Stupid is as stupid does: Research shows why men

are idiots
By Sharon Kirkey December 11, 2014, 6:30 pm

Researchers from Newcastle University, England, have proved

the 'male idiot theory'

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In case there was any doubt before, a team of British

researchers has proven men are idiots.
There is even a name for it: Male Idiot Theory.
The researchers looked at the sex differences in idiotic risktaking behaviour among Darwin Award nominees. The Darwin
Awards lists those who die in idiotic accidents usually by very
stupid methods.

Award winners include a terrorist who mailed a letter bomb.

He did not put enough postage on the letter. When it came
back to him, he opened his own letter bomb. Another man
hitched a shopping cart to the back of a train. He was dragged
to his death before the train could stop.
The researchers found that men are idiots and idiots do stupid
things. Men made up 88.7 per cent of Darwin Award winners
over the last twenty (20) years.
We already know that men are more likely than women to be
admitted to hospital with accidental or sports-related injuries.
They are also more likely to die in car crashes.

In Ottawa, Canada, the emergency room sees more males

patients than females for traumas. In one year, 69 percent of

trauma patients were males. Trauma cases involve falls, motor

vehicle collisions and assault.
Cultural and social factors may partly explain the sex
differences in risk-seeking behaviour. Men are more likely than
women to engage in contact sports or risky activities such as
skydiving.
The researchers looked closely at idiotic risk. This is risk
where the payoff is non-existent and the outcome is usually
very, very bad.
In the Darwin Awards, 282 awards were awarded to men, and
just 36 to women. It may be that women may nominate men
more often.

Too much beer can contribute to idiotic behaviour by men:

study. (Richard Arless Jr./ Montreal Gazette)
Alcohol may also be a factor - booze can make men feel
bulletproof. One Darwin Award went to three men who
played Russian roulette with an unexploded landmine. Each
took turns having a drink and then stamping on the mine. It
exploded, killing all three. Everyone else had already left the
bar.
The authors all males were surprised at just how dramatic
the gender difference was, though in truth, I dont think it
surprised any of our female colleagues, said co-author Dennis
Lendrem, a project manager in the medical school at Newcastle
University.
The researchers say that men appear not to stop and check for
risks. They just do it anyway.
In one case, a man was demolishing a car park. Office workers
watched they wondered how he was going to take down the
final support and not get crushed. They found out later that
The whole thing collapsed and he was crushed, including his
digger.
The Darwin Awards committee think that these men are killing
themselves then the average IQ of the species continues to
increase, kind of thing.

Tools often feature prominently in Darwin awards for men.

(National Post file photo)
Crazy risk-taking may also be a fallout or spillover of the thrillseeking, risk-taking personality, said psychologist Frank
Farley. Men do this pushing the edge more than womenbut this is changing fast, Farley said.
There is a serious message to the study one author is a
trauma surgeon - he picks up the pieces of idiotic behaviour
every Friday and Saturday night in the emergency room.
I think we should be teaching people that there are high-risk
activities they will be tempted to act upon their impulse.
They should just pause, give it a second thought and then
maybe take action..
I think women do that naturally.