Darwin Awards: Men Take More Dumb Risks Than Women

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Men may take more risks, but they also tend to take more dumb risks that end in tragedy. Science says it is so, therefore it must be true.

Jenny Kunter of Salon highlights a playful study that was recently released by the British Medical Journal, which pitted the sexes against one another in a battle for the title as the bigger risk-taker. The men won out as the riskier of the two. However, the study’s data was based on the winners of the Darwin Award over the last 20 year. The award’s purpose is to highlight someone that has perished in such an idiotic manner than their demise has ensured the success of the species with one less dullard producing progenies, thus strengthening the genetic pool.

Out of those who have been given the Darwin Award from 1995 to 2014, men took home the prize over 80 percent of the time.

“This finding is entirely consistent with male idiot theory (MIT) and supports the hypothesis that men are idiots and idiots do stupid things.”

The researchers speculate that alcohol may play a role in these poor decisions, giving them liquid courage in a situation that some would question if not under the influence. The study cites a particular occasion:

“For example, the three men who played a variation on Russian roulette alternately taking shots of alcohol and then stamping on an unexploded Cambodian land mine. (Spoiler alert: the mine eventually exploded, demolishing the bar and killing all three men.)”

The other hypothesis is that some men may also engage in risky behavior to win the esteem of their fellow men or to get “bragging rights” for a particular act. However, the researchers admit that the study may deserve further study in order to solidify their “male idiot theory.” The researchers joked:

“We believe MIT deserves further investigation, and, with the festive season upon us, we intend to follow up with observational field studies and an experimental study—males and females, with and without alcohol—in a semi-naturalistic Christmas party setting.”