h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have heard a rumour that wearing thigh-length wellingtonboots and standing in fast flowing rivers with the intention of catching fish, is a sport which has the highest number of fatalities per head.

Which side do the fatalities occur on?

Mostly the worms. It's a tough experience for them, and though it has now been prooved that the worms are in league with the fish (the fish don't actually eat them - they just hold them in their mouths and take them back to the surface) it seems most of them still die of shock (around 85%). Due to regulations that suggest most fish caught by typical single fishermen are thrown back into the water alive, and the rather harrowing statistics that say you have about a 1/1000 chance of dying whilst fishing suggests the following: fish are better at fishing because they don't drown; man should stick to land-based hunting like going to Burger King; and the worms get a really tough deal. It's them you should feel sorry for.

Mostly the worms. It's a tough experience for them, and though it has now been prooved that the worms are in league with the fish (the fish don't actually eat them - they just hold them in their mouths and take them back to the surface) it seems most of them still die of shock (around 85%). Due to regulations that suggest most fish caught by typical single fishermen are thrown back into the water alive, and the rather harrowing statistics that say you have about a 1/1000 chance of dying whilst fishing suggests the following: fish are better at fishing because they don't drown; man should stick to land-based hunting like going to Burger King; and the worms get a really tough deal. It's them you should feel sorry for.

A Fisherman is a brave soul. He pits his wits not only against those of the fish, and those of the worm, but also against the elements. Algy too conspire against the fisherman, forming a slippery surface over rocks etc., and on which the brave Fisherman may lose his footing.

This implies that Brave Fisherman are more stupid than brave. Being up to your armpits in rubber in order to not get wet and then standing in a stream doesn't make any sense. It's like sunbathing while you're covered in factor 30 suntan-lotion. Why bother?