Sunday, December 14, 2014

No, Really: Mumps in the NHL

Have you heard that the mumps are going around the NHL? Strangely enough, it's true. Apparently in the US last year, there were 584 cases, but so far about 13* players in the NHL have it, a number that now includes Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, who looked like this on Friday as he said that, no, he didn't have the mumps, he wouldn't be practicing if he had the mumps, come on.
*According to the Globe and Mail today, anyway.
Sunday the team announced that he in fact has the mumps. Okay then.

Now, the exact math escapes me, but if 584 out of 317,292,487* people get a disease, and 13 out of ~500** people get that disease, well, it's against the odds, isn't it?
*US population at the end of 2013
**30 teams, 20 players on each roster; even with changes, it wouldn't be over, say, 650.

Math people, help me out. Am I right?

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