Nintendo Wii Claims its first victim
A woman participating in a radio contest for a Nintendo Wii died Saturday due to water intoxication (link). The contest entitled "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" involved drinking a cup of water every 15 minutes until without taking a whiz. Whoever is last to go to the bathroom wins.
Apparently, neither the radio station nor the contestants knew how dangerous this could be. They even dismissed a nurse who phoned in her concerns about large water intake. Drinking too much water can dilute the vital sodium/potasium levels in the body to the point where some of your organs cease to work. The woman who died was found dead in her home a few hours after the contest. She said that she did the contest for her children.
I have to say that this is the tragic result of stupidity. Am I being a bit too harsh? Maybe, but people have to realize that anything, taken at high enough doses is pretty much lethal to the human body. That includes H20, which, despite the fact that it makes up 60% of your body is more lethal than a bowl of jalapeno peppers. Maybe if this country put more focus on science instead of "intelligent design" we wouldn't have so many recipients of the Darwin Award.