Odds are…

The odds an accidental death will be due to being bitten or struck by an alligator are 1 in 104,600 (US, 1999 – 2005).

…or, roughly the same odds as that a male will be diagnosed with breast cancer (1 in 100,000), but slightly worse than the odds that a person in Maine will die of a fall from a ladder (1 in 110,000) or that a person in Nebraska will die of alcohol poisoning (also 1 in 110,000)…

To play in the pastures of probability– as pertains to Accidents & Death, Daily Life & Activities, Health & Illness, Relationships & Society– visit Book of Odds.

As we consider our chances, we might recall that it was on this date in 1741 that David Garrick made his debut at London’s Goodman’s Fields Theater in the title role in Shakespeare’s Richard III; Garrick received a standing ovation, and went on become one of the most celebrated English actors of all time (and the owner/manager of The Drury Lane Theatre, a pretty important gig in its own right)…

I do mistake my person all this while;
Upon my life, she finds, although I cannot,
Myself to be a marvellous proper man.
I’ll be at charges for a looking-glass…

Garrick, by Gainsborough