Alarming statistics

[godfry n. glad]

Doctors:
(A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000.
(B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians per year are 120,000.
(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.
Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Health Human Services.

Guns:
(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000. Yes, that is 80 million.
(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.
(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000188.

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."

Fact: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors before this gets completely out of hand.
Out of concern for the public at large, the statistics on lawyers are withheld for fear the shock would cause people to panic and seek medical attention.

[Godless Wonder]

Those people were going to die of something eventually anyway.

[Scotty]

Those people were going to die of something eventually anyway.

lead poisoning?

-Scott

[Shake]

Thanks, godfry. I copied this and sent it to a co-worker who is a hunter and gun rights advocate.

[Ronin]

Why did you do that, Shake?

[maddog]

what happens when you add in the intentionally-caused doctor deaths and the intentionally-caused gun deaths? Then who's more dangerous?

or am I too stupid to get the joke?

#84

[godfry n. glad]

what happens when you add in the intentionally-caused doctor deaths and the intentionally-caused gun deaths? Then who's more dangerous?

or am I too stupid to get the joke?

#84

Nope...you got it.

Yet, if one looks at the deaths due to gunshot statistics and add in the non-accidental, the death toll rises to about 30,000 in 1998.

Whereas, the death due to medical mistakes remains much higher (see this (http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/mistakes/common_printer.htm)). Medical accidents still rate in the top 10 causes of death in the U.S., no matter which statistic one selects for it. Death due to gunshot doesn't even make the top 10 list.

godfry

[JoeP]

If this is a joke, I like it, but you need to go much further: A) The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
(B) On the other hand, the French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
(C) The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
(D) The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
Conclusion: Eat & drink what you like. It's speaking English that kills you.

On the other hand, if it's serious, then it's misleading. Toughening up gun controls will result in fewer deaths. Reducing the number of doctors will result in more deaths. The big question is, at what point will toughening up controls on doctors (reducing the number of medical mistake deaths per doctor, for sure) in fact reduce the number of doctors and reduce average life expectancy?

[Petra]

If this is a joke, I like it, but you need to go much further: A) The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
(B) On the other hand, the French eat a lot of fat and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
(C) The Japanese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
(D) The Italians drink excessive amounts of red wine and also suffer fewer heart attacks than the British or Americans.
Conclusion: Eat & drink what you like. It's speaking English that kills you.


:rofl:


On the other hand, if it's serious, then it's misleading. Toughening up gun controls will result in fewer deaths. Reducing the number of doctors will result in more deaths. The big question is, at what point will toughening up controls on doctors (reducing the number of medical mistake deaths per doctor, for sure) in fact reduce the number of doctors and reduce average life expectancy?

Thank you, JoeP! :bow:

[godfry n. glad]

When I posted it, I considered it a tongue-in-cheek piece.
Note that nothing is included to "balance" the losses, like how many lives are saved through the intervention of an armed person as versus how many lives are saved through the intervention of a physician...

I greatly appreciated your inspired addition to the stats.

However, medical mistakes are indeed a problem in the U.S. in terms not only of fatalities, but also the number of people disabled as a result.

godfry

[viscousmemories]

I thought it was hilarious as "tasteless jokes" go, but I chose not to say as much 'cause I didn't want to appear insensitive to all the pain and trauma in the world that seems to be heavy on everyone's heart these days. :deepsigh:

[Goliath]

Doctors:
(A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000.
(B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians per year are 120,000.
(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.
Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Health Human Services.

Guns:
(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000. Yes, that is 80 million.
(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.
(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000188.

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."

Fact: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors before this gets completely out of hand.
Out of concern for the public at large, the statistics on lawyers are withheld for fear the shock would cause people to panic and seek medical attention.

The solution is obvious: Arm every physician with a handgun.

:D

[Corwin]

Doctors:
(A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000.
(B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians per year are 120,000.
(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.
Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Health Human Services.

Guns:
(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000. Yes, that is 80 million.
(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is 1,500.
(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000188.

Statistically, doctors are approximately 9,000 times more dangerous than gun owners.

Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."

Fact: NOT EVERYONE HAS A GUN, BUT ALMOST EVERYONE HAS AT LEAST ONE DOCTOR.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors before this gets completely out of hand.
Out of concern for the public at large, the statistics on lawyers are withheld for fear the shock would cause people to panic and seek medical attention.

The solution is obvious: Arm every physician with a handgun.

:D

That won't help.

Physicians are the problem. Arm every PATIENT. ;)

[viscousmemories]

The solution is obvious: Arm every physician with a handgun. :D
That won't help.

Physicians are the problem. Arm every PATIENT. ;)
Didn't you read the OP? We're already there. :D

[Dingfod]

My sis, the doctor, couldn't handle killing all those people, so now she is a staff physician at a state university student medical clinic, not too many dying there.

[Shake]

Why did you do that, Shake?
Uh ... 'cause I'm pretty sure he'd find it funny. Why else?

[Corona688]

Those statistics actually make sense, when you think about it. When someone's in a bad accident, you don't call for a man with a gun. Or if you do, you shouldn't. You call for a doctor. :p Their business is to deal with ailing people, and a tricky business it is.

[Dingfod]

Of course, if you are making a salad, you'd want to call for a man with a gun.*

*lisarea's good idea