Yesterday my fortune cookie said soon you will earn great distinction.
Now Iām worried.
On a purely actuarial basis, 200 people are killed every year by meteors (7 billion people/35 million years).
Surely you want the total human population for that period? Or, maybe the average human population? But Iām not terribly sure what the 35 million years represents.
Somewhere a cocky insurance agent is saying āwho doesnāt need the extended coverage NOW?ā
I think we get extinction level events about every 35MM years, yes?
Iām not buying term asteroid insurance, though. This is one place where whole might actually be the better buy.
Iām highly skeptical that this was a meteorite strike. Let me know when scientists present any real evidence.
Chicxulub was 65 million years ago, but I donāt know when the previous big, extinction-level meteor strike was, and we donāt know when the next Chicxulub is due. So I think your math is off.
I guess it could have been an IED, but I donāt know that a bus driver would have been a high-value target for Tamil separatists.
Well, if āmodern historyā includes 1908, then we can probably assume quite a few people were killed by the āTunguska Eventā, which was either an asteroid or a comet. The fact that it was in such an isolated area and there was no immediate investigation means we donāt have proof anyone died, but the local Siberian tribes certainly believe they lost people that day.
@DevinC seems more interested in distinction-level events.
Iād never heard that. It makes sense, but every account of it Iāve read makes no mention of Siberians at all.
You always hear the phrase āno known casualtiesā, but I recently watched a BBC documentary on it, and that was the first time I ever heard the Evenki tribeās account-- they treat the anniversary of it like a solemn occasion. They are/were a nomadic people, and with 900 square miles of flattened, scorched trees, it does seem probable that a few were within the blast radius.
Seems prejudiced to discount this completely just because the official government death confirmer didnāt go there with his stamp.
Iāve been following this story through a listserv dedicated to meteorites. According to what is now known, it appears to have been a mishap with some dynamite, which was apparently stored in the area. The injuries the man ākilled by meteoriteā suffered are not consistent with impact, rather explosion and burning (BTW, if you want to look at pictures of someone struck by a meteorite, search for Sylacauga and Hodges). The ārecovered meteoriteā doesnāt show any of the characteristics of a fresh meteorite fall. Iām calling shenanigans.
So what are the odds compared to, say, winning the Powerball lottery?
You forgot about Jordy Verrill:
in my case, infinitely higher.
