Convinced that nothing cheers a body quite as much as another person mucking up, Peter Taylor has pulled together a totally inspirational collection of true stories about ordinary people doing really dumb stuff.

Culled from newscasts and daily newspapers around the world, Three Bricks Shy of a Load is the author's salute to those wonderful folks whose primary function seems to be making the rest of us look good.

• In Iran, a young man undergoes a sex change operation, only to discover that life as a woman is not all it's cracked up to be.
• In Toronto, a young man tries to steal a car but because he can't work the standard shift he's still on the scene when the police arrive.
• In New Brunswick, a young man on a budget buys his sweetheart a bus ticket to Moncton, then gets caught by baggage handlers pretending to be her luggage.
• In Madrid, a man accused of robbing a cab driver is acquittedwhen he convinces the judge that on the night in question he was picking pockets in another town.
• In Montreal, a bride heads for divorce court after knocking out her husband at their wedding reception.
• In Knoxville, Tennessee, after being jilted by his girlfriend, a young man marches into city hall seeking permission to marry his car.

There, don't you feel smarter already?