Useless Statistics

Statistics are like a skimpy bathing suit -- they show too much but they hide the most important parts. The following items are from various websites containing odd statistics.

7% of Americans believe Elvis is alive.

9% of Americans reported having been in the presence of a ghost.

10% of frequent flyers never check their luggage when flying.

25% of Americans do not know their astrological sign.

27% of Americans think billboards are beautiful.

27% of American male college students believe life is a meaningless existential hell.

35% of people who use personal ads for dating are already married.

38% of North America is wilderness.

40% of dog & cat owners carry a picture of their pets in their wallets.

40% of women have hurled footwear at a man.

43% of criminals released from prison in the U.S. will be rearrested within a year of being released.

50% of teenage boys say they would rather be rich than smart.

50% of bank robberies occur on Fridays.

51% of turns are right turns.

55% of motor bike accidents happen on the weekend.

55% of Americans know the sun is a star.

55% of men wash their hands after using a restroom.

80% of women wash their hands after using a restroom.

58% of men say they are happier after a divorce or separation.

85% of women say they are happier after a divorce or separation.

57% of British school kids think Germany is the most boring country in Europe.

60% of electrocutions occur while talking on the phone during a thunderstorm.

82% believe in an afterlife.

90% of women who walk into a department store immediately turn to the right.

August is the month when most babies are born.

Statistically, the safest age of life is 10 years old.

Statistically, the odds of being murdered are one in 20,000.

Statistically, in America, one out of 15 people will contract an infection during a hospital stay.

80% of Americans die in a hospital.

By age 65, Americans will have watched more than 9 years of television.

The average American moves 12 times in a lifetime.

The average American looks at 8 houses before actually buying one.

The average person keeps old magazines for 29 weeks before throwing them out.

More people are killed annually by donkeys than are killed in airplane crashes.

Most fatal car accidents occur on Saturday.

Couples who marry in January, February and March have the highest divorce rates.

Globally, about 200 babies are born every minute.

On average, right-handed people live 9 years longer than left-handed people.

13 people per year are killed by vending machines falling on them.

More people fear spiders than death.

You are more likely to be killed by a champagne cork than by a poisonous spider.

Americans eat an average of 18 acres of pizza daily

If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would produce enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

If you fart consistently for 6 years and 9 months, you would produce the energy of an atomic bomb.

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I was born in August (month of most frequent births) -- I know my astrological sign (Leo) -- I have lived at over 50 addresses in 12 states (much more than average) -- I wash my hands after using the restroom -- I do not carry photos of my dogs in my wallet -- when I walk into a department store I walk straight ahead until I can figure out which direction to take -- no woman has ever hurled footwear at me.

Statistically, I'm a walking contradiction beyond the norm, where I'm comfortable with life and my eccentricities.

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Quote for the Day -- “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.” Mark Twain

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Bret Burquest is the author of 10 books. He lives in the Ozark Mountains with a couple of dogs and where 111,111,111 times 111,111,111 equals 12,345,678,987,654,321.

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