One step at a time

We can't possibly expect that people will learn at the drop of a hat. Sure, some things seem like they would be instinctive, but, speaking from our own experiences, just because it looks like something that should be known easily doesn't mean it always is. For further proof, look once again at the election in 2004. Like we said, sometimes, it takes a little more before people start to learn.

Take, for example, police in Nagoya, Japan. They may have instinctively know to not allow a man doused in kerosene to smoke, but did that stop them from letting him light up? The answer is a resounding, "No", followed by a woofing noise and some intense flames. The real kicker?

The police station was a non-smoking location.

Wait, no, that just isn't right. The kicker to the story is that the police didn't either force the man to change his fuel-soaked clothes, or that they gave him fire and tobacco. Sure, we can understand that sometimes, you just have to have a cigarette, but at least make sure you aren't wearing anything excessively flammable at the time. As far as the police go, well, they certainly should have been able to look at the possibility that someone who had soaked themselves in gas might not be the most mentally stable of people, and therefore, giving them the fire with which to burn themselves (either internally OR externally) might not be the wisest idea. Especially when the man turned into a walking pillar of fire, and had to be taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, here in America, we're busy trying to figure out how exactly to get sexual predators out of ice cream trucks. Because it's only taken us this long to realize that the primary customers for said trucks are children, many of which run after the jingling bells without a thought to if parents are around.

But it's not like we're soaking the BombPops in fuel, so there's a plus, right?