Darwin award: Segway UK boss

Died in a Segway crash

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-11416654

 

in which way does this qualify for a Darwin award?

 

No, I suppose you're right. It's more the appropriateness of his
demise.

"I wouldn't be seen dead on one of those."

 

It's been doing the rounds all day and I still can't quite see what's
even funny about it.

He fell off a cliff. The fact he riding one of his creations at the time
barely seems relevant.

 

maybe your dictionary has a different definition of "appropriate" than
mine.

oh I see - you meant it was in some way ironic.

But here's the thing - even if was in some way funny (which IMO it
isn't) it wouldn't qualify for a "Darwin Award" since he had kids.

 

The event itself wasn't funny, but it did lead to Spete's
"Segwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy" on FB which made me titter.

 

nope, me neither. I think there's a lot of inverse snobbery going on
with this particular story, what with him having been a miner, then
entrepreneur, latterly a very rich man, but also a big donor to
charities (and in particular, having both made money from the defense
industry and having given a lot of money to armed-forces charities).

which is exactly my take on it too. It's about as funny and
"appropriate" as Matt Dieckmann's death earlier this month[1]

[1] http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/09/matt-dieckmann-killed/

 

Maybe if the Segway had malfunctioned and spontaneously hurtled across
the landscape toward the cliff. Then I could at least see it being
noteworthy that he'd been killed *by* his own creation. But he might as
well have been on a pogo stick.

Or Martin Loicht at this year's TT.

Or Norick Abe. Or Mike Hailwood. Etc etc etc.

 

*bzzt* - wrong.

http://www.darwinawards.com/rules/rules.children.html

 

Quite. Not really even 'hoist by his own petard'.
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he didn't create it - he just bought the UK import franchise. Which
makes it even less funny.

I'm all for laughing at the afflicted/tragically dead, but for some
reason this particular story leaves me cold.

Perhaps it's because it's funnier when Segway owners are still alive,
so you can point and laugh at them.

(I'd still like a go on one, though)

 

I'm 97% sure that's a change since the old days.

 

A page that could be easily summarised by "don't worry about it, the
Darwin awards are just a silly bit of fun and generally quite shit, so
don't get hung up on the rules or anything."

 

Well, he wasn't.

Pretty sure he parted company at the bottom.

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He didn't create them, just bought the company.


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what? But this is *Usenet*!

 

Well, that makes it fucking hilarious then.

 

you're right - I hadn't realized - I thought it was just the UK side
of things.

 

Indeed. I'm pissing myself here.

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I thought he just bought the farm.