If you live in a tropical area, you might harbor private fears of being attacked by a shark while lazing about in the ocean. But sharks aren’t your biggest problem; you’re more likely to be killed by a falling coconut than a malevolent, toothy fish. Don’t believe it? Take a look at the odds of some of these everyday—and not-so-everyday—occurrences:
Odds of successfully climbing Mount Everest: 1 in 3
Odds of getting divorced: 1 in 3
Odds of dying from being bitten by a dog: 1 in 700,000
Odds of having quadruplets: 1 in 700,000
Odds that you will die this year from a shark attack: 1 in 300 million
Odds that you will die this year from a falling coconut: 1 in 250 million
Odds of being bit by a poisonous snake: 1 in 36 million
Odds of dying from a mountain lion attack in California: 1 in 32 million
Odds of death by lightning strike: 1 in 2,500,000
Odds of dying from eating Fugu (blowfish) in Japan: 1 in 3 million
Odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery: 1 in 135,145,920
Odds of dying from SARS in the United States: 1 in 100 million
Odds that your child is a genius: 1 in 250
Odds of writing a New York Times best seller: 1 in 220
Odds of being the victim of serious crime in your lifetime: 1 in 20
Odds of getting colon cancer: 1 in 20
Odds that an event with a probability of 1,000,000:1 occurs in America today: 1 in 295
Odds of dying from falling down: 1 in 246
