February — Wise Men Stats Daily

Inspired by Harper's Index

Wise Men Stats–style statistics for every day of February. Includes leap day (Feb 29).

February 1

Inspired by Harper's Index

Average number of times a human heart beats per day: 100,000
Year the groundhog tradition was first recorded in the United States: 1840
Percentage of Americans who cannot name a single sitting U.S. Supreme Court justice: 61
Number of hot dogs consumed in the United States per second during peak summer: 818
Estimated number of galaxies in the observable universe: 2,000,000,000,000
Depth in feet of the deepest known point in the Great Lakes (Lake Superior): 1,332
Number of unique Wi-Fi networks detected within one square mile of Times Square, NYC: 2,423
Percentage of the world's fresh water locked in the Antarctic ice sheet: 70
Average number of lightning strikes hitting Earth every second: 100
Number of calories burned by the average person during one hour of sleep: 50
Year the first commercial chewing gum was patented in the United States: 1869

February 2

Percentage of Groundhog Day predictions by Punxsutawney Phil that are meteorologically accurate: 39
Number of muscles required to take a single step: 200
Average lifespan in days of a housefly: 28
Weight in pounds of the largest pumpkin ever grown: 2,702
Number of possible ways to arrange a standard deck of 52 playing cards: 80,658,175,170,943,878,571,660,636,856,403,766,975,289,505,440,883,277,824,000,000,000,000
Percentage of Earth's atmosphere that is nitrogen: 78
Year the first known recipe for chocolate chip cookies was published: 1938
Number of languages in which the Bible has been fully translated: 704
Average number of insects accidentally swallowed by a sleeping adult per year: 8
Depth in miles of the Mariana Trench: 6.8
Number of piano keys on a standard concert grand: 88
Estimated number of bacteria living on the average human hand: 150,000

February 3

Year the first crossword puzzle was published in a newspaper: 1913
Number of bones in an adult human body: 206
Average distance in miles a FedEx package travels before delivery: 1,485
Percentage of the ocean floor that has been mapped to high resolution: 21
Number of times the word "love" appears in the King James Bible: 310
Weight in tons of the anchor on a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier: 30
Year the last known passenger pigeon died: 1914
Number of muscles in an elephant's trunk: 40,000
Average number of dreams a person has per night: 4
Percentage of honey bees in North America lost to colony collapse disorder between 2006 and 2020: 30
Year the electric chair was used for the first time as a method of execution: 1890

February 4

Number of Facebook users as of 2024: 3,065,000,000
Year Facebook was founded: 2004
Percentage of Americans who report eating fast food at least once a week: 36
Average number of words spoken by a human per day: 16,000
Number of known moons orbiting Jupiter: 95
Year the first modern Olympic Games were held: 1896
Estimated weight in pounds of gold ever mined in human history: 6,000,000,000
Number of patents held by Thomas Edison at his death: 1,093
Percentage of the human genome that is identical to a banana: 60
Average annual salary of a Walmart employee in 2023: $14,760
Number of days it takes light from the Sun to reach Neptune: 247
Age at which the average American retires: 62

February 5

Number of Super Bowl games played before the term "Super Bowl" was officially adopted: 3
Average cost in dollars of a 30-second Super Bowl commercial in 2024: 7,000,000
Percentage of Americans who watch the Super Bowl primarily for the commercials: 23
Number of calories in an average stadium hot dog with condiments: 470
Year the forward pass was legalized in American football: 1906
Total weight in tons of steel used to build the Golden Gate Bridge: 83,000
Number of languages spoken natively in Papua New Guinea: 840
Average time in minutes an American spends commuting each day: 27
Estimated number of Lego bricks manufactured per year: 36,000,000,000
Percentage of the world's cork production that comes from Portugal: 50
Number of moons orbiting Mars: 2

February 6

Year New Zealand became the first country to grant women the right to vote: 1893
Number of bones in the human foot: 26
Average lifespan in years of a wild chimpanzee: 33
Estimated number of ants on Earth: 20,000,000,000,000,000
Percentage of all animal species on Earth that are insects: 80
Number of times the Earth could fit inside the Sun: 1,300,000
Year the first mechanical wristwatch was invented: 1868
Average number of times a human blinks per minute: 15
Weight in pounds of the heaviest recorded blue whale: 400,000
Number of keys on a standard QWERTY keyboard: 104
Year Bob Marley was born: 1945
Number of dimples on a regulation golf ball: 336

February 7

Estimated number of books published worldwide each year: 4,000,000
Number of calories in one gram of fat: 9
Year the first Super Nintendo was released in Japan: 1990
Average price in dollars of a dozen eggs in the United States in early 2025: 4.95
Number of teeth in a great white shark's mouth at any given time: 300
Percentage of the Amazon rainforest that has been deforested since 1970: 17
Year the first email was sent: 1971
Average number of steps a postal carrier walks per day: 15,000
Number of watts of electricity the average refrigerator consumes: 150
Estimated number of meteorites that land on Earth each year: 17,000
Percentage of Americans who have never left the state they were born in: 33

February 8

Year Boy Scouts of America was incorporated: 1910
Number of merit badges available to Boy Scouts: 137
Average length in feet of a standard yellow school bus: 35
Percentage of the human body that is water: 60
Number of officially recognized countries in the world: 195
Year Coca-Cola first went on sale: 1886
Average number of hours a cat sleeps per day: 15
Estimated number of people alive today who are related to Genghis Khan: 16,000,000
Weight in pounds of the heaviest recorded domestic cat: 46.8
Number of stories in the Burj Khalifa: 163
Year the first disposable diaper was invented: 1948
Estimated annual revenue in dollars of the global pet industry: 261,000,000,000

February 9

Number of strings on a standard violin: 4
Average wholesale price in dollars of a single rose on Valentine's Day: 2.50
Percentage of Valentine's Day cards purchased by women: 85
Year Saint Valentine was martyred, according to tradition: 269
Estimated number of Valentine's Day cards exchanged in the United States each year: 145,000,000
Number of pounds of chocolate purchased in the week before Valentine's Day: 58,000,000
Average number of red blood cells in a single drop of blood: 5,000,000
Year the Hallmark company was founded: 1910
Number of animal species named after David Bowie: 3
Estimated number of grains of sand on all of Earth's beaches: 7,500,000,000,000,000,000
Weight in tons of the Liberty Bell: 1
Percentage of Earth's land surface covered by desert: 33

February 10

Average number of hours per day a smartphone user spends on their phone: 4.6
Year the first iPhone was released: 2007
Number of apps available in the Apple App Store as of 2024: 1,800,000
Estimated percentage of all internet traffic that is automated bot traffic: 47
Year the first text message was sent: 1992
Number of tweets posted on Twitter per day at its 2022 peak: 500,000,000
Percentage of Google searches that are questions: 14
Average number of emails received by a corporate worker per day: 121
Number of transistors on Apple's M3 chip: 25,000,000,000
Year the World Wide Web was invented: 1989
Estimated total data generated by humanity per day in zettabytes: 2.5
Number of languages supported by Google Translate: 243

February 11

Year Thomas Edison was born: 1847
Average number of pieces of mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service per day: 421,400,000
Number of feet per second that sound travels through air at sea level: 1,125
Estimated number of bacteria in the human gut: 38,000,000,000,000
Percentage of antibiotic prescriptions in the United States deemed unnecessary: 30
Year the first antibiotic, penicillin, was discovered: 1928
Number of approved drugs in the U.S. FDA database as of 2024: 20,000
Average cost in dollars of a one-minute ambulance ride in the United States: 2,000
Number of known variants of the influenza virus: 144
Estimated number of people who die each year from medication errors worldwide: 237,000
Year the first human heart transplant was performed: 1967

February 12

Year Charles Darwin was born: 1809
Number of species Darwin described in "On the Origin of Species": 0 (he described the theory; the book contained no formal species descriptions)
Estimated number of species that have gone extinct since life began on Earth: 5,000,000,000
Average time in years for a species to go extinct under natural (background) conditions: 1,000,000
Number of finch species Darwin observed in the Galápagos that influenced his theory: 13
Year Abraham Lincoln was born (same day as Darwin): 1809
Age at which Lincoln was first elected to public office: 25
Number of known natural moons in our solar system: 290
Percentage of mammal species that are bats: 20
Estimated number of trees on Earth: 3,000,000,000,000
Average age of a redwood tree at the time it is harvested for timber: 500
Number of chromosomes in a human cell: 46

February 13

Average number of roses sold globally on Valentine's Day: 250,000,000
Year the tradition of exchanging Valentine's gifts was first mentioned in literature (Chaucer): 1382
Number of countries that do not celebrate Valentine's Day due to cultural or religious prohibitions: 12
Estimated amount spent by Americans on Valentine's Day in 2024 in dollars: 25,800,000,000
Average price in dollars of a dozen long-stem red roses on Valentine's Day: 80
Number of conversation hearts (candy) produced annually by Necco/Spangler: 8,000,000,000
Percentage of pet owners who buy Valentine's Day gifts for their pets: 27
Year greeting cards were first mass-produced for Valentine's Day: 1840
Number of calories in a standard heart-shaped box of 12 chocolate truffles: 840
Average number of marriage proposals in the United States on Valentine's Day: 220,000
Year "Sweethearts" candy hearts were first produced: 1866

February 14

Number of people who receive flowers on Valentine's Day each year in the United States: 110,000,000
Percentage of Valentine's Day flowers sold in the United States that are imported from Colombia: 62
Average lifespan in days of a cut rose: 7
Number of pounds of candy consumed in the United States on Valentine's Day: 58,000,000
Estimated number of "Sweethearts" produced per year before supply chain issues: 8,000,000,000
Year Hallmark introduced the first Valentine's Day card: 1913
Percentage of men who buy Valentine's Day gifts last minute (day of): 14
Number of recognized types of romantic love identified by ancient Greek philosophers: 8
Year the "conversation heart" candy was invented: 1866
Average number of Valentine's Day cards sent to teachers nationwide: 15,000,000
Estimated percentage of restaurant reservations that cannot be fulfilled on Valentine's Day: 25
Number of couples who get married on Valentine's Day each year in the United States: 220,000

February 15

Year the first nuclear submarine, USS Nautilus, was launched: 1954
Number of nuclear warheads in the world as of 2024: 12,100
Average depth in feet at which submarines patrol: 800
Percentage of the world's electricity generated by nuclear power: 10
Number of nations that currently possess nuclear weapons: 9
Year the Kyoto Protocol on climate change was adopted: 1997
Estimated number of tons of plastic entering the ocean each year: 8,000,000
Number of Olympic gold medals won by the United States as of the 2024 Paris Games: 1,061
Average annual salary in dollars of a U.S. Army private first class: 28,000
Year the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was dedicated: 1982
Number of names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial: 58,281

February 16

Average number of hours per week Americans spend watching television: 28
Number of television channels available on an average U.S. cable package: 189
Year the first color television broadcast was made in the United States: 1954
Estimated number of streaming video subscribers worldwide as of 2024: 1,600,000,000
Percentage of U.S. households that have cancelled at least one streaming service: 46
Number of episodes in the longest-running prime-time animated series (The Simpsons): 764
Average cost in dollars of a 60-second prime-time television commercial in 2024: 350,000
Year the Nielsen ratings system for television was introduced: 1950
Number of Primetime Emmy Awards won by "Game of Thrones": 59
Estimated number of hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute: 500
Percentage of YouTube videos that receive fewer than 1,000 views: 80
Year Netflix launched its streaming service: 2007

February 17

Year Michael Jordan was born: 1963
Number of NBA championships won by Michael Jordan: 6
Average salary in dollars of an NBA player in the 2023-24 season: 10,700,000
Number of stitches on a regulation NBA basketball: 122
Year basketball was invented by James Naismith: 1891
Number of players on a regulation basketball team on the court at one time: 5
Highest recorded vertical leap in the NBA in inches: 48
Average number of calories burned per hour playing basketball: 600
Number of three-point lines in an NBA court measured in feet from the basket: 23.75
Estimated number of registered youth basketball players in the United States: 26,000,000
Number of countries with NBA-caliber professional basketball leagues: 70
Year the shot clock was introduced in the NBA: 1954

February 18

Year Pluto was discovered: 1930
Number of years Pluto was classified as a planet: 76
Diameter of Pluto in miles: 1,473
Year Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet: 2006
Number of dwarf planets officially recognized in our solar system: 5
Average temperature in Fahrenheit on the surface of Pluto: -380
Distance from Earth to Pluto in miles at its farthest point: 4,670,000,000
Number of moons orbiting Pluto: 5
Time in hours for a radio signal to travel from Earth to Pluto: 5.5
Year the New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto: 2015
Estimated number of objects in the Kuiper Belt: 100,000
Year the Kuiper Belt was confirmed to exist: 1992

February 19

Year Copernicus was born: 1473
Number of years after Copernicus's death that his heliocentric theory was placed on the Church's banned book list: 73
Estimated number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy: 200,000,000,000
Width of the Milky Way in light-years: 100,000
Number of light-years Earth is from the center of the Milky Way: 26,000
Year astronomers first identified an exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star: 1995
Number of confirmed exoplanets as of 2024: 5,600
Estimated percentage of stars in the Milky Way that have at least one planet: 70
Temperature in Fahrenheit of the surface of the Sun: 10,000
Distance the Sun travels around the Milky Way galaxy in miles per second: 514,000
Number of years it takes the Sun to complete one orbit of the Milky Way: 225,000,000
Year the first black hole was photographed: 2019

February 20

Year John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth: 1962
Number of orbits Glenn completed during his Mercury mission: 3
Age at which John Glenn returned to space on a second mission: 77
Number of Apollo moon landing missions: 6
Year the International Space Station was first inhabited: 2000
Number of countries that have contributed to the International Space Station: 15
Average altitude in miles of the International Space Station: 254
Number of spacewalks conducted from the ISS through 2024: 268
Estimated cost in dollars to launch one kilogram of payload to the ISS: 54,500
Weight in pounds of the International Space Station: 925,000
Year SpaceX became the first private company to launch humans to the ISS: 2020
Number of humans who have traveled to space: 676

February 21

Year the first telephone directory was published: 1878
Number of entries in that first telephone directory: 50
Estimated number of landline telephones in the United States in 2000: 186,000,000
Percentage of U.S. households that had only a landline telephone in 2023: 3.6
Year the last rotary phone was commercially manufactured in the United States: 1985
Number of ringtones available for download at peak ringtone market in 2004: 40,000,000
Average number of robocalls made per day in the United States: 150,000,000
Year "Do Not Call" registry was established by the FCC: 2003
Number of phone numbers registered on the U.S. Do Not Call list: 249,000,000
Estimated percentage of calls to cell phones that are spam or robocalls: 31
Year the area code system was introduced in North America: 1947
Number of area codes in the North American Numbering Plan as of 2024: 888

February 22

Year George Washington was born: 1732
Number of years Washington served as president: 8
Number of teeth Washington had by the time he took office: 1
Percentage of U.S. presidents who were lawyers before taking office: 57
Number of U.S. states named after presidents: 1 (Washington)
Year the Washington Monument was dedicated: 1885
Height in feet of the Washington Monument: 555
Number of steps inside the Washington Monument: 897
Year the White House was first occupied by a president: 1800
Number of rooms in the White House: 132
Estimated number of visitors to the White House each year: 100,000
Age of the oldest elected U.S. president at time of inauguration: 78

February 23

Year the U.S. flag was raised at Iwo Jima: 1945
Number of Marines who raised the flag in the iconic photograph: 6
Number of battles fought in the Pacific during World War II: 187
Estimated number of people who died in World War II: 70,000,000
Year the United Nations was founded: 1945
Number of official languages of the United Nations: 6
Estimated cost in dollars of the United Nations annual budget: 3,200,000,000
Number of countries that have been members of the United Nations: 193
Year the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted: 1948
Number of articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 30
Percentage of UN peacekeeping forces contributed by African nations: 47
Year the International Criminal Court was established: 2002

February 24

Year Gregorian Calendar was introduced: 1582
Number of days the Julian calendar was off from the solar year before correction: 10
Length in hours of a Martian day (sol): 24.62
Number of time zones on Earth: 24
Year Daylight Saving Time was first adopted in the United States: 1918
Percentage of countries that observe Daylight Saving Time: 40
Number of leap years between 1900 and 2100: 48
Estimated economic cost in dollars of Daylight Saving Time transitions in the United States annually: 434,000,000
Year the atomic clock was invented: 1955
Accuracy of the most precise atomic clock in seconds per billion years: 0.000000001
Number of atomic clocks used to define Coordinated Universal Time (UTC): 400
Year Greenwich Mean Time was adopted as the international time standard: 1884

February 25

Year the first Academy Awards ceremony was held: 1929
Duration in minutes of the first Academy Awards ceremony: 15
Number of Oscars won by "Ben-Hur" (most for a single film as of 2024, tied): 11
Average cost in dollars of an Academy Awards attendee's outfit: 75,000
Estimated number of people who watched the 2024 Oscars globally: 19,500,000
Year Meryl Streep won her first Academy Award: 1980
Number of times Meryl Streep has been nominated for an Academy Award: 21
Average cost in dollars of an "For Your Consideration" Oscar campaign: 10,000,000
Year the Oscar statuette design was finalized: 1931
Weight in pounds of an Oscar statuette: 8.5
Height in inches of the Oscar statuette: 13.5
Number of voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: 10,000

February 26

Year the first World Trade Center bombing occurred: 1993
Height in feet of the original World Trade Center's North Tower: 1,368
Number of people who worked in the original World Trade Center complex: 50,000
Height in feet of One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower): 1,776
Year One World Trade Center opened to tenants: 2014
Estimated cost in dollars to build One World Trade Center: 3,900,000,000
Number of steps in the Empire State Building's staircase: 1,576
Height in feet of the Empire State Building including antenna: 1,454
Year the Empire State Building was completed: 1931
Number of days it took to construct the Empire State Building: 410
Estimated number of visitors to the Empire State Building observation deck per year: 2,000,000
Year the Empire State Building was first struck by lightning: 1931

February 27

Year the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified: 1992
Number of years between the proposal and ratification of the 27th Amendment: 202
Total number of amendments to the U.S. Constitution: 27
Year the U.S. Constitution was signed: 1787
Number of signers of the U.S. Constitution: 39
Average age of the signers of the U.S. Constitution: 44
Number of pages in the original U.S. Constitution: 4
Year the Bill of Rights was ratified: 1791
Number of amendments proposed but never ratified: 6
Estimated number of times the U.S. Constitution has been cited in court opinions: 1,500,000
Year the U.S. Supreme Court first exercised judicial review (Marbury v. Madison): 1803
Number of U.S. Supreme Court justices who have served in its history: 116

February 28

Year the double helix structure of DNA was announced: 1953
Number of base pairs in the human genome: 3,200,000,000
Percentage of human DNA shared with a chimpanzee: 98.8
Number of genes in the human genome: 20,000
Year the Human Genome Project was completed: 2003
Cost in dollars of the Human Genome Project: 2,700,000,000
Current cost in dollars to sequence a full human genome: 200
Year the first genetically modified organism was patented: 1980
Number of CRISPR gene-editing papers published in 2023: 11,000
Estimated number of known human genetic disorders: 10,000
Year the first gene therapy trial in humans was conducted: 1990
Number of FDA-approved gene therapies as of 2024: 30

February 29

Frequency of leap years: every 4 years (with exceptions for century years not divisible by 400)
Estimated number of people born on February 29 (leaplings) worldwide: 5,000,000
Statistical odds of being born on February 29: 1 in 1,461
Year the Gregorian Calendar rule for leap years was established: 1582
Number of times February 29 has occurred since the Gregorian Calendar was adopted: 105
Year a presidential election has occurred without a leap day: never (every U.S. election year is a leap year)
Estimated number of legal contracts that have caused disputes due to "February 29" ambiguity: 10,000
Number of countries that still use calendars other than the Gregorian for civil purposes: 4
Year the last purely Julian calendar country (Greece) adopted the Gregorian Calendar: 1923
Length of a solar year in days, hours, minutes, and seconds: 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds
Number of extra seconds added to atomic clocks as "leap seconds" since 1972: 27
Age in "birthday years" of a 40-year-old leapling who counts only Feb 29 birthdays: 10