Family of "Wee for Wii" Victim Awarded $16m

[TheNumber1Zero]

Ah, I remember hearing about this when it first happened, thought it was one of the stupidest things I had ever heard. Goes to show you that when it comes to contests: Terrible name, terrible outcome.

At least the family is getting compensated, not sure why that's such a grand thing, but I guess it doesn't really matter, this merely puts the Incedent to rest.

 

[Newmera]

yeah i heard about this when it happened...Sacramento is right near where i live lol. its so stupid...its like suing for someone choking at a hot dog eating contest...i guess people have to sign wavers for everything now.

 

[Signa]

If you can't do it and stay alive, then just gracefully lose. If you find yourself pushing yourself beyond your limits, and overriding your natural sense of preservation, then you don't deserve to live.

she didn't know it was going to kill her, obviously. She felt ill after she drank the water, and even then, i doubt she knew it was going to kill her.

I doubt she knew either, but let me see you drink 2 gallons of water and tell me how you feel about drinking more after that. I guarantee you, you won't be wanting more. It was that sense she overrode, and I'm saying she was stupid for that.

 

[dubious_wolf]

I heard about this on the radio a year or so ago and yes her family should have gotten compensation. It was a contest that should NOT have been held, the organizers of this contest acted irresponsibly and a woman is dead because of it.

 

[Cid Silverwing]

this brings a new definition to the expression "I would die for that"

This.

She half-deserved to die because of her stupidity, and the contest holders deserve lifetime in prison for leading her into it.

 

[Mcface]

This is bullshit.

Natural Selection clearly came into play here.

If your dumb enough to do something that stupid, and you die, it's no ones fault but your own.

Although there is no Darwin award, she already reproduced.

I actually think we should take it a step further.

In honor of Rockstars new game "Red Dead Revolver"
We will have a group of people play Russian Roulette with a loaded weapon, winner gets the game.

 

[FinalGamer]

This feels a bit like you're encouraging this kind of stupidity because any reasonable person would not try such a challenge in the first place which the radio people should never have put up.

There really is nothing else to add here, it is nice the family have been given some comfort.....but seriously, 16 million dollars because your mom didn't think "hmmm this looks a recklessly irresponsible contest to win a $200 videogame console"?

16 million. Really. I'm just saying that money is not going to help cover the fact that your mom did a stupid radio contest and died, and the radio people look bastards for it and they're gonna carry that guilt for the rest of their lives as well, and I don't think any amount of money is going to cushion the shame both sides feel.

 

[Supreme Unleaded]

Wasnt this done in like 04 or something and people also died from it. Seriosly i know this has been done before, i though these "Hold Your Wee" contests were banned for this reason.

 

[Doc Theta Sigma]

To be fair, most people you run into on the street wouldn't know you can kill yourself through drinking too much water. But I can see where the radio station's lawyers are coming from. And on a completely unrelated note... She's 28? Wow. Old Father Time must have taken a bat to her.

 

[DuplicateValue]

Er, so water's bad for you now?

Back to coke and coffee for me, then.

 

[Hazy]

In honor of Rockstars new game "Red Dead Revolver"
We will have a group of people play Russian Roulette with a loaded weapon, winner gets the game.

*Places clip-loading pistol on table*
Sure.
You first.

 

[QUINTIX]

(Having not read any other posts)
'contributory negligence'; they could of said "that sum of money could kill the radio station too!" and I would of somewhat sympathized. But since they went for underhandedly saying "it was partially her fault..." ... though there may be some truth in that sentiment, it is still completely wrong to say that to a family who lost their mother.

The lawyers deserves a special place in hell for even thinking about that.

Edit: Now that I have read some posts; remember, she wasn't the only one who partook in this competition, and someone actually won this competition before this news came out. The "stupidity" or "ignorant" argument simply doesn't hold [pun removed].

 

[MarsProbe]

retarded?

Not retarded, just....strange. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Nonetheless, hopefully the radio station will have learned their lesson about running competitions with potentially fatal consequences. Include a disclaimer next time.

 

[Banana Phone Man]

I dont know who was the most stupid. The Radio station asking her to drink these dangerous levels of water or the mother for knowingly drinking all the water.

 

[Jumplion]

Water poisoning? Really? Well, you learn something new every day. Huh, odd thing to happen...

I don't get how people can say that the woman was stupid, the worst thing I would think of drinking a gallon or 2 or water would be that you would have to go to the bathroom for a VERY long time.

now, what's the point of urinating?

expelling waste from the body.

now what happens if those toxins and wastes stay in your body?

I knew that before I even took an elementary school science class.

What happens when you drink water?

You have to take a piss.

What happens when you drink a lot of water?

You have to take a piss even more.

That's really just inductive reasoning.

While I knew of something like over-hydrating or whatever, mostly harmless common sense dictates that if you drink a lot of water, you just have to go to the bathroom more often. Hell, I'm sure kids drink a gallon of soda a day, nothing really happens to them. Hell, all these health people and stuff always tell you to drink more water, keep yourself hydrated, and what not. While 2 gallons is a bit overboard, c'mon, do you really think everyone is going to know that for some reason drinking too much water can kill them? That's called drowning.

 

[Dorian6]

wtf

How many times has this happened?

I've heard of several instances when a radio station will hold a "lets see how much water you can drink" contest. Every time 2 or 3 people DIE of water poisoning.

How stupid are these people? If you drink too much water, your cells absorb more than they can hold, causing them to rupture, causing death!

How many people have to die before radio stations stop doing this?

Don't get me wrong, the station isn't the only one to blame. The woman, Jennifer Strange, was 28 years old. I am 20, i know how dangerous water poisoning is. What's her excuse?

 

[Isalan]

This is that very special kind of stupid you can only get when you have several people being stupid at the same time and agreeing with each other.

As for who's fault it is.... everyone's. We used to call these accidents back in the day.

 

[bladester1]

Should've diluted the water with beer.

Or Brawndo. (Thank Yahtzee for watching this in the office and reminding us about our ELECTROLYTES)

powerthirst ripoff anyone?

Water... Poisoning? What is that and how does someone go about getting it?

Too much of anything will kill you, including water...

 

[Bloodeye]

I remember hearing about this when it happened and wondering whether the family was compensated for it. Guess thats something although they'd probably prefer their mum back.
On the subject of blaming the death on her 'stupidity', I find it totally understandable for an average person to not know about water intoxication. I have less sympathy for the radio show people holding a contest without doing any research on what could happen, especially when someone rang in and warned them about the risks.