The odds of being killed by a falling coconut....

[TikiRick]

THE ODDS OF

BEING KILLED BY A COCONUT

THE LONGEST LIST OF THE LONGEST STUFF AT THE LONGEST DOMAIN NAME AT LONG LAST

What are the odds of being killed by a coconut?

0.0000004%

Falling coconuts reach speeds of about 50 miles per hour, enough to prove fatal should one get in it's way.

The general odds are 1 in 250,000,000 that a person will lose their life in any given year by these falling menaces.

If you live in a non coconut falling area then your chances are a lot lower, but if falling coconuts are a threat then the odds increase slightly and each year 150 people fall victim to these falling hard-shelled, hairy fruits.

[www.dadluvsu.com]

If your dumb enough to camp out under a loaded tree... well... that's pretty dumb

[PalmGuyWC]

Rick,

Are you saying your nuts are hairy? I thought coconuts were smooth on the outside, but maybe they gorw them different in Fla.

Dick

[FRITO]

150 people each year? wish they had a male/female stat....

[madagascarbob]

Odds in California........ 0% !

[_Keith]

If you are the one not killed by the falling coconut, the odds are irrelevant. If you are the one killed by a falling coconut, the odds are irrelevant. Life is a gamble, take a nap under a coconut and let nature decide on your fate.

Or not

[Jeff Searle]

Rick,

Wow.....I guess you can learn something new everyday. But seriously, you have way too much time on your hands.

Jeff

[Mark_NoVA]

Out of curiosity, is that death stat from a reliable source? There have been some articles saying that's a legend. I have no idea, myself.

THE ODDS OF

BEING KILLED BY A COCONUT

THE LONGEST LIST OF THE LONGEST STUFF AT THE LONGEST DOMAIN NAME AT LONG LAST

What are the odds of being killed by a coconut?

0.0000004%

Falling coconuts reach speeds of about 50 miles per hour, enough to prove fatal should one get in it's way.

The general odds are 1 in 250,000,000 that a person will lose their life in any given year by these falling menaces.

If you live in a non coconut falling area then your chances are a lot lower, but if falling coconuts are a threat then the odds increase slightly and each year 150 people fall victim to these falling hard-shelled, hairy fruits.

[Really full garden]

We had a gardener hit by a falling coconut while raking near the pool.He did survive but was never quite the same and he was forever known by the nickname Don Coco.

[Jeff in St Pete]

I can see how this happens. I've had a few near misses myself. And when I say a near miss, I mean that a coconut came crashing down 3 or 4 feet away from me which is close enough! Those things really hit the ground hard and could do some damage, especially the larger fruit of the Pacific Talls. Many times you don't even know you are standing under a cococnut here unless you notice the trunk. Many are tall and have broken through the canopy so you can't see the crown or if it is loaded with coconuts (until one comes crashing down next to you!). There are literally thousands of fallen coconuts on the property, it's only a matter of time until someone gets hit, and it will probably be me I actually worry about this from time to time when I am out walking around. I guess if it's meant to be, it's meant to be....

[rozpalm]

When I was applying for new HO insurance this year they had an issue that I had land in the Bahamas that was not covered under a general liability policy. They demanded that I remedy that at once. So I called to an insurance company in Grand Bahamas and tell the guy what I need and he starts laughing and asks me why I need liability insurance if there is no house on the land. So I ask him, what if I let someone on my property and a coconut falls on their head. His answer was great, "Well mon, they learn not to stand under a coconut tree!" I guess they are not as sue happy in the Bahamas as we are in the US.

[epicure3]

Pretty low probability. But, hey, I thought the chances of a Bentley ramming a royal palm were pretty slim too. Just goes to show you.

[palmislandRandy]

This should solve the problem!

[_Keith]

This should solve the problem!

That's not protection, that is a coconut opener. Just stand there and let gravity do the rest. Brilliant!!!

[Tyrone]

When I go, I want to be hit by a falling coconut. Imagine the gravestone, "He loved palms, and then they killed him"

regards

Tyrone

[Gileno Machado]

I've had a few near misses myself too.

Once we get used to walk around coconut groves we start noticing the characteristic sound of a big fruit being released from the batch because of the typical noise they make when hitting the older leaves below. Even my dogs here are used to jump to a side and look up when they hear such a noise. In Sirinhaém there are endless packed groves of old tallies and the fruits are quite heavy indeed. A grove that is regularly harvested and kept clean is less likely to occur any problem like this. Wild tall coconuts produce considerably less fruits and the old dead leaves represent the additional threat, although again, you can predict the problem by hearing the noise a couple of seconds in advance. I've never heard of a fatal accident yet but I've met and old guy whose left foot received a direct hit...Well, keep walking...and looking up !

[rthink]

When you lived in an area where there are thousands of coconut every where. The chance for being killed is highly possible. I heard the news every year about people getting injured or killed by a falling coconut!

[realarch]

Actually not so funny, there is a huge cocos in the rear yard of the Hilo house and I never thought to much about it until a coconut came crashing down about 10 feet away from where I was gardening. Scared the crap out of me and now I stay clear of that mother. Checking into having it removed. Thought about having a service come and cut the nuts off, , but it's so covered in vines and not accessible to a cherry picker. Oh, and by the way the nuts aren't hairy.

Tim

[Kris]

When I go, I want to be hit by a falling coconut. Imagine the gravestone, "He loved palms, and then they killed him"

regards

Tyrone

I hope wal is not reading this thread,i know he loves coconuts & royals very much..but i don't like to grow them here in our cramped up garden.and these trees are not for city houses.but a huge ranch or estate where human's hardy come under these trees is absolutely okay.these trees can be quite distructive when it comes to damages caused by the falling dried nuts & long fronds...

love,

Kris

[TikiRick]

I put this posting just to get a laugh...I got it from a website. I don't know about how they got their statistics, but I do know of a personal injury attorney here in Miami who routinely brings suit against municipalities from tourists who don't know any better. The tourist spreads their nice blanket out beneath a tall coconut palm on the beach and proceeds to rub on some sun block, then take a nap. They are thinking the coconut is providing some shade....only to realize the shade is really from that huge batch of seed about to fall! LOL!

He has routinely sued for permanent damages resulting from heavy falling nuts. Personally, I keep mine trimmed. It's a personal preference I guess.

[Mark@PalmBeach]

Falling coconuts are bad enough, but you seriously do not want to be hit by a falling Durian. These suckers are big heavy and armed to kill. If the impact didn't get you, the smell might knock you out!! I have seen these trees in Malaysia and they are immense, so the fruit falls from a great height. I am told they only fall at night however, so don't sleep under one. That is NOT me in the picture. I hope that guy has life insurance. Oh yeah, and Durian's grow where there are a lot of PALM TREES.

[BigFrond]

I witnessed a big bunya bunya(also known as widow maker) dropped about 20 feet away from me. The seed pod was from a very big specimen. It was twice the size of a bowling ball. I't take a coconut on the noggin over a bunya bunya any day. Now I steer clear of any bunya bunya tree. The ones at Quail Botanical Garden are decent but not gigantic yet.

[simona]

If you think Coconut palms are 'cool', the Double Coconut, Lodoicea maldivica, is way better. The nuts may weigh as much as 40-45 pounds each and are the largest seeds on the planet.....

Anyone growing Cannonball trees (Couroupita guianensis) or sausage tree (Kigelia pinnata) ?

Edited May 30, 2008 by simona

[JEFF IN MODESTO]

MY MOTHER IN LAW WAS KILLED BY A FALLING COCONUT!

Oh...Sorry... That was only in my dreams.

[Mark_NoVA]

My dangerous tree here is Liriodendron tulipfera, among the tallest native trees on the U.S. East Coast. Beautiful straight tall trunks, but it sheds limbs! I laughed when a friend planted one because he was told they were 'self-pruning'. Here's some 'self-pruning' from last winter, falling from so high it impaled itself in the ground:

Edited May 30, 2008 by Mark_NoVA

[John in Andalucia]

Wow, a serious tree. At first glance, I thought that was the trunk. The Eucalyptus papuana or "Ghost Gum" tree is also termed the "widow maker" for the same reason.

Regarding being killed by a falling coconut, I wonder how the statistics compare to people killed by lightning sheltering under trees.