Lubichev
02-20-2006, 10:22 AM
You Australians are nuts. No pun intended.
A former Christchurch student who set his penis aflame in order to win a $1000 pub promotion has been awarded a dubious world honour.
Nearly seven years on, Thomas Hendry's bizarre feat has gained a special mention in the Darwin Awards – recognising those who have improved the human gene pool by leaving it.
To qualify for the cult-status United States awards, nominees must have lost their reproductive capacity by killing or sterilising themselves.
Hendry stopped short of the ultimate sacrifice, but features in the latest book on the awards for illustrating the innovative spirit of candidates.
"I'm tickled pink, actually," said Hendry, now 29 and running a gothic nightclub in central Melbourne.
"I am still genuinely surprised at the stir it did create. I didn't think it was that big a deal at the time."
In 1999, as a cash-strapped, 23-year-old computer trainee, Hendry came up with a zany idea to outdo his rivals at the How Far Will You Go? promotion at Trader McKendry's Tavern in central Christchurch.
He stapled his penis to a crucifix, poured cigarette lighter fluid over it, and set it ablaze before a stunned crowd, including his mother.
Hendry won $500 cash, an equivalent bar tab and worldwide infamy.
He went to a free students' medical centre the next day and had his burnt and bruised member dressed.
The macabre act made headlines in The Press, the police stepped in and the pub lost its licence for a week over Christmas.
Television New Zealand was hauled before the Broadcasting Standards Authority after the Mikey Havoc show screened a rerun of the event.
Hendry spent the prize money on his car, registering his bloodhound cross, Puss, and a one- way ticket to Australia.
Speaking from Melbourne, where he now lives with Puss, Hendry's only regret was that he did not get live footage of his winning act or even decent photographs.
He had been inspired by an earlier contestant who pierced his penis foreskin with a safety pin.
"I thought I could do better than that."
Fortifying himself with a bottle of wine, Hendry took a white pine crucifix and, with an industrial stapler, pumped 18 staples into his scrotum and foreskin.
Hendry earned a total $2600 for his efforts, including royalties from the re-enactment and photos.
But was the notoriety worth the pain?
"Absolutely. It's a fun story to have up your sleeve," Hendry said.
"I usually keep quiet about it at work when I've got a new job. But eventually something leaks out or I might let slip to someone, accidentally on purpose, just for fun.
"It's not something I have dropped into any dinner conversations with girlfriends' parents or anything like that. You have to pick your moment for sure."
As for the wooden crucifix used in his act, it is still getting him into strife.
On a visit to Christchurch last April he retrieved it from his mother's wardrobe. But on his return trip Melbourne custom officers found traces of borer and refused to let the crucifix into the country.
"It cost me $A30 ($NZ33) to fumigate it and then they released it a month later and now it is sitting in my lounge on the sideboard.
"I'll chuck it up on (internet auction site) eBay one day."
A former Christchurch student who set his penis aflame in order to win a $1000 pub promotion has been awarded a dubious world honour.
Nearly seven years on, Thomas Hendry's bizarre feat has gained a special mention in the Darwin Awards – recognising those who have improved the human gene pool by leaving it.
To qualify for the cult-status United States awards, nominees must have lost their reproductive capacity by killing or sterilising themselves.
Hendry stopped short of the ultimate sacrifice, but features in the latest book on the awards for illustrating the innovative spirit of candidates.
"I'm tickled pink, actually," said Hendry, now 29 and running a gothic nightclub in central Melbourne.
"I am still genuinely surprised at the stir it did create. I didn't think it was that big a deal at the time."
In 1999, as a cash-strapped, 23-year-old computer trainee, Hendry came up with a zany idea to outdo his rivals at the How Far Will You Go? promotion at Trader McKendry's Tavern in central Christchurch.
He stapled his penis to a crucifix, poured cigarette lighter fluid over it, and set it ablaze before a stunned crowd, including his mother.
Hendry won $500 cash, an equivalent bar tab and worldwide infamy.
He went to a free students' medical centre the next day and had his burnt and bruised member dressed.
The macabre act made headlines in The Press, the police stepped in and the pub lost its licence for a week over Christmas.
Television New Zealand was hauled before the Broadcasting Standards Authority after the Mikey Havoc show screened a rerun of the event.
Hendry spent the prize money on his car, registering his bloodhound cross, Puss, and a one- way ticket to Australia.
Speaking from Melbourne, where he now lives with Puss, Hendry's only regret was that he did not get live footage of his winning act or even decent photographs.
He had been inspired by an earlier contestant who pierced his penis foreskin with a safety pin.
"I thought I could do better than that."
Fortifying himself with a bottle of wine, Hendry took a white pine crucifix and, with an industrial stapler, pumped 18 staples into his scrotum and foreskin.
Hendry earned a total $2600 for his efforts, including royalties from the re-enactment and photos.
But was the notoriety worth the pain?
"Absolutely. It's a fun story to have up your sleeve," Hendry said.
"I usually keep quiet about it at work when I've got a new job. But eventually something leaks out or I might let slip to someone, accidentally on purpose, just for fun.
"It's not something I have dropped into any dinner conversations with girlfriends' parents or anything like that. You have to pick your moment for sure."
As for the wooden crucifix used in his act, it is still getting him into strife.
On a visit to Christchurch last April he retrieved it from his mother's wardrobe. But on his return trip Melbourne custom officers found traces of borer and refused to let the crucifix into the country.
"It cost me $A30 ($NZ33) to fumigate it and then they released it a month later and now it is sitting in my lounge on the sideboard.
"I'll chuck it up on (internet auction site) eBay one day."