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“What’s Your Favorite True Statistic That Makes People Do A Double Take When They Hear It?” (45 Answers)
Numbers can be very powerful. Even though a few bits of data cannot provide the full nuanced context about something, they can subtly change how we perceive the world. Random stats and facts are also one (albeit a slightly geeky) way to break the ice at social gatherings.
Redditor u/magica12 recently sparked an interesting discussion after asking the incredibly active r/AskReddit online community for their favorite true statistics that stun other people. We’ve collected some of the most interesting ones, and it’s quite likely some of them are going to be completely new to you, too, dear Pandas. Scroll down to see for yourselves.
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Sharks have existed for longer than the North Star, by a considerable margin.
Not that sharks have existed for longer than the star was in position along Earth's rotational axis. Polaris, the star itself, only formed 70 million years ago, whereas the first sharks evolved **450 million** years ago.
Also, sharks are older than trees.
Polaris is actually 4 stars really close together. The big one Polaris Aa (6-7 times the size of the sun), which provides most of the light, is less than 70 million years old.
51% of all Americans aged 16-72 cannot read above a 6th grade level, which makes it impossible for them to educate themselves on their own, as they lack vital skills in the areas of cross-referencing information or even finding a particular piece of given information in a body of text.
You can send that [insert political party here] person as many links to articles to prove your point as you want. They literally will not be able to understand them.
Edit: what's worse is that statistic is more than 20 years out of date and ~~education~~ classrooms have steadily been decreased funding since. The studies involved took place at the height of education in the US.
Plato: 'One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."
Unfortunately those inferior people doing the governing maintain their power through mass-,media that is broadcast to the uneducated 24/7. For every reputable source there is also nonsense like Fox News, Breitbart, National Review that post absolute lies and do nothing more than indoctrinate the uneducated. At least academia is peer-reviewed, any conservative news is sensationalist c**
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The US education system is really what we should focus on improving. If we make kids smarter, they’ll be smart enough to vote for the right people!
Which is why certain people would probably want poor education.
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"We are in danger of producing an educated proletariat. That's dynamite! We have to be selective who we allow to go through higher education." - Roger Freeman, education advisor to President Nixon, while working on election of Governor Ronald Reagan. Now we have Ivy League graduates running around telling the rubes that all they need to know they learned from the bible.
Lack of access to higher education isn’t the problem here.
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Some states are underfunding their students by several thousand dollars per head.
Gee I wonder which party is responsible for that... Could it be the one that elected the most ignorant president in modern history? The one that boasts a college-educated percentage of less than 30 % (compared to the other, currently-in-White-House party that boasts around 50%)?
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As a book worm this makes me sad. Everyone should be able to experience the joy of reading. Which is why I volunteer helping adults learn to read. Even if they never read for pleasure they NEED to be able to understand things like tax forms, prescription instructions, bank info, etc.
I love this. These varying opinions on what politics have to do which this are very interesting, but regardless, we do have a problem. And it's inspiring to hear that someone is working to solve an issue like this. Thanks for what you do!
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Schools need to be able to hold kids back so they can retake the classes, take the time necessary to obtain the skills and information taught to them in their current grade.
Our education system needs an overhaul so kids can learn at their own pace. You know, some people think it’s better for kids to learn to read at seven instead of six because a lot of kids just aren’t really quite ready until they’re seven. My grandma told me that when she was raising my uncle and home schooling him, one of the other home school moms she was friends with told her that her daughter was really struggling with learning to read. My grandma suggested that she just wait a year. So she did, and at age seven, the girl had no problem learning to read. I wonder if waiting to really start teaching kids how to read until they’re seven would help because maybe they would be less likely to develop a view that reading is hard and then they’d learn it more successfully.
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An uneducated population is easier to control. Some people theorize this, defunding public education and inhibiting access to learning, will help the more affluent (and educated) stay in power. I think it sounds a bit too diabolical but "stranger things..."
https://www.snopes.com/news/2022/08/02/us-literacy-rate/
Load More Replies... I dont know about this. There are thousands of documentaries out there and just ongoing TV in general. Plus radio talk shows, social debates and discourse. Plenty of ways to gain information and educate oneself. Yeah, you take in alot of c**p too, but academia and the written word are just as susceptible to garbage as everywhere else in life. The best education to start with is how to recognise the difference between opinion, ideas, theories and facts, followed closely by how to run a quantifiable investigation to get at a factual result. The rest just follows.
But for every reputable source there is also nonsense like Fox News, Breitbart, National Review that post absolute lies and do nothing more than indoctrinate the uneducated. At least academia is peer-reviewed, any conservative news is sensationalist c**p.
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Smart way to get up votes. Bash everybody, while siding with everybody.
51% of all Americans aged 16-72 cannot read above a 6th grade level...well, that explains a lot of the recent American elections.
Well, since facebook posts are well below a 6th grade writing level, so this tracks. Explains why 51% of the country gets their "news" from facebook.
And this is why teachers are constantly pushing kids to read more. What a frightening statistic.
Add logic to that, as I am sure a high percentage of people cannot follow simple logic! That's why many arguments (political, particularly) are lost on so many!
That would explain some of the yurunda I see being posted in some comment boards... Mind you, today's sixth grade is not the same one *I* went through - I was reading the newspaper from cover to cover in sixth grade.
What's ridiculous is that I remember some reading group wanted to have a goal of all Americans to be at that of a college level, which is totally asinine. Goals are supposed to be obtainable. That... isn't. Here's something a bit more reasonable "By 20xx, 60% of Americans will be able to read at a 7th grade level." It's more accurate to what we have now & more reasonable.
This explains to me how so many people can be completely unaware that the US economy is currently is in good shape, inflation and unemployment are down and wages are up. Right wing news sources just tell people it's bad and they believe it. I try to get my family members to look at government statistics and they refuse. I guess the can't understand the information.
I would say it explains a lot, but I think we all saw it coming.
That's really sad. :( I got my first library card before I was in kindergarten, which I started at age 4. It feels like I've always been reading. I don't remember a time when I didn't.
Not buying it. You can improve your reading level by reading more and at a higher level. If you come across a word you do not understand, and cannot glean from the rest of the context, that is what dictionaries and encyclopedias are for. Maybe if Grammar school was their highest level of education completely it would be hard.
This is what the orange turd wants uneducated angry masses so he can keep pointing his finger at the next threat that isn't him. So yes I will take Biden at least he's not freaking nutter then a can of planters Peanuts 🥜
Good lord. This statistic alone makes me want to flee this country. Stupidity feels inherently tyrannical.
Then why are the top two most illiterate states democrat ran?
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Back in the 1980s, when I wrote industrial work instructions for chemical processing of printed circuit boards, our goal was to write for a 7th grade reading level. So have we deteriorated on grade level?
Most of the most brilliant people who shaped the world we live in had less than a sixth grade education.
I started reading at 3 and by the time I started school at 5 I was reading at a 6th grade level and my books had to come from the junior school. In 2nd grade I was given different lessons to do by the teacher more suitable to my reading abilities while every other student was still on picture books. My teacher was off sick so we got a substitute who gave me the same book as the other kids to read. I explained that I was given other books to read by the teacher as my reading skills were now at 8th grade level and he just laughed at me and told me to sit down. I said no and he sent me to the headmistress who on seeing me said oh I forgot to tell him about you! I was allowed to stay in her office for the 2 days my teacher was off sick to continue my normal lessons. I'm not a genius because I sucked at math lol, still do. At 8 I read War and Peace in about 4 hours and did a comprehensive essay on it. I was a boring kid as all I wanted to do was read.
I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the 10s of millions of illegal immigrants that have flooded here.
Public 'schools' with political and DEI agendas. Pronouns for the various sexes are now stressed more than geography. Buddy's son brings home recordings of the 'teaching' surreptitiously.
This is not true. Why people post b******t without actually checking is mind boggling to me.
What is it we teach in American schools now instead of reading? Oh, yeah, CRT. It's easy to cram garbage down kid's throats when they can't actually read about things for themselves.
No one has ever been able to tell me, but I honestly want to know. What schools are teaching CRT, outside of law schools (which do so as an optional later term class)? I mean, most adults can't understand the concept of laws being written to oppress specific demographics. What kids are being taught this highly advanced and specialized curriculum?
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Any particular reason? Or do you just feel like being edgy?
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There are greenland sharks up to 500 years old out there in the ocean. That means atleast one out there was born in the 1500s.
In real life, unless you’re a high-profile scientist, you probably won’t have the time or the resources to do research to confirm or deny any claims that sound iffy. It’s next to impossible to double-check every tiny little bit of info yourself. So, when it comes to determining whether or not a stat or fact is true or not, your best bet is to evaluate the reliability of the source.
First of all, focus on who’s making the claim. Consider whether they have any obvious biases. Think about their expertise in the area. Then, look at where they’re getting their data from. Are they the original researchers themselves, or are they simply referring to the data? Do they provide references for their claims, or are their sources something they might have (mis)heard or (mis)read years ago?
For me its gotta be that hippos have a higher kill count yearly than sharks. Its a good example of confirmation bias, or at least as far as ive been able to tell. And i think its because pop culture has conditioned us to think of sharks as the one of the ultimate predators.
You are closer in time to a T-Rex than the T-Rex was to a stegosaurus
Water blocks more radiation than the same amount of concrete or lead. And coffee grounds can set off Geiger Counters.
If the person making the claim isn’t the original source, then there are a few other questions you ought to consider asking.
What organization or study is the claim they’re referencing from? Do the organization and researchers have any obvious biases of their own? Is the information up to date? Does the research account for any alternative explanations? Are there any obvious flaws that you can spot in the way the data was collected?
America had twice as many deaths from Fentanyl in 2022 than all the U.S. casualties in Vietnam.
Freaking useless for pain. I was given some post OP once, asked the nurse what the hell it was. Made me feel all sorts of weird, physically nauseous, mentally all over the shop , did absolutely nothing for the pain. I pointedly asked for panadol because that was one loopy but crappy pain killer.
Did you know that honey never spoils? It's like nature's forever candy!
Joe Biden was born closer to Lincoln’s second inauguration than his own inauguration.
No hot take, no politics, no comment, just a wild fact.
The man who assassinated President Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth, had a brother, Edwin, years after the assassination, Edwin had just got off a train when a man fell under the wheels of the moving train, Edwin dragged the man away from the train and saved his life. The man who Edwin had just rescued was the son of… President Lincoln.
If you happen to have a background in statistics or data analysis, you can also take a peek at the researchers’ methodology to make sure that everything’s sound. For example, you can look at the sample size they used and whether it’s big enough to come to any firm conclusions. On top of that, it’s vital to remember that just because some factors are correlated does not mean that they’re in a causal relationship.
Meanwhile, reality is very rarely black and white. It’s often nuanced, subtle, and complex. If the conclusions exaggerate one particular point of view, it might be worth reexamining the data, methodology, and any potential biases. Good science lies in replicating the results and withstanding the peer review process.
The largest air force in the world is the US Air Force.
The 2nd largest air force in the world is the US Navy.
The solved rate for murder in the USA is 50%.
If no arrest is made in the first 48 hours, it drops to 28%.
I hope the cases are truly solved and the prosecution isn't just looking for percentages. ☕
Did you know that caterpillars have more muscles in their bodies than humans do? Mind blown, right?
Not really statistics, but;
The lighter was invented before the match
Oxford University predates the Aztec empire
And the Inca empire too .... Also, Chinese 'civilisation' (ie with writing, recording history, politics and social enterprises go back more than 5000 years) Egyptian history goes back even further and Indian history goes back, arguably, further than that. We in the West are mere historical pygmies.
The leading cause of death for pregnant American women is homicide.
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/homicide-leading-cause-of-death-for-pregnant-women-in-u-s/
20% of CEOs are psychopaths
If you took away Wayne Gretzky’s goals he’d still lead the NHL in points just on his assists.
Meerkats are the most homicidal animals on earth. ~20% of meerkat fatalities are due to other meerkats
I believe only 1 in 8 male Lions make it to adulthood. The rest are either killed as cubs when a new lion takes over the pride from their father, or die as adolescents when they try to challenge an existing pride leader and lose. Not necessarily killed outright in the latter, but a serious injury = can't hunt = die of starvation or infection.
The last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade died in 1940.
The slave trade / slavery is bigger business today than it ever was during 1700-1850 the years that are considered ‘the slave era’.
The Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal is further west than the Pacific entrance.
There are estimated to be more Earth-like planets in the Universe than grains of sand on Earth
Half of all the bones in your body are in you ankles, feet, wrists, and hands.
16 carpals, 10 metacarpals, 14 phalanges, 14 tarsals, 10 metatarsals along with some bones who I forgot about
There are more Panda Express locations in the world than living pandas.
A deck of cards can be arranged in so many different ways that every time you shuffle a deck, it's (so statistically unlikely that it's fair to say) impossible that any deck of cards has ever been in that exact order.
The single largest investor in the stock market is the Norweigan government.
Violet Jessop was a stewardess who survived both the Titanic, and on it's sister ships, the Britannic and the Olympic. and on all 3 voyages, something went wrong.
- The Olympic, when it was struck by a torpedo. the ship survived and actually retaliated, striking head on into the German U-boat that fired on it.
- The Titanic when it sank from the Iceberg
- and finally , the Britannic when it sunk from an underwater mine, during WW1. She was serving as an on deck nurse.
The Olympic was the only surviving member of it's liners, before being dismantled in the late 1940s.
EDIT: correction, the Olympic actually collided with the British warship HMS Hawke, when Jessop was on board. the U-boat incident happened after her service on the ship.
In a group of 23 people, there’s a 50% chance that at least 2 people in the group share a birthday. In a group of 57 people, there’s a 99% chance that at least 2 people in the group share a birthday.
People who grow up in inner city communities in Atlanta have higher rates of PTSD than soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
One thing that only happened yesterday: The youngest F1 driver on the grid was born *after* the oldest driver on the grid got his first win.
If Kobe Bryant (RIP) took another 5000 free throw attempts and missed them all, he would still have a better career free throw percentage than Shaq.
Kobe Bryant raped a woman, but because he was a good ball player people overlook that. It's disgusting
There are 10^11 stars in the Milky Way.
There are 10^120 legal chess board configurations.
Wayne Gretzky was the fastest player to hit 1000 points. The second fastest? Also Gretzky, his second 1000 points was done in like 8 games more than his first.
One of the first people who used a fax machine (or early version of what we know to be fax machines) was Napoleon
Coconuts do actually [migrate](https://academic.oup.com/aob/article/113/4/565/2768952?login=false), no swallows needed.
If the earth was the size of a marble it would be the smoothest object you’ve ever encountered.
About half of social security disability applications are never approved. I work in healthcare and many people think if they just get an attorney their application will definitely be approved. The statistics show otherwise. https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2020/sect04.html
My social security application was approved (on my first application) and I didn't have a lawyer. (Disclosure: the first time I was treated for my disability I was 12 years old and have been hospitalized a number of times since then)
The furthest any human has traveled away from the Earth is 280,000 miles (and back). Second furthest is 600 miles.
Not a statistics, but scales.
The distance between the lowest point in the ocean and the highest peak is less than the length of Manhattan.
If you put all the planets in the solar system and line them up side by side. They fit between the moon and the earth with room to spare.
For most mammals over 3kg, it’s takes about 20 seconds to evacuate the bladder.
(I just timed myself. 20.5 seconds)
Most people have an above average number of fingers.
If you took the Edmund Fitzgerald and stuck it nose down on the lake bed at the point it sank, over 200 feet of it would be sticking out of the water.
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead When the skies of November turn gloomy
The whole of South America is east of the state of Florida.
About 6-7% of all people throughout all of history have never died.
(simply because there have been about 120 billion humans in total since homo sapiens became homo sapiens... and there are about 8 billion alive now)
Be aware and warned; some of the statistics here are NOT "True" - it's just that the person posting really believed they were. And sometimes they were wrong/ fooled. This may be the great curse of our times - we are suddenly all required to become information experts and detectives.
Except none of this information is particularly useful to start with, and no one is going to remember or recount it with any accuracy either way. Tomorrow someone will tell a coworker that they just learned 51% of sharks are over 400 millions years old and that meerkats are more dangerous than hippos. I once had drinks with a guy who said they used to investigate gossip for a living, and you know what he said...?
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The population of virtually every country on Earth is smaller than the estimated total number of readheaded humans (~1-2% of all humans). Half of all humans live in one of the 7 most populated countries on Earth (China, India, USA, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, or Brazil).
So far as we know the coldest spot in the entire universe does exist on the earth.
Can we please taper off the chronic dumping on the USA for the duration of my nephew being in Lithuania training border security forces ? Leaves a bad odor and taste in the mouth while he's there... He is paying somebody else's share for security right now.
Be aware and warned; some of the statistics here are NOT "True" - it's just that the person posting really believed they were. And sometimes they were wrong/ fooled. This may be the great curse of our times - we are suddenly all required to become information experts and detectives.
Except none of this information is particularly useful to start with, and no one is going to remember or recount it with any accuracy either way. Tomorrow someone will tell a coworker that they just learned 51% of sharks are over 400 millions years old and that meerkats are more dangerous than hippos. I once had drinks with a guy who said they used to investigate gossip for a living, and you know what he said...?
Load More Replies... The population of virtually every country on Earth is smaller than the estimated total number of readheaded humans (~1-2% of all humans). Half of all humans live in one of the 7 most populated countries on Earth (China, India, USA, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, or Brazil).
So far as we know the coldest spot in the entire universe does exist on the earth.
Can we please taper off the chronic dumping on the USA for the duration of my nephew being in Lithuania training border security forces ? Leaves a bad odor and taste in the mouth while he's there... He is paying somebody else's share for security right now.
