rabanovich Isaac tried to return the loot.

It would be an understatement to say that this was a huge mistake. The scenes of killings and destruction that followed, were appalling. Bear in rage crushed to death by the host, and then did the same with his two sons and daughter.

He died of laughter

80 years ago, before Monty Python created his "funniest joke in the world" in 1893, the farmer tossed Wesley Parsons jokes with his friends in the town of Laurel, Indiana, where he covered the attack of uncontrollable laughter, which Wesley could not in any way depart. He laughed, still about an hour, and then began to hiccup. Two hours later he died of exhaustion.

He died on the dispute

In the Spanish province of Navarra in 1879, two Frenchmen made a bet - any of them hardy. Conditions were as follows: after a one-day hunger strike, everyone had to drink 17 glasses of wine and then walk a distance of 9 km from Pamplona to the village. It was the height of summer, so that the outcome of the dispute has promised to be interesting.

Since the first Frenchman was younger than his opponent by 20, then all was fair, decided to add to the Burden of a young man on the ground a pound for every year of his age advantage. So the two set off, one of whom was carrying in addition, 7-pound burden.

Probably, there is no need to say that they have not gone away. Their bet has ended sadly. Frenchman older weakened and died. The young Frenchman is as reported by the newspaper Manchester Evening News «narrowly escaped death."