We finally understand why Dumb and Dumber doesn't feature two female leads, as a study has unveiled that men outweigh women in the stupidity and 'risk-taking' stakes.
An annual review of the most foolish ways that people have died found that almost 90% were male.
The study, by the aptly named Darwin Awards - named after Charles Darwin's survival of the fittest - recognises those who have improved the gene pool of the human race by eliminating themselves from it in the most stupid of ways.
Some of the more foolish nominations for the Darwin Death By Stupidity Awards include two guys who dared one another to test their courage by lying on a train track. Both were killed instantly by a train passing through the station at 130km/h.
Meanwhile two men in Kenya decided it would be great to take a selfie with an elephant. Unfortunately the wild elephant was not aware of selfie protocol and trampled them to death.
Out of 332 nominations, 14 were ruled out because they were shared by both genders - usually amorous couples being overly experimental. Case in point, a couple having sex on a balcony (talk about major PDA) relied on the railings a little too much and later fell to their death.
Of the 318 cases remaining, 89% were awarded to males.
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A study posted in the British Medical Journal explains why there is a marked sex difference in Darwin Award 'winners'.
According to research, sex differences in mortality and admissions to hospital emergency departments have been well documented. These studies confirm that males are more at risk than females.
For example, men are more likely to be admitted to an emergency department after accidental injuries, more likely to be admitted with a sporting injury, and more likely to be in a road traffic collision with a higher mortality rate.
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But there is also another reason why men are pegging it well before their time. And it's known as “idiotic” risk.
"This is defined as a senseless risk, where the apparent payoff is negligible or non-existent, and the outcome is often extremely negative and often final," says the study.
In short, men are more likely to do idiotic things.
Darwin Awards winners include the male thief who attempted to purloin a steel hawser from a lift shaft, who unbolted the hawser while standing in the lift, which then plummeted to the ground, killing its occupant.
The man stealing a ride home by hitching a shopping trolley to the back of a train, only to be dragged two miles to his death before the train was able to stop.
And finally, the terrorist who posted a letter bomb with insufficient postage stamps and who, on its return, unthinkingly opened his own letter.
"These findings are entirely consistent with male idiot theory (MIT) and support the hypothesis that men are idiots and idiots do stupid things," concludes the report.
[H/T Telegraph]