Darwin Award (near miss): CT mom mistakes dynamite for candle

Coincidences abound. Just two days ago, in "'Allahu akbar!' (almost?) in Toronto", I passed along the sad story of a follower of the Prophet (a Canadian resident... or maybe not) who shot himself in the foot (literally) with an assault rifle he had stuffed in his pants when he went into a restaurant to order some takeout. Not even close to a Darwin Award, but funny all the same... except for the disturbing questions that sprang to my mind as I wrote.

Today one of our acidulous readers called my attention to an incident which occurred in Bridgeport CT just last night, fully deserving of a Darwin Award Honourable Mention (Near Miss). Local officials told the meeja that, during a power outage, an unnamed mother suffered severe injuries after lighting a "quarter stick of dynamite" which she mistook for a candle.

According to Fox News, the incident occurred after a thunderstorm in the area knocked out power and the family unsuccessfully attempted to buy emergency lighting from a Home Depot. A news release from the City of Bridgeport explained that "The family remembered that when they purchased their home two years ago, there were what they thought were candles left behind in the basement by the previous residents of the home. She attempted to light one of what she thought was a candle and turned out to be a quarter stick of dynamite."

Officials said the 30-year-old woman was ultimately transported to the hospital after getting "extreme" hand injuries and "serious" face injuries. She was the only one who was hurt during the "tragic accident". The Authorities (note the capital "A") decided not to file any charges because the incident seemed to have been unintentional and the family was unaware that what they had in their home were explosive devices.