August 22, 2008- The First Fail

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Religious Man Eaten After Trying to Receive Blessing From Crocodile

Friday, August 22, 2008

Bangladesh police say a crocodile killed and ate a 25-year-old after he waded into a pond next to a shrine in an attempt to receive the animal’s blessing, news.com.au reported Friday.

Inspector Humayun Kabir said Rubel Sheikh and his mother traveled to the Muslim Khan Jahan Ali shrine, where hundreds of people visit every day to offer hens and goats to the crocodiles living there.

Part of the shrine ritual involves bathing in the water with the crocodiles, but devotees are very rarely approached by the animals, according to Kabir.

"He went into the pond hoping to be blessed when a crocodile attacked him and dragged him into the deep part of the pond,'' Kabir told the Australian Associated Press.

"This is a very unusual incident. Normally, the crocodiles are very friendly and do not harm people.''

About 25 people dove into the pond to try and rescue Sheikh, but could not find his body. It washed ashore Thursday and had been largely eaten, Kabir said.

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This is the story that inspired us to create the fail blog. As soon as I read it, my mind was filled with questions, like "Who thinks being blessed by an animal with large teeth is a good call?" This is a fail of epic proportions. Everyone likes a livestock sacrifice, so that's fine, but the idea should probably not be to sacrifice yourself. Bangladesh, you can do better.