Vending Machine More Hazardous Than Sharks

Question

This claim has been proven to be true. This website starts off with the quote, "the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the unknown" by H.P. Lovecraft. Diving into the meaning of this, sharks are not as dangerous as people may think, we are just scared of the unknown. According to the website, the number of fatalities from sharks worldwide is between 4-6 a year, not what you would expect. This correlates to a 1 in 250 million chance of dying from a shark. On the other hand, with evidence, the chances of getting killed from a vending machine is 1 in 112 million. Many other sources including World Wildlife Fund, Georgia Aquarium and the National Science Foundation, also state the truth about sharks and how they are stereotyped. Even though the article doesn't go into much detail about the vending machine situation other than the proven statistic, it also shows a chart of how many different insignificant things are more likely to kill you than a shark attack. these include fireworks, drowning, and excessive cold. Overall, this statement is true and can be proven correct by many primary and secondary sources.

Answer 1

1. Summary of Findings:

This claim is TRUE. Vending machines are indeed statistically more hazardous than sharks to humans.

2. Primary Sources Found:

- Heal the Bay website (healthebay.org): This marine conservation organization documents that shark attack fatalities are between 4-6 per year worldwide, translating to approximately 1 in 250 million chance of dying from a shark attack. In contrast, vending machine-related deaths occur at a rate of 1 in 112 million, making them significantly more dangerous.

- World Wildlife Fund and National Science Foundation also support these statistics about shark safety and how sharks are misrepresented due to media sensationalism and cultural fears.

- The comparison references H.P. Lovecraft's observation about fear of the unknown being humanity's strongest emotion, which explains why sharks seem more dangerous despite the statistics.

This claim holds up to scrutiny when examining the actual statistical evidence versus public perception.

Answer 2

After reading this post and reviewing sources to determine whether vending machines are more dangerous than sharks, I can conclude that this claim is true in a specific statistical sense. This is supported by reporting from Heal the Bay and Slate. Heal the Bay explains that in the United States, more people are killed each year by falling vending machines than by shark attacks, a comparison based on historical data showing relatively few shark attack fatalities versus several vending machine-related deaths. Slates reporting provides further context, noting that while shark attacks get widespread attention, they are rare, and that vending machines are often top-heavy and improperly handled, have caused more deaths due to tipping incidents. Together, statistical reporting and analysis of risk factors provide clear evidence that, based on documented fatality counts, vending machines have been more hazardous than sharks in the U.S. 

Answer 3

Looking at this post and the reviewing the facts its given shows that this claim is true. Most people seem to think shark attacks are a lot more common then they actually because sharks tend to me more scary. And a vending machine is a non living thing that just stands still. So why would a vending machine be more dangerous than a shark. Well reviewing different sources, it says that what makes vending machines dangerous is when they malfunction and don't give out the item a consumer was wanting and so the consumer would get frustrated shaking the machine to the point where it falls on them and kills them. And surprisingly this happens a lot more than a shark killing someone.

Answer 4

While yes it is much more rare for the average person to die by shark than vending machine it is important to think about how often people interact with a shark and a vending machine. Based on pure statistics sharks are indeed much less deadly than vending machines however if we were to account for the number of interactions with each I have a feeling that the answer may change or at least become more similar. Another variable to take into consideration is the fact that many third world coastal nations may not have a method of reporting these incidents and therefore the information can be skewed more. This problem wouldn't be a problem for counting vending machine accidents as they are placed in populous areas and a body wouldn't be lost like a shark attack.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_attack

Answer 5

After researching the claim, it is true, however there are some interesting topics to consider. I looked at the website https://healthebay.org/vending-machines-more-hazardous-than-sharks/ and according to statistics, people have a 1 in 250 million chance of being killed by a shark and a 1 in 112 million chance of being killed in a vending machine accident. After some further research however, the last time research has been done on vending machine accidents was taken between 1978 and 1995 according to data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). It is also important to consider that people interact with vending machines much more than they do with sharks, so even though the statistics favor sharks, they are not necessarily safer based on every encounter.