“You are more likely to get killed by a vending machine than a shark”

-Random Illustrated Facts by Mike Lowery

Approximately 37 deaths and 113 injuries by a vending machine were reported between 1978 and 1995 in a 1995 research report. The last widely reported death was in 2008. A vending machine had fallen on a man’s foot and he suffered a pulmonary embolism.

These deaths reported by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Communication resulted in a volunteer campaign for manufacturers to put warning labels on the machines.

The main reason for these deaths is rocking or shaking to get snacks that fell down or to retrieve change.

The majority of these deaths were male. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_vending_machine

Shark deaths

The average number of shark attack fatalities worldwide each year is usually fewer than 10. There were 7 fatal attacks in 2024, lower than the 14 in 2023.

The number varies from year to year, so an exact set number can not be determined.

There are provoked attacks, such as ones that include divers trying to interfere with the sharks, or being bit while taking the shark off the hook. Even feeding the sharks has led to deaths.

Unprovoked attacks are incidents were a person enters shark territory and there is no provocation for the attack.

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/yearly-worldwide-summary/

Usually sharks don’t search out humans for food. They mistake them for prey, such as sea lions and turtles.

With those numbers though, I believe it is possible to die from a shark attack more so than a vending machine. I believe this fact is a little off in the grand scheme of things.

Either way, don’t shake a vending machine, and don’t feed the sharks.