The Erie railroad kills 23 to 46; the other 845 railroads kill an average of one-third of a man each; and the rest of that million, amounting in the aggregate to that appalling figure of 987,631 corpses, die naturally in their beds! You will excuse me from taking any more chances on those beds. The railroads are good enough for me.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Railroad accidents cause massive deaths, yet the speaker dismisses risk and prefers the safety of the railroads.
- In plain terms
- He notes many deaths from railroads but says he’ll stick with them.
- What can you take from it?
- Perceived safety can outweigh statistical danger.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why do we ignore statistical risks?
- How can we better communicate danger?
Another view
The numbers are presented humorously, not as rigorous data.
More from Mark Twain
In a monarchy, the king and his family are the country; in a republic it is the common voice of the people. Each of you, for himself, by himself and on his own…
Permalink to quote #129 Nothing that grieves us can be called little: by the eternal laws of proportion a child's loss of a doll and a king's loss of a crown are events of the same si…
Permalink to quote #131 Against our traditions we are now entering upon an unjust and trivial war, a war against a helpless people, and for a base object - robbery. At first our citiz…
Permalink to quote #128
Related quotes
The Erie railroad kills 23 to 46; the other 845 railroads kill an average of one-third of a man each; and the rest of that million, amounting in the aggregate …
Samuel Langhorne ClemensSamuel Langhorne Clemens quote #130 An estimated 5,000 economic, political, and religious groups operate in the United States alone at any given time, with 2.5 million members. Over the last ten …
Margaret SingerMargaret Singer quote #3 [T]he same past data can confirm a theory and its exact opposite! If you survive until tomorrow, it could mean that either a) you are more likely to be immorta…
Nassim Nicholas TalebNassim Nicholas Taleb quote #17