Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Random deepish statistics

I get Harper's magazine every month and though I totally admit that some of the stories go over my head, I am in weird, nerd love with the Harper's Index.

Index facts from the May issue:

The Ku Klux Klan released a statement on February 25 denying it had endorsed Obama for President.

23% of Britons believe that Winston Churchill is a mythical figure.

The government of Iran pays for 1/3 of all sex change costs for its poor citizens.

The ratio of fake doctors to real doctors in Delhi, India is 1:1.

A cosmetics company in Japan allows its employees 3 days off each year for "heartache leave."

Rats who ate saccharin gained 25% more weight than rats who ate sugar, according to one study.

Don't you feel smarter now?

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice, I have my Men's Health stats...you have your Harpers stats. Amazing the bar room fodder those random facts provide.

Joe Cog said...

Just saw someone who would fit right in here with the Deepish Thoughts crowd.
Dimitri Martin is a Steven Wright-like comedian. To assist his dry humor, he sketches and plays music. Here's one insight he related while doing his own backup on the guitar: "A stewardess said to me, 'If you need anything, I'm Jill.' and I thought to myself, Wow that's the first person I've ever met with a conditional identity. I wonder who she is if I don't need anything."

Sarah said...

I think about that when I try on clothes. The women in the fitting room always say things like "I'm Elsa, if you need anything." Dimitri is also great on what you refer to as "The Jon Daily Show", Joe.

Jonathan: we must get together soon to compare stats.

Unknown said...

Are you sure you didn.t get a copy of Star (or similar trash) inserted in a Harper's cover???