let x: Option<&str> = None; assert_eq!(x.unwrap(), "air"); // fails
λ> fromMaybe (error "panic!") Nothing *** Exception: panic!
λ> fmap (== "air") (Just "air") Just True
λ> fmap (== "air") (Nothing) Nothing
And I meant some notion of 'safety', not fromMaybe/fromJust.