Yes, I have done some stupid things in my life. I will admit it. But not on the scale of some of the more recent ones I've read about.

Other than bragging about it to your friends later, I can't think of any good reason why a person would walk into an aquarium in San Antonio and steal a baby shark. A real head-scratcher there!

That was the most recent "stupid human trick" that spurred this column. For the past year — or for however long it has been — I still haven't been able to figure out why people swallowed, snorted or did whatever with the detergent pods. Oh boy, talk about stupid!

Some stupidity is due to teenage angst (or poor upbringing). I read this week about a 17-year-old boy  in California who broke into a nearby home at night and woke up the inhabitants to ask them what their WiFi password was. A real eye-opener! Maybe he should get a job so he can afford his own WiFi set-up.

YouTube has also prompted some "kids" (and adults, I'm sure) to take on the latest challenge. The newest one — I just can't believe it — is the "hot water challenge." This is where you either drink boiling water through a straw or have it poured over you. Can you say idiotic? This one report said a boy's "friend" poured hot water over him while he was sleeping. The boy ended up with second-degree burns and spent a week in the hospital. I don't think I would admit being the parent of either boy!

And this story is either a desperation move, a dare, or just plain brain-dead. A man was arrested after he stole $100 worth of steaks from Walmart by stuffing them down his pants. Hope they fed him some meat during his time in the slammer!

Bob Jacobson used to present the annual Darwin Awards during my time as a local Rotarian. The Darwin Awards, for those who aren't familiar and to quote their website — "salute the improvement of the human genome by honoring those who accidentally remove themselves from it." In other words, they honor the most stupid incidents involving people during each year. Look them up sometime.

In looking up what causes stupidity, I came across the following from livescience.com:

"Forrest Gump once said, "Stupid is as stupid does." Turns out, he was right.

"New research finds that people judge actions as stupid for three primary reasons: The actions reflect a foolhardy level of risk, an absent-mindedness and lack of practicality, or an impulsive lack of control."

Alcohol and drugs could certainly cause the third action in this trio of reasons for stupidity. So be careful. You don't want to end up receiving the next Darwin Award.