A Swedish company recently had a robot assault a maintenance worker, snapping four ribs like so many rice krispies (sources did not indicate whether they also crackled and popped). At this time it is unknown if the robot had an Austrian accent and carried a sawed-off shotgun in a box of roses, so I'm forced to assume it did.
The maintenance worker in question was supposed to perform necessary maintenance on either the robot or a machine next to it. More than likely whistling to himself, certainly unaware that he was about to be involved in robotfighting (the most testosterone-fueled activity known to man other than grizzly bear rape), the man was caught off guard when the machine grabbed him by the head.
I would like to point out at this point that the ribs which he broke were not located in his head, which means that either the robot held him by the head and pummeled his body with its free appendages, or something considerably less awesome.
Swedish engineering at work
The worker managed to fight the robot off-possibly through use of a hydraulic press and/or pit of molten steel- and escaped with his life.
Sweden's response was to fine the company $3000. To put that in perspective, in Texas, the second DWI offense is, among other severe penalties (including driver's license suspension and jail time), $4000.
Apparently constructing man-hunting robots is only 75% as bad as driving after 5 beers.
Sweden gets a 6/10, robots get a 9.5/10 on the International Dickhead Scale.
