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38 ‘Weird Facts’ About The World That Might Give You A Fresh Perspective
Article created by: Ieva Pečiulytė
This post is basically a tribute to the sometimes undeservedly underrated branch of science known as statistics, which is all about collecting, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting data. From governmental census data to financial data and planning, business, sports and weather forecasting and much more, statistics is used in virtually every aspect of our lives.
It keeps us informed and in touch with current events by giving a unique perspective on facts and their relation with each other.
So in order to show us all how it was not worth it to skip stats class back in high school, we are diving into some of the most interesting threads on Reddit where people shared the most intriguing, random and mind-blowing statistics. Get yourself a cuppa and enjoy this entertaining bunch of random data below!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
8% of people pronounce Wi-Fi as wiffy...8%. I don't know who you are, but I will find you...
RELATED:
#2
20% OR MORE of pregnancies end in miscarriage. 20% is just "known pregnancies" and doesn't take into account all the women who just think "oh, my period was a day late, weird" without realizing they've actually had a very early miscarriage.
That is stunningly high compared to what we've been led to believe. If you think of all the women you know who either have or have tried to have children, there's an excellent chance that several of them have had a miscarriage before.
When you realize exactly how common it is, it makes it that much more sad that it is so stigmatized. If we talked about it more, maybe it wouldn't catch so many people off guard.
#3
The percentage of the Chinese population living in extreme poverty (living below 1.90$ a day) went from over 80% in the early 80's to 1.4% in 2014. In fact, it was still 23.1% just 10 years before that, in 2004. It's the most massive lift out of extreme poverty in world history.
#5
40% of Americans cannot afford a $400 USD emergency.
#7
Among a random group of 23 people, theres a 50% chance two of them share the same birthday
#9
If the oldest living person is 115 years old, then 116 years ago there was a totally different set of humans on earth.
#12
The average person in canada has a higher net worth than the average person in the USA. The median income for canadians is about twice the median income for americans.
#13
Astronomer here! One that has blown my mind is statistically it is now believed that every star has extrasolar planets around it. It turns out every one near us does, at least. At the very worst case, Kepler has shown that 70% of all stars have a planet orbiting its parent star at Earth's distance or closer.
Further, per the Kepler mission data it is now believed 17% of all stars have an Earth-sized planet around it.
I mean, we knew there were a lot, but this means there's at least a trillion planets in our own Milky Way galaxy. The thought makes me giddy!
#14
Cleopatra lived closer to the invention of the iPhone than to the building of the great pyramids.
#16
If you picked a random Swede and a random Canadian, the Swede would be more likely to speak English than the Canadian.
#17
There is a fence in Australia that stretches the equivalent distance of London to New York.
#18
If the earth was the size of a basketball then the atmosphere would be about as thick as a coat of paint. The only thing that separates us from the cold, harsh, vacuum of space is this comparably tiny layer of gasses that are held in place by gravity.
Another interesting one is that the only thing preventing the Earth from becoming a barren rock not unlike Mars is the fact we still have a molten core that generates a magnetic field that shields the atmosphere from being swept away by the solar wind. When the core eventually stops spinning it's game over.
#19
Late to the party, but:
Feral cats in Australia [take out] around 377 million birds per year.
That's more than one million birds per day.
One million. Per day.
Bec 6 months ago
Fun fact, an Australian study uncovered the fact dogs k**l as many, if not more, wildlife than cats in Australia, and are responsible for greater number kills in one event...(think attacks on little penguins). But it is kept largely hush hush because councils dont want the costs of more dog controls.
#20
The first cities started around 12,000 years ago. The first evidence of writing started 6,000 years ago. Humanity appeared 200,000 years ago in its current form. So 94% of the time we've been on the planet happened before we had cities, and 97% before we had writing.
#21
There are more possible combinations to shuffle a deck of cards than there are atoms on earth... and if you started shuffling a new combination every second starting at the big bang, you'd still be shuffling right now...
#22
The bible is the most shoplifted book in history.
#23
It takes an individual photon several millenia to go from the center to the surface of the sun.
Then it takes only 8 minutes to reach Earth, and a couple days at most to leave the solar system.
#25
More [lives are taken away] by vending machines than by sharks.
#26
I go to one of the top universities in the US, and I recently found out that 45% of our student population is in the top 5%, wealth-wise. I most definitely am not, and it made a lot of sense but was incredibly disheartening at the same time.
#27
99% of the wild African grey parrot population had disappeared since 1992. Solely due to the illegal trapping for the pet trade.
Indian and nepalese vulture populations have declined by 99% since 2000 due to diclofenac poisoning.
#29
The existence of the T-Rex is closer in time to today than it is to the existence of the Stegosaurus.
#34
In the US if you do the following 3 things:
1. Graduate High School
2. Get and keep *any* job
3. Don't have a child out of wedlock
You have a 75% chance of being in the middle class and a *98%* chance of living above the poverty line.
https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/three-simple-rules-poor-teens-should-follow-to-join-the-middle-class/
#38
Ants have a larger biomass than humans.
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