Monday, December 3, 2012

Train, That is a Lot of Ways to Die





A friend of mine reminded me of a song, that is one of my favorites, by Train. I really love "50 Ways to Say Goodbye." It's the story of someone whose girlfriend breaks it off with him. He didn't want to ever say goodbye to her, nor does he want to tell his friends that she broke up with him. Eventually, he tells her that he is going to tell his friends that she died. He proceeds to list all of the ways he is considering telling his friends that she has met her demise: shark attack, dancing to death, falling, and other heinous ways to die. My friend Sheila ( to whom I owe the idea for this post) discussed the song and how there are some really weird ways to die in this song. So we thought it would be fun to look some of them up and the odds of dying that way.
Don't accuse me of not bringing you relevant, thought-provoking content...because you would be right.
Here are the odds of dying in some of the ways mentioned in the song, from the bastion of journalistic integrity, The Mirror.

Shark Attack: 300,000,000 to 1  Featured in the song, shark attacks result in the deaths of about 40 people a year.

Falling off a Ladder: 2,300,000 to 1  Also featured in the song, 25% of all falls happen while someone is on a ladder.

After Falling out of Bed: 2,000,000 to 1 Some more falling. The very young and those advanced in age are the most threatened by a fall out of bed.

Plane Crash: 11,000,000 to 1  Again from the Train song,This one happens more often than anyone would like. Just over 1000 passengers die from plane crash, in the world, every year.

But here is one that was not featured in the song at all, but had me thinking:

Falling Coconut: 250,000,000 to 1  150 people a year die from coconuts falling on them! 150!

This makes me wonder. If this statistic had been revealed in the 70's, we could have been spared all of the rehashes of Gilligan's Island, Return to Gilligan's Island, Revenge of Gilligan's Island, Gilligan's Island: Attack of the Clones. I would have loved seeing Thurston Howell III getting clobbered in the skull just as he called his wife, "Lovey."
For those of you who aren't old enough to remember Gilligan's Island (for which you should be eternally grateful), a coconut is all that would have been needed to keep Tom Hanks from having a a long drawn out relationship with a volleyball named Wilson. Heck, it could have changed the entire TV show LOST.

I'd love to hear from you. Have you heard some weird ways that people have died? What's the weirdest one you know? Drop me a note in the comments section, but I bet it's not as bizarre as getting hit in the head with a coconut..but maybe it is.

So, stay safe out there and stay away from coconut trees...oh and Mounds bars..stay away from those too, just in case. Those things can kill ya.




7 comments:

  1. Awesome!! I'm going to be much more careful around falling coconuts, which shouldn't be difficult living in TN!

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    1. But they do have Mounds bars in TN, and when those fall on your head...boy that can hurt...lol Thanks Sheila!

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  2. Hah! My son found a website that tells how many people die each year from weird things. Rhino tramplings kill about 1300 or something. Almost everything kills more than sharks. So what's all the hubbub about great whites? :D

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    1. I'm not sure...even coconuts have a better chance of killing a person. Coconuts, Julie! Lol Thanks!

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  3. Oh my! I love this post, no matter how creepy it is (of course, that's why I like it!). I've heard of odd ways in which people meet their demise. One of the worst is the guy who gets frustrated with the vending machine that steals his money. He beats the crap out of it, only to have it fall on him. Basically, it kills him. Oy. For me, that would stink. What a way to go!

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  4. I guess the best odd way to go would be during sex. You are 2.7 times more likely to have a heart attack when having sex or immediately afterward compared with when you are not. LOL Be careful!

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  5. But... But I LOVE Mounds!

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