The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!

Probability: Numbers for perspective, including odds of being squashed by an asteroid or suffocation by a plastic bag.

Posted 01.31.2002 at 4:05 pm 0 Comments

by PhotoSpin Princeton University scientists have announced that the odds of our planet being hit by an asteroid are 1 in 5,000. PhotoSpin

Worried about being squashed by an asteroid? Maybe you should be. In January, astronomers reported that one the size of three football fields missed Earth by only 510,000 miles. That may not sound like a close shave, but had it hit, it could have devastated an area larger than Britain. On the other hand, Princeton University scientists have announced that the odds of our planet being hit by an asteroid -- thought to be a daunting 1 in 1,500 -- are actually closer to 1 in 5,000, or roughly the odds of dying during sports or recreation. Here are some more numbers for perspective:

Lifetime odds of dying from:

Any accident: 1 in 36

A motor vehicle accident: 1 in 81

A firearm: 1 in 202

Poisoning: 1 in 344

A falling object (terrestrial): 1 in 4,873

Drowning in a bathtub: 1 in 10,455

Being caught in or between objects: 1 in 29,860

Suffocation by a plastic bag: 1 in 130,498

Source: The National Safety Council