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You know, studies show that keeping a ladder inside the house is more dangerous than a loaded gun. That's why I own ten guns, in case some maniac tries to sneak in a ladder.
- Grunkle Stan

I've been watching Gravity Falls and episode 10 contains this little gem. It sounds like one of those jokes that are actually true, but then again, it's a kids' show.

It seems that Grunkle Stan might be misinterpreting studies showing that falls from a ladder kill more people annually than guns (which is probably true). Or is he actually correct and a single ladder in the house is more dangerous than a single gun?

JohnEye
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    This isn't a serious claim. It is a joke. It isn't notable. [It also isn't clear.] – Oddthinking Jan 04 '18 at 15:05
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    @Oddthinking The fact that it was used in a joke doesn't mean it's not a serious claim. I do not think the show's writers just made it up. It's been incorporated into several internet memes and spread on picture forums. Also, seriously, how is it not clear? – JohnEye Jan 04 '18 at 15:33
  • Its not clear because "more dangerous" is subjective. – Jamiec Jan 04 '18 at 15:40
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    On the off chance that this gets re-opened, I'll put this link here: https://www.ishn.com/articles/100802-how-big-is-the-problem-of-ladder-falls. CDC tallies ~500 ladder-related deaths in the country a year (113 occupational, remainder household), a small fraction of gun deaths and fewer than accidental gun deaths. The 500,000 non-fatal ladder injuries may exceed non-fatal gun injuries, though. https://www.ishn.com/articles/100802-how-big-is-the-problem-of-ladder-falls – antlersoft Jan 04 '18 at 15:41
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    @Jamiec Why do you think so? There is probably more than one metric to choose from, but antlersoft clearly demonstrated that it is not hard to deal with. – JohnEye Jan 04 '18 at 15:46
  • @antlersoft Thanks, it may stay closed, but I'll just go and upvote a random (good) other answer of yours :-) – JohnEye Jan 04 '18 at 15:48
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    If you think it is a widely believed claim, please link to a better source of it than this. It is unclear, because there are many possible interpretations - that Antlersoft's comment ignores. Which of these does it mean? 1) More people die from ladder falls than gun deaths in the USA [laughably false, despite your "probably true" rating], 2) What about other countries (with lower firearm death rates)? 3) There are more death due to ladders *per ladder* than there are due to guns *per gun*. – Oddthinking Jan 04 '18 at 16:23
  • 4) There are more deaths due to ladders *per household with a ladder* than there are due to guns *per household with a gun*. 5) Mortality rates in houses with ladders are higher than houses without, and than effect is stronger than the equivalent for guns - i.e. the mere presence of a ladder is dangerous. 6) Something else? – Oddthinking Jan 04 '18 at 16:23
  • "falls from a ladder kill more people annually than guns (which is probably true)" - Umm, since that show is set in the USA, not a chance in hell. – PoloHoleSet Jan 04 '18 at 16:23
  • @Oddthinking Hmm, there's more complexity than I expected. With that, I'm not sure if I'll be able to salvage the question :-( – JohnEye Jan 04 '18 at 18:28
  • @PoloHoleSet Well, I should have been more explicit - I wanted to say gun accidents vs. ladder accidents since that's probably what the original citation implied. I naturally do not expect ladder killings to be more frequent than gun killings. Also it's sad how unsafe the US are, I'll be sure to wear a bulletproof vest when I visit. – JohnEye Jan 04 '18 at 18:33
  • Fair enough. I only reacted as strongly as I did because of the "kill" verb. – PoloHoleSet Jan 04 '18 at 19:24
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    Well, I suppose I did trip over a ladder about a year ago and injure my shoulder. I've never tripped over a gun. – Daniel R Hicks Jan 04 '18 at 23:19
  • I can see an interpretation where it makes sense. Compare ladder accidents in the house with gun accidents **in the house**. The total accidental deaths are similar but many of the gun deaths are hunting--and that's normally not done at home. – Loren Pechtel Jan 06 '18 at 03:20
  • @LorenPechtel - Actually, a large number of serious hunting accidents are due to falling from a ladder. (I'm being serious for once!) – Daniel R Hicks Jan 16 '18 at 13:14

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