It started in 1985, or thereabouts: smart-aleck citizens of what would one day be called the internet collecting stories of deaths so staggeringly stupid that the victims were said to have contributed to human evolution by 'self-selecting' themselves for extinction.

And for more than two decades now the Darwin Awards have recorded these bizarre, tragic or downright silly demises.

In recent years, they have introduced stricter criteria for making sure a story really happened.

Read on for winners from every year since 1994.

1994

The early history of the Darwin Awards is littered with junk entries – urban legends, fake stories, or true ones from different points in history.

But one award is marked “confirmed true”: the tale of two pilots found in the wreckage of their plane “partially clothed” with one of the seats in “full aft reclining position.”

A report from the US National Transportation Safety Board said: “Examination of the individuals’ clothing revealed no evidence of ripping or distress to the zippers and belts.”

It went on blame the deaths on “the pilot in command’s improper in-flight decision to divert her attention to other activities not related to the conduct of the flight.” The Darwin Awards had been born with a bang.