Statistics and Research- Most Common Accidents in the Home & Most annoying things

To help me along with my list of things to shoot, I decided to research my the most common household accidents that occur.
I looked at many websites, with each one telling me different things and different statistics;

'sharkclean.eu' tells me;

1. Slips, trips and falls
2. Burns
3. Cuts
4. Choking
5. Poisoning
6. Drowning
7. Falling objects

All of which I don't really see fitting into my project, as I was hoping to shoot more objects and making the images lighthearted. I don't feel that accidentally being poisoned is the most lighthearted and relatable subject!
Falling objects could be a good idea, however. I could shoot a china bowl, plate or other bit of crockery shattered on the floor, showing clumsiness and a very common thing that happens in everyday households.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, which seems more reliable than my other sources, provides me with a lot of domestic facts and figures about domestic injuries. While my project isn't currently about injury, this is very interesting information that could potentially work its way into my project as it develops.

• Every year there are approximately 6,000 deaths as the result of a home accident
• Falls are the most common accidents, which can cause serious injury at any time of life. The risk increases with age
• Around 25,000 under-fives attend A&E departments each year after being accidentally poisoned
• More accidents happen in the lounge/living room than anywhere else in the home.
• Every year more than 4,200 children are involved in falls on the stairs and 4,000 children under the age of 15 are injured falling from windows
• The cost to society of UK home accident injuries has been estimated at £45.63billion (£45,630million) annually.
• Over 76,000 children under the age of 14 are admitted for treatment of which over 40% are under 5 years of age

While of course I may not implement injury into my project, I do find these statistics a representation of how widespread accidents in the home really are.

Something I will definitely take from this article is the fact that most accidents occur in the living room - now I know what people will relate to the most when i'm taking my images. I can base a lot of the images around things in the living room in order for my audience to be able to connect themselves with the imagery.

I feel that these statistics could be a starting point for a whole another project which could be incredibly interesting, however they may not fit 100% with my work at the moment.

I then changed my search, as injuries aren't really what I was looking for. So I searched 'most annoying things at home' and some articles that can really help inform my work.

The first I came across was an article from the Telegraph, who reported on a poll by Nurofen Express from 2009 which asked people what the most annoying things in life were.

The list is from 1-100 so I won't be listing everything here, but will comment on notable parts of this list that could affect my work. A lot of the suggestions won't work with my project as they're not necessarily 'ah shit' moments, for example, number one on this list is 'chavs'. I find it very unlikely people thing or say 'ah shit' when they see somebody who could be described as a 'chav', it's more their behaviour that causes an annoying twinge. I feel 'ah shit' moments are moments of realisation and things that happen spontaneously.

The first thing on this list that caught my eye was 'Stepping in dog poo', however this was already on my list to shoot as it's a very common predicament, it's unpleasant and nobody enjoys the scenario that unfortunately happens too often.

Secondly, number 17 grabbed my attention. "17. Computer crashing losing work you've spent three hours doing". This I can relate to very much, and I believe a lot of people have been there. In this day and age most people rely on their technology, and when it doesn't perform as we expect we can feel very angry, annoyed and disappointed, despite knowing there's always a risk of this happening, we just don't expect it to happen to us. For this I could shoot a laptop with a 'blue screen of death' or an error code. 

Next, "21. Leaving a tissue in a pocket and putting it in a washing machine" this one is again, rather universal in my eyes. It can also be receipts, other notes, money, hair ties etc. I could place all of these things in one image in the drum of a washing machine or have just the tissue. 

"36. Stepping in chewing gum" this one plays alongside the stepping in dog poo one, stepping in anything that you didn't intend to can be annoying really, particularly if it sticks to your foot or shoe. For this, I could simply have a picture of an upturned shoe with gum stuck the bottom of it, it will be clear and easy to understand for all audiences, as this annoyance isn't just for one demographic, but most in first world countries. 

"86. Running out of petrol" isn't the most universal thing, however most people do drive, and those who don't i'm sure can empathise with those who do in this situation - or at least I don't drive and I can imagine how annoying it is when you are close to running out or have run out of fuel. For this, I could simply wait until i'm in a car with somebody with very little fuel left and do a close up of the fuel guage, clearly indicating the problem at hand rather than drawing attention to the whole dashboard.

 "87. Burning your toast" - this one is certainly a very common annoyance. I'm sure most people have done this and it's annoying to either have to start again or scrape off the burnt bits. Toast is commonly a breakfast item and having a bad start in the morning can leave you feeling annoyed for the rest of the day. This would be easy to shoot, having it popping out of a toaster almost black.

"88. Sunburn" This is one I relate to a lot, being ginger myself. However, i'm not sure everybody else can relate to it; those with darker complexions may be able to sympathise however i'd prefer for my images to be more relatable than not. Also, I wouldn't want myself or my models to actually burn so i'd have to replicate it with makeup which may not look realistic.

There were a few replies that I thought the same as the sunburn; some people can relate and some can't. For example, "54. Finding a flat tyre". It could be argued that this is similar to the fuel scenario, however i'd be willing to argue that the fuel scenario is a lot more relatable as it happens more often and non drivers are often in the car when it happens or they hear drivers talk about running on empty. 

Another option was "55. Parking costs" however I feel that what may be unreasonable to some will be fine for others, depending on their parking requirements, their upbringing, income and location and so this might not be the best option, however stemming off this could be parking fines, which are more universal and incredibly annoying. 

https://sharkclean.eu/uk/7-common-household-accidents-avoid/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/6131208/The-100-most-annoying-things-poll.html