The collective net worth of the world's 691 billionaires is $2.2 trillion, up by $3 billion from the combined net worth of the 587 people listed last year
If you took 10 million random digits, statistically on average you would expect 200 cases where you'd find 5 digits in a row that were the same -- if you take 10 million digits of Pi, you get exactly 200 cases
The tobacco industry produces 6 trillion cigarettes a year - about 1,000 cigarettes for every woman, man and child on earth
About 1.2 billion people globally are underfed- slightly less than the number globally who are obese
Pluto is not a planet
The popular notion that we only use about 10% of our brains is absolutely false - even though it is true that some mysteries still exist, every part of the brain has a known function
In the United States, percent of charitable donations each year made by individuals, foundations and corporations to churches: 40%
Percent of your body weight that is water: about 75%
To most Americans, the Orient is China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam while to most Europeans it is the area of India and Pakistan
Half of all adults worldwide hesitate or otherwise demonstrate some difficulty in distinguishing left from right
The silkworm moth has 11 brains
.7% of the entire barley crop in Ireland goes into the production of Guinness beer
Most water droplets in a cloud re-evaporate and never reach the ground- only about 20% actually falls as rain
1 in 10 people on Earth lives on an island
About 1 in 2,000 people automatically see colors when hearing words, letters or numbers (90% are female)
Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that the brains of people with relative higher intelligence are less active than the brains of less intelligent people when working out the same problem or task
White children are 4 times more likely to be born with webbed fingers than Black children, while Black children are 10 times more likely to be born with extra fingers than any other racial group
Crayola Crayon manufacturers officially changed the color "flesh" to "peach" in 1962
"Harley Davidson Barbie" has a scar on her face
Barbie's parents' names are George and Margaret
When the Pez candy dispenser was first introduced in the late 1950s it was meant to replace the activity of smoking
An exchange of five letters of correspondence between Pierre Fermat and Blaise Pascal in the 1650s is credited with introducing the mathematical field Probability
The housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F
Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall of China is not the only human-made structure visible from the moon - there are NO human-made structures visible from the moon - some human-made structures are visible from space but the Great Wall is not the only one
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Thursday, December 6, 2007
EGGHEADS
Number of Americans without health insurance: 47 million
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought at Breeds Hill (Boston, American Revolutionary War)
Number of birds kept by the "Bird Man of Alcatraz" during his incarceration: 0
There are enough active credit cards in the U.S. for every woman, man and child to have two
Percent of Americans surveyed in 2004 who stated Benjamin Franklin was the first president of the United States: 10% (54% identified George Washington)
According to the World Health Organization, the number of children that die as a direct result of poverty worldwide each year: 11 million (note: the WHO defines "child" as a person 5 years of age or younger)
The top 200 corporations in the world are enjoying sales that are growing at a faster rate than overall global economic activity -- these sales represent 25.7% of the world's economic activity while these same top 200 corporations employ just 0.78% of the global workforce (5% of all the workforce employed within the top 200 corporations are employed by Wal-Mart alone, making it the largest private employer in the world)
Of the top 200 corporations in the world, 41% are American and of these 35% do not pay taxes or actually get rebates from the government in the form of tax breaks and subsidies (Texaco, Pepsi, Chevron, Wal-Mart, Worldcom, and General Motors are examples)
Less than 1% of world debt is owed by the developing nations of the "third world" -- total debt of the 41 poorest nations is $200 billion -- total debt of U.S.: $5,000 billion (France: $750 billion; Belgium: $250 billion; Japan: $2,000 billion; former Eastern Bloc countries: $465 billion)
Non-Chinese corporate logo most recognized by Chinese people in China: KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)
Of America's 15 top-rated hospitals, 6 have fastfood chains in their lobbies and family/visitor waiting areas
When offered a new pen to write with, 98% of Americans will write their own name
Most likely day of the week to be murdered in the United States.: Saturday, at about 11 p.m. (Friday is the most likely day worldwide, also around 11 p.m. local time)
The two states with the least stringent gun control laws, Maine and Vermont, have the lowest homicide rates in the U.S.
In the U.S. there are about 500 prison inmates per 100,000 residents of the general population, but about 4,600 black male prison inmates per 100,000 black males of the general population (and about 1,800 Latino/Hispanic male inmates and 709 white male inmates)
The 7-Eleven Extreme Gulp is 50% bigger than the volume of the human stomach
A hardboiled egg will spin, while an uncooked egg will not
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought at Breeds Hill (Boston, American Revolutionary War)
Number of birds kept by the "Bird Man of Alcatraz" during his incarceration: 0
There are enough active credit cards in the U.S. for every woman, man and child to have two
Percent of Americans surveyed in 2004 who stated Benjamin Franklin was the first president of the United States: 10% (54% identified George Washington)
According to the World Health Organization, the number of children that die as a direct result of poverty worldwide each year: 11 million (note: the WHO defines "child" as a person 5 years of age or younger)
The top 200 corporations in the world are enjoying sales that are growing at a faster rate than overall global economic activity -- these sales represent 25.7% of the world's economic activity while these same top 200 corporations employ just 0.78% of the global workforce (5% of all the workforce employed within the top 200 corporations are employed by Wal-Mart alone, making it the largest private employer in the world)
Of the top 200 corporations in the world, 41% are American and of these 35% do not pay taxes or actually get rebates from the government in the form of tax breaks and subsidies (Texaco, Pepsi, Chevron, Wal-Mart, Worldcom, and General Motors are examples)
Less than 1% of world debt is owed by the developing nations of the "third world" -- total debt of the 41 poorest nations is $200 billion -- total debt of U.S.: $5,000 billion (France: $750 billion; Belgium: $250 billion; Japan: $2,000 billion; former Eastern Bloc countries: $465 billion)
Non-Chinese corporate logo most recognized by Chinese people in China: KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken)
Of America's 15 top-rated hospitals, 6 have fastfood chains in their lobbies and family/visitor waiting areas
When offered a new pen to write with, 98% of Americans will write their own name
Most likely day of the week to be murdered in the United States.: Saturday, at about 11 p.m. (Friday is the most likely day worldwide, also around 11 p.m. local time)
The two states with the least stringent gun control laws, Maine and Vermont, have the lowest homicide rates in the U.S.
In the U.S. there are about 500 prison inmates per 100,000 residents of the general population, but about 4,600 black male prison inmates per 100,000 black males of the general population (and about 1,800 Latino/Hispanic male inmates and 709 white male inmates)
The 7-Eleven Extreme Gulp is 50% bigger than the volume of the human stomach
A hardboiled egg will spin, while an uncooked egg will not
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
DON'T WORK - SEE THE WORLD!
The first toilet flush in a big screen American movie: Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1965)
Contrary to popular belief, Eskimos and Inuits do not have more words for "snow" than English speakers
Percent of the adult resident population in Washington, DC that is functionally illiterate: 36%
On an average day in the American workforce:
2 workers are fatally shot
3 fall to their deaths
1 is killed by a motor vehicle
1 is electrocuted
In an average year 30 American workers die from heat stroke and another 30 are killed by carbon monoxide
Globally, work kills more civilians than war with about 5,000 workers dying each day (the equivalent of 3 deaths per minute) mostly due to unsafe working conditions
A positive result from a HIV test is false nearly 50% of the time for men in low risk groups and is even less reliable for women in low risk groups
After extensive market research that cost the auto industry millions of dollars, analysis into their customers resulted in the following conclusions published for auto dealers and distributed last year:
"SUV owners tend to be people who are insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable with parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors or communities. They are more restless, more sybaritic, and less social than most Americans. They tend to like fine restaurants more than off-road driving, seldom go to church, and have limited interest in helping others."
The caffeine extracted from coffee beans to make decaf coffee is sold to drug and soft drink manufacturers
On average, each square mile of the earth has the same number of insects living within its parameters as there are people inhabiting the entire planet (6.6 billion)
Ant trails always fork at 60 degree angles
The average weekly pay of financial sector jobs in Manhattan is $8,300 -- the 280,000 financial sector workers collect more than half of all the wage earnings paid in Manhattan each week even though they account for less than 1 in 6 jobs in the city
The IRS audited 21% more income tax returns in 2006 than in 2005 -- the income group most likely to be audited were taxpayers reporting incomes of less than $25,000 for the year
The first commercial hand-held cellular phone was marketed in 1983 by Motorola
Each year in the U.S. the number of prescriptions that are filled incorrectly: over 20,000
The inside of the earth is spinning faster than the rest of the planet
The average fuel economy of a car sold in 2005 was 6% lower than a car sold in 1987
Incidents of immune system disorders diagnosed in the U.S. has increased 200% in the past 5 years
Percent of movies released each year in the U.S. that are R-rated: 55%
Percent of Americans who do not understand the method for testing a scientific hypothesis for validity: 77%
The United States ranked last among a list of the 163 wealthiest nations when measured according to account balance - the U.S. had the highest deficit (March 2007)
Globally, about 25% of the population will receive a diagnosis of depression in their lifetime (for Americans this rate rises to 53%)
Top 15 countries receiving U.S. foreign aid (note that Israel and Egypt receive 1/3 of all aid, while the total aid these 15 nations combined receive from the U.S. is more than half of all the foreign aid the U.S. distributes... leaving the world's 10 poorest nations to divvy up less than 5% of U.S. foreign aid among them):
Israel... $1,200 billion
Egypt... $$815 billion
Russia... $263 billion
Ukraine... $161.4 billion
India... $156.3 billion
South Africa... $131.9 billion
Peru... $123.9 billion
Bolivia... $121 billion
Haiti... $116 billion
Ethiopia... $108 billion
Turkey... $105.8 billion
Bosnia... $80.6 billion
Bangladesh... $77.8 billion
West Bank/Gaza Strip... $76 billion
Phillipines... $74.9 billion
Economic assistance to the above listed 15 countries includes development assistance that most commonly requires these nations to hire U.S. firms and corporations to complete the development, thereby circulating the "foreign aid" money back into the U.S., as well as international narcotics control from which the U.S. earns about $3,000 billion per year
Contrary to popular belief, Eskimos and Inuits do not have more words for "snow" than English speakers
Percent of the adult resident population in Washington, DC that is functionally illiterate: 36%
On an average day in the American workforce:
2 workers are fatally shot
3 fall to their deaths
1 is killed by a motor vehicle
1 is electrocuted
In an average year 30 American workers die from heat stroke and another 30 are killed by carbon monoxide
Globally, work kills more civilians than war with about 5,000 workers dying each day (the equivalent of 3 deaths per minute) mostly due to unsafe working conditions
A positive result from a HIV test is false nearly 50% of the time for men in low risk groups and is even less reliable for women in low risk groups
After extensive market research that cost the auto industry millions of dollars, analysis into their customers resulted in the following conclusions published for auto dealers and distributed last year:
"SUV owners tend to be people who are insecure and vain. They are frequently nervous about their marriages and uncomfortable with parenthood. They often lack confidence in their driving skills. Above all, they are self-centered and self-absorbed, with little interest in their neighbors or communities. They are more restless, more sybaritic, and less social than most Americans. They tend to like fine restaurants more than off-road driving, seldom go to church, and have limited interest in helping others."
The caffeine extracted from coffee beans to make decaf coffee is sold to drug and soft drink manufacturers
On average, each square mile of the earth has the same number of insects living within its parameters as there are people inhabiting the entire planet (6.6 billion)
Ant trails always fork at 60 degree angles
The average weekly pay of financial sector jobs in Manhattan is $8,300 -- the 280,000 financial sector workers collect more than half of all the wage earnings paid in Manhattan each week even though they account for less than 1 in 6 jobs in the city
The IRS audited 21% more income tax returns in 2006 than in 2005 -- the income group most likely to be audited were taxpayers reporting incomes of less than $25,000 for the year
The first commercial hand-held cellular phone was marketed in 1983 by Motorola
Each year in the U.S. the number of prescriptions that are filled incorrectly: over 20,000
The inside of the earth is spinning faster than the rest of the planet
The average fuel economy of a car sold in 2005 was 6% lower than a car sold in 1987
Incidents of immune system disorders diagnosed in the U.S. has increased 200% in the past 5 years
Percent of movies released each year in the U.S. that are R-rated: 55%
Percent of Americans who do not understand the method for testing a scientific hypothesis for validity: 77%
The United States ranked last among a list of the 163 wealthiest nations when measured according to account balance - the U.S. had the highest deficit (March 2007)
Globally, about 25% of the population will receive a diagnosis of depression in their lifetime (for Americans this rate rises to 53%)
Top 15 countries receiving U.S. foreign aid (note that Israel and Egypt receive 1/3 of all aid, while the total aid these 15 nations combined receive from the U.S. is more than half of all the foreign aid the U.S. distributes... leaving the world's 10 poorest nations to divvy up less than 5% of U.S. foreign aid among them):
Israel... $1,200 billion
Egypt... $$815 billion
Russia... $263 billion
Ukraine... $161.4 billion
India... $156.3 billion
South Africa... $131.9 billion
Peru... $123.9 billion
Bolivia... $121 billion
Haiti... $116 billion
Ethiopia... $108 billion
Turkey... $105.8 billion
Bosnia... $80.6 billion
Bangladesh... $77.8 billion
West Bank/Gaza Strip... $76 billion
Phillipines... $74.9 billion
Economic assistance to the above listed 15 countries includes development assistance that most commonly requires these nations to hire U.S. firms and corporations to complete the development, thereby circulating the "foreign aid" money back into the U.S., as well as international narcotics control from which the U.S. earns about $3,000 billion per year
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
