title: The Darwin Awards: sex differences in idiotic behaviour.
abstract: Sex differences in risk seeking behaviour, emergency hospital admissions, and mortality are well documented. However, little is known about sex differences in idiotic risk taking behaviour. This paper reviews the data on winners of the Darwin Award over a 20 year period (1995-2014). Winners of the Darwin Award must eliminate themselves from the gene pool in such an idiotic manner that their action ensures one less idiot will survive. This paper reports a marked sex difference in Darwin Award winners: males are significantly more likely to receive the award than females (P<0.0001). We discuss some of the reasons for this difference.
authors.affiliation: The King Edward VI School, Morpeth NE61 1DN, UK ben.lendrem@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ben Alexander Daniel
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Lendrem
authors.affiliation: Newcastle University, Newcastle NE2 4HH, UK ben.lendrem@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Dennis William
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Lendrem
authors.affiliation: Major Trauma Centre, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle NE1 4LP.
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: Newcastle University, Newcastle NE2 4HH, UK.
authors.forename: John Dudley
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Isaacs
mesh_terms: D001363:Awards and Prizes; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012737:Sex Factors