Sharks vs. Home Improvement Injuries

A Comparison with the Number of Injuries Associated with Home-Improvement Equipment: 1996

Equipment Number of Injuries
Nails, screws, tacks, and bolts 198,849
Ladders 138,894
Toilets 43,687
Pruning, trimming, edging 36,091
Chain saws 13,458
Pliers, wire cutters, and wrenches 15,957
Manual-cleaning equipment 14,386
Power grinders, buffers, and polishers 13,458
Buckets and pails 10,907
Room deodorizers and fresheners 2,599
Toilet-bowl products 1,567
Paints or varnish thinners 1,549
Shark injuries and deaths in U.S.A. 13

Source of home-improvement equipment injury data: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC, U.S.A. (1997).
Source of shark attack data: International Shark Attack File, 3 February 1998.