Poor JenniferA fair section of the world, quite sensibly, quite wants a Nintendo Wii. Before Christmas especially, a whole lot of people did and moreover were prepared to go to quite some effort to get one. Jennifer Lea Strange certainly was.

Now, the Wii and its magic movement-sensing controller thingies are quite famous for causing all sorts of damage both to the person and their immediate environment. However this was probably the first time it, albeit indirectly, caused proper hardcore death.

A US radio station KDND 107.9 appealing to its refined, mature and sophisticated audience decided to run a contest entitled "Hold Your Wee for a Wii". Basically, you had to drink as much water as possible, starting off at a rate of half a pint every 15 minutes and moving upwards, whilst simultaneously holding your urine within yourself. The winner, deemed as whoever drunk the most and held the longest, gets the star prize, a Nintendo Wii.

Jennifer was one contestant, and she did well. She came second, but as we all know second is really first loser so she won nothing. She did however have a severe headache at the end of it, to the point she was crying when she had to ring her employer, Radiological Associates of Sacramento, afterwards to call in sick. That call was the last time she spoke to anyone.

5 hours later she was, tragically, discovered dead in her home, with the coroner claiming that tests determined that the cause of her demise was "consistent with a water intoxication death", a little like the more famous case of Leah Betts who died after a night's clubbing. Oops.

The radio station are a little bit in trouble about this, with the local Sheriff's department having opened a death investigation. Several staff have already been fired "for violating the terms of their employment agreements with the station" (condition 1: don't encourage people to drink themselves to death?).

Says the family's lawyer:

The station knew this was a dangerous and potentially deadly stunt, but flippantly dismissed the dangers…Hearing the tape, it's very clear they knew of the dangers and could foresee that this could lead to Jennifer's death.

The radio station's case probably isn't helped by the appearance of the audio file on youtube - as if you couldn't guess - with the DJs laughing it up about the very possibility of exactly this happening. Sample quotes: "maybe we should have researched this", a caller or two calling in to warn them that water intoxication can be hazardous and perhaps best of all the "fact" that "Your body is 98% water, why can't you take in as much water as you want?".

(Much as the Poorhouse feels sorrow and compassion for the unfortunate young lady, it can't be said that the Wii is any less an object of desire.)