After 9/11, the fear of another attack on U.S. soil cleanly supplanted the fear of having one`s penis chopped off by a vengeful lover in the pantheon of irrational American fears.
While we`re constantly being told that another attack is imminent and that radical Islamic fundamentalists are two steps away from establishing a caliphate in Branson, Missouri, just how close are they? How do the odds of dying in a terrorist attack stack up against the odds of dying in other unfortunate situations?
- You are 17,600 times more likely to die from heart disease than from a terrorist attack
- You are 12,571 times more likely to die from cancer than from a terrorist attack
- You are 11,000 times more likely to die in an airplane accident than from a terrorist plot involving an airplane
- You are 9 times more likely to choke to death on your own vomit than die in a terrorist attack
- You are 8 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than by a terrorist