HUMAN STUPIDITY

December 2009, Canada - Lester, a career fire-saftey inspector, entered a building in downtown Alberta for its annual fire inspection. Although new to the building, Lester was not new to his job. With several degrees in Fire and Health Safety, and fluent in three languages, this all-around nice guy had expertly inspected buildings around the world for many years.

2006, UK - During the scrape and resurface of a large residential street in Edinburgh, it was noticed that a large foul sewer ran down the street. As it was believed to be quite shallow, it was necessary to determine its exact route in order to avoid damage by the resurfacing works. Working in a sewer can be dangerous, so three men were sent to an expensive two-week training course, and another six thousand pounds went into the purchase of appropriate equipment: masks, suits, and gas monitors.

April 30, 2009, York, United Kingdom - In another do-it-yourself project gone wrong, a forty-one-year-old homeowner attempting to demolish a large brick garden shed succeeded in his primary objective, but suffered collateral damage

April 14, 2008, Texas - A contract worker was hired to install reinforcement bars on a communications tower near Camp Bullis.

October 9, 2008, South Africa - For days, Johannesburg office workers watched a demolition worker slowly chip away at a pillar supporting the concrete slab above him.