Forget the 99% (or the 1% for that matter), help me find other percentages! Fun ones!

November 17, 2011 12:27 PM

Forget the 99% (or the 1% for that matter), help me find other percentages! Fun ones!

I'm looking for percentages to compile together for something that I'm hoping will be both informative and funny, and I know some of you out there have some number facts in your brains that you want to share! Things like I am the 9% of people who are unemployed, or I am the 0.5% of people named Mark, or I am the 0.0000006% of people who know my pin number.

Please let me know your most exciting, funniest, or most interesting stats in terms of population. If you don't know the percentage, but know the numbers, that works too.

I am specifically looking for info as it relates to either the US or world population (although primarily the US).

posted by markblasco to Education (12 answers total)

This is actually something Wolfram Alpha is great for. For example:

What percent of people in the US are named Mark?

US Unemployment Rate

Number of fishermen in the US

What is the distribution of height in the US

Play around with it with things you have in your head, it's pretty great.
posted by brainmouse at 12:35 PM on November 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

Hows about a simple slant on a negative outlook. The employment rate for the US is 91%. The glass is half full all of the sudden!
posted by amazingstill at 12:43 PM on November 17, 2011

There's a whole website of interesting statistics called Correlated.

For example: "In general, 69 percent of people like mushrooms. But among those who don't like marshmallows in their hot chocolate, 84 percent are mushroom lovers."
posted by fuse theorem at 1:03 PM on November 17, 2011 [3 favorites]

The literacy rate in my house is a whopping 100%, but the unemployment rate is a shocking 50%, and fully half the population doesn't even have a sixth-grade education. It's appalling, really.
posted by Andrhia at 1:04 PM on November 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

According to current polling, nine percent of Americans have a favorable view of Congress. (NYT CBS poll, Oct. 11)

Eleven percent support the U.S. adopting Communism. (Rasmussen poll, March 11)
posted by Naberius at 1:06 PM on November 17, 2011

"18% of Americans believe that the sun revolves around the earth."

I find that disturbing. Those 18% can vote for presidents.
posted by amazingstill at 1:27 PM on November 17, 2011

4 out of 5 dentists recommend sugarless gum to their patients who chew gum.
posted by bluejayway at 1:36 PM on November 17, 2011 [1 favorite]

99.9% of Americans have more than the average number of arms.
posted by martinrebas at 1:44 PM on November 17, 2011 [5 favorites]

People can come up with statistics to prove anything. Forfty percent of all people know that.
posted by hwyengr at 2:02 PM on November 17, 2011

86% of statistics posted on the Internet are completely made up.
posted by 4ster at 6:48 PM on November 17, 2011

Thirty percent of Americans believe that the Bible is the literal word of God. These can vote for presidents too--they are the ones that scare me.
posted by Logophiliac at 10:13 PM on November 17, 2011

Roughly 6% of all of the human beings ever born are alive right now.

Most of them cannot vote for presidents.
posted by Andrhia at 9:12 AM on November 18, 2011