Hurricanes With Female Names Kill More People Because They Don't Take Them As Serious As Male Named Hurricanes

Washington Post - People don’t take hurricanes as seriously if they have a feminine name and the consequences are deadly, finds a new groundbreaking study. Female-named storms have historically killed more because people neither consider them as risky nor take the same precautions, the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes. Researchers at the University of Illinois and Arizona State University examined six decades of hurricane death rates according to gender, spanning  1950 and 2012.  Of the 47 most damaging hurricanes, the female-named hurricanes produced an average of 45 deaths compared to 23 deaths in male-named storms, or almost double the number of fatalities.  (The study excluded Katrina and Audrey, outlier storms that would skew the model). The difference in death rates between genders was even more pronounced when comparing strongly masculine names versus strongly feminine ones. “[Our] model suggests that changing a severe hurricane’s name from Charley … to Eloise … could nearly triple its death toll,” the study says. Sharon Shavitt, study co-author and professor of marketing at the University of Illinois, says the results imply an “implicit sexism”; that is, we make decisions about storms based on the gender of their name without even knowing it. “When under the radar, that’s when it [the sexism] has the potential to influence our judgments,” Shavitt said.

This is a good life lesson. On 2 fronts. First of all, from a meteorological perspective – you probably should recognize that a hurricane is a gigantic ass storm that doesn’t know whether its feminine or masculine and you probably should take them serious no matter what made up name weathermen give them.

Secondly, from a more general life perspective – you better take chicks seriously. You take the wrong chick lightly and she’ll ruin your life. You think just because married some chick named Mildred that she can’t fuck you up? You think you’re big and bad and tough and you’re untouchable against Mildred? All the sudden BOOM – Mildred has broken you down, has you changing diapers, making the bed and buying her tampons. In the blink of an eye she’s running you through the wringer and taking half of everything you own. You didn’t take her seriously because, to you, she was just another chick. Turns out all was quiet just because you were just in the eye of the storm. Before you know it she’s cookin up 140 MPH winds and your life is ruined and you’re left with nothin.

Long story short chicks and hurricanes are not to be trifled with. Both can be an absolute force of nature that show no mercy.

PS – No fucking way I’d take a Hurricane name Eloise seriously. You could tell me thats Category 15 with 500 mph winds and I’d just tape some X’s over my windows and tell Eloise to go fuck herself.