Are Freak Accidents Black Swans?

Heck if I know. I do assume that freak accidents occur very, very rarely within the scope of, say, somebody’s social world. However, a simple Google Alert provides some fodder for assessing how frequent these occurrences are when you have access to worldwide (or at least country-wide) information sources.

Google News Alert for: "freak accident"

‘It was a freak accident
Daily Press – Newport News,VA,USA
He was not wearing a life vest. "It was a freak accident. The man was well seasoned. It’s not like he was a greenhorn. It happens with the best," Green said.

Freak Drowning Accident Claims Elk Grove Teacher and Student
KXTV – Sacramento,CA,USA
For the second time in one year, the Elk Grove Montessori School has lost a teacher to a freak accident. One of the preschool’s

Toddler dies in freak accident
Townsville Bulletin – Northern Australia,Australia
She must have fallen backwards and hit her head," she said. "I think this must have just been a horrible freak accident — a terrible thing to happen.".

Freak accident knocks out teen
Cincinnati Enquirer – Cincinnati,OH,USA
MONROE – A freak accident with a nearly-empty plastic sports-drink bottle knocked a high school football player unconscious and put him in the hospital.

Picasso punctured by Steve Wynn’s elbow in freak accident
Monsters and Critics.com – Glasgow,UK
The freak accident witnessed by a group that included "The View’s" Barbara Walters and screenwriters Nora Ephron and Nicholas Pileggi.

Plane enthusiast dies in freak accident
St. Louis Post-Dispatch – MO, United States
By Heather Ratcliffe. So he became an airplane enthusiast. He hung model jets in their Webster Groves home. He named his dogs after planes.

Man dies in freak kangaroo accident
The Australian – Sydney,Australia
A FREAK accident involving a kangaroo has claimed the life of a 50-year-old motorist in the south-west of Western Australia. Police

Boy fights for life after freak accident
Calgary Sun – Canada
By BILL LAYE, CALGARY SUN. Childish curiosity has left a 14-year-old boy fighting for his life after he was hit by a rock spun out from the tire of a city bus.

Stingray injures Broward boater in ‘freak accident
Miami Herald – FL,USA
”It was a freak accident,” said Lighthouse Point acting fire Chief David Donzella, whose officers first responded to the call.

Monroe teen recovers from ‘freak accident
Middletown Journal – Middletown,OH,USA
He called it a "freak accident," noting the bottle was nearly empty. "It is hard to believe it could cause that type of injury," Elam said.

2 comments for “Are Freak Accidents Black Swans?

  1. October 25, 2006 at 4:18 pm

    Black Swans: Villainy… Romance… Deeds of Daring

    Pete Lindstrom posits the question this morning, “Are freak accidents the black swan.” Alex over at RiskAnalys.is takes this and runs with it, indicating that the answer is categorically “no.” An interesting discussion. Now, for those of you who are fa…

  2. Anonymous
    May 14, 2009 at 12:01 pm

    Simply click on the subject

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