If you’ve ever wondered whether iPod owners are more likely to stir their drinks counterclockwise, whether nonfiction lovers are more likely to have a positive opinion about France, or whether tea drinkers are more likely to prefer mechanical pencils, then this is the book for you!
The data that underpin the statistics you’ll find in this book come from Correlated.org, a website devoted to uncovering surprising correlations between seemingly unrelated things.
Each day, a new poll question is posted on the site, and at the end of the day, the poll responses are tallied up and compared with the results of every previous poll to find the two responses with the strongest correlation.
For this book, I’ve taken Correlated.org’s large data set—1,089,173 poll responses from 36,305 respondents—and generated all-new statistics in which the results of each poll were compared not only with previous polls but with the entirety of the available data. For the 182 topics chosen for inclusion in the book, the median sample size was 2,290 and the mean sample size was 2,222.
Although the statistics in this book are all based on real data, the methodology by which the correlations are generated is not intended to stand up to professional scrutiny. (In fact, it would probably make a professional statistician weep.) Rather, the correlations are intended to be amusing and thought provoking, and to illustrate some of the absurdities that result when you ignore tricky concepts such as confounding variables or the multiple-testing problem.
I hope you enjoy the surprising statistics presented here, and I hope you’ll join the thousands of others who help generate new correlations by contributing to Correlated.org.
’80s Music
40% of people have boycotted a company.
But among those who consider music from the ’80s to be oldies, 52% have boycotted a company.
----------------
53% of people are Foo Fighters fans.
But among those who consider music from the ’80s to be oldies, only 41% are Foo Fighters fans.
----------------
70% of people are adept at using chopsticks.
But among those who consider music from the ’80s to be oldies, only 58% are adept at using chopsticks.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to consider music from the ’80s to be oldies if you both:
People who consider music from the ’80s to be oldies are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
AAA (The Auto Club)
38% of people have had a poison ivy rash.
But among those who belong to AAA, 54% have had a poison ivy rash.
----------------
77% of people say that if a person dislikes them, it’s generally because they don’t know “the real me.”
But among those who belong to AAA, 89% say that if a person dislikes them, it’s generally because they don’t know “the real me.”
----------------
29% of people have visited a chiropractor.
But among those who belong to AAA, 40% have visited a chiropractor.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to belong to AAA if you both:
People who belong to AAA are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Absent-Mindedness
25% of people say they are better at punctuality than punctuation.
But among those who wouldn’t describe themselves as absent-minded, 38% say they are better at punctuality than punctuation.
----------------
32% of people say they had a negative first impression of Pope Francis.
But among those who wouldn’t describe themselves as absent-minded, 44% had a negative first impression of Pope Francis.
----------------
42% of people regularly eat yogurt.
But among those who wouldn’t describe themselves as absent-minded, 52% regularly eat yogurt.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to say you aren’t absent-minded if you both:
People who wouldn’t describe themselves as absent-minded are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Adam and Eve
38% of people ascend the stairs two at a time.
But among those who don’t think Adam and Eve had belly buttons, 50% ascend the stairs two at a time.
----------------
36% of people dislike sideburns.
But among those who don’t think Adam and Eve had belly buttons, 48% dislike sideburns.
----------------
49% of people prefer Steven over Stephen.
But among those who don’t think Adam and Eve had belly buttons, 60% prefer Steven over Stephen.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to think that Adam and Eve didn’t have belly buttons if you both:
People who don’t think Adam and Eve had belly buttons are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Air Freshener
66% of people like cotton candy.
But among those who use air freshener in their home, 79% like cotton candy.
----------------
45% of people say they are closer to lower class than upper class.
But among those who use air freshener in their home, 58% say they are closer to lower class than upper class.
----------------
42% of people have bouts of indigestion more often than bouts of indignation.
But among those who use air freshener in their home, 52% have bouts of indigestion more often than bouts of indignation.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to use air freshener in your home if you both:
People who use air freshener in their home are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Aisle Seat vs. Window Seat
34% of people tend to micromanage when they’re in a leadership role.
But among those who prefer an aisle seat on a plane, only 20% tend to micromanage when they’re in a leadership role.
----------------
41% of people aren’t bothered by parents who kiss their adult children on the lips.
But among those who prefer an aisle seat on a plane, 54% aren’t bothered by parents who kiss their adult children on the lips.
----------------
39% of people believe the chicken came before the egg.
But among those who prefer an aisle seat on a plane, 52% believe the chicken came before the egg.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to prefer an aisle seat on a plane if you both:
People who prefer an aisle seat on a plane are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
STATISTICS 101:
MARGIN OF ERROR
Suppose you live in a bustling city with half a million residents, and you want to know what percentage of those residents prefer Beethoven to Mozart.
It would be impractical to ask all 500,000 of them, so instead, you decide to ask a representative sample.
As you might imagine, the larger your sample size, the more likely their responses will reflect the preferences of the entire population.
A poll’s margin of error tells you the range of expected variation between your poll results and the value you would get if you polled the entire population. Margin of error decreases as your sample size grows.
Here’s an example: Suppose you poll 1,000 residents and find that 48% prefer Beethoven and 52% prefer Mozart.
With about 95% confidence (see page 19), your margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points, meaning it’s highly likely that if you were to repeat your survey with another sample group, the percentage of people who say they prefer Beethoven would be between 45% and 51%, and the percentage of people who say they prefer Mozart would be between 49% and 55%.
It’s plausible, however, that if you were to poll the entire city, you might find the percentage of people who prefer Beethoven is actually at the top of the expected range, 51%, and the percentage who prefer Mozart might be at the bottom of the expected range, 49%.
Because of this possibility, when the range of values that fall within a poll’s margin of error overlap, the results of the poll are often described as a statistical tie, meaning that we cannot be sufficiently confident that one option is preferred over the other.
Aliens
60% of people have never been in a fistfight.
But among those who don’t believe aliens exist, 72% have never been in a fistfight.
----------------
49% of people swear a lot.
But among those who don’t believe aliens exist, only 37% swear a lot.
----------------
32% of people have had to make a life-or-death decision.
But among those who don’t believe aliens exist, only 21% have had to make a life-or-death decision.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to think aliens don’t exist if you both:
People who don’t believe aliens exist are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
All-Nighters
45% of people use the phrase a couple to mean “a few,” rather than exactly two of something.
But among those who have never pulled an all-nighter, 67% use the phrase a couple to mean “a few,” rather than exactly two of something.
----------------
64% of people think that fooling kids into thinking that Santa is real is a harmless fib.
But among those who have never pulled an all-nighter, 82% think that fooling kids into thinking that Santa is real is a harmless fib.
----------------
20% of people prefer their application dock/dashboard to run along the side of their screen.
But among those who have never pulled an all-nighter, 37% prefer their application dock/dashboard to run along the side of their screen.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to have never pulled an all-nighter if you both:
People who have never pulled an all-nighter are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Bananas
53% of people prefer lemonade to iced tea.
But among those who don’t like bananas, 71% prefer lemonade to iced tea.
----------------
74% of people like pumpkin pie.
But among those who don’t like bananas, only 57% like pumpkin pie.
----------------
24% of people say they have curly hair.
But among those who don’t like bananas, 39% have curly hair.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to dislike bananas if you both:
People who don’t like bananas are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
If you’ve ever wondered whether iPod owners are more likely to stir their drinks counterclockwise, whether nonfiction lovers are more likely to have a positive opinion about France, or whether tea drinkers are more likely to prefer mechanical pencils, then this is the book for you!
The data that underpin the statistics you’ll find in this book come from Correlated.org, a website devoted to uncovering surprising correlations between seemingly unrelated things.
Each day, a new poll question is posted on the site, and at the end of the day, the poll responses are tallied up and compared with the results of every previous poll to find the two responses with the strongest correlation.
For this book, I’ve taken Correlated.org’s large data set—1,089,173 poll responses from 36,305 respondents—and generated all-new statistics in which the results of each poll were compared not only with previous polls but with the entirety of the available data. For the 182 topics chosen for inclusion in the book, the median sample size was 2,290 and the mean sample size was 2,222.
Although the statistics in this book are all based on real data, the methodology by which the correlations are generated is not intended to stand up to professional scrutiny. (In fact, it would probably make a professional statistician weep.) Rather, the correlations are intended to be amusing and thought provoking, and to illustrate some of the absurdities that result when you ignore tricky concepts such as confounding variables or the multiple-testing problem.
I hope you enjoy the surprising statistics presented here, and I hope you’ll join the thousands of others who help generate new correlations by contributing to Correlated.org.
’80s Music
40% of people have boycotted a company.
But among those who consider music from the ’80s to be oldies, 52% have boycotted a company.
----------------
53% of people are Foo Fighters fans.
But among those who consider music from the ’80s to be oldies, only 41% are Foo Fighters fans.
----------------
70% of people are adept at using chopsticks.
But among those who consider music from the ’80s to be oldies, only 58% are adept at using chopsticks.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to consider music from the ’80s to be oldies if you both:
People who consider music from the ’80s to be oldies are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
AAA (The Auto Club)
38% of people have had a poison ivy rash.
But among those who belong to AAA, 54% have had a poison ivy rash.
----------------
77% of people say that if a person dislikes them, it’s generally because they don’t know “the real me.”
But among those who belong to AAA, 89% say that if a person dislikes them, it’s generally because they don’t know “the real me.”
----------------
29% of people have visited a chiropractor.
But among those who belong to AAA, 40% have visited a chiropractor.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to belong to AAA if you both:
People who belong to AAA are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Absent-Mindedness
25% of people say they are better at punctuality than punctuation.
But among those who wouldn’t describe themselves as absent-minded, 38% say they are better at punctuality than punctuation.
----------------
32% of people say they had a negative first impression of Pope Francis.
But among those who wouldn’t describe themselves as absent-minded, 44% had a negative first impression of Pope Francis.
----------------
42% of people regularly eat yogurt.
But among those who wouldn’t describe themselves as absent-minded, 52% regularly eat yogurt.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to say you aren’t absent-minded if you both:
People who wouldn’t describe themselves as absent-minded are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Adam and Eve
38% of people ascend the stairs two at a time.
But among those who don’t think Adam and Eve had belly buttons, 50% ascend the stairs two at a time.
----------------
36% of people dislike sideburns.
But among those who don’t think Adam and Eve had belly buttons, 48% dislike sideburns.
----------------
49% of people prefer Steven over Stephen.
But among those who don’t think Adam and Eve had belly buttons, 60% prefer Steven over Stephen.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to think that Adam and Eve didn’t have belly buttons if you both:
People who don’t think Adam and Eve had belly buttons are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Air Freshener
66% of people like cotton candy.
But among those who use air freshener in their home, 79% like cotton candy.
----------------
45% of people say they are closer to lower class than upper class.
But among those who use air freshener in their home, 58% say they are closer to lower class than upper class.
----------------
42% of people have bouts of indigestion more often than bouts of indignation.
But among those who use air freshener in their home, 52% have bouts of indigestion more often than bouts of indignation.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to use air freshener in your home if you both:
People who use air freshener in their home are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Aisle Seat vs. Window Seat
34% of people tend to micromanage when they’re in a leadership role.
But among those who prefer an aisle seat on a plane, only 20% tend to micromanage when they’re in a leadership role.
----------------
41% of people aren’t bothered by parents who kiss their adult children on the lips.
But among those who prefer an aisle seat on a plane, 54% aren’t bothered by parents who kiss their adult children on the lips.
----------------
39% of people believe the chicken came before the egg.
But among those who prefer an aisle seat on a plane, 52% believe the chicken came before the egg.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to prefer an aisle seat on a plane if you both:
People who prefer an aisle seat on a plane are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
STATISTICS 101:
MARGIN OF ERROR
Suppose you live in a bustling city with half a million residents, and you want to know what percentage of those residents prefer Beethoven to Mozart.
It would be impractical to ask all 500,000 of them, so instead, you decide to ask a representative sample.
As you might imagine, the larger your sample size, the more likely their responses will reflect the preferences of the entire population.
A poll’s margin of error tells you the range of expected variation between your poll results and the value you would get if you polled the entire population. Margin of error decreases as your sample size grows.
Here’s an example: Suppose you poll 1,000 residents and find that 48% prefer Beethoven and 52% prefer Mozart.
With about 95% confidence (see page 19), your margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points, meaning it’s highly likely that if you were to repeat your survey with another sample group, the percentage of people who say they prefer Beethoven would be between 45% and 51%, and the percentage of people who say they prefer Mozart would be between 49% and 55%.
It’s plausible, however, that if you were to poll the entire city, you might find the percentage of people who prefer Beethoven is actually at the top of the expected range, 51%, and the percentage who prefer Mozart might be at the bottom of the expected range, 49%.
Because of this possibility, when the range of values that fall within a poll’s margin of error overlap, the results of the poll are often described as a statistical tie, meaning that we cannot be sufficiently confident that one option is preferred over the other.
Aliens
60% of people have never been in a fistfight.
But among those who don’t believe aliens exist, 72% have never been in a fistfight.
----------------
49% of people swear a lot.
But among those who don’t believe aliens exist, only 37% swear a lot.
----------------
32% of people have had to make a life-or-death decision.
But among those who don’t believe aliens exist, only 21% have had to make a life-or-death decision.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to think aliens don’t exist if you both:
People who don’t believe aliens exist are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
All-Nighters
45% of people use the phrase a couple to mean “a few,” rather than exactly two of something.
But among those who have never pulled an all-nighter, 67% use the phrase a couple to mean “a few,” rather than exactly two of something.
----------------
64% of people think that fooling kids into thinking that Santa is real is a harmless fib.
But among those who have never pulled an all-nighter, 82% think that fooling kids into thinking that Santa is real is a harmless fib.
----------------
20% of people prefer their application dock/dashboard to run along the side of their screen.
But among those who have never pulled an all-nighter, 37% prefer their application dock/dashboard to run along the side of their screen.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to have never pulled an all-nighter if you both:
People who have never pulled an all-nighter are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
Bananas
53% of people prefer lemonade to iced tea.
But among those who don’t like bananas, 71% prefer lemonade to iced tea.
----------------
74% of people like pumpkin pie.
But among those who don’t like bananas, only 57% like pumpkin pie.
----------------
24% of people say they have curly hair.
But among those who don’t like bananas, 39% have curly hair.
DOUBLE PLAYYou’re extremely likely to dislike bananas if you both:
People who don’t like bananas are almost exactly as likely as the average person to:
