Have you heard of the Darwin Awards? According to the Darwin Awards website, the awards are defined as this: “Named in honor of Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, the Darwin Awards commemorate those who improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it.”
I thought of the Darwin Awards on Halloween night as we were performing the flaming pumpkin experiment. I’m sure to many recipients of past Darwin Awards, their ideas seemed really good at the time. I doubt that many of the recipients, at the time of the activity that garnered them the award, were aware of their impending receipt of this award. I, on the other hand, was astutely aware of the potential for this experiment to earn us an award, or, at the very least, a nomination or honorable mention, that we did not want. And yet, on with the experiment we went.
My boys have influenced me this way. They talk me into doing crazy and dangerous things against my better judgment. This includes things like swinging from a rope that has one end tied around our Halloween phantom lodged high in a tree. What is scary about the flaming pumpkin experiment is that it was I who was encouraging them. My uncle wasn’t going to do it until I enthusiastically agreed to give it a try. I’ve definitely crossed over to the dark side.
That is why I was so excited to discover The Big Book of Boy Stuff, written by Bart King and published by Gibbs Smith. This book is chocked full of, well, boy stuff including crazy and what the boys may deem dangerous experiments. The boys and I are eager to dive in and try some of the experiments, including Flaming Greenbacks (More fire. Yes!) and cooking solar-powered marshmallows. We will be making our way through this book, and will be posting our results on my blog and hopefully not the Darwin Awards site.
As far as the Darwin Awards go, it does seem that the majority of the stories have men in the leading roles. Or criminals. I am not a man and I am not a criminal. So, by being the ring leader of these crazy experiments, perhaps I am adding a layer of protection to keep us off of this list.
p.s. Regarding my post Reflections The Day After, where I implied that I would be cleaning up the Halloween decorations, I must apologize to my husband. He was out all day yesterday putting everything away, even before he read my blog! What a good man.
I thought of the Darwin Awards on Halloween night as we were performing the flaming pumpkin experiment. I’m sure to many recipients of past Darwin Awards, their ideas seemed really good at the time. I doubt that many of the recipients, at the time of the activity that garnered them the award, were aware of their impending receipt of this award. I, on the other hand, was astutely aware of the potential for this experiment to earn us an award, or, at the very least, a nomination or honorable mention, that we did not want. And yet, on with the experiment we went.
My boys have influenced me this way. They talk me into doing crazy and dangerous things against my better judgment. This includes things like swinging from a rope that has one end tied around our Halloween phantom lodged high in a tree. What is scary about the flaming pumpkin experiment is that it was I who was encouraging them. My uncle wasn’t going to do it until I enthusiastically agreed to give it a try. I’ve definitely crossed over to the dark side.
That is why I was so excited to discover The Big Book of Boy Stuff, written by Bart King and published by Gibbs Smith. This book is chocked full of, well, boy stuff including crazy and what the boys may deem dangerous experiments. The boys and I are eager to dive in and try some of the experiments, including Flaming Greenbacks (More fire. Yes!) and cooking solar-powered marshmallows. We will be making our way through this book, and will be posting our results on my blog and hopefully not the Darwin Awards site.As far as the Darwin Awards go, it does seem that the majority of the stories have men in the leading roles. Or criminals. I am not a man and I am not a criminal. So, by being the ring leader of these crazy experiments, perhaps I am adding a layer of protection to keep us off of this list.
p.s. Regarding my post Reflections The Day After, where I implied that I would be cleaning up the Halloween decorations, I must apologize to my husband. He was out all day yesterday putting everything away, even before he read my blog! What a good man.
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2 comments:
I told my hubby about the flaming pumking last night and we're going to give it a go next year (as safely as possible, though). I'm usually the one who comes up with the crazy ideas. Then again, he's the one who took a circular saw to the wall in the closet and punctured the freon line to the upstairs AC unit. Thankfully he didn't hit the electrical wire just above it...
Thank you for the kind comment. I can't tell you how gratifying it is to her that your family is enjoying The Big Book of Boy Stuff!
All the best to you and yours.
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