More Interesting Statistics

 

Interesting Statistics

 

The True Endings of Disney's Tales

The Decline of Big Cats in 50 Years

 

Tigers may be extinct within 12 years

Amur leopards - of which only about 35 are thought to exist in the wild - may be extinct within 3 or 4 years.

In the 70s and 80s, 18,000 jaguars were killed each year for their fur. The numbers are still rapidly declining.

Half of Africa’s lion populations face extinction within the next 40 years.

So What?

There's been a lot of talk lately since scientists have determined that reading speed decreases if a person is using an e-book reader, rather than reading from an actual dead tree book.

My response is, "So what?"

Is there a race here that I don't know about?

Are we being "graded" on how fast we can finish a book?  Or how many books we can read?

I'll be very blunt and admit that I often skip whole paragraphs and sometimes pages when I'm reading through a print book, usually because the story has gotten uninteresting.  But I don't always do that with my e-reader.  For one thing, I can't find my place I left behind because I tend to forget to bookmark my page.  (Yeah, getting old sucks.)

But all in all, is it really IMPORTANT to know we slow down our reading on those e-readers?

(Psst!  Did they count the number of times we went back to re-read those steamy sex scenes?)

The 1909 FORD Model R

THE YEAR is 1909 - one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes!

Here are some statistics for the Year 1909 :

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles Of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower.

The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year.

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, a dentist $2,500 per year, a veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME.

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION. Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. '

Sugar cost four cents a pound. Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen. Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo.

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were:
1. Pneumonia and influenza
2. Tuberculosis
3. Diarrhea
4. Heart disease
5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was only 30.

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter atthe local corner drugstores. Back then pharmacists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.

(Thank you, Anne Marie!)

I’m a Millionaire!

$6.9 million, to be exact, according to the U.S. Government.

In May, the Environmental Protection Agency ruled that the "value of a statistical life" is worth that much in today’s dollars. Don’t pat yourself on the back just yet. That number is down by $1 million from five years ago.

To get the whole story, you can click here or you can Google "EPA Value of a Statistical Life".

In the meantime, I’m off to see what kind of interest rates I can get. :)