Statistics can be used to support just about any argument: you can spin a statistic, you
can fail to mention a statistic, or you can use it as-is to prove a point, depending on
what you're trying to accomplish.
A 90 percent survival rate sounds a lot more positive than a death rate of 1 in 10, but
it's the same number.
The only difference is in the way it's presented.
With that in mind, some of these stats are still completely mind-blowing...and in some
cases, even a little scary.
A three-year line
If you've ever complained that the line you're standing in is taking forever, you're not
totally right, but you're pretty close.
According to NPR, the average person waits in line for a total of two to three years
during the course of their life.
That's comparable to the three years you'll spend doing laundry, and is roughly half of
the four and a half years you'll spend stuffing your face.
It's also considerably less time than you spend watching TV, which for most people amounts
to around 11 years.
"What else is on?"
“Yeah, let’s see what else is on.”
“Where’s the TV jack?”
Cancer: slightly deadlier than doctors
The third leading cause of death in America is not car accidents, or diabetes, or even
the flu.
It's actually preventable medical errors.
While cancer takes out roughly 600,000 people every year, preventable medical errors claim
the lives of up to 400,000 people.
“I’ll take care of it...You know what I did for the first time last week?
Windsurfing.”
A study published in the Journal of Patient Safety puts the blame for this terrifying
statistic squarely on the shoulders of America's inadequate medical system, where demand outpaces
supply and patients are constantly moving from one provider to another in search of
affordable care.
According to the study, doctors and nurses who work in understaffed medical facilities
suffer from fatigue and burnout, and are therefore more likely to make dangerous or even deadly
mistakes.
These mistakes range from disease that might be passed on through contaminated medical
equipment to a failure to give a patient the best care available for his or her specific
medical condition.
That's not to say you should avoid seeking medical care, hospitals still save many more
people than they accidentally kill, but it does make a pretty good argument in favor
of being your own health advocate.
You might want to get a second opinion from another doctor if you have the time and ability...and
you shouldn't just consult Doctor Google.
“I’m hot.
Now it’s really hot in here.”
“Okay, well, that’s your fever.”
“Leslie, I typed your symptoms into the thing up here, and it says you could have
network connectivity problems’."
Not everyone on death row is guilty
Crime doesn't pay, right?
Except that deep down inside...we know that it sometimes does.
But worse than that, deep down inside we also know that innocence doesn't always pay either,
even for crimes with the worst possible punishment.
"Last request!"
“What is your last request?”
“Yes… novacaine."
“There’s not such thing known to medical science.”
“I’ll wait.”
A 2014 study estimated that roughly 4 percent of the people who are on death row in the
United States are likely innocent, and researchers think that's a "conservative estimate."
According to the Michigan Innocence Clinic, wrongful convictions might occur because of
poor identifications, "bad lawyering," junk science, or even police or prosecutorial misconduct,
where investigators may use unethical practices to ensure a conviction even if there isn't
much evidence to support the guilt of a defendant.
And while four percent sounds small, it actually translates to 121 people out of 3,035 inmates
on death row in 2014.
To put that into perspective, imagine a medium-sized movie theater auditorium, which holds about
200 people on average.
Then, imagine that nearly three-quarters of them just disappeared...and not even because
they were talking during the movie, or anything!
"That's not the guy, that’s a different guy."
“What is he doing in the shuttle?”
“Would you two, please?”
Statistics are fun, huh?