Image via Complex Original
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If you decided to take that trip to Rio for this summer’s Olympics that officially kick off tomorrow, we hope you have your estate in order. Because we’re gonna be blunt here: Rio sucks right now. It's beautiful, yes. It's historical, yes. But it’s not a very safe place, and it surely isn’t a very healthy place—it’s unhealthy to swim, it’s unhealthy to breathe, it’s unhealthy to have sex. Basically, right now, it’s unhealthy to live in Rio.
So consider this your warning. If you happen to be in Rio right now, these are the 7 Ways You Can Die at the Summer Olympics.
2.Diarrhea
When the IOC awarded Rio the 2016 Games, the city said they would clean the water. Newsflash: they haven’t. According to the New York Times, in 2009, Brazil pledged to fork up $4 billion to clean 80 percent of the pollutants in the water, but wound up spending just $170 million. One of the most polluted areas of the water, Copacabana, will be hosting marathon swimming and the triathalon. The beach volleyball matches will also be played on Copacabana beach. The Ganabara Bay will host the sailing and windsurfing competitions, and 70 percent of the bay’s water has gone untreated. Athletes were recently told they would be swimming in “human crap, and they risk getting sick from all those microorganisms.”
Some of these bacteria and microorganisms are full of “diarrhea-causing rotaviruses,” according to CBS Sports. Athletes have been getting sick from Rio’s filthy water, leading to nausea, dizziness, and diarrhea. In fact, according to rehydrate.org, it is the second-largest killer of children under the age of five. So, yeah, try not to poop yourself to death.
3.Meningitis
If diarrhea isn’t your fate, meningitis might be. Meningitis causes you to be a lot more sore, especially in the head, neck, and chest areas. You get a huge rash, you puke a lot, it’s terrible. There is a 10 percent death rate from meningitis, and it's even possible you could suffer seizures for the rest of your life (word to Wayne). But hey, it was your decision to swim in human feces. Biomedical expert Valerie Haywood had a piece of advice for anyone in Rio: “Don’t put your head under water,” as anyone who does risks falling violently ill, according to ABC News.
4.Harsh Living Situation/Freak Accidents
Just 12 of 31 Olympic Village buildings have passed health inspection, so Rio visitors, most notably Andrew Bogut, risk their lives in the Olympic Village. Andrew Bogut has kept his followers up to date with what it’s like to live in Rio, and it’s not good. Once the Mavericks' new center arrived in Rio, he seemed, well, indifferent about staying in the Olympic Village, sending out this tweet:
About 100 minutes later, Bogut sent out another tweet, giving us his first official update on #IOCLuxuryLodging, saying he had to put together his own shower curtain to avoid flooding:
Stephen Wade, a writer for the Associated Press covering the Olympics, had an accident of his own in the shower where not only did he not have hot water, but his shower head fell off. At least it wasn’t the shower handle, so Wade will more than likely avoid drowning. As for Bogut, his seven-foot frame will hopefully keep his head above water.
Even American gymnasts Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez might suffer some sort of separation anxiety; their place in the village doesn’t have power outlets, much to the displeasure of the 16-year old Hernandez.
5.Zika
Usually, athletes at the Olympics get a ton of action; this year, there may be a slight dip in the athlete sex numbers. We know that it’s rare to contract Zika, and it’s actually pretty rare to die from the virus. Of the 683 people diagnosed with the virus in Puerto Rico, just one person died from it. But it’s still possible. As of June, 32,000 cases were reported in Rio, and there have only been four deaths. The Zika hype is the main reason why top athletes have not traveled to the first Olympic Games in South America, especially female athletes. Pregnant women with Zika are much more likely to give birth to a baby with serious birth defects that could lead to a fetal death.
6.Murder/Terrorism
From January to April of this year, there were 2,036 people killed in the city alone. Murders are up 15 percent from last year’s 18.6 rate. The entire country of Brazil has had its prison rates rise by 74 percent in the last seven years. Somewhere between 10 and 15 women are killed every day in Brazil. A Chinese hurdler was vomited on and robbed shortly after touching down in Rio, and a New Zealand jiu-jitsu athlete was kidnapped. Gang violence is very popular in Brazil; in fact, according to Spiegel, gangs sometimes ever hire children to do the killings for them, that way the older members don’t serve jail time and the children serve just a short sentence. Also, 40 percent of murder victims are between the ages of 15 and 25. The Olympics have often been a place in threat of terrorist attacks—one struck in 1972 in Munich, there was a bombing in 1996 in Atlanta, and there was already a threat this year. This is getting pretty dangerous, especially for a place that is already struggling to keep crime at bay.
7.Drug Overdose
Rio has a drug rate of 84.39, according to numbeo.com. Who cares if we don't know exactly what that means? It's still not good. Drugs are bad.
The good news is that Brazilians are pretty smart with how much drugs they do take, as the death rate is just 0.61, according to worldlifeexpectancy.com. The bad news is that not everybody in Rio right now is Brazilian. Watch your intake!
8.Air Pollution
According to Reuters, Olympians and visitors of Rio should be more concerned about the air than the water. We already know how bad the water is—we just told you you can die from swimming in it. The report says thousands of people die a year from asthma, lung cancer, heart attacks, and strokes, all stemming from poor air quality. For any Americans heading down to Rio, might be time to cop a gas mask. Unless you’re from L.A., in which case, enjoy the fresh air!