Friday, October 10, 2008

Doofus Of The Day #82, #83 and #84


My, but it's been a good week for Doofi!

Our three candidates today all fall into the 'pyrotechnic' category.

Doofus #82 is from Rhode Island.

A Rhode Island man faces charges after the cigarette he was smoking inside a car apparently ignited fireworks.

Police arrested the 28-year-old Sunday after an officer found a sedan smoking in the middle of the street. Firefighters were called to extinguish the blaze. No one was injured.

The man told police he was smoking a cigarette in the car when fireworks near his feet ignited. Witnesses told police they saw a passenger tossing fireworks out shortly before police arrived.


Why one would drive with fireworks at one's feet is more than I can figure out!

Doofus #83 is from Sweden.

A Swedish teenager has been charged for starting a fire after dropping a burning letter of unrequited love near a wooded area in Gothenburg.

The 16-year-old told police he was out for a walk with his school class in the city’s Slottsskogen park when he received a letter in response to a previous overture he’d delivered to a female classmate, the Metro newspaper reports.

Upon reading the letter, the boy learned that the object of his desire didn’t share the same feelings for him as he did for her.

Heartbroken and enraged, the boy wanted to “get rid of” and “destroy” the letter as quickly as possible, he told police.

He set fire to the letter with a lighter he found in his pocket, but as the flames began to burn the tips of his fingers, the boy dropped the flaming message into a patch of dry grass, which quickly ignited.

Despite the boy’s vain attempts to extinguish it, the fire quickly spread, eventually consuming 2000 square metres of trees and bushes.

Six firefighters were eventually able to contain the blaze, which also caused the nearby children’s zoo to shut down.

A burn ban had been in place at the time due as a lack of rain had led to extremely dry conditions.

The boy expressed his regret over the incident to the court, but must nevertheless face charges of reckless endangerment of the public for his role in starting the fire.


Uh-huh. 'Burning Love' strikes again!

Doofus #84 is from the splendidly-named town of Mukwonago, Wisconsin.

Police said a man was arrested after he used a cigarette lighter while trying to siphon gasoline from a van. The man, who was visiting friends, went to drive home early Saturday but realized that he didn't have enough gas in his SUV.

Police said the man tried to siphon the gas with help from another woman, but he couldn't see how much gas was in the container, so he used the lighter to check.

A blast of fire burned his hands and caused nearby residents to call police.

Police said he and the woman were located later in a store parking lot. He was arrested for theft and negligent use of burning materials.

The woman was referred to authorities for being party to theft. Formal charges haven't been filed.


Checking the gasoline level with a cigarette lighter . . . how dumb can you get???

Those are our pyrotechnic Doofi for the night. Never fear - there are plenty more Doofi to keep this regular feature going. All we have to do is keep our eyes open for them!

Peter

1 comment:

Kevin said...

You keep the fireworks on the floor by your feet because it hurts less than having them go off in your lap!

Not going to say why I know!