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.
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.
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Edit: what’s worse is that statistic is more than 20 years out of date and ~~education~~ classrooms have steadily been decreased funding since.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.
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?
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?
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.
No hot take, no politics, no comment, just a wild fact.
The 2nd largest air force in the world is the US Navy.
The last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade died in 1940.
Half of all the bones in your body are in you ankles, feet, wrists, and hands.
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.
People who grow up in inner city communities in Atlanta have higher rates of PTSD than soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Your foot is about the same length as your forearm
The furthest any human has traveled away from the Earth is 280,000 miles (and back). Second furthest is 600 miles.
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
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
No hot take, no politics, no comment, just a wild fact.
The 2nd largest air force in the world is the US Navy.
The last survivor of the transatlantic slave trade died in 1940.
Half of all the bones in your body are in you ankles, feet, wrists, and hands.
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.
People who grow up in inner city communities in Atlanta have higher rates of PTSD than soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Your foot is about the same length as your forearm
The furthest any human has traveled away from the Earth is 280,000 miles (and back). Second furthest is 600 miles.
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
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.
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)
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