Mission: Space - When did you last go to the doctor?

Woman Dies After Going on Disney Ride LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - A woman died Wednesday after going on a ride at Walt Disney World so intense that it has motion sickness bags. [Yahoo News]

I have ridden on Mission: Space several times. Is it intense? You bet. You are under stress for almost the entire minute to minute and a half that the ride lasts. Is pulling 2Gs scary? Yes, especially if it is not something you do for a living. Is the ride dangerous? Yes, if you are not in good health, but otherwise, it is not only very safe, unlike rollercosters, it is at ground level or within a couple of feet of it.

This is only the latest death, and while it is spectacular in its scope, it is hardly statistically significant or even relevant in the grand scheme of things. In every case, the person who died had a medical injury that would have resulted in their death in a dozen different cases. The ride was not designed for children (sorry, the parents that let a 4-year-old boy ride were negligent, medical condition or not). In the other cases (with this one pending) the victims either did not have regular medical check-ups or knew they were not fit enough to go on the ride.

The rides at amusement parks (those ones that set up in shopping malls on weekends) are more dangerous from a mechanical standpoint than the rides at Disney or any of the other theme parks. Disney won't let a car out of the gate if there are not a half-a-dozen green lights and mechanical checks performed. They are engineered to exacting specifications and made with the best money can buy. You are more at risk on a public street than you are a theme park ride. Yet a person dies and it is news. Not that a half-a-million people went through the gates that day and had a wonderful time, thanks.