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NPR
definition is that a trench is any narrow excavation made below the surface of the ground that is deeper than it is wide. They typically are no wider than 15 feet and no deeper than 20 feet and are often dug to install sewer and water lines and other underground utilities at commercial and residential sites. Because of their depth and the myriad ways that different soil types, external vibrations and weather can affect their stability, trenches can collapse without warning, offering little time to escape. One cubic yard of soil can weigh 3,000 pounds, about the weight of a Mini Cooper or other small car. In a collapse, the soil can move rapidly, depending on the depth of the trench and other variables.
NPR
Halloween is one of the most dangerous holidays of the year for kids. It has more child pedestrian deaths than any other day of the year. Kids also get tangled in their costumes and injure themselves. But there's something that isn't a real problem: strangers giving trick-or-treaters apples with razor blades, poisoned candy or drugs.
For decades, Halloween-safety public service announcements and police officers have advised parents to inspect their children's candy before letting them eat it. Generations of kids have been told bad people want to hurt them by tampering with their Halloween candy.
"This is absolutely a legend," said Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware, who has studied contaminated candy since the 1980s. "It's not a particularly great legend ... but it lives on."
"I have data going back to 1958, and I have yet to find a report of a child that's been killed or seriously hurt by a contaminated treat picked up in the course of trick-or-treating," said Best.
Most legends exist because they are so profitable for the politicians, advertisers, television reporters and police departments. If it sells automobiles, gets politicians re-elected and enhances pension benefits, what's not to like?
Bicycles on Interstates Are Safer then City Streets
🚴If we wanted to save lives of bicyclists, we would ban them from city streets and require that they only ride on Interstate Highway with their 12 foot shoulders and limited access points. Based on crash data it’s much safer to ride a bicycle on the shoulder of a limited access highway than a city street. Cyclist deaths on limited access highways are exceptionally rare in the many states that permit such riding. 🚴
🔢Too often though we let emotions and perception
of safety replace statistical evidence. 🔢