Some methods of dying are much worse than others. Since I was a kid I have been fascinated with sharks, likely for this reason. Recently I thought it would be cool to look at shark attack data. Maybe I could figure out some pattern or interesting insight. That task remains undone, however, because I uncovered something else of interest.
As a data scientist you always look for anomalies. For several interesting categories, Florida tops the list by a huge margin. If you go to Florida your chances of meeting three horrific ends increases dramatically.
Lighting Related Fatalities: 1959-2010
25% of all US lightning fatalities happen in Florida...
Unprovoked Shark Attacks By State: 1959-2010
62% of all US unprovoked shark attacks happen in Florida...
Gator Attacks By State: 1948-2005
90% of all US gator attacks happen in Florida...
So... let's recap. In Florida if you go in the ocean you will be eaten by a shark, if you go in the river you will be eaten by a gator and if you stay on land you will be killed by lightning. Maybe you should go somewhere else for spring break.
All code and data can be found here: https://github.com/isaacfab/florida