Citation

Lendrem BA, Lendrem DW, Gray A, Isaacs JD. BMJ 2014; 349: g7094.

Affiliation

Newcastle University, Newcastle NE2 4HH, UK.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bmj.g7094

PMID

25500113

Abstract

Sex differences in risk seeking behaviour, emergency hospital admissions, and mortality are well documented. However, little is known about sex differences in idiotic risk taking behaviour. This paper reviews the data on winners of the Darwin Award over a 20 year period (1995-2014). Winners of the Darwin Award must eliminate themselves from the gene pool in such an idiotic manner that their action ensures one less idiot will survive. This paper reports a marked sex difference in Darwin Award winners: males are significantly more likely to receive the award than females (P<0.0001). We discuss some of the reasons for this difference.

Language: en