17 February 2013

Odds of death by asteroid - adding to my worst fears

The eggheads have a very strange way to allay a person's fears. Imagine being a hypochondriac and paranoid character like me, who is afraid to fly, experiences a mortal dread of earthquakes, feels vaguely (but personally) threatened by tornadoes, imperiled by tsunamis, petrified by the thought of lightning, considers all the other motorists on the road to be hired killers going for him. Etc.

And then you open an article, ominously titled Odds of Death by Asteroid? Lower Than Plane Crash, Higher Than Lightning and read the following:

Your odds of getting killed by a meteorite are roughly 1 in 250,000. You are far more likely to die in an earthquake, tornado, flood, airplane crash, or car crash (but less likely to be killed by lightning).
How do you feel now? Yes, I know.

And then you get to read another article, titled even better: Meteor shows why it is crucial to keep an eye on the sky. What now? Should you establish a permanent watch on the roof of your house, being ready to jump into your cellar (if you have one) at the sight of a falling star? And what do you do when driving (for instance) - stick your head out of the driver's window and watch the skies?

The above linked useless advice by CNN reminds me the infamous "Falling rocks" road sign:


What is the driver to do when that damn sign is encountered? Stop? Speed up? Speed down? Put a hard hat on? Pray?

And how, for crying out loud, could you keep an eye on the sky without being endangered by the Lego pieces spread through the darn house randomly? Questions, questions...

At least the last asteroid missed us accidentally. Without becoming a meteorite...

2 comments:

SnoopyTheGoon said...

Hmm. Obviously the deity doesn't like Communism. Smart deity.

SnoopyTheGoon said...

Or, as Zhirinovsky said, CIA or whoever...