The Top Ten Stupidest Ideas on Flickr

Did I spend several hours perusing photos tagged “stupid” on Flickr? I did. And I did it for you, my friends. Here’s the payoff for all that arduous clicking while I watched Tivo.

The Top Ten Stupidest Ideas on Flickr

10. Standing over a body of freezing water on a hunk of thin ice.

9. Nude photo shoot at the base of a waterfall, over which logs frequently crash.

8. Using a wet/dry vacuum on exhaust mode to stoke a fire.

7. Lighting fireworks on your head or standing over the pretty, pretty lights.

6. Playing guitar while driving.

5. Sweeping snow off an icy roof.

4. Breathing fire… in your kitchen.

3. Rigging an extension cord to float in the pool. (So halfwitted that I almost assume it’s a joke.)

2. Ignoring crossing warnings at the train tracks.

1. Leaping from cliff to cliff, in flip-flops, with one arm full of camera equipment. (Update: Snopes says the photo has been cropped to seem more dramatic.)

Pretty spectacular, no? And lest you think this is all the stupidity the Internet has to offer, tune in tomorrow for the “kids do the darndest things” version of this list.

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There are 61 comments for this post.
  1. Comment by sandra |

    Aww, too bad some people have already removed the “stupid” tag. And unfortunately, #1 links back to…this post.

  2. Comment by Mau |

    Ahhh! Awesome!!

    what’s number one?? ‘Cliff to Cliff’ points to this same post. =(

  3. Comment by Maggeh |

    Whoops. Sorry about that. The link is fixed now.

  4. Comment by Sarah |

    They are stupid ideas but they makes for great photos! haha

  5. Comment by Yolanda |

    I dunno, 3 is one of the stupidest things I’ve EVER seen. In a blow up pool no less.

  6. Comment by ashley |

    I’m fairly sure that number three is my friend’s photo.

  7. Comment by Sunny |

    Those were interesting, I think #3 is the scariest for some reason.

  8. Comment by spandrelstudios |

    While viewing #1, my hands broke out in a prickly sweat, especially after reading the description of that and the next photo in the set. Yikes!

  9. Comment by Ana |

    #1 made my stomach drop like on a roller coaster. And #3? Hmmm those guys deserve what they get! Don’t you learn about electricity and water in 3rd grade?

  10. Comment by Norby |

    #1 isn’t as bad as it looks (it’s covered either in the comments or elsewhere). I’m willing to bet #2 was staged. And that guitar guy? Go search youtube or liveleak for the guy lying down on his motorcycle and texting while weaving through traffic …

    -/\/

  11. Comment by Desiree Fawn |

    Oi. I’ve seen that cliff jumping dude a couple times before and it always makes me stomach turn. Too close yo, too close.

  12. Comment by Elise |

    I have little patience for abject stupidity so… I am dying laughing at these. Especially the jackass with the guitar and the fact that the white power strip in #3 is BEING HELD UP BY RUBBER SANDALS. *cries*

  13. Comment by Pork with Bones |

    Number 1 has been addressed by Snopes over here. Van de Vorst’s description is more than a bit misleading.

  14. Comment by Steph |

    All of these are proof that product warning labels need to be removed and nature allowed to take it’s course BEFORE they’re old enough to end up on Flickr.

  15. Comment by J. Bo |

    I’m reminded of Click & Clack’s “Famous Last Words” series– unbelievably stupid stunts that are invariably prefaced with the phrase “Hey, watch this!”

  16. Comment by Mick |

    These are all legit Darwin Award Winners, and proof that I need to do random searches on Flickr more often!

  17. Comment by Rachel |

    Snopes debunked #1 a while back.

    http://www.snopes.com/photos/natural/canyonleap.asp

  18. Comment by Jen |

    LOL! I love how the fire ball pic has the guy tell you exactly how to do it and then he adds, “don’t do it”. Um yeah, thanks for that buddy.

  19. Comment by Robin |

    The extension cord in the pool makes me more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. That is beyond crazy.

  20. Comment by Laura |

    #3 was debunked on another web site a bunch of months ago (I can’t remember where, sorry). It was set up as a joke, the end of the cord that is out of frame isn’t plugged into anything.

  21. Comment by Michael LaCalameto |

    I’m #4. It didn’t seem stupid at the time and nothing caught fire…but yes it was very stupid indeed.

  22. Comment by Jenny. Bloggess |

    That. was. awesome.

  23. Comment by sdf |

    yup, 3 and 1 aren’t what they appear to be

  24. Comment by News » Stupid ideas captured |

    […] Maggie collects the top ten stupidest ideas depicted on Flickr. These are pretty amazing. […]

  25. Comment by superblondgirl |

    People are so cool. And smart!

  26. Comment by Debby Phillips |

    I have to say the guy leaping from cliff to cliff in his flip flops was the most shocking one. You may be able to recover from getting shocked in a pool with a floating 6 way… but falling in-between those cliffs… I doubt it!

  27. Comment by lokz |

    Flickr ‘I hate stupid people’

  28. Comment by Miss A |

    The cliff jumper photo is misleading, as the photographer crops out the connecting bridge of rock between the two he’s jumping between (this is a popularly photographed area spot). Still a cool and dangerous photo, but the fall would have been more like 20 feet if he’d missed. Still, flip flops!?

  29. Comment by wow! : clusterflock |

    […] The top ten stupidest ideas on flickr. […]

  30. Comment by August |

    #5 - Sweeping snow is only dangerous if you’re a moron and goof off while you do it. It is, however, very necessary if you live in areas with heavy snow fall and long winters. Letting six to eight feet of snow accumulate on your roof is a very, very bad idea. It will most likely buckle in places, and you’ll have crazy leaks when it all thaws. Or even worse, the water will pool in the spots that have buckled, and then freeze again… which will cause even worse damage to your roof from all the expanding and contracting. The stupid part of that photo is that he’s doing it while wearing running shoes.

  31. Comment by Timo |

    Hello,

    Number five is not certainly stupid, it’s what you have to do up north when there’s a lot of snow if you don’t want your roof to collapse because of the weight of the snow.

    While snow can be as light as powder, wet snow that has rained in not so freezing temperatures is very heavy. Hence going up to the roof.

    Number 10 is certainly very stupid, but it’s not that uncommon as a kid if your home (and dry, warm clothes) are close by.

    Many people voluntarely swim in holes cut in the ice, when the air temperature can be below -20 fahrenheit. Just google “avantouinti”

    timo / finland

  32. Comment by history is a weapon |

    Um, let me join the chorus: It isn’t fun to do, but you sometimes have to sweep snow off the roof. When I was a teenager, I’d have to help my dad do it because otherwise the roof would cave in. When you get a few feet of snow up there, the weight can be pretty serious. The rest of these are dumb, yes, but sweeping snow off the roof isn’t.

  33. Comment by Lyz |

    The roof-sweeper looks like he’s been working at it awhile, so he probably has a good technique.

    And letting 6-8 feet accumulate is definitely NOT a good idea.

  34. Comment by kb |

    We saw some people at Seattle’s recent Seafair pardade that fall into the “stupid” category…

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/kbow/2715842834/in/photostream/

  35. Comment by Jenn |

    I think the extension cords in the pool should be #1. How ridiculous!

  36. Comment by Michael LaCalameto |
  37. Comment by Shawn |

    I am the photo taker of #8 and although it was VERY dangerous, I was impressed at how innovative he was and how quickly he got the fire going.

  38. Comment by Steph Mineart |

    I’ve seen that outcropping of rock at the Grand Canyon, and I disagree with Snopes - it’s still wicked dangerous and very, very stupid. He might land on that little ledge, but he could just as easily not.

    They have an average of 8-10 deaths in the Grand Canyon every year from people doing crazy stuff like this.

  39. Comment by ma.ttada.ms / found / Stupid ideas captured |

    […] ideas captured….the top ten stupidest ideas depicted on Flickr, that is. (via kottke) Permalink • August 6th, 2008 • Filed underOdd/Funny • Tagged with flickr, photos, stupid You might also like…• Stupid Product Labels • Lego’s 75th anniversary: 23 DIY Lego ideas • Ten dumb ideas that made a lot of money You are here: ma.ttada.ms/found/this/Stupid ideas captured See also: archive listing - sources - about - rss  © 2008 […]

  40. Comment by Jyri |

    Well, the picture with the extension cord looks scary and is also if the cord is just connected to the normal outlet but if theres an isolating transformer between the outlet and pool the setup is in fact quite safe…

  41. Comment by TheFishmonger |

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/ribarnica/2219078925/in/set-72157603697343760/

  42. Comment by TheFishmonger |

    How about this one?
    http://preview.tinyurl.com/59rcc5

  43. Comment by WB |

    I don’t know. The way the guys in the pool are looking at the extension cord makes me think it’s a joke. The other end of that cord isn’t necessarily plugged into anything.

  44. Comment by Scott Jarkoff :: The Top Ten Stupidest Ideas on Flickr |

    […] The Top Ten Stupidest Ideas on Flickr Did I spend several hours perusing photos tagged “stupid” on Flickr? I did. And I did it for you, my friends. Here’s the payoff for all that arduous clicking while I watched Tivo. […]

  45. Comment by The Top Ten Stupidest Ideas on Flickr — omglog |

    […] The Top Ten Stupidest Ideas on Flickr […]

  46. Comment by 10 of the Dumbest People in the World « BC in OC |

    […] 10 of the Dumbest People in the World Posted on August 8, 2008 by bryan With photographic evidence to prove it. […]

  47. Comment by Blogs: News |

    […] We like to keep this news blog local. So when I find a local link to a piece like this, it’s too good not to share. A blogger has compiled the top 10 stupidest ideas captured on Flickr, the photo sharing site. […]

  48. Comment by Sutch |

    And do you know what’s even stupider? your hyperlinks
    Yeah i went there

  49. Comment by Design links for the week | Design daily news |

    […] The top ten stupidest ideas on Flickr […]

  50. Comment by The Top Ten Stupidest Ideas on Flickr | Attuworld.com |

    […] You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your ownsite. […]

  51. Comment by 9 ideas estupidas que podemos encontrar en Flickr |Have a nice Takeawayblog dot com |

    […] Vía Mighty Girl|Attu Tags: 2.0|Video-Games, Galleria del Día, Wtf | | Salta tags […]

  52. Comment by Nikki |

    #2 probably isn’t that bad since it is probably the train tracks right next to Purdue Calumet. Trains are always stopping while at crossings or stopping right before/after them. So, I’m gonna bet that train wasn’t moving at the time the picture was taken.

  53. Comment by ellen from ireland |

    Hey, I’m a newbie & just wanted to say I love your site. So diverse and interesting. I could stay all day but life calls!!

    Thanks for the perusal!

    Ellen

  54. Comment by Quelques liens #15 | Titlap |

    […] Le top 10 des photos les plus stupides trouvées sur flickr. En mon sens, les deux plus stupides sont celles du cliffhanger et de la méga connue prise éléctrique dans la piscine, et ma préférée est celle du mec au milieu de la glace ! […]

  55. Comment by The Sinner |

    hmm
    funny
    but those aren’t really GOOD photographs, they’re just pictures with a very high amateur rate, if you know what I mean…

  56. Comment by Bc 20 |

    Bc 20…

    An interesting post by a bloger made me at http://inkjetinksaleshop.info/?p=25 ……

  57. Comment by Zii |

    http://nardoctor.info

  58. Comment by Le 10 idee più stupide su Flickr | TechUniverse |

    […] MygthtyGirl ha cercato di fare una classifica delle idee più stupide cercando fra le foto di Flickr, e non si può che non abbiano centrato l’obiettivo a giudicare dalla classifica… […]

  59. Comment by andyou |

    Hey, I’m a newbie & just wanted to say I love your site. So diverse and interesting. I could stay all day but life calls!!

    Thanks for the perusal!

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