Kamal An exploration by Professor Dan Myers (Notre Dame) of the shortest possible game of Monopoly® inspired this post. Below are the absolute shortest possible versions of popular games—board game or sport, actual or theoretical. Baseball—28 pitches. At the start, I’d hoped the shortest possible baseball game would be “super-perfect,” a perfect game in which a pitcher throws 81 … Read more
In 1945, Tsutomu Yamaguchi of Nagasaki, Japan was a technical draftsman designing oil tankers for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Early that year his wife gave birth to their first child, a son, but what should have been a joyous occasion brought Yamaguchi a deep sense of dread. In May, Germany surrendered to the Allies and the … Read more
1 in 13,300 The odds a person will visit an emergency department due to an accident involving pens or pencils in a year are 1 in 13,300 (US, 2007). Sources & Definitions SOURCE(S) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) On-line [Internet]. US Consumer Product Safety Commission; Available from: http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/neiss.html Population Estimates Program [Internet]. U.S. Census … Read more
1 in 537.9 The odds a person will visit an emergency department due to an accident involving a bed, mattress, or pillow in a year are 1 in 537.9 (US, 2007). Sources & Definitions SOURCE(S) NEISS Data Highlights – 2007. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. July 2007. Population Estimates Program [Internet]. U.S. Census Bureau; Available … Read more
As New England mops up and tallies damages from a record-breaking mid-March storm, New Jersey is bracing for continued flooding, and the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Iowa are sandbagging. North Dakota’s flood-prone Red River crested at 37 feet in Fargo over the spring equinox weekend, a few feet short of its record. Heavy spring rains on … Read more
When Marvin C. Stone patented the drinking straw in 1888, he probably did not expect that, years down the road, thousands of Americans would wind up in the hospital for various drinking straw-related injuries. That’s because Stone’s straws were made of spiral-wrapped paper rather than the hard plastics of modern drinking straws. In fact, in … Read more
1 in 6,279 The odds a person will die in a transportation accident in a year are 1 in 6,279 (US, 2006). Sources & Definitions SOURCE(S) Compressed Mortality File, 1979-2005 [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Available from: http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortsql.html CALCULATION(S) BY BOOK OF ODDS BASED ON Compressed Mortality File, 1979-2005 [Internet]. Centers for Disease … Read more
1 in 435,800 The odds a person will die from tripping or slipping and falling in a year are 1 in 435,800 (US, 2006). Sources & Definitions SOURCE(S) Compressed Mortality File, 1979-2005 [Internet]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Available from: http://wonder.cdc.gov/mortsql.html CALCULATION(S) BY BOOK OF ODDS BASED ON Compressed Mortality File, 1979-2005 [Internet]. Centers … Read more
1 in 14,380 The odds a person will die from an accidental fall in a year are 1 in 14,380 (US, 2006).
1 in 4,908,000 The odds a person will die from a fall involving ice or snow in a year are 1 in 4,908,000 (US, 2006).