BookOfOdds.com - Accidents & Death

Swept Away: The Peril of Riptides

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:56:18 EDT

Few of us stop to consider the lethal potential in a calm patch of ocean water, even though rip currents—often called drowning machines—kill 100 people in the United States on average every year.

Earthquake Odds: A Global Perspective

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:01:36 EDT

A 4.4 magnitude earthquake rattled the Los Angeles area this morning, striking at 4:04 am. No immediate injuries were reported. This quake follows a 6.6 magnitude quake that hit Tokyo on March 14.

Many Drinks Too Many: The Odds of Alcohol Poisoning

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:05:24 EDT

Somewhere between high school and college, many students start playing some new games—and they all involve drinking.

Hurricanes: The Where, the When, the Deadly

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:21:58 EDT

It has been almost five years since Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the US, and legions are still feeling the effects. Approximately a million people were uprooted by the storm, and hundreds of thousands have never returned to the areas hardest hit.

Lightning Strikes: Zapped and Unzipped

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:57:37 EST

Although there are approximately 25 million cloud-to-ground strikes every year, the odds a person will be hit by lightning during that period are only 1 in 835,500.

An Interview with Jerry LeDoux, Lightning Strike Survivor

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:18:46 EST

An interview with Jerry LeDoux, survivor of not one, but two lightning strikes.

Emergency Dialing: The 411 on 911

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:24:42 EST

The first 911 call ever dialed was made in Alabama, but it wasn’t supposed to be. It happened there, and not elsewhere, out of a little oneupsmanship.

Tornadoes: How Deadly Are They?

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:23:56 EST

The deadliest tornado in history was invisible. In 1925, the Tri-State Tornado ravaged a mile-wide path for 219 miles across Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana at 60 miles per hour—twice the forward speed of the average tornado.

Tornado forming: Book of Odds Talks with Storm Chaser Joshua Wurman

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:23:29 EST

It’s not at all likely you will be killed by a tornado. Or as Dr. Joshua Wurman puts it: “Suicide by tornado would be very inefficient.”

Upended: the Deadly Odds of Slipping on Ice

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:40:27 EST

Contrary to popular myth, Dr. Robert Atkins—creator of the low-carbohydrate Atkins Diet—did not die of a heart attack. What killed him was a patch of ice.