Welcome to the Darwin Awards, the annual recognition for those who have died in spectacularly idiotic ways.

Yes, yes, we admit it's cruel to chuckle at the way people kick the bucket. There's little to laugh at about, say, a cardiac arrest. But when a total lack of intelligence is responsible for your untimely demise, it's difficult not to snigger.

This fact has not been lost on the people behind the now infamous awards who say the prize is given to "those doing the most to improve the human gene pool ... by removing themselves from it."

Keep reading for a list of winners, if you can call them that.

WINNER: Over-zealous dynamite burglars

This year the dubious first-place honors went to the pair of bungling thieves in Belgium who wildly overestimated the amount of dynamite they needed to rob a bank.

They were both killed when the blast demolished the entire building the ATM was housed in.

Police only found the body of the second robber some 12 hours after digging through the debris. They had initially assumed he had made a getaway.

SECOND PLACE: Motorist vaults bridge in search of a john

Florida man Shawn Motero was stuck in a traffic jam when nature called. He got out of his car and jumped over a concrete wall to find a more secluded spot.

Little did the hapless chap know he was parked on top of a bridge and he fell 65 feet to his death.

Award organizers said the accident proved you should "look before you leak." Police revealed Mr. Motero had been drinking at a bar in Pompano Beach before his tragic death, adding, "He probably thought there was a road, but there wasn't."

THIRD PLACE: Rescued woman jumps into river to save her moped

The first woman to be nominated (proof if ever it were needed that women are smarter than men) came in at third place.

Rosanne Tippett drove her moped through a police road block -- straight into a flooded river. After being rescued by police, she jumped back into the water to rescue her vehicle -- and drowned.

Before embarking on her final journey the 50-year-old had phoned her mother and told her, "My moped has two rubber wheels, Mom, I'll be fine." Her mom later admitted: "She loved that thing."

SPECIAL AWARD: Helium ballooning priest heads to the skies

Priest Adelir Antonio killed himself by flying out to sea while attached to a cluster of 1,000 helium-filled party balloons.

The priest did take numerous precautions, including wearing a survival suit, flying a buoyant chair and packing a satellite phone and GPS. However, the late Antonio made a fatal mistake: He did not know how to use the GPS.

The winds changed and he was blown inexorably toward open sea. When the voyager was perilously lost at sea, he finally phoned for help -- but rescuers were unable to determine his location since he could not use his GPS.

This award was retroactively announced as a new Darwin Award Winner because it was posted too late to earn 2008's top spot.

The best of the rest -- a few personal favorites

July 31, South Carolina: An armed robber used gold spray paint to disguise his face as he raided a convenience store. The paint released toxic fumes and Thomas James, from South Carolina, collapsed and died shortly after the robbery. To add insult to injury, the disguise didn't work -- witnesses had no problem identifying the 23-year-old.

October 17, Minnesota: Police reported that a 32-year-old man had concocted a scheme to stage an accident in order to obtain prescription drugs. The plan was to jump out of a moving vehicle, become injured, go to the hospital and receive narcotic painkillers. That plan failed when its mastermind, Lucas William Stenning, died at the scene due to head injuries.

May 30, Louisiana: Annoyed at how slowly her boyfriend was driving, Tamera B, 22, encouraged him to pick up the pace so she could get to work on time. Joking that it would be faster to walk to work, she opened the door of the pickup and stuck her foot out before falling to her death.

For even more, head here.