Wise Men Stats — July

Inspired by Harper's Index

July 1

Inspired by Harper's Index - Percentage of the world's fireworks that are manufactured in China: 90 - Number of "Canada Day" Google searches that originate from the United States: 1 in 4 - Average number of hot dogs consumed per second in the US during summer months: 818 - Estimated number of ants on Earth per human: 2,500,000 - Fraction of the human body that is replaced by new cells each year: 98% - Year the first commercial ice cream factory opened in the United States: 1851 - Number of days Julius Caesar's reformed calendar was off per year, requiring the Gregorian correction: 11 minutes - Percentage of Americans who cannot identify their own country on an unlabeled map: 29 - Average lifespan of a dollar bill in circulation: 6.6 years - Speed at which a sneeze travels leaving the human body, in mph: 100 - Number of known species of beetle: 400,000 - Percentage of the ocean floor that has been mapped to the resolution of Mars: 20

July 2

Year the US Declaration of Independence was actually voted on (before July 4): 1776
Average number of lightning bolts that strike Earth per second: 100
Percentage of the human genome shared with a banana: 50
Number of piano keys that have never been pressed during a typical concert performance: 12
Gallons of water required to produce one pound of beef: 1,800
Percentage of the world's oxygen produced by the Amazon rainforest: 20
Number of dimples on a regulation golf ball: 336
Year the phrase "the whole nine yards" first appeared in print: 1907
Average number of words a person speaks per day: 16,000
Percentage of Earth's land surface covered by forest: 31
Weight of bacteria living in the average adult gut, in pounds: 2.5
Number of times the Moon has been struck by a golf ball: 2

July 3

Ratio of civilian to military deaths in 20th-century wars: 8 to 1
Number of taste buds on the average human tongue: 10,000
Percentage of US bridges rated "structurally deficient": 7.5
Average number of steps a letter carrier walks per day: 14,000
Year the U.S. Post Office introduced ZIP codes: 1963
Temperature at which paper ignites, in Fahrenheit (Ray Bradbury's reference): 451
Percentage of the Great Wall of China that has already crumbled: 30
Number of bones a human is born with versus the adult count: 270 vs 206
Average time it takes for light to travel from the Sun to Earth, in minutes: 8.3
Gallons of water used in a single five-minute shower: 10–25
Number of legal codes the US tax code exceeds in word count: all major world religions
Percentage of US households that own a pet: 70

July 4

Number of Americans who watched a fireworks display on Independence Day 2023: 157,000,000
Average pounds of hamburger meat consumed on July 4 in the US: 150,000,000
Year the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence died: 1832
Number of US Presidents who died on July 4th: 3
Percentage of fireworks-related injuries affecting hands and fingers: 28
Average temperature of Earth's mantle, in degrees Fahrenheit: 3,600
Number of times a hummingbird's heart beats per minute: 1,260
Estimated age of the oldest living tree on Earth, in years: 5,066
Fraction of US electricity generated by coal in 2023: 16%
Number of steps in the Eiffel Tower: 1,665
Pounds of food the average American consumes on July 4: 7
Ratio of stars in the observable universe to grains of sand on Earth's beaches: 10 to 1

July 5

Number of plastic bottles discarded per minute worldwide: 1,000,000
Average distance a food item travels from farm to dinner plate in the US, in miles: 1,500
Percentage of the world's fresh water locked in glaciers: 69
Year the last passenger pigeon died: 1914
Number of languages spoken in Papua New Guinea: 850
Average number of times a person laughs per day: 17
Percentage of Americans who have never left their home state: 11
Speed of a cheetah sprint, in mph: 70
Number of Google searches performed per second: 99,000
Estimated number of books published worldwide each year: 4,000,000
Percentage of a typical cloud that is actually water vapor: 0.001
Average price of a movie ticket in 1950, in today's dollars: $0.73 (about $9 adjusted)

July 6

Percentage of the world's soybeans grown in the US: 35
Number of times the average person touches their face per hour: 23
Year Frisbee was patented: 1958
Average number of skips a professional stone-skipper achieves per throw: 65
Percentage of adult Americans who believe in ghosts: 45
Weight of a cloud one mile wide, in tons: 500,000
Number of known exoplanets as of 2024: 5,700
Gallons of water needed to make one cotton t-shirt: 700
Average lifespan of a wild goldfish, in years: 25
Percentage of the US economy devoted to healthcare: 18
Number of species of mushroom that glow in the dark: 97
Estimated number of dreams a person has per year: 1,460

July 7

Number of syllables in the longest word in the English language: 189,819 (protein name)
Percentage of the human body that is water: 60
Year the first selfie was taken: 1839
Average number of pounds of cheese Americans consume per year: 42
Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit at the core of the Sun: 27,000,000
Number of commercial flights in the air at any given moment worldwide: 10,000
Percentage of insects that are beetles: 40
Average age of a US dollar bill before it is retired: 6.6 years
Number of muscles required to take a single step: 200
Percentage of the Amazon Basin deforested since 1970: 20
Year the microwave oven was patented: 1945
Speed of Earth's rotation at the equator, in mph: 1,040

July 8

Number of known moons orbiting Saturn: 146
Percentage of US adults who are considered obese: 36
Average number of pages in the US federal tax code: 70,000
Year the first bicycle was patented: 1818
Number of languages that have no word for "blue": several dozen
Gallons of water required to produce one almond: 1.1
Percentage of ocean plastic pollution attributed to rivers: 80
Average number of times a person blinks per day: 14,400
Weight of the Sun in comparison to the entire solar system: 99.86%
Number of bones in a shark: 0 (cartilage only)
Estimated number of viruses in a teaspoon of seawater: 50,000,000
Year the Oxford English Dictionary was completed: 1928

July 9

Number of hotdog buns sold in the US each summer: 8,000,000,000
Percentage of mammals that are bats: 20
Average thickness of the human skull, in inches: 0.25
Year the zipper was invented: 1913
Number of chemical compounds identified in coffee: 1,000+
Gallons of sweat the average person produces per year: 278
Percentage of Antarctic ice that holds 70% of the world's fresh water: 90 (of ice volume)
Average number of people born per second worldwide: 4.5
Number of full moons in a typical year: 12–13
Weight of a cubic foot of air, in ounces: 1.2
Year the first video game was invented: 1958
Ratio of neurons in the gut to neurons in the spinal cord: 500,000,000 to 100,000,000

July 10

Percentage of the world's cork production from Portugal: 50
Number of species on Earth estimated by scientists: 8,700,000
Year women were first allowed to open a bank account without a male cosigner in the US: 1974
Average number of commercials a person sees in a lifetime: 2,000,000
Percentage of the human brain that is fat: 60
Number of cups of coffee consumed per day worldwide: 2,250,000,000
Average running speed of a house cat, in mph: 30
Fraction of all food produced globally that is wasted: one-third
Year the first recorded use of "OK" appeared in print: 1839
Number of vertebrae in a giraffe's neck: 7 (same as humans)
Gallons of oil used to produce one car tire: 7
Percentage of bird species that are songbirds: 47

July 11

World Population Day: estimated world population in 1804 (first billion): 1,000,000,000
Number of years it took to add the second billion to world population: 123
Percentage of the Earth covered by water: 71
Average lifespan of a dollar coin in circulation, in years: 30
Number of languages in which the Bible has been translated: 704
Gallons of water used to produce one pound of coffee: 37
Year the can opener was invented (nearly 50 years after the tin can): 1858
Percentage of global electricity from renewable sources as of 2023: 30
Average number of times a human heart beats in a lifetime: 2,500,000,000
Number of times lightning strikes the US per year: 20,000,000
Percentage of the world's chocolate consumed in Europe: 50
Weight of the human skin, in pounds: 8

July 12

Number of hairs on the average human head: 100,000
Percentage of Americans who have a passport: 48
Average age of a Fortune 500 company before it is removed from the list, in years: 15
Year the first photograph of a living person was taken: 1838
Number of species of ants discovered since the year 2000: 560+
Gallons of water in the world's oceans: 352,000,000,000,000,000,000
Percentage of the world's oxygen produced by marine phytoplankton: 50
Average salary of an NFL player in 1960, in today's dollars: $20,000
Number of languages in which Google Translate operates: 133
Temperature at which human skin begins to burn, in Fahrenheit: 118
Percentage of marriages that begin online in the US: 39
Number of times the International Space Station orbits Earth per day: 15.5

July 13

Estimated number of meals served by McDonald's daily worldwide: 69,000,000
Percentage of the human body composed of carbon: 18
Year the first patent for sunscreen was filed: 1944
Average number of thunderstorms occurring on Earth at any given moment: 2,000
Number of pounds of potatoes consumed per American per year: 117
Percentage of animal biomass on Earth that is human: 0.01
Average number of words in a typical novel: 90,000
Number of known natural satellites (moons) in the solar system: 200+
Gallons of water needed to produce one pound of pork: 576
Percentage of US food recalls initiated voluntarily by manufacturers: 98
Year the Doomsday Book of England was compiled: 1086
Number of times greater the surface area of the human lung than the skin: 40 times

July 14

Bastille Day: Number of prisoners freed when the Bastille was stormed in 1789: 7
Percentage of French people who eat in the company of others every day: 85
Year the Eiffel Tower surpassed the Washington Monument as tallest structure: 1889
Average number of baguettes consumed per day in France: 30,000,000
Number of cheeses recognized by France's official registry: 246+
Percentage of the Amazon River's flow that enters the Atlantic: 20 (of global river flow)
Average distance between consecutive French bistros in Paris, in feet: 500
Number of times the Tour de France has started outside of France: 8
Gallons of wine produced in France annually: 7,900,000,000
Percentage of French adults who report eating lunch as a sit-down meal: 78
Year that French became the official language of France (replacing Latin): 1539
Number of steps to the top of Notre-Dame de Paris towers: 387

July 15

Number of books checked out from public libraries per year in the US: 1,300,000,000
Percentage of the world's internet traffic that is automated (bots): 45
Average number of decisions an adult makes per day: 35,000
Year the first transatlantic telegraph cable was successfully operated: 1866
Number of known species of hummingbird: 361
Percentage of the global population that uses the internet: 67
Average lifespan of a mayfly, in hours: 24
Number of calories in one pound of human body fat: 3,500
Percentage of the Moon's surface permanently in shadow: 10
Gallons of blood pumped by the heart per day: 2,000
Average number of selfies taken per day worldwide: 93,000,000
Year the first emoticon appeared in digital communication: 1982

July 16

Year the first atomic bomb was detonated: 1945
Number of seconds it took for the Trinity test explosion to become visible across New Mexico: 5
Percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to agriculture: 19
Average cost of a NASA space suit: $12,000,000
Number of bones in the human wrist: 8
Percentage of US households with at least one TV in 1955 vs. today: 65% then, 96% now
Gallons of ethanol produced annually from corn in the US: 15,800,000,000
Average age of a sitting US Supreme Court Justice: 69
Number of US space missions that have carried plants into orbit: 60+
Percentage of light from the Sun that reaches Earth's surface: 48
Year the last publicly scheduled execution by guillotine occurred in France: 1977
Number of languages with more than 50 million speakers: 23

July 17

Number of shipwrecks on the floor of the world's oceans: 3,000,000
Percentage of the world's goods transported by sea: 90
Average depth of the world's oceans, in feet: 12,100
Year the Black Box flight recorder was invented: 1953
Number of miles of railroad track in the US: 140,000
Percentage of global wheat production coming from the top five nations: 60
Average speed of an email delivery in milliseconds: 200
Number of patents filed in the US per year: 600,000+
Percentage of the world's emeralds mined in Colombia: 70
Average number of hours per week Americans spend watching TV: 28
Number of recognized dog breeds by the American Kennel Club: 200
Temperature of lava, in degrees Fahrenheit: up to 2,200

July 18

Nelson Mandela International Day: Number of years Mandela spent in prison: 27
Percentage of South Africa's population that is under 35: 66
Average life expectancy in Sub-Saharan Africa in 1960 vs. 2020: 40 vs. 63 years
Number of official languages in South Africa: 11
Percentage of the world's diamonds mined in Africa: 65
Year the African Union was established: 2002
Number of countries in Africa: 54
Percentage of the world's youngest population (under 25) living in Africa: 60
Gallons of water consumed per day by a full-grown elephant: 50
Number of species of large mammals native to Africa: 79
Percentage of global cocoa produced in West Africa: 70
Average mobile phone adoption growth rate in Africa per year: 4.7%

July 19

Number of bones that make up the human spine: 33
Percentage of the world's caffeine consumption attributable to coffee: 75
Average number of months a romantic relationship lasts before first argument: 2
Year the first crossword puzzle was published: 1913
Number of possible chess moves in a typical game: 10 to the power of 120
Percentage of Americans who report being "very happy" with their lives: 31
Gallons of water required to produce one pound of rice: 449
Average temperature of the human armpit, in Fahrenheit: 97.8
Number of stars visible to the naked eye on a clear night: 2,500
Percentage of US adults who have never read a book for pleasure as adults: 24
Year the last manned moon landing occurred: 1972
Number of types of pasta recognized by the Italian government: 350

July 20

Moon landing anniversary: Seconds of fuel remaining when Apollo 11 touched down: 25–60
Number of people who watched the moon landing on TV: 600,000,000
Average cost of the Apollo program in today's dollars: $280,000,000,000
Number of footprints left on the Moon: 12 (from 6 missions)
Percentage of the Moon's surface covered by craters: 100 (on the far side)
Age of the oldest rock sample brought back from the Moon, in billions of years: 4.5
Weight of the American flag planted on the Moon, in pounds: 9
Number of golf balls on the Moon: 2
Percentage of the lunar surface covered by regolith (dusty rubble): 100
Average temperature difference between day and night on the Moon, in Fahrenheit: 500
Number of countries that have landed a spacecraft on the Moon: 5
Gallons of rocket fuel burned by the Saturn V per second: 3,357

July 21

Number of words in the English language: 171,476 (active dictionary words)
Percentage of English vocabulary derived from Latin and French: 60
Average number of new words added to the Oxford English Dictionary annually: 1,000
Year the word "quiz" first appeared in English: 1782
Number of alphabets currently in use worldwide: 23+
Percentage of written human communication now conducted in English: 50
Gallons of ink used to print one copy of a major daily newspaper: 0.2
Average age at which children in the US learn to read: 6
Number of countries with more than one official language: 100+
Percentage of global scientific papers published in English: 80
Year the first dictionary of the English language was published: 1604
Number of new words coined during the COVID-19 pandemic: 1,000+

July 22

Number of times the average person in the US moves in their lifetime: 11
Percentage of the world's urban population living in slums: 24
Average cost of a single-family home in San Francisco in 1975 vs. today: $40,000 vs. $1,400,000
Year the first shopping mall opened in the US: 1956
Number of US shopping malls that have closed since 2017: 25% of those existing
Percentage of Americans who say they prefer online shopping to in-store: 51
Average number of packages delivered by UPS per day: 24,700,000
Number of cities with a population over 10 million: 34
Percentage of US adults who have lived in only one state: 37
Gallons of water consumed per capita per day in the US: 80–100
Average rent-to-income ratio in the most expensive US cities: 40%+
Year "suburbs" outnumbered cities in population in the US: 1960

July 23

Number of earthquakes that occur worldwide each year: 500,000
Percentage of those felt by humans: 20
Average time between major (7.0+) earthquakes globally, in days: 22
Year of the deadliest earthquake in recorded history (China, 1556): 1556
Number of people killed in the 1556 Shaanxi earthquake: 830,000
Percentage of the world's earthquakes that occur around the Pacific Ring of Fire: 90
Average depth of a deep-focus earthquake, in miles: 400
Number of seismograph stations in operation worldwide: 20,000+
Gallons of water displaced by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami: 600 billion cubic feet
Percentage of US states at risk for a significant earthquake: 75
Year the Richter scale was developed: 1935
Number of countries with nuclear power plants also in high earthquake zones: 20

July 24

Number of people who have walked on the Moon: 12
Percentage of the US that believes extraterrestrial life exists: 65
Average distance from Earth to the nearest star outside the solar system, in light-years: 4.2
Year SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) was founded: 1984
Number of potentially habitable exoplanets discovered as of 2024: 60+
Percentage of the Milky Way galaxy explored by telescopes: 0.01
Average age of the universe, in billion years: 13.8
Number of dimensions proposed by string theory: 10–11
Percentage of the universe made up of ordinary matter: 5
Gallons of water estimated to exist on Jupiter's moon Europa: twice Earth's oceans
Year the Voyager 1 probe left the solar system: 2012
Number of active satellites orbiting Earth as of 2024: 7,000+

July 25

Number of plastic surgeries performed in the US annually: 15,600,000
Percentage of them that are cosmetic vs. reconstructive: 54% cosmetic
Average cost of a nose job in the US: $5,500
Year the first cosmetic surgery was performed in the US: 1827
Number of countries that have banned plastic surgery advertising: 12+
Percentage of US teenagers who report having considered cosmetic surgery: 26
Average number of beauty products used by a woman per day: 12
Gallons of water used in producing one lipstick: 50+
Percentage of global cosmetics industry revenue attributed to skincare: 42
Number of known human skin microbiome species: 1,000
Year the FDA began regulating cosmetics: 1938
Number of colors humans can perceive: 10,000,000

July 26

Number of US states that have legalized recreational marijuana as of 2024: 24
Percentage of the global cannabis market controlled by the US: 22
Year the US government first classified marijuana as a Schedule I substance: 1970
Number of people currently incarcerated for cannabis offenses in the US: 40,000+
Percentage of adults who report using cannabis in the past year in the US: 19
Average price per ounce of legal cannabis in Colorado: $150
Number of known chemical compounds in cannabis: 500+
Percentage of US adults who support marijuana legalization: 70
Gallons of water used to grow one cannabis plant: 6
Number of countries where cannabis is fully legal for recreational use: 5
Year Canada became the first G7 nation to federally legalize cannabis: 2018
Estimated global legal cannabis market value by 2030, in billions: $200+

July 27

Number of people who died in the Korean War armistice (signed this day in 1953): 36,000 (US)
Percentage of the Korean Peninsula that is mountainous: 70
Average GDP per capita difference between North and South Korea: 20 to 1 (South higher)
Number of North Korean defectors who fled to South Korea since 1953: 34,000+
Percentage of South Korea's population in Seoul metro area: 50
Year the Korean alphabet (Hangul) was created: 1443
Number of Korean words with Chinese origins: 60%
Average lifespan in North Korea vs. South Korea: 72 vs. 83 years
Number of US troops still stationed in South Korea: 28,500
Percentage of South Korea's economy dependent on exports: 38
Year Samsung was founded: 1938
Number of Olympic gold medals won by South Korea as of 2024: 100+

July 28

Year World War I began: 1914
Number of soldiers killed per day on the Western Front at peak fighting: 7,000
Percentage of all European men aged 15–49 who served in World War I: 65
Average age of soldiers in the trenches: 19
Number of horses used during WWI: 8,000,000
Gallons of mud produced per mile of trench in a rainy week: immeasurable (measured in acres)
Percentage of WWI deaths caused by artillery: 60
Year the last surviving WWI veteran died: 2012
Number of languages spoken by soldiers in the Allied forces: 50+
Average monthly pay for a US private in 1917: $30
Number of countries that fought in WWI: 30
Percentage of pre-war Europe's population that died in WWI: 2

July 29

Number of languages used in the United Nations: 6
Percentage of the world's population that speaks Mandarin Chinese as a first language: 12
Average number of words a person learns per day between ages 1–17: 10
Year Esperanto was invented: 1887
Number of people who speak Esperanto today: 2,000,000
Percentage of languages that are considered endangered: 40
Number of languages with fewer than 10 living speakers: 100+
Average number of letters in the Finnish alphabet: 29
Percentage of the world's languages that originate in Africa: 30
Year the first dictionary of American English was published: 1806
Number of sign languages recognized worldwide: 300+
Percentage of the world's population that is bilingual or multilingual: 60

July 30

Number of vending machines in Japan: 5,000,000 (one per 23 people)
Percentage of the world's sushi consumed in Japan: 80
Average number of steps walked per day by the average Japanese person: 6,500
Year the Shinkansen (bullet train) first began service: 1964
Speed of Japan's fastest bullet train, in mph: 200
Number of active volcanoes in Japan: 111
Percentage of Japan's land area that is mountainous: 73
Year the Japanese constitution was enacted, making it among the world's shortest: 1947
Number of words in the Japanese constitution: 5,000
Percentage of the world's robots used in manufacturing located in Japan: 47
Average life expectancy in Japan, the world leader: 84 years
Number of Japanese convenience store chains operating 24/7: 3 (major ones: 7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart)

July 31

Number of words J.K. Rowling wrote before Harry Potter was accepted for publication: 500,000+
Percentage of US adults who read at least one book per year: 75
Average number of books read by a US adult per year: 12
Year the first public library in the US opened: 1833
Number of books in the Library of Congress: 17,000,000+
Percentage of published books that sell fewer than 100 copies: 98
Average advance paid to a first-time novelist: $5,000–$15,000
Number of languages Harry Potter has been translated into: 85
Percentage of books published in a given year that are still in print after 10 years: 10
Gallons of coffee consumed annually per capita in Finland, the world leader: equivalent of 1,600+ cups
Year e-books outsold print books for the first time on Amazon: 2010
Number of known libraries worldwide: 400,000+