Comments on: Dead last.

Dead last.

Kickstart70 — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:45:52 -0800

Coming in dead last , the U.S., in all sorts of categories like software piracy, scabies, and intentional self harm by blunt object. First in other statistics though, for things like adults prosecuted, starving to death, morbid obesity, and death by non-drug delerium!

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:52:06 -0800

It's being last in banana exports (by both GDP and per capita) that really hurts. If we hadn't used the US military to force laborers in other countries to grow our bananas for us, we might really be crippled in this regard.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:52:32 -0800

I almost forgot: Why do you hate America?

By: rachsumat

rachsumat — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:54:07 -0800

Well almost dead last anyways. Scabies makes me sad inside. :(

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:54:17 -0800

Is it just that my countrymen experience so much more death by drug delerium?

By: Balisong

Balisong — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:55:47 -0800

Huh.. I woulda thought we weren't first in death by starvation. Maybe all the other countries are already pre-starved, and have already gone through their decimation through starvation. I guess it's just finally getting around to us.

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:56:33 -0800

I don't actually...especially since most of my friends and family are American. I thought about posting the same sort of info for Canada, but this place seems a little US-centric so I tailored it to the audience. FWIW, the U.S. appears to do one hell of a good job at keeping it's citizens alive, the bottom-ranked "Mortality -" statistics list is huge.

By: Pollomacho

Pollomacho — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 12:58:30 -0800

Last for death by failed abortion attempt. I wonder how long that is going to last? Good to know we're also last in death by rat bite. Ew.

By: The Dryyyyy Cracker

The Dryyyyy Cracker — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:00:17 -0800

Looks like there's something to that whole killer bees from Mexico thing after all. Nice post.

By: Balisong

Balisong — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:03:59 -0800

The USA tied with Ireland for Very Proud of their Nationality and is slightly in the lead for Undesirable neighbours - Criminal record holders. Interesting...

By: The Dryyyyy Cracker

The Dryyyyy Cracker — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:06:11 -0800

This list, in particular, is interesting. It's scary to think there's a place (Ireland) where people drink almost twice as much beer as Australians. Because Aussies drink a lot.

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:17:31 -0800

"Most Militaristic... #1 Israel... #3 United States... #2 SINGAPORE?!"

By: Hugh2d2

Hugh2d2 — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:18:35 -0800

We're number one! We're number one! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! We're number one... wait... what? Shit.

By: brain_drain

brain_drain — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:27:30 -0800

We're second-to-last in Morality: Contact with a marine animal, including at home, school, or a "residential institution." I for one am proud that in America I can live without fear of a shark attack in my apartment.

By: brain_drain

brain_drain — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:28:57 -0800

"Morality" --> "Mortality" (though the former would also be provocative)

By: TheophileEscargot

TheophileEscargot — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:28:58 -0800

Fascinating link! I see it does bottom rankings for everywhere, including US; UK; Canada; Australia; France; Mexico.

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:30:12 -0800

That "Delirium, not induced by alcohol and other psychoactive substances" stat sure is an interesting one. What would cause that? Alzheimers? Mad-cow (though England didn't make the list at all)? The US is WAY ahead on it, but I can't think of a reason that wouldn't result in a much different graph.

By: Malor

Malor — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:31:19 -0800

Lol, brain_drain, your typo ("morality") was extremely amusing. Very few of us date dophins. It's something of which we can be proud.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:33:16 -0800

brain_drain, you're never safe from contact with a marine animal...as a certain governmental agent learned in Leonard Part VI. As for Morality: Contact with a marine animal, the United States ranked higher in that category when Troy McClure was still alive.

By: kika

kika — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:38:51 -0800

Taxation is very low, although 68 percent of it is spent on Defense. (Last link deserves a FPP, but I'm lazy)

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:39:03 -0800

What would cause that? Lots of coverage of it lately: U.S. Leads In Mental Illness, Lags in Treatment.

By: psmealey

psmealey — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:42:58 -0800

There's nothing inherently immoral about dating dolphins. The problem is when it becomes having sex with multiple anonymous dolphins, and stealing their wallets and jewelry the next morning.

By: brain_drain

brain_drain — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:45:55 -0800

Malor and Card Cheat, good points. I also failed to give credit to how much better things are today than in the 1970s.

By: dreamsign

dreamsign — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:46:42 -0800

Canada, second only to the U.K. for Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to pesticides. DAMN YOU U.K.!!!!

By: Derive the Hamiltonian of...

Derive the Hamiltonian of... — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:47:09 -0800

The U.S. is not possibly first in death by starvation. Sudan, anyone? F'ing Darfur? People in the third world die by the thousands daily from starvation. Are you kidding me? Sudan is listed on the site as #2 for refugee outflow, but they don't realize thousands of those still in the country are starving to death? Did I completely misunderstand that bar graph? If you switch to the per capita view of starvation deaths, the U.S. is listed as #8 with .41 deaths per million people. Surely, any number of third world countries with much smaller populations than the U.S. and much higher rates of starvation would have much higher per capita starvation deaths? Does the site not have data for such places? In the per capita view, Venezuela is #1 for starvation deaths, and that country does have problems, but Japan as #4?

By: PurplePorpoise

PurplePorpoise — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:49:13 -0800

brain_drain - I liked your first version better! /(rolling-in-the-ocean...) ritolmao

By: chaz

chaz — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:54:35 -0800

Statistics are limited by the quality of information gathering. I would bet that the USA is #1 for amount of stats processed and catalogued.

By: nflorin

nflorin — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 13:57:42 -0800

Look at the numbers on the death by starvation chart. The US had 120 people die of starvation, Kyrgyzstan 3, Slovakia and Brazil 1 each, and presumably the countires not listed like Sudan and North Korea had no deaths from starvation. Either we have 298 wordlwide starvation death, or there aren't a lot of places tracking them. In other words, that chart is less than useless.

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:00:18 -0800

Derive the Hamiltonian of..., It's probably a reporting problem. We all know that people are starving in African nations, but who is counting them and reporting them? Certainly not the governments of those countries, who are often complicit in the reasons for these people dying. As always, take statistics with a grain of salt...though statistics should not wholly be ignored; they just need to be investigated before action is taken.

By: Lady Penelope

Lady Penelope — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:06:30 -0800

Most alarming: we're coming in dead last for wine consumption. I plan on rectifying that this weekend.

By: Derive the Hamiltonian of...

Derive the Hamiltonian of... — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:12:11 -0800

It's probably a reporting problem. Understatement of the month. It is a fairly interesting site, but people will read bad statistics like that and go parrot them. A simple statement of "this data is bad/incomplete because we know many people are starving in countries for which we don't have data" on the part of the site developers would catch people's attention and prevent some of that.

By: Stoatfarm

Stoatfarm — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:14:02 -0800

"Mortality: Androgenic alopecia (per capita)" surely is just due to data error. Right?

By: Kickstart70

Kickstart70 — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:27:42 -0800

Stoatfarm, maybe one day they looked in a mirror and realized how bald they were and died of shock?

By: Hugh2d2

Hugh2d2 — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:42:22 -0800

Nice link Kika. Thanks.

By: vorfeed

vorfeed — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 14:59:30 -0800

This is somewhat sad, but I suppose it isn't surprising: "Crime - Adults prosecuted Crime - Adults prosecuted (per capita) Crime - Believe in police efficiency Crime - Females prosecuted Crime - Females prosecuted (per capita) Crime - Prisoners Crime - Prisoners - Per capita Crime - Total crimes"

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 16:38:08 -0800

WOOOOO! Ahem. Sorry, I saw "bottom rankings" and I, um.... *crickets* We're last in assault by corrosive substance? Is that reckoning in Sheriff Josh Acid? http://snltranscripts.jt.org/88/88p.phtml

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 16:38:32 -0800

Argh! lousy work computer!

By: Faint of Butt

Faint of Butt — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 16:56:58 -0800

We're last in assault by corrosive substance? That makes the sad fate of District Attorney Harvey Dent even more pitiable.

By: cruelfate

cruelfate — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 20:21:27 -0800

The numbers for female ministers have me completely perplexed. I shall inquire within.

By: davy

davy — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 22:16:21 -0800

Wait: mortality by "intentional self harm by blunt object"? People beat themselves to death? Damn, that is self-hatred; I'm clearly outclassed.

By: davy

davy — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 22:25:59 -0800

Another WTF goes for mortality from scabies. People die from scabies? Do the mites eat them entirely or what?

By: baphomet

baphomet — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 23:20:59 -0800

What I'm wondering is how you can die from lactose intolerance, and why it's most problematic in Nicaragua.

By: slimslowslider

slimslowslider — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 01:42:07 -0800

Cruelfate: I think it's for ministers in government-like prime ministers.

By: Enron Hubbard

Enron Hubbard — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 06:52:01 -0800

WOOOOO! Ahem. Sorry, I saw "bottom rankings" and I, um.... You were thinking about Kylie Minogue, weren't you? What I'm wondering is how you can die from lactose intolerance, and why it's most problematic in Nicaragua. Because if you don't like milk in Nicaragua, they kill you.

By: 0bvious

0bvious — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 17:14:05 -0800

The correlation between number of McDonalds and occurences of strangulations per nation is rather interesting too...

By: Hogshead

Hogshead — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 05:00:19 -0800

I am proud that the UK is fourth-last in deaths from contact with a lawnmower. Proof we are still a great nation.