Who is afraid of the big bad Swine Flu?

Come on. Really? Now don’t get me wrong, sickness, death and harm to anyone is not something to laugh about, but we need to all get perspective on this whole pig thing. Are our greatest biological fiends out there really farm animals? I would have hoped mutated Komodo dragons with laser eyes which have turned us into zombies would have been a better way to go. But, I don’t write the stories. Chicken Bird flu? Mad Cow Disease? Now Swine? So Chicken Little, Elsie, Porky Pig and Winnie the Pooh’s Piglet are the big bad monsters out there in the darkness? Come on…no T-Rexs?

First be calm. You are not going to get it and the odds of you dying from it are so whacked. 30,000 people die by regular style winter flu every year in the US. That should be enough to motivate you to get your flu shot, wash your hands, use a tissue to blow your nose, but not seal your home in plastic wrap. Here are some other odds to think about from the National Safety Council.

Odds of dying of swine flu in the USA?
1 in 281 million!

Odds you will blow something off with fireworks this July?
1 in 18.5 million!

Odds you will choke on some summer fresh fruit?
1 in 800…Better chew your food!

Odds you will be burned by “ignition of underwear or nightwear?”
1 in 8.2 million. And I am not sure I want to know what is going on in that bedroom…

Odds you will be legally executed in your lifetime?
1 in 54 million. Santa sees you when you are sleeping and he knows when you’re awake.

Odds you will be crushed by a reptile?
None…no one has. Bitten yes! Crushed nope…just has not happened. And who would have thunk? I would have figured some New Orleans spring break partiers or Southern swamp hicks would surely have had some run in with a gator body slamming them in a no bar holds cage croc wrestling fest.