1) The Ski Resort Sledge Thief

In 2008 46-year-old David Monk was on holiday in Sauze D’Oulx, Italy, with a group of friends.

After having a few beers one evening, the lads decided to steal a protective mat that covered the metal barriers at the bottom of the slope and use it as a sledge.

They hiked up the hill, hurled themselves down it, and promptly slammed straight into the very same barrier they’d stolen the protective matting from.

David died on the spot, earning himself a Darwin award in the process.

“He was a brilliant guy,” David’s friend Alan MacGregor told the Daily Mail. We’re not sure “brilliant” is the word we would’ve chosen…

3) The Brainless Bungee Jumper

In 1997, Police in Reston, Virginia, issued a statement saying they had found the body of 22-year-old Eric Barcia, who had apparently died attempting to bungee jump off a 70 foot bridge.

Eschewing commercial bungee operations, Eric had apparently taken matters into his own hands and tied several bungee cords together.

He strapped himself on securely, tied the other end to the bridge, and jumped, confident in the knowledge that he’d carefully measured out the bungee’s total length – just under 70 foot.

Of course, what Eric had forgotten was that bungee cords stretch…

4) The Luckless Sledneck

“Ordinarily a man killed by an avalanche is suffering from a natural disaster, and not eligible for a Darwin Award,” says the awards website.

“But the circumstances surrounding the death of Walter, a 43-year-old Fairbanks man, are unusual enough to warrant an exception. He was killed not by a natural disaster, but by his own blatant stupidity.”

Walter’s nomination for the 2000 awards came after he was “highmarking” on his snowmobile. This almost entirely pointless exercise involves driving as far as you can up a pristine slope before the sled gets stuck, and then bombing back down again.

State Troopers had warned that conditions meant avalanches were likely. Earlier in the day Walter had in fact triggered an avalanche and been buried up to his waist.

Any normal person might be shaken up by this, or at the very least take it as a sign that they should stop. But this committed sledneck kept right on revving up and down the hillside until he triggered a second, bigger avalanche which swept down and killed him.

7) The Kite Surfer Who Took Flight

The 2007 Darwin Awards featured a nomination for a particularly intrepid kitesurfing Spaniard.

As hurricane-strength winds swept through the south, sensible Spaniards up and down the coast battened down the hatches and prepared to sit out the storm.

Our 40-year-old hero had other ideas however. Seeing the reports of high winds and huge waves, he decided to defy the ban imposed on going into the water.

He grabbed his balls, strapped into his board and unfurled his kite.

His body was found more than a kilometre away from the sea, having been dragged by the winds and slammed against several buildings along the way.

8) The Niagara Falls Jet Ski Jumper

In 1995, a particularly daring daredevil named Robert decided to attempt something no-one had ever done before – ride his jetski off Niagara Falls.

Now that might sound completely stupid, but Robert had done some planning. He’d fitted his jetski with a rocket booster and was carrying a parachute.

The idea was to fire the booster as he hit the falls, opening the parachute at the apex of his flight and drifting down to safety in the water below.

Unfortunately Robert had failed to factor in one crucial element – the fact that water makes things wet.

As he hurtled towards the falls and pressed the button, his utterly-soaked rocket booster failed to ignite. Plummeting off the edge, he tried his parachute, but it wasn’t water-proof either and failed to deploy.

9) The Amateur Electrician

In 1999, jetskiing featured in the Darwin Awards once more. This time the hapless individual was a man named Rodney, who was happily doing laps of Lake Washington when he realised his battery was running a bit low.

Pulling up toward the shore he moored his jetski and ran to get a set of jump leads. He plugged the ends into a 110 volt outlet and ran down to the water’s edge carrying the crocodile clips.

Unfortunately he didn’t stop at the edge, and plunged straight in, electrocuting himself instantly.

His body was apparently found floating under the dock later that evening.

Honourable Mention: The Snake Charmer

OK so this has nothing to do with action sports, but we couldn’t resist including it. It’s possibly the stupidest tale of macho thrill-seeking we’ve ever heard.

In 1997, according to the Darwin Awards, Wayne Roth of Pittston, Pennsylvania, was bitten by a cobra belonging to his friend Roger after reaching into the tank to pick the poisonous snake up.

“I don’t need to go to hospital” Wayne apparently told Roger. “I’m a man. I can handle it.”

Instead, on Wayne’s suggestion, the pair headed to a pub instead. There he proved what a man he was by sinking several pints, boasting about the bite, and promptly dying about an hour later.

Cobra venom is, it seems, a slow-acting toxin which takes several hours to attack the central nervous system.

What a guy.

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