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

From what I can see, this seems credible, considering the stats on vending machines vs. sharks are actually a known thing. It sounds crazy, but the numbers about the "fear of the unknown" and the odds of death really do back it up.

Sources:

• Vending Machines More Hazardous Than Sharks (Heal the Bay)

• Risk of Death Comparison (International Shark Attack File)

Answer 2

After checking this claim, saying that vending machines are more hazardous than sharks is misleading. Vending machines indeed cause more recorded human deaths per year than shark attacks, mostly due to accidents where machines tip over, while shark fatalities are extremely rare. However, the comparison exaggerates risk by ignoring context—people interact with vending machines daily, while shark encounters are uncommon and usually avoidable. The claim uses a surprising statistic to grab attention, but oversimplifies how risk actually works. This is because it’s technically based on real numbers but framed in a way that can mislead people about actual danger.

Sources: International Shark Attack File (Florida Museum): https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/

Consumer Product Safety Commission (vending machine injuries): https://www.cpsc.gov

Answer 3

This claim is statistically true. The source that is listed in the original post gives statistics on the likelihood of dying by shark bite, and it is lower then the chance of death by vending machine.

After digging deeper, I found a source that did some in-depth research about vending machine deaths. The most recent being in 2015, however it wasn't really the machines fault, as the man tried to blow it up and was hit in the head by a flying piece of metal. One slightly misleading point is that the most recent data on vending machine deaths was posted back in 1995. As well as the fact that there have been more shark attack deaths in recent years, but statistically you would still be more likely to die by interaction with a vending machine. 

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

Answer 4

Statistically, vending machines have been reported as more hazardous than sharks because the commonly cited data shows a higher annual death rate from vending‑machine accidents than from shark attacks. However, this comparison isn’t 100% reliable. The vending‑machine statistics most people reference come from data collected between 1978 and 1995, showing roughly 1 shark‑related death per year and 2–3 vending‑machine‑related deaths per year.

Because this dataset is more than 20 years old, it’s reasonable to say the comparison may be outdated. Modern data collection is more precise, and both shark‑related fatalities and vending‑machine accidents fluctuate over time. So while the claim is memorable and rhetorically effective, it isn’t based on current statistics.
Reference https://medium.com/@luizeduardogasparelo/vending-machines-sharks-artificial-intelligence-what-a-fuck-do-they-kill-b30dd56ac4f8