Factoids

This weekend, I had the opportunity to read Matt Miller‘s outstanding upcoming book, The Tyranny of Dead Ideas. In his chapter on the folly of employer-provided health insurance, Miller gives us today’s startling factoid:“It’s crazy but true: Starbucks spends more on health care than on coffee; General Motors spends more on health care than on steel.”  

A week after Barack Obama attracted a stunning number of TV viewers to his convention acceptance speech, John McCain did just as well.When all the figures are added up, 42.4 million people watched Obama — and 42.4 million watched McCain.As the Associated Press notes: “Three times in two weeks, political speeches [Sarah Palin’s barnburner was the […]

Last night, a record 38 million television watchers tuned in to Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. That means the “speech reached more viewers than the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, the final ‘American Idol’ or the Academy Awards this year.”(Source: NY Times TV Decoder Blog)  

As students young and old head back to the hallowed halls of learning, the US Census Bureau reminds us of these three intriguing edu-factoids: 26%: Percentage of elementary through high school students who have at least one foreign-born parent. 56%: Percentage of undergraduates who are women. 25%: Percentage of bachelor’s degrees awarded each year that are in […]

One-third of American men between the ages of 51 and 61 are self-employed.(Source: NDE, citing a Boston College study)

Four of my favorite things in life are: charts, T-shirts, new business models, and experimental art.So I nearly plotzed when I heard about the T-Shirt Project, in which a couple of young designers put newspaper infographics on T-shirts and sell them via subscription.Pinch me. I might be dreaming.(Major HT: Flowing Data)   

Daily newspaper sales in the US: 50 million copiesDaily newspaper sales in China: 107 million copies(Source: The Economist, 7/26/08) 

The Census Bureau reported today that in 2006 the U.S. had more than 20.7 million “non-employer businesses” — that is, businesses without paid employees. These small enterprises earned revenue totaling nearly $1 trillion. 

“A study from Washington University in St. Louis suggests that 8% of the rise in obesity since the 1980s was due to low gas prices, which lead to less walking and biking and more restaurant meals.”(Source: BusinessWeek, 8/4/08) 

“Today a Big Mac in New York costs $3.79, which is still less than a gallon of gas; in 1974 [the year the Big Mac premiered], the price in New York was 85 cents, which was significantly more than a gallon of gas.” (Source: NY Times, 7/17/08)