Guinness World Record holder shot and killed

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Bigfoot

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The World Record holder in the catagory of domino-toppling (by a sparrow) is shot seconds after his (hers?) record setting tumbling of 23,000 dominos. Worldwide outrage and death threats followed of course. Oh the humanity. :D

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4450958.stm
Sparrow death mars record attempt

Warning to sparrows: Stay outside
Not since Cock Robin has the death of a tiny bird caused such emotion.
The shooting of a sparrow on the set of a Dutch world record domino-toppling attempt sparked outrage among animal lovers and led to threats to staff.

TV firm Endemol said it felt "terrible" about the killing. The head of a bird protection agency appealed for calm.

A special website received thousands of messages of condolence, but some say the bird did not do itself any favours by knocking over 23,000 dominoes.

The bird's detour into the exhibition centre in the northern city of Leeuwarden earlier this week proved disastrous. Staff had spent weeks setting up four million dominoes.

The bird's fate was sealed when it knocked over 23,000 and organisers feared it could knock down more. An exterminator cornered the sparrow and shot it.


Watch the record breaking attempt
The backlash followed as soon as the news got out - especially as the common house sparrow was put on the endangered list in the Netherlands last year.

It is something we regret but it was a hard decision to make

Jeroen van Waardenberg,
Endemol

A tribute website was set up attracting more than 24,000 hits, the Dutch animal protection agency threatened to investigate, and radio stations offered bounties for anyone who could knock down more of the dominoes before the event.

But Big Brother creators Endemol said things started to get out of hand when staff started receiving threats.

"It was something we wish would never have happened at all," Endemol spokesman Jeroen van Waardenberg told the BBC News website. "But we made a decision because the project was very important to us and is to be screened in 16 countries."

The organisers of the event say they broke their own record of 3,992,397 dominoes, set last year, by successfully felling 4,155,476.

Guinness World Records, which verifies and publishes world record data, has yet to approve the new record.

The TV show's creator, Robin Paul Weijers, said there were "mixed emotions" over the new record. "We all feel terrible abut what happened," he said.

Hans Peeters of the Dutch Bird Protection Agency appeared on Friday's television programme and said that though it was a "very sad incident" it had "been blown out of all proportion".

"I just wish we could channel all this energy that went into one dead sparrow into saving the species," he said.
 
Who will love a little Sparrow?
Who's traveled far and cries for rest?
"Not I," said the Oak Tree,
"I won't share my branches with no sparrow's nest,
And my blanket of leaves won't warm her cold breast."

Who will love a little Sparrow
And who will speak a kindly word?
"Not I," said the Swan,
"The entire idea is utterly absurd,
I'd be laughed at and scorned if the other Swans heard."

Who will take pity in his heart,
And who will feed a starving sparrow?
"Not I," said the Golden Wheat,
"I would if I could but I cannot I know,
I need all my grain to prosper and grow."

Who will love a little Sparrow?
Will no one write her eulogy?
"I will," said the Earth,
"For all I've created returns unto me,
From dust were ye made and dust ye shall be."


I'd shoot the turd bird too, twice...no trice!
 
The "Common House Sparrow" was put on the endangered species list? I suspect there is more to this story.

My general opinion of this story is that it shows how chilidsh European society has become. The population gets all bent out of shape over the shooting of one bird, yet is oblivious to the problems their society is facing right now.

Reminds me of another bird...ostridge.
 
I heard this story too, i guess they have safety spaces set in the dominos every few thousand dominos in case somthing like this happens.

If it were me it'd be less but hey, some people like stacking those things.

I'd rather see it done with a few thousand live mortars but thats me, im an excitment guy.
 
The sparrow burgled the building. They left a window open for ventilation and the sparrow entered unlawfully.

So it was trespassing and could be shot, it demonstrated harmful intent after all.
 
Now, now; that's an "undocumented sparrow". It was only pushing over dominoes that the Dutch didn't want.

PS:

+1 Preacherman POTD
 
Bigfoot said:
Hans Peeters of the Dutch Bird Protection Agency appeared on Friday's television programme and said that though it was a "very sad incident" it had "been blown out of all proportion".
Do you think?
 
The "Common House Sparrow" was put on the endangered species list? I suspect there is more to this story.

It wasn't the common sparrow. They only found out it was an endangered species of sparrow after the killing.
Now the animal activists want to kill the man that killed the sparrow.

How many people do they think should be killed if I go hunting and kill a deer?
 
I'd build a little funeral pyre next to the dominoes and have the last dominoe strike a match...and the match could light a tiny waterfall of gasoline...and the gas could flow into a crucible of sorts....and the sparrow carcase could roll down a mechanism and onto the crucible....and a little miniture army would give a 21 gun salute...and a bunch of dominoe band solders would play taps...or he could just eat it.
 
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