This Morbid Simulator Knows How You'll Die
Have you ever wanted to ask the internet how you’ll die? After all, it’s 2016, and if you’re ready to inquire about the inevitable mystery belying all human existence, there’s now a graphical simulator that can predict your demise citing your race, sex and age.
Nathan Yau developed the aptly named “How You Will Die” simulator, which uses data culled from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Underlying Cause of Death database, which tracks the number of people who died in the United States between 1999 and 2014.
There are 15 different categories -- or causes of death -- at play in the app, all of which ebb and flow markedly depending upon your age. It’s a visually pretty simulator for such a morbid topic, and in order to use it, just input your gender, race and age and let the data take its course. According to Yao, “color corresponds to cause of death, and the bars on the right keep track of the cumulative percentages. By the end, you’re left with the chances that you will die of each cause,” or, a vibrant tapestry of death, depending upon how you look at it.
The Next Web brings to mind Yau’s penchant for combining grim data with sleek design: The developer has also made a calculator that predicts when you’ll die -- which compliments his “How You Will Die” project nicely -- and another simulation about the most common causes of death.
So if you’re sitting at work pondering things of a grim nature, give “How You Will Die” a try. Just be aware of the multiple caveats -- such as family medical history, and the general state of your health. After all, this only a simulator, not a crystal ball.
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Sam Blum is a News Staff Writer for Thrillist. He's also a martial arts and music nerd who appreciates a fine sandwich and cute dogs. Find his clips in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The A.V. Club and Vice. He's on Twitter @Blumnessmonster.