Michael Snyder:
2014 was quite a bizarre year, wasn’t it? The past 12 months brought us MH370, Ebola, civil war in Ukraine, civil unrest in Ferguson, the rise of ISIS and the fall of the Democrats in the midterm elections. Our world is becoming crazier and more unstable with each passing day, and I have a feeling that things are going to accelerate greatly in 2015. But for the moment things are relatively quiet as much of the world stops to celebrate the holiday season, so now is a good time to look back and see where we have been over the past year. The facts that I am about to share with you sound false, but they are all quite true. If you doubt any of these facts, just click the link on the number to find the source. It has been said that truth is stranger than fiction, and that was definitely the case during the past 12 months. In no particular order, the following are 50 numbers from 2014 that sound fake but that are actually real…
2.5 – Researchers have discovered that characters in cartoons for children are 2.5 times more likely to die than characters in adult dramas. But as long as those characters look cute and make funny noises it must be okay.
$4.20 – The price of ground beef just hit a brand new record high of $4.20 a pound. Exactly 10 years ago, it was just $2.21 a pound. What do you think Clara Peller would say about this?
19.8 percent – This holiday season, nearly 20 percent of all American families are on food stamps. But since the stock market is soaring, most of the rest of the country doesn’t seem to care.
$20 – If you want to “lock down that new man for Christmas”, you can buy a positive pregnancy test on Craigslist for just 20 dollars.
29.0 years – The average age when a man in America first gets married has reached an all-time high of 29.0 years. Thus the need for the fake pregnancy tests.
31.1 percent – An astounding 31.1 percent of all U.S. young adults in the 18 to 34-year-old age bracket are currently living with their parents. But the good news is that demand for tacky basement decor is at an all-time high.
33 percent – According to the Wall Street Journal, close to one-third of all Americans have a file in the FBI’s master criminal database.
34.6 percent – According to the CDC, 34.6 percent of all men in America officially meet the criteria for being obese.
36 – At this point only 36 percent of the U.S. population can name all three branches of government.
43 – The new EPA regulations issued while Barack Obama has been president are 43 times as long as the entire Bible.
45 percent – One survey discovered that 45 percent of all Americans “dread” the Christmas season.
48 percent – Only 48 percent of Americans can immediately come up with $400 in emergency cash without borrowing it or selling something.
50 – An MIT research scientist is warning that if current trends continue 50 percent of all children in America will be autistic by the year 2025.
50 percent – Half of all college graduates in America are still financially dependent on their parents when they are two years out of college.
52 percent – According to a survey that was conducted earlier this year, 52 percent of all Americans cannot even afford the house that they are currently living in right now.
54 percent – For the first time ever, more than half of all U.S. doctors support the legalization of assisted suicide.
57 percent – A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that 57 percent of all Americans consider race relations in America to be “bad”. That is the worst number in 20 years.
59 percent – One very disturbing recent poll discovered that 59 percent of Americans are in favor of torturing our prisoners.
60 percent – In the United States today, 60 percent of all bachelor’s degrees are earned by women.
64 percent – It would be a great understatement to say that pornography is popular with men in America. This is true even among men that are supposed to be religious. For example, one survey discovered that 64 percent of all Christian men ages 31 to 49 look at porn at least monthly.
65 percent – One shocking new poll found that 65 percent of Americans believe that the government is “broken”. The shocking part of the survey was that it was only 65 percent.
As someone who prepares technical reports and assessments for regulatory purposes, the “blizzard” of new regulations make the process all the more difficult. If EPA assumes you missed something, they’ll shoot the report back along with a fine. You already have a good sense they did not read the report (150-200 pages for a single-spaced report, 300-400 pages if you double space). Multiple that by the number of environmental engineering firms and consultants, it becomes clear they cannot read it all because they’re drowning in their own sea of paper.
the sad part about these numbers are that 50% won’t believe them, 50% do believe them and the other 50% don’t care.
@Redteam #2:
The sadder part is the fact that this list ignored some of the most disappointing numbers: The majority of citizens who don’t bother to vote, the majority of marriages that end in divorce, the majority of children who are born out of wedlock, and the shrinking numbers of people who have faith in anything.
We expend so much energy differentiating ourselves (remember, we are all SOooooo unique) that we have nothing left to invest in our common interest. So much focus on differences makes enemies of our spouses, our neighbors, our opposing political parties and those who hold differing religious beliefs. So much “enemy” rhetoric conditions us to fight, and we become complacent in a world where children shoot each other dead. Perhaps we should question the mind-set that got us here in the first place…
@George+Wells: I certainly agree that the number of persons unmarried, having children, not being responsible for those children are a terrible handicap to those children. They never learn what stability is.
@Redteam: Thanks Yogi.
@Redteam: IRISH
@Rich+Wheeler: IRISH
: Red Team Hope Dak doesn’t pull a Bo. Don’t think he will–I got MSU, Ducks and Bama in 3 team parlay.
@Rich Wheeler: Ole Miss definitely didn’t have a good day. I’d say the same 3, I expect Ducks to defeat FSU but FSU has won some they shouldn’t have. But they haven’t lost in about 3 years, so I don’t know.
@Redteam: Does anyone in Miss. know how to play defense? I can see why you all got guns. DISGRACEFUL and EMBARRASSING.
@Rich Wheeler: First, I don’t live in Miss, but I do own some guns and I’ll bet you do also. Usually SEC schools outscore other conferences so much they don’t need a defense, but for some reason, seems as if they’re on vacation, except maybe Arkansas. I hope Alabama’s defense got on the bus.
@Redteam: I know you’re a Ragin Cajun(great game with N.D.) with previous ties to Miss. and Ga.(they played well.) Miss. football has gone back in the tank. Think Saban will have his team ready against an equally great coach–Urban Meyer.
I own no guns and haven’t fired one since I got out of The Marines. No need. I do support the right of others to own and use responsibly.
@Rich Wheeler: Current Cajun, yep, but did live in Oregon for a while also, went to several games at Autzen stadium. I haven’t fired a gun in about 12 years, but own them. All citizens except convicted felons should have the right. These two semi games can go either way, my guess is Or over FSU and Al over OS, then Al over Or. But the exact opposite would not be a surprise. I think the LSU Def Cord letting the guys know he was leaving before the game didn’t help the defense too much. Born in Ga, lived in Va, NC, SC, Al, Ms, La, Or, Australia(NSW) and Fl(vacation home) and visited most of the World courtesy of the US Navy. Note: when you live in rural areas of Ms or La, you need a gun to shoot snakes, if nothing else.