Stormy Weather
We learned today that hurricanes with feminine names kill three-times as many people as hurricanes with male names because: people don’t take them seriously:
Researchers at the University of Illinois analyzed data on fatalities from every hurricane that made landfall in the United States from 1950-2012.
“A hurricane with a relatively masculine name is estimated to cause 15.15 deaths, whereas a hurricane with a relatively feminine name is estimated to cause 41.84 deaths,” said the study.
“In other words, our model suggests that changing a severe hurricane’s name from Charley to Eloise could nearly triple its death toll.”
Scientists even disregarded two major storms in their analysis — Hurricane Katrina (2005) and Hurricane Audrey (1957) — because they took an outsized number of lives and could have skewed the results.
… Prior to the decision in the late 1970s to alternate male and female names, hurricanes were only given feminine names, a practice born out of the belief that storms, like women, were unpredictable.
Given that Wingnuttia doesn’t believe in climate change or even in related monster storms, we are waiting for someone to ban naming hurricanes with women’s names, you know, to save lives. After all, North Carolina banned the sea from rising.
You know it is coming. I predict that it will be Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Wingnuttia), of course.
Copyright 2014 Liberaland
By: Tengrain
Fully caffeinated with twice the sugar, unabashedly liberal. Award-winning Americans United blogger, blogs at Mock Paper Scissors, and sometimes at Crooks and Liars.
You can follow @Tengrain on Twitter, or you might see him enjoying coffee somewhere in Seattle at any given moment of the day.
16 responses to Stormy Weather
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Anomaly 100 June 3rd, 2014 at 22:32
Maybe if we give them names like Brutus, or Bruiser.
Tengrain June 4th, 2014 at 00:49
Or ambiguous names: Pat, Chris, Sidney…
Anomaly 100 June 4th, 2014 at 07:04
Rand, Mitt, Christie…
mea_mark June 4th, 2014 at 11:35
Maybe we could just name them after colors with a number attached, like Chartreuse5. Something really impersonal.
Anomaly 100 June 4th, 2014 at 11:39
Rainbow pink will go down well in Southern States.
Shades June 4th, 2014 at 11:57
Cheney. That would get people running for the hills.
Anomaly 100 June 4th, 2014 at 11:58
Just shorten it to his first name. For the lulz.
Shades June 4th, 2014 at 11:56
How about cute puppy names … oh wait.
Anomaly 100 June 3rd, 2014 at 22:32
Maybe if we give them names like Brutus, or Bruiser.
Tengrain June 4th, 2014 at 00:49
Or ambiguous names: Pat, Chris, Sidney…
Anomaly 100 June 4th, 2014 at 07:04
Rand, Mitt, Christie…
mea_mark June 4th, 2014 at 11:35
Maybe we could just name them after colors with a number attached, like Chartreuse5. Something really impersonal.
Anomaly 100 June 4th, 2014 at 11:39
Rainbow pink will go down well in Southern States.
Shades June 4th, 2014 at 11:57
Cheney. That would get people running for the hills.
Anomaly 100 June 4th, 2014 at 11:58
Just shorten it to his first name. For the lulz.
Shades June 4th, 2014 at 11:56
How about cute puppy names … oh wait.