“Every living thing is, from the cosmic perspective, incredibly lucky simply to be alive. Most, 90 percent and more, of all the organisms that have ever lived have died without viable offspring, but not a single one of your ancestors, going back to the dawn of life on Earth, suffered that normal misfortune. You spring from an unbroken line of winners.” LifeEarthLinesAlivePerspectiveLuckyNormalSpringPercentDiedWinnerDawnMisfortunesCosmicAncestorOrganismsLiving ThingsOffspringUnbroken Author:Daniel Dennett
“Now that you are dead, you are splendid. Photographs of people who have just died are worth twenty percent more, and for suicides there is an additional five percent. Now that you are dead you are much in demand.” PeopleFiveDemandPercentDiedTwentiesSuicidePhotographSplendid Author:Kobo Abe
“The Civil War was fought in 10,000 places, from Valverde, New Mexico, and Tullahoma, Tennessee, to St. Albans, Vermont, and Fernandina on the Florida coast. More than 3 million Americans fought in it, and over 600,000 men, 2 percent of the population, died in it.” MenWarAmericaFightingHistoryMillionsPercentDiedPopulationUsaCivil WarMexicoFloridaCoastAmerican Civil WarCasualtiesTennesseeVermontNew Mexico Author:Bruce Catton
“Has it ever occurred to you how lucky you are to be alive? More than 99 percent of all the creatures that have ever lived have died without progeny, but not a single one of your ancestors falls into that group! ... Not a single one of your ancestors, all the way back to the bacteria, succumbed to predation before reproducing, or lost out in the competition for a mate.” WayFallLostAliveGroupsAtheismLuckyCreaturesPercentDiedCompetitionPositive AtheismMatesAncestorBacteriaLucky YouProgenyReproducing Author:Daniel Dennett
“In fact, the Harvard study data indicates that 70 percent of African American children attend schools that are predominately African American, about the same level as in 1968 when Dr. King died.” ChildrenFactsSchoolLevelsStudyKingsPercentDiedDataAfrican AmericanDrsHarvard Author:Bobby Scott
“In 1990, one in 10 children died before the age of five. That's now down to one in 20, and vaccines were the single biggest factor in that. Had it stayed at 10 percent, 122 million more children would have died.” ChildrenAgeMillionsFivePercentDiedFactorsVaccines Author:Bill Gates