Dumb, Dumber and Just Plain Sad

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

11 Aug 2006 09:42 AM

It's a known fact: people do crazy things. Whether they are motivated by money (see "Fear Factor" contestants dining on live maggots) or simply functioning on limited brain cells (see David Blaine's "Drowned Alive" stunt), some people's actions just leave you shaking your head. That's exactly what I did when I heard about the following simply stupid moves pulled by a few of our fellow "earthlings:"

DUMB

A Spanish newspaper reports that police recently arrested four Frenchmen for jumping in front of cars on a busy road in Spain so that they could videotape the reaction of the motorists and post the footage on the Internet. According to the paper, the men took turns leaping in front of cars, forcing the drivers to swerve or brake sharply and putting themselves and other vehicles in danger. Officials speculate that the prank was a copycat of a craze known as "happy slapping" (popular in Britain), where groups of teenagers slapped or mugged strangers while filming the victims' reaction on camera phones and later posting the images on various websites.

DUMBER

A Malaysian newspaper reports that thieves there recently used a net and rope to haul an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) through a glass wall and down a flight of stairs, only to discover they had grabbed a check deposit machine instead of the cash machine. The three robbers fled after realizing their mistake. ATMs have been the target of a number of recent robberies in Malaysia. According to news reports, in one case, thieves loaded an ATM onto a truck but abandoned it about 3 miles away when they discovered it had no cash.

JUST PLAIN SAD

A Japanese newspaper is reporting that one of its countrymen was arrested this week after making 37,760 silent calls to directory assistance because "he wanted to listen to the kind voices of female telephone operators."

According to police reports, the 44-year-old has admitted to allegedly obstructing the operations of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation by making up to 905 calls a day from his mobile phone. Police quote the man as saying: "When I made a complaint call once, the operator dealt with it very kindly, so I wanted to hear these women's voices." Police believe the calls caused "psychological distress" to more than 100 telephone operators.

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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