For 120 years it’s been the preferred lodging for film stars, writers, loyalty and politicians but Raffles Hotel Singapore began life as a 10-bedroom bungalow.

When Tigran Sarkies migrated to Malaysia from Armenia in the early 1880s, he hoped to prosper from the business opportunities the Orient had to offer. The 23-year-old bought a large home in Georgetown, Penang, in north-west Malaysia and by 1884, he had turned it into the Eastern Hotel.

Tigran’s brother Martin, 33, joined him in buying a second site, also in Georgetown, and in 1885, the Oriental Hotel opened for business. Younger brothers Aviet and Arshak joined the venture and the Sarkies became renowned as successful hoteliers with ambitions to expand. But Penang was too small a market, so they began casting an eye further afield in Singapore.

The brothers knew they’d struck gold when they found a large bungalow on the corner of Beach and Bras Basah roads. The property had been a boarding house for the Raffles Institution (a boys school named after Sir Stamford Raffles, a British colonial officer who founded modern Singapore in 1819). It needed minor alterations and in December 1887, the Raffles Hotel was opened. It had only 10 rooms but in six years two new wings were added.

Demand for luxury hotels was growing, however, so in 1897, Tigran announced plans for extensive and elaborate additions to create “of of the handsomest hotels in the East”. Renowned architect Regent Alfred John Bidwell replaced the old central block with a grand three-storey building in the Renaissance style, which opened in 1899. It featured a Carrara marble floor, a 500-seat dining room, 100 suits, and the huge veranda so closely associated with the hotel today.

FAST FACTS

1910 – 1915 Raffles bartender Ngiam Tong Boon invents the Singapore Sling cocktail (the exact year is unknown).

1942 Japan occupies Singapore during World War II and Raffles is renamed Syonan Ryokan (Singapore Inn). When Allied forces liberate the nation, more than 300 Japanese troops commit suicide inside the hotel.

1987 The Singapore Government declares the hotel a national monument.

2008 Eight Raffles hotels and resorts operate internationally – in Singapore, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Beijing, Dubai, Los Angeles, The Grenadines and Paris – and 13 more are in development.

A Darwin Award is a tongue-in-cheek honor named after evolutionary theorist Charles Darwin. “Awards” have been given for people who “do a service to Humanity by removing themselves from the Gene pool”, i.e., lose the ability to reproduce, as early as 1863. It is for people who kill, or in rare cases, sterilize themselves accidentally by attempting to do stupid feats.

Here is the glorious winner:

1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California, Would-be Robber James Elliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.

And now, the honorable mentions:

2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-cutting machine And, after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost a finger. The chef’s claim was approved.

3. A man who shoveled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car, during a blizzard in Chicago, returned with his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably, he shot her.

4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driver found that the 20 mental patients, he was supposed to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental hospital, Telling the staff that the patients were very excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn’t discovered for 3 days.

5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious Head wounds received from an oncoming train. When Asked how he Received the Injuries, the lad told police that he Was simply Trying to see how close He could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.

6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, Put a $20 bill on the Counter, and asked for change. When the clerk Opened the cash Drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the Cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The Man took the cash From the clerk and fled, Leaving the $20 bill on The counter. The Total amount of cash he got from the drawer…$15. (If someone points a gun at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?)

7. Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty Badly. He decided That he’d just throw a cinder block through a Liquor store window, Grab some booze, and run. So he lifted the cinder Block and heaved It over his head at the window. The cinder block Bounced back and Hit the would-be thief on the head, knocking him Unconscious. The Liquor store window was made of Plexiglas. The Whole event was caught on videotape.

8. As a female shopper exited a New York Convenience store, A man Grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and The woman was able to give them a detailed Description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police apprehended the Snatcher. They put him In the car and drove back to the store. The thief Was then taken Out of the car and told to stand there for a Positive ID. To which he replied, “Yes, officer, that’s her that’s the lady I stole the purse from.”

9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a Man walked into A Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5 A.M., Flashed a gun, and Demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because He said he Couldn’t open the cash register without a food Order. When the man Ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren’t Available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away.

10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a Motor home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find a very sick Man curled up next To a Motor home near spilled sewage. A police Spokesman said that The man admitted to trying to steal gasoline and Plugged his siphon Hose into the motor home’s sewage tank by mistake. The owner of the Vehicle declined to press charges, saying that it Was the best Laugh he’d ever had!

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