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

This statement seems to be true.

According to Heal the Bay, the yearly risk of being attacked by a shark in the U.S. is 1 in 250 million where as dying from a vending machine accident is 1 in 112 million.  We believe this to be false because "We irrationally fixate on extremely unlikely threats, like shark attacks or the zombie apocalypse (which I am personally preparing for), while much more likely and high risk threats like heart disease, car accidents, or even the flu don’t occupy our minds and silver screens in quite the same way.  I guess it’s just not as fun to be afraid of the flu as it is to imagine sharks as crazed, bloodthirsty killers lying in wait under the waves, ready to pull you under, or in some cases, dropping down onto your head from the sky as it’s ejected from a tornado in downtown L.A."

Other sources such as, National Geographic and the Guardian have cited this fact and demonstrates that sharks are not as deadly as society makes them out to be.  

https://slate.com/technology/2022/07/sharks-vending-machines-death.html

https://healthebay.org/vending-machines-more-hazardous-than-sharks/

Answer 2

Moderate caffeine intake is generally considered safe in pregnancy; the claim exaggerates risk and incorrectly says it causes deformities. Health claims need careful sourcing because fear-based wording can spread misinformation fast.

Answer 3

After reading the post and reviewing sources, I can say that this claim is proven to be true. My initial reaction to this is that I thought it's not true since the shark has sharp teeth while the vending machine stands still innocently. The statistics show the yearly risk in the U.S. of dying from a vending machine is roughly 1 in 112 million while from a shark attack is roughly 1 in 250 million.

Links I used:

https://slate.com/technology/2022/07/sharks-vending-machines-death.html

https://healthebay.org/vending-machines-more-hazardous-than-sharks/

Answer 4

After researching more about the idea that vending machines are more hazardous than sharks, I can conclude that this claim is true. The article states that, "On average the number of fatalities due to shark bites worldwide ranges between four and six per year. The yearly risk in the U.S. of dying from a shark bite is roughly 1 in 250 million. In contrast, the yearly risk of dying from a vending machine accident is roughly 1 in 112 million," This quote shows the comparison between the yearly risks of both dying from a shark bite and from dying from a vending machine. Another source, the wildlife fund, made a great point about how sharks are misrepresented as evil creatures when in truth its cultural fears. Together I found that yes, vending machines are more hazardous than sharks. 

Answer 5

After reviewing the facts, the claim that vending machines are more hazardous than sharks is supported by evidence. Sharks are often seen as extremely dangerous because of movies and media, but fatal shark attacks are actually very rare. Vending machines, on the other hand, are everywhere and can become dangerous when people shake or tip them to get stuck items. When a vending machine falls, it can seriously injure or kill someone. Research shows that deaths from vending machine accidents can occur more often than deaths from shark attacks, which shows how people tend to fear dramatic dangers instead of more common everyday risks.

Sources:

https://enviroliteracy.org/what-are-the-odds-of-being-killed-by-a-vending-machine/

https://enviroliteracy.org/how-many-humans-are-eaten-by-sharks-each-year/

Answer 6

After researching the claim that vending machines are more hazardous than sharks, I found that it is true. Sharks only cause about 4 to 6 deaths per year, which makes the chance of dying from a shark attack very low. Vending machines, on the other hand, have caused more deaths, making them more dangerous. I used a primary source from Health e Bay that included statistics and charts showing how rare shark deaths are compared to other accidents https://healthebay.org/vending-machines-more-hazardous-than-sharks/.  I also looked at secondary sources like the World Wildlife Fund and the National Science Foundation, which confirmed that shark attacks are very uncommon. The sources may focus on surprising facts to get readers’ attention, but the numbers are supported by data. The evidence supporting the claim is the higher number of deaths from vending machines. The evidence against it is very limited because shark deaths do happen, but they are extremely rare. I tried contacting the person who posted the original claim, but I did not get a reply. Overall, the evidence shows that vending machines are actually more hazardous than sharks, even though most people are more afraid of sharks.

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Answer 7

The claim that vending machines are more deadly than shark attacks from what I found is TRUE. Healthebay.org states that the yearly risk of dying from a shark attack is 1 in 250 million and the yearly risk of dying from a vending machine is 1 in 112 million. This claim at first glance seems to be false but after understanding why one would think that and further research from what I found from slate it supports heal the bay’s claim by saying that shark attacks do happen and receive more coverage but people being killed by vending machines tipping over happen more often. Slate also mentions a source CPSC, this source provides even more evidence that vending machines being tipped over and falling on people does happen often and that there are 1.7 million vending machines roughly that are out ready to use. The claim that vending machines are more hazardous that shark attacks is true when you look at data rather than the publics opinion.

Answer 8

The claim that vending machines are more hazardous than sharks is true. Contrary to popular belief you are more likely to be injured by a vending machine than a shark. From research done by Heal the Bay, dying from a shark bite is roughly a 1 in 250 million chance whereas dying from a vending machine is 1 in 112 million. The fear of being killed by a shark is a phenomenon created from humans' fear of the unknown. The push for this fear also stems from the drama of it. Films in Hollywood, like Jaws, capitalize on this before even knowing the effects. Today researchers are fighting to educate those on the importance sharks have and that they aren’t crazy killing machines.

https://healthebay.org/vending-machines-more-hazardous-than-sharks/ 

Answer 9

This claim is true because vending machines pose a much higher risk of fatal injury than sharks. Statistics have proven many more injuries happen due to vending machines rather than shark attacks. While shark attacks trigger a high news value of novelty, data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission shows that only 1 person died a year from their research. Falling vending machines cause more annual deaths in the United States than unprovoked shark attacks yearly.

Source: https://www.cnet.com/science/afraid-of-sharks-these-are-the-animals-more-likely-to-kill-you/

Answer 10

i checked the claim that vending machines kill more people than shark attacks and found that it is mostly true when comparing the average number of annual fatalities. Statistics show that vending machine accidents, usually involving people trying to tilt or shake the machine, result in about 2–3 deaths per year in the United States. Shark attacks, while widely feared, typically cause fewer than 1–2 deaths per year. Because vending machines are much more common in everyday life, they are statistically linked to more deaths annually than shark attacks. However, both risks are still very rare overall, and context matters; sharks can be dangerous in their natural habitat, and vending machines are usually safe when used properly