EXPLORE BOOK OF ODDS
Follow your curiosity.
Surprising odds. Unlikely stories. Everyday things you’ve never thought to question.
The latest stories
Stairs Kill Far More Americans Than Elevators
Stairs killed 1,991 people in the US in 2010 (about 1 in 155,000); elevators and escalators about 7 and 3 passengers a year.
Read the story →Cocaine on Currency
Someone has been saying yes to drugs, and the proof is likely in your wallet. According to a study released in August by scientists from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth,…
Read the story →Coffee, Coffee Everywhere, but Not a Drop in Boston
The recent water crisis in the greater Boston area, brought about by a massive rupture in a central water main, imposed many hardships on the two million people forced to boil water—or…
Read the story →Exercising Yourself into the ER & Living the Tale
Can exercise land you in the hospital, or even worse, the morgue? In 2008, Max Gilpin, a 15-year-old offensive lineman for his high school football team, was running sprints up and…
Read the story →10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About the Boston Marathon
Oldest annually run marathon on Earth—first held in 1897 with 15 entrants. William McKinley was president. Second Boston Marathon was won by a man named Ronald MacDonald. Current course record:…
Read the story →Recent US Records Show Sharks Deadlier Than Vending Machines
Not anymore: sharks killed about 1 a year in US waters, 2012 to 2025 (1 in 330 to 350 million). CPSC told Slate of no vending deaths, 2009 to mid-2022.
Read the story →Who Wins the Boston Marathon? Kenya Usually, Americans Rarely, and Shoes Don’t Pick the Winner
Kenyans won 45 of 76 Boston Marathon open titles from 1988 to 2026 (59%). Americans won 2, about 1 in 38 races per division.
Read the story →Letter From Afghanistan: Shaken to the Core
In April to June 2010 the US had about 93,800 troops in Afghanistan, and UN and Afghan rights monitors recorded 2,777 civilian deaths there in 2010.
Read the story →