Choking deaths on food in the US

Orbital debris and choking deaths, while both technically obstructions, would seem to have nothing in common. The numbers disagree. Somewhere above and below us, things are accumulating that shouldn't be.

Both totals are accumulation problems with unrelated mechanics. Tracked orbital debris grows steadily as satellite launches multiply and old missions fragment, while US choking deaths climb gradually as the population ages and more elderly Americans aspirate food. One is the sky's bookkeeping, the other is demography's.

So the correlation is two slow piles growing in two separate places. The space is harder to clean. The other is, in its way, sadder.