AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -- A sparrow knocked over 23,000 dominoes in the Netherlands, nearly ruining a world record attempt before it was shot to death Monday, the state news agency reported.
The unfortunate bird flew through an open window at an exposition center in the northern city of Leeuwarden where employees of television company Endemol NV have worked for weeks setting up more than 4 million dominoes in an attempt to break the official Guinness World Record for falling dominoes on Friday night.
Only a system of 750 built-in gaps in the chain prevented the bird from knocking most or all of the dominoes over ahead of schedule, "Domino Day" organizers were quoted as saying by the NOS news agency.
The bird was shot by an exterminator with an air rifle while cowering in a corner.
The organizers are out to break their own record of 3,992,397 dominoes set last year with a new record of 4,321,000.
Now seriously. The little birdie, having no knowledge of Guinness, world records, Endemol, or dominoes, flies into the window. (And if you're SOOOO protective of your precious dominoes anyway, why on earth would you leave a window open? Don't you people have wind gusts??)
Little birdie, predictably, freaks out. Knocks down some dominoes. And sets off a big hooraw, with enraged Dutch TV producers stampeding around trying, I would assume, to catch the birdie.
Here's where the problem comes in.
Birdie, in full freakout, is now cowering in the corner, safely away from your precious dominoes. So what are the options? Maybe CATCH the freaked-out birdie and give him a little pat on the head as you set him free??
Guess not.
Endemol, incidentally, is the same company that graces us with "Big Brother" and "Fear Factor". You can make of THAT what you will.
Okay, once I take a moment to mourn that poor little creature, I'm going to begin celebrating it for being able to ruin everything for many many people just by existing and doing its little bird thing. Would that it had trilled merrily out the window after tapping over the first domino, to chortle with its little sparrow buddies instead of being the victim of humankind needing to prove its merciless might once again.
ReplyDeleteStupid people.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have seen their faces when our dear departed feathered friend first knocked the dominos.
ReplyDeleteOMG. Poor bird. That is sick. Bastards. I mean it. How cruel.
ReplyDeleteI hope all these people get what's coming to them. I hope the dominoes don't work. Self-aggrandizing jerks. Really. 1 million more dominoes at the cost of a bird's life.
Sick.
Lame-o's who obviously have nothing better to do with their time than to play games, kill innocent birds out of revenge and take up precious TV air time with crappy shows.
ReplyDeleteI heard on the WGN Morning news yesterday that that particular species of bird is endangered. So not only were they stupid in killing the bird while it was cornered, but they stupidly killed an ENDANGERED bird and now are in HEAPING BIG TROUBLE for it... serves them right!
ReplyDeletePoetic justice is so very excellent...cowardly bastards.
ReplyDeleteHowever, nothing would feel better to me right now than kicking the offending birdie-shooters IN THE FACE, then shooting their nads off, then knocking down their precious dominoes AGAIN and crapping on the remaining pile. Or perhaps rigging up some kind of contraption that, when the last domino is knocked down, releases a guillotine that cuts off their 'nads.
Ah, yes. I'm not sadistic or anything. :)
The little birdie got shot for a ridiculous reason. What about all the birdies that get shot just for sport?
ReplyDeleteHumans are going to kill animals and each other until the dawn of time.