Darwin Awards

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/darwin-awards

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the initial forum?Usenet discussion groups
2. What is the website launch?1993
3. Why do people get Darwin Awards?People get a Darwin Award when they do something extremely foolish that directly causes their own death or permanent inability to have children. The idea is that by doing this, they are jokingly helping the human gene pool.
4. How did the Darwin Awards start?The idea began on internet forums called Usenet in 1985, where people shared funny stories about dangerous mistakes. In 1993 a website was made to collect these stories, and books were published in 2000 to spread the jokes even more.

Satirical Honor: An award given mockingly or ironically, not meant to be taken literally.
Gene Pool: The total genetic diversity available within a population or species.
Posthumously: Occurring, awarded, or continuing after the person's death.
Natural Selection: The process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.