Death is a part of life. It's coming for you just like those Final Destination movies. Now chances are high that you'll pass away peaceably surrounded by your love ones, but if you play the fool, the Reaper just might take you early.

Photo credit: John Audrey
Photo credit:
John Audrey
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So this isn't "leading causes of death," but more like "things you should avoid unless you want to be a die a premature death."

It's a whimsical look at the circle of life and ways to avoid an untimely end. We just have to look out for spiders and snakes here the way they have to look out for sharks and ex-NFL running backs on the West Coast.

 

  • 1

    Your Health

    Let's make this your physical and mental health. Lubbock is above average in obesity and suicides. We're on the high end of folks with hypertension and we obviously have a lot of folks with (dust-assisted) respiratory problems. Lubbock is also not immune to deaths from cancer and diabetes. And to wrap it up, Lubbock has a much higher rate of smoking than the rest of Texas.

  • 2

    Spiders

    Lucky us! We have black widow and brown recluse spiders. That's two poisonous spiders that could ruin your day.

    Let's start with the black widow, which is considered to be the most venomous spider in North America. Their bite is rarely fatal, but it could happen. They send to favor dark dusty environments, which means they probably consider Lubbock heaven for their species.

    Brown Recluse bites generally only kill kids under seven, but they can eat a real unsightly hole in your body (kind of like when the Alien's drool goes through the floor of the spaceship).

  • 3

    Guns

    We score pretty big on this one. From 2004-2010, we had a homicide by gun rate of 2.4 percent per 100,000 people and 6.1 percent rate of suicide. Let's also add in all of those accidents that happen from time to time.

    There doesn't seem to be place that hosts that statistic, but you'll come up with more than enough tragic stories if you Google "firearm accidents Lubbock County."

  • 4

    Driving

    Lubbock had 21 fatalities in 2013 and 22 in 2012 according to City Data. I'm actually surprised these numbers aren't higher, but I guess new safety devices installed in cars save some Lubbock drivers from themselves. The flow of death is kind of interesting, too. We went from having most deaths inside The Loop to most being on or adjacent to The Loop, particularly on the west side of town.

  • 5

    Rattlesnakes

    Your chances of dying from a rattlesnake bite are one in 50 million. Even then, you've played the lottery when you've had less than a one in 50 million chance, haven't you?

    While Lubbock isn't as snake infested as say, Sweetwater, we're no strangers to rattlers either. The key to surviving a rattlesnake bite is getting treatment immediately. There's no time to stop and take a selfie with a snake that's bit you. Get to the doctor, pronto!

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