Kickin' the bucket

Every so often I like to pick a topic and research it. Today's topic is death and the odds of dying in the USA. What got me thinking about this was the mining tragedy in China following so close on the heels of the tsunami disaster. However, I had given some thought to this topic before, since I have often thought how amazing it is that--with so many ways to be killed--so many of us survive into adulthood. I know that I had quite a few times when the dice of fate could have fallen a different way for me but, somehow, I managed to survive. So in this entry I'd like to study those dice...figure out just how weighted they were.

Ways of dying:

[All of the following stats were taken from the National Safety Council, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and a National Vital Statistics report.]

The odds of dying from stroke or a heart attack are 1 in 3.
The odds of dying from cancer are 1 in 5.
The odds of accidental death are 1 in 36.

That being said, I'd like to bring up a couple of interesting stats about "external causes of mortality"--which includes accidental injury, suicide and homicide (1 in 23):

Your odds of dying in a traffic accident are 1 in 78. The safest mode of transportation is the streetcar (trolley): 1 in 95 million. The most dangerous mode is a car--followed by walking. Buses and subways are actually pretty safe.

Your odds of dying in a car are almost exactly the same as your odds of falling to your death accidentally (about 1 in 200). Meanwhile, the odds of being killed by a dog are 1 in 150,000--but of being killed by another mammal are only 1 in 57,000. Your chances of drowning are 1 in 1,100...ironically, about the same as dying in a fire. Your chances of accidentally suffocating are 1 in 600 (most likely from food, but possibly from "accidental hanging"). Your chances of accidental poisoning are pretty good: 1 in 262. Whereas your chances of “falling, jumping, or being pushed from a high place” are not-so-good: 1 in 50,000.

Your chances of killing yourself (1 in 121) are slightly better than someone else killing you (182).


The most dangerous occupations:

[Note: Men make up 54% of the workforce, and yet comprise 92% of deaths on the job.]

The most dangerous occupations are, in this order: timber cutters, fishermen, pilots, then miners and drillers. Despite this, the most common way to die (overall) on the job was traffic accidents. The third most common way to die on the job was homicide…especially for supervisors and retail managers (homicide = 60% of their deaths).


Conclusion:

So what’s it all mean? It means that the deaths that disturb us the most are the least likely to happen -- It’s just that movies and television have tricked us into thinking it’s quite normal to be stabbed, burnt to death and eaten by sharks simultaneously. This also means that if you’re worried about preserving your life the best thing you can do is get the small order of French fries and take the trolley.