Today, I read the following headline on my news feed:

Oregon police say man’s sneezing fit caused him to lose control of car, crash into home

This is scary.  This is scary because it can happen to any of us.  We all sneeze.  Most of us drive.  By simple statistics, we will sneeze while driving probably at least, like, a thousand times in our life.

It’s just another thing to add onto the list of news stories that inspire fear, not due to the fantastical or ghastly nature of them, but because they could happen to any of us.

Even after you filter out all the stories about things we do everyday like drive, fly, and live in areas with natural disasters, there are still those uncommon stories about the most mundane activities leading to our downfall.

It’s why I always feel unjustifiably nervous when walking by a track and field event.  That’s where javelins get thrown into people’s heads.  It’s why I always make sure that when using a hair dryer or toaster, there are no pools or puddles of water nearby.  That’s how people get electrocuted.

Sure, it doesn’t happen all the time.  That’s what makes it scarier!  I can deal with the fact that fender benders and muggings and petty theft of unsecured valuables happen.

But once, a guy watching Lost had his house hit by a meteor.  I watch LOST.  Thus, this could happen to me.

I clearly don’t know how my mind works, but I think it is correct to make these connections.  I’m sure it has something to do with how I was good at chess when I was younger.