Story Archive

Bright Idea

A Clay County (Mo.) Sheriff’s deputy noticed a plume of smoke south of the town of Liberty, and went to investigate. He found a man watching the inferno from a “safe distance” who said he had been burning garbage in a field, and it got out of control. His idea to get the fire contained: to drive his van back and forth over the flames. That not only didn’t work, but he bailed when he remembered the van not only had a full tank of gas, but a load of ammunition. His remarks to the deputy were punctuated by ammo being set off by the intense heat. The unnamed man decided not to file a report for insurance purposes. “It seems like he’s just going to have to take a loss on that vehicle because I don’t think they’re going to cover it,” a sheriff’s spokesman said. (RC/Kansas City Star) ...That’s overly cautious: surely the majority of insurance losses come down to one underlying cause: “Stupidity.”