stupidity

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Study Reveals Why We Do Stupid Things

Most people agree on what is stupid

(Newser) - How’s this for a stupid study : Researchers at Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary, set out to discover the criteria people use when determining that a particular behavior is, well, stupid, Live Science reports. It turns out it doesn't exactly take a rocket scientist: Judging whether something is...

Bad Idea: Soldier's Suicide Bomber Costume

Did not go over well at Fort Bragg

(Newser) - Halloween and bad decision-making go together like chocolate and more chocolate, but it takes a certain and utter suspension of common sense to dress up like a suicide bomber—complete with an explosives vest, because why do things in half measures?—and try to get inside a United States military...

Woman Live-Streamed Her Drunk Driving, Say Cops

Periscope viewers called 911

(Newser) - If the drunk-driving case against Whitney Beall goes to trial, Exhibit A will probably be her Periscope video "Drunk Girl Driving," in which she drives around talking about how drunk she is. Police in Lakeland, Fla., say the 23-year-old used the live-streaming app to upload a series of...

Man Burns Down Gas Pump Trying to Kill Spider

'Stupidity'

(Newser) - A Michigan man with a serious fear of spiders nearly burned down a gas station, his car, and himself trying to get rid of one of the tiny creatures earlier this week, Fox 2 Detroit reports. According to CBS Detroit , the man was filling up his car when he saw...

Man Bit While Posing for Photos With Rattlesnake

Now his mom's trying to embarrass him into learning a lesson

(Newser) - A California woman is publicly shaming her 36-year-old son by sharing the embarrassing photos he took with a rattlesnake—right before it bit him—with local news stations. Deborah Gomez tells CBS Los Angeles she's trying to teach her son Alex a lesson. KTLA reports Alex Gomez found the...

Guy Fleeing Cops on Scooter Does Not Get Away

Because they're not very fast, you see

(Newser) - A suspected drug dealer tried to evade authorities in Nevada while riding a scooter. The Nevada Appeal reports that Joseph Scurti is facing charges including suspicion of a parole and probation warrant and probation violation. Obstruction charges are pending. The slow-speed pursuit began Friday when Carson City deputies tried to...

Guy Shoots Firework Off Own Head, Dies

Yes, alcohol was involved

(Newser) - The combination of drunk Americans and pyrotechnics often proves tragic and fatal on the nation's birthday, and this year's Fourth of July was no exception: As the Press Herald reports, 22-year-old Devon Staples apparently set off a firework on top of his own head last night, instantly killing...

Guy's 'Gasoline Cake' Stunt Lights Up His Kitchen

Which brings to mind the line, 'do not try this at home'

(Newser) - Want to know how to light up a cake brighter than it would be for a centenarian's birthday? A northern New Jersey man lit his kitchen table on fire by adding lighter fluid and gasoline to a birthday cake recipe so he could post a video of the fiery...

Guy in 'Seriously, I Have Drugs' Shirt Is Seriously Busted

With drugs. In Florida

(Newser) - The first rule about drugs is you never wear a shirt saying you have drugs. The second rule about drugs ... well, John Balmer of, why, yes, Florida, apparently didn't get past that first rule. As the Tampa Bay Times reports, Balmer was minding his own business in line at...

Naked Lady Gets Stuck Breaking Into Her Ex's House

She decided to take the chimney, au naturel

(Newser) - Perhaps the oddest thing about this story is the fact that it's happened before : Officials in Woodcrest, Calif., say that an unnamed 35-year-old woman, having gotten no response to her very-early-morning knock on her estranged beau's door, decided to try the chimney. And as CBSLA puts it, "...

Guy Brings Crack to Pal in ICU, Fire Ensues

Cops also charge Lee Vern Cook with gun possession

(Newser) - If you're stuck in the ICU on Christmas Eve, it's good to have friends to help you liven the joint up and Lee Vern Cook is apparently the best of these sorts of friends: The 54-year-old stands charged with a bevy of offenses after police say he brought...

Train Surfer Electrocuted, Catches Fire

21-year-old man dead after Conn. accident

(Newser) - When a Metro-North commuter train lost power early yesterday in Connecticut, it didn't take much to spot the cause: MTA "workers found Brian McClellen, 21, of Ohio, on top of the train and on fire," reports NBC . Rescuers had to use a fire extinguisher to put out...

As Sharks Swarm, 'Idiot' Surfs Whale Carcass

Harrison Williams says 'mum thinks I’m an idiot, dad’s not too proud'

(Newser) - As these things so often begin, Harrison Williams was "out on the boat with the boys and one of my mates said it would be pretty funny" to pull a questionable, potentially life-ending stunt, "so I did it." The stunt in question involved swimming out to the...

American Held by ISIS Is Former Army Ranger Turned Volunteer

Peter Kassig founded relief organization; parents ask for his release in video

(Newser) - In its latest execution video, ISIS threatened that its next victim would be an American aid worker named Peter Kassig. The 26-year-old is a former Army Ranger from Indiana who served in Iraq in 2007 before being honorably discharged for medical reasons, reports CNN . He enrolled at Butler University upon...

Cops: Guy Unloaded Gun— by Firing at House Next Door

George Byrd says he didn't know how else to unload

(Newser) - Police in Pennsylvania say a convicted felon accused of shooting a bullet through a neighbor's window told a judge he fired the gun because it was the only way he knew how to unload it. Middletown Detective Patrick Nicastro tells the Bucks County Courier Times that 31-year-old George Byrd...

Pamplona Cops: Do Not Stop for Selfies With Bulls

'Idiot with mobile' faces $4.1K fine

(Newser) - While putting yourself in the way of stampeding bulls is considered a matter of personal choice at Pamplona's annual festival, authorities say slowing down for a selfie while doing so is just plain stupid. A runner who was filmed trying to get a photo of himself inches ahead of...

Woman Leads Cops on 100mph Chase —to Preferred Jail

Grady County jail apparently not a place she wanted to spend time

(Newser) - So maybe you've been drinking and maybe you're speeding a little, but what to do when a cop tries to pull you over—presenting you with the very real prospect of doing a little time in a less-than-desirable county jail? Step on the gas, and lead police on...

Guy Held in Crazy Spree: I Was High on ... the Holy Spirit

Tacoma man charged in DUI crash, failed doughnut robbery

(Newser) - After rear-ending a car, failing miserably to steal doughnuts, and getting chased down by a police dog, most of us might call it a day. Anthoney Stanley, 28, would apparently prefer to call it getting right with God. As KOMONews reports, the man from Tacoma, Wash., is facing a raft...

Man Calls 911 Seven Times Over Spilled Beer

His wife apparently threw it out

(Newser) - There are many inappropriate reasons that people call 911. But usually, they stop the first time police yell at them. But not Carlos Bueno Mir of West Palm Beach, Florida. The 49-year-old was arrested after calling the emergency line seven times over the span of four hours, police say. The...

Guy Robbed Woman, Then Friended Her: Cops

Criminals with distinctive tattoos might consider restraint on social media

(Newser) - Ah, Facebook, that repository for high school friends, college friends, friends of friends, people you wish you'd never met ... and the dude who robbed you the other day? Police in Washington state say that a woman was sitting at a ferry terminal with headphones on when a guy knocked...

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