Worst bullshit statistics you've heard?

[BlueIris]

I'm talking the stupidest, most obviously made-up, can't possibly be true "statistical findings" that've come your way. (And please, statisticians, don't just post "all of them" while smirking at the rest of us.)

Mine: "The average person swallows four spiders a year." No, the person who told me that didn't mention a "source."

[HuskerDU]

1. A guy once told me that the average person eats 4 POUNDS

of spiders in a lifetime.

I asked him, 'Do you know how many spiders it'd take to make one pound?' Better get started right now!

[DarkTirade]

2. That depends on the dollar to pound conversatoin rate, doesn't it?

:P

[LeftyFingerPop]

3. Our bank pays you a rate that is 5% higher than the average rate paid by other banks.

For example: Average interest rate paid on savings accounts by other banks is 3%.

On first blush, the above statement might lead you to believe that this bank pays 8%.

What they are actually saying, however, is that they pay 3.15% (3% plus 5% of 3%).

(Actually, the statement is correct, just misleading to a lot of people)

[buzzycrumbhunger]

4. Maybe not "all" of them,

but I understand that 84% of statistics are made up.


I scored an A in that course in college, so I'm not just talking out my arse here.:)

[Tommy_Carcetti]

5. The ones Republicans used trying to compare car accident deaths with deaths in Iraq.

Wow, more people die in car accidents a year in the US than US troops died in Iraq. And let's see, there are over 250 million people in the US, and what, 150,000 US troops in Iraq? Not to mention the fact that one method of death is accidental, and the other is a combat situation where people are being shot at and targeted by bombs! Why, that's a perfect analogy!

You're so smart, Rush Limbaugh! I'll have what you're having!

[Oeditpus Rex]

9. Or handgun deaths

There was an e-mail going around about three years ago (and probably before and since) that used statistics to show that you'd be safer in Iraq than in Washington, D.C. because the odds were greater that you'd get shot to death.

[silverojo]

15. The way some people drive...

It seems just about as deliberate as combat. :scared:

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. The ones my 12 year old son makes up about three times a day.

Wish I could remember one or two, but I've gotten to the point where I tune him out. I have no idea why he has gotten fascinated with statistics or why he feels the need to pull them out of his ass, but I hope he gets over it soon.

[crimsonblue]

8. ignoring your child

makes him 3 times more likely to commit a violent crime.

[BlueIris]

7. Kick.

[Iggo]

10. Anytime someone calls...

..."the vast majority" I call bullshit.

As in "the vasy majority of homeless people are mentally ill."

The vast majority of people who use "the vast majority" as a substitute for a statistical percentage are just making it up. Myself included.

[Canuckistanian]

11. My grandmother once said that everyone eats a pound of dirt in their lifetime

But she was probably right.

[Initech]

12. All statistics are made up on the spot. 39% of people know that.

[ghostsofgiants]

21. Heh...

Kent Brockman: Mr. Simpson, how do you respond to the charges that petty vandalism such as graffiti is down eighty percent, while heavy sack-beatings are up a shocking nine hundred percent?
Homer: Aw, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Forfty percent of all people know that.

[Fearless]

13. Did you know that 63.45% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

:wtf:



EDIT: I should read previous posts huh. :eyes:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

14. Read a famous book.

How to Lie with Statistics.

Published in 1955, and quite readable even if you are not a math person.

Excellent book that explains misleading graphs and such.

[T_i_B]

16. Sex survey's....

...especially when the subjects are teenage boys.

[Bertha Venation]

17. Baseball stats like this:

Roger Clemens' ERA is 5.47 with runners on 2nd and 3rd in the 6th inning and less than two outs.

People who come up with stats like these and actually think they are meaningful need to find lives, and quickly.

Edit: I just reread your OP and realize I am not on topic. :(

[Rabrrrrrr]

18. Generally anything that the Christian right comes up with,

and probably close to everything that a Republican says.

[rug]

19. On average, people spend six months waiting for the light to turn green.

Come on, it's bound to change sooner than that.

[flvegan]

20. The Merrit Clifton report on dog bites.

Sadly, it's the go-to for far too many DUers when they try to prove an anti-pitbull point.

Makes them look pretty damn stupid, quite frankly.

[crimsonblue]

22. Did you know....

that fruit flies can have sex for 6 hours straight.