Wise Men Stats — March

Inspired by Harper's Index

Daily startling statistics in the style of Wise Men Stats.

March 1

Inspired by Harper's Index

Number of days it took NASA's Voyager 1 to travel from Earth to Jupiter: 546
Percentage of the world's supply of vanilla that comes from Madagascar: 80
Average number of times a human blinks per minute: 15
Estimated number of nuclear weapons currently in existence worldwide: 12,500
Weight, in pounds, of the average American wedding cake: 6
Year the first crossword puzzle was published in a newspaper: 1913
Number of hearts an octopus has: 3
Percentage of Fortune 500 companies that were founded by immigrants or their children: 43
Average daily distance, in miles, walked by a medieval peasant: 12
Number of languages with more than 50 million native speakers: 23
Estimated tons of microplastics deposited on land each year via rainfall: 44,000

March 2

Speed, in miles per hour, at which human hair grows: 0.00000001
Number of calories in a teaspoon of sugar: 16
Estimated number of Lego bricks produced per year: 36,000,000,000
Year Texas was an independent republic before joining the United States: 1836
Percentage of Earth's freshwater locked in glaciers and ice caps: 69
Average number of potholes filled annually in New York City: 250,000
Number of muscles used to take a single step: 200
Percentage of Americans who eat the same breakfast every day: 57
Age, in years, of the oldest known living tree (Methuselah, bristlecone pine): 4,854
Weight, in pounds, of a cubic foot of gold: 1,206
Number of satellites launched by SpaceX's Starlink program through 2024: 6,000

March 3

Estimated number of ants on Earth: 20,000,000,000,000,000
Percentage of global electricity generated by solar power in 2023: 5.5
Year the minimum wage was first established in the United States: 1938
Number of bones a shark has: 0
Average lifespan, in days, of a housefly: 28
Percentage of the human body that is water: 60
Number of hot dogs consumed by Americans on the Fourth of July: 150,000,000
Estimated cost, in dollars, of a single F-35 fighter jet: 110,000,000
Number of colors the mantis shrimp can perceive: 16
Percentage of the ocean floor that has been mapped in detail: 26
Average number of selfies taken globally per day: 93,000,000

March 4

Year Abraham Lincoln first took the presidential oath of office: 1861
Number of piano keys on a standard concert grand: 88
Estimated weight, in pounds, of plastic waste entering the ocean each minute: 33,000
Percentage of Americans who cannot name all three branches of government: 26
Average speed, in miles per hour, of a charging rhinoceros: 34
Number of cups of coffee the average Finnish person drinks per day: 3.5
Height, in feet, of the world's tallest recorded wave (Lituya Bay, Alaska, 1958): 1,720
Percentage of global deforestation driven by agriculture: 80
Year the World Wide Web was made publicly available: 1991
Number of words added to the Oxford English Dictionary each year on average: 1,000
Estimated number of active volcanoes on Earth: 1,500

March 5

Average number of hours Americans spend on their smartphones per day: 4.5
Percentage of all bird species that are migratory: 40
Number of calories burned per hour by a 155-pound person walking briskly: 314
Year aspirin was first synthesized and patented: 1899
Estimated number of books published globally per year: 2,200,000
Distance, in miles, from Earth to the Moon: 238,855
Percentage of the Amazon rainforest destroyed since 1970: 20
Average number of thunderstorms occurring on Earth at any given moment: 2,000
Number of times a human heart beats in an average lifetime: 3,000,000,000
Estimated market value, in dollars, of the global video game industry in 2023: 184,000,000,000
Weight, in pounds, of the world's largest pumpkin ever recorded: 2,749

March 6

Year the first email was sent: 1971
Number of known moons orbiting Saturn: 146
Percentage of American adults who report sleeping fewer than 7 hours per night: 35
Average cost, in dollars, of a 30-second Super Bowl ad in 2024: 7,000,000
Number of different languages spoken in Papua New Guinea: 840
Estimated age, in years, of the oldest known piece of music (a Sumerian hymn): 3,400
Percentage of global carbon emissions attributed to the fashion industry: 10
Number of registered patents held by Thomas Edison: 1,093
Average amount of food, in pounds, wasted per American per year: 325
Depth, in feet, of the deepest point in the world's oceans (Challenger Deep): 36,089
Number of goals scored by Wayne Gretzky, the NHL's all-time leading scorer: 894

March 7

Estimated number of species of beetles on Earth: 400,000
Percentage of the world's oxygen produced by the Amazon rainforest: 20
Year the first commercial jet airline flight took place: 1952
Average amount, in dollars, spent per American on Halloween each year: 108
Number of times the Library of Congress's collection could fill the Statue of Liberty: 17
Weight of the sun, in comparison to Earth's mass: 333,000 times
Percentage of the world's population that has never made a phone call: 17
Average length, in feet, of an adult blue whale's tongue: 8
Number of nations that have never participated in a war since 1945: 2
Estimated number of neurons in the human brain: 86,000,000,000
Year the deadliest earthquake in recorded history struck Shaanxi, China: 1556

March 8

International Women's Day year of first observance: 1911
Percentage of speaking roles in Hollywood films held by women in 2023: 38
Number of female heads of government globally as of 2024: 26
Estimated wage gap: for every dollar a man earns, average amount earned by a woman in the U.S.: 0.84
Year Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize: 1903
Percentage of agricultural land in the world managed by women: 43
Number of women who have walked in space: 20
Year the first woman ran (unofficially) in the Boston Marathon: 1966
Percentage of Wikipedia biographies that are about women: 19
Average number of words spoken per day by a woman, according to a widely cited study: 20,000
Number of countries where women were granted the right to vote after 1975: 12

March 9

Number of ingredients in a classic Coca-Cola recipe (proprietary, estimated): 10
Year the first iPod was released: 2001
Estimated number of active Twitter/X accounts in 2023: 368,000,000
Percentage of Earth's land surface covered by deserts: 33
Average weight, in pounds, of a newborn giraffe: 150
Number of rings in the Olympic symbol: 5
Percentage of plastic ever produced that has been recycled: 9
Year the Berlin Wall fell: 1989
Distance, in miles, a honeybee must fly to make one pound of honey: 55,000
Number of languages in which the Bible has been translated: 3,500
Estimated number of shipping containers lost at sea each year: 1,400

March 10

Year Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call: 1876
Number of minutes the average American spends in traffic per year: 51 hours (3,060 minutes)
Percentage of global internet traffic that is spam: 45
Average length, in inches, of a cheetah's stride at full speed: 25
Estimated number of dollars spent on pet care in the United States annually: 147,000,000,000
Weight, in pounds, of the largest meteorite ever found (Hoba, Namibia): 119,000
Percentage of the population that is left-handed: 10
Number of different smells a human nose can detect: 1,000,000,000,000
Year the first underground railway opened (London): 1863
Number of stitches on a Major League Baseball: 108
Estimated number of words in the English language: 1,000,000

March 11

Year the Fukushima nuclear disaster occurred: 2011
Number of aftershocks exceeding magnitude 6.0 in the first year following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake: 80
Estimated cost, in dollars, of the 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami: 360,000,000,000
Percentage of Japan's electricity once provided by nuclear power before 2011: 30
Number of countries that offered immediate aid to Japan following the disaster: 116
Average height, in feet, of the Tōhoku tsunami waves: 133
Number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Japan: 25
Percentage of global supply of electronics components manufactured in Japan: 60
Estimated number of robots used in Japanese manufacturing: 350,000
Year Japan first hosted the Summer Olympics: 1964
Number of active volcanoes in Japan: 111

March 12

Average number of cups of tea consumed globally per day: 3,000,000,000
Year the first postage stamp (the Penny Black) was issued: 1840
Percentage of the world's population living in cities: 57
Number of steps in the average person's daily walk: 7,500
Estimated amount, in dollars, of U.S. currency in circulation overseas: 700,000,000,000
Number of bones in the human hand: 27
Speed, in miles per hour, of the fastest recorded tennis serve (Sam Groth): 163.4
Year the first FIFA World Cup was held: 1930
Estimated weight, in tons, of a mature blue whale: 200
Percentage of global methane emissions caused by livestock: 14.5
Number of chromosomes in a potato: 48

March 13

Year Uranus was discovered by William Herschel: 1781
Number of moons orbiting Uranus: 28
Estimated surface temperature of the sun, in degrees Fahrenheit: 10,000
Percentage of the Milky Way galaxy that is dark matter: 85
Average number of light-years to the nearest star (Proxima Centauri): 4.24
Number of time zones in Russia: 11
Estimated number of galaxies in the observable universe: 2,000,000,000,000
Speed of light, in miles per second: 186,282
Year Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet: 2006
Number of Apollo missions that landed on the Moon: 6
Percentage of Americans who believe humans have visited Mars: 8

March 14

Pi Day: approximate value of pi to five decimal places: 3.14159
Number of digits of pi computed by machine as of 2024: 105,000,000,000,000
Year Euler first used the symbol π for the ratio of circumference to diameter: 1737
Estimated number of known prime numbers below one billion: 50,847,534
Percentage of adults in the U.S. who report difficulty with basic math: 33
Number of Fields Medals awarded since the prize was established in 1936: 64
Average number of math equations a physicist solves before publishing a major paper: 1,500
Year Albert Einstein was born (also Pi Day): 1879
Percentage of research mathematics papers published by women: 15
Number of Rubik's Cube possible configurations: 43,252,003,274,489,856,000
Estimated minutes it takes a world-record holder to solve a Rubik's Cube: 0.31

March 15

Year Julius Caesar was assassinated (the Ides of March): 44 BCE
Number of senators who participated in the assassination of Caesar, by ancient accounts: 23
Percentage of Roman senators estimated to be literate: 100
Average lifespan, in years, of a Roman senator: 58
Number of languages derived from Latin: 6 (the major Romance languages)
Estimated population of the Roman Empire at its peak: 70,000,000
Year Rome was founded, according to Roman tradition: 753 BCE
Number of hills Rome was classically said to be built upon: 7
Distance, in miles, of Roman roads built at the empire's height: 250,000
Percentage of modern European legal systems influenced by Roman law: 60
Number of months added to the calendar by Julius Caesar's reform: 2 (Quintilis → July; Sextilis → August)

March 16

Average cost, in dollars, of raising a child in the United States to age 18: 310,605
Percentage of households in sub-Saharan Africa without electricity: 57
Number of hours per day the average global household TV is on: 3
Year the first color television was demonstrated publicly: 1928
Estimated number of television channels available globally: 60,000
Percentage of Americans who say they get their news primarily from social media: 31
Number of streaming services operating in the United States as of 2024: 200
Average number of passwords the typical internet user manages: 100
Year the first commercial videocassette recorder (VCR) was sold: 1971
Percentage of digital photos taken on smartphones: 92
Estimated number of photos taken worldwide per day: 1,800,000,000

March 17

St. Patrick's Day: estimated number of Americans who claim Irish ancestry: 33,000,000
Number of shamrock species native to Ireland: 0 (shamrock is a common clover)
Average pints of Guinness sold globally on St. Patrick's Day: 13,000,000
Year St. Patrick's Day became a public holiday in Ireland: 1903
Estimated amount, in dollars, Americans spend on St. Patrick's Day annually: 7,200,000,000
Population of the Republic of Ireland: 5,200,000
Percentage of Ireland covered by peat bogs: 20
Number of snakes native to Ireland: 0
Year Ireland joined the European Union: 1973
Average annual rainfall, in inches, in Dublin: 28
Number of Nobel Prize winners born in Ireland: 6

March 18

First spacewalk: year Alexei Leonov floated freely in space: 1965
Duration, in minutes, of Leonov's spacewalk: 12
Number of humans who have walked in space (EVA) through 2024: 261
Estimated cost, in dollars, of an astronaut's spacesuit: 12,000,000
Percentage of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere: 21
Temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, at which liquid oxygen boils: −297
Year the International Space Station was first inhabited: 2000
Number of countries involved in building the ISS: 15
Estimated weight, in pounds, of the ISS: 925,000
Speed, in miles per hour, the ISS orbits Earth: 17,500
Number of sunrises the ISS crew witnesses each day: 16

March 19

First day of spring (vernal equinox) most commonly falls on this date or March 20
Number of seconds in a year: 31,536,000
Estimated mass of pollen, in tons, released by North American trees each spring: 7,000,000
Percentage of Americans who suffer from seasonal allergies: 26
Year the cherry blossom festival (Hanami) was first recorded in Japan: 812 CE
Average duration, in days, of peak cherry blossom season in Washington, D.C.: 14
Number of cherry blossom trees in Washington, D.C.: 3,700
Estimated annual economic impact, in dollars, of the D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival: 200,000,000
Percentage of the world's flowering plant species pollinated by bees: 70
Number of bee species known to science: 20,000
Weight, in milligrams, of pollen a single honeybee can carry: 35

March 20

Year the first crossword puzzle appeared in a newspaper (The New York World): 1913
Estimated number of crossword puzzles published in U.S. newspapers each year: 3,000,000
Average time, in minutes, it takes a skilled solver to complete a Monday NYT crossword: 8
Number of black squares in a standard 15×15 crossword grid (average): 38
Percentage of Americans who do a crossword puzzle at least once a week: 27
Year Scrabble was invented: 1938
Highest possible score in a single Scrabble turn: 1,782
Number of two-letter words allowed in official Scrabble dictionaries: 107
Estimated number of chess games possible after both players make three moves: 9,000,000
Year the first chess computer defeated a world champion (Garry Kasparov vs. Deep Blue): 1997
Number of possible unique games of chess: more than the atoms in the observable universe (10^120 estimated)

March 21

Year Johann Sebastian Bach was born: 1685
Number of compositions attributed to Bach: 1,128
Estimated number of professional orchestras in the world: 1,200
Average salary, in dollars, of a musician in a major U.S. symphony orchestra: 157,000
Percentage of American children who receive music education in school: 74
Year Beethoven's Ninth Symphony premiered (though he was deaf): 1824
Number of keys on a standard piano: 88
Highest note on a concert grand piano (C8), in hertz: 4,186
Estimated global revenue of the music industry in 2023, in dollars: 26,200,000,000
Percentage of music streaming revenue going to artists: 12
Number of Grammy Awards given at the first Grammy ceremony in 1959: 28

March 22

World Water Day: percentage of the global population lacking access to safe drinking water: 26
Average daily water use, in gallons, per American: 80-100
Number of gallons of water needed to produce one pound of beef: 1,800
Estimated number of people who die annually from water-related diseases: 3,500,000
Depth, in miles, of the deepest freshwater lake (Lake Baikal): 1.16
Percentage of Earth's surface covered by water: 71
Volume of water, in gallons, in all Earth's oceans: 352,000,000,000,000,000,000
Year the first water treatment plant opened in the United States: 1872
Number of countries sharing the Amazon River basin: 9
Estimated liters of water required to produce one cotton T-shirt: 2,700
Percentage of agricultural water use attributable to the top 10 most water-intensive crops: 70

March 23

Year the first Weather Bureau (now NWS) forecast was issued in the United States: 1871
Average number of tornadoes recorded annually in the United States: 1,200
Speed, in miles per hour, of the fastest recorded tornado (Bridge Creek-Moore, OK, 1999): 302
Estimated annual cost, in dollars, of weather-related disasters in the U.S.: 100,000,000,000
Number of weather satellites currently in orbit: 160
Percentage of weather forecasts that are accurate within 24 hours: 90
Average number of lightning strikes on Earth per second: 100
Temperature, in degrees Fahrenheit, of a lightning bolt: 53,540
Year the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale was introduced: 1971
Number of named storms in the most active Atlantic hurricane season on record (2020): 30
Estimated years the Great Red Spot storm on Jupiter has been raging: 350

March 24

Year the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Alaska: 1989
Gallons of oil spilled in the Exxon Valdez disaster: 10,800,000
Miles of Alaskan coastline affected by the spill: 1,300
Number of sea otters killed in the spill: 2,800
Percentage of original spilled oil ever recovered: 14
Year the Clean Air Act was first passed in the United States: 1963
Estimated annual deaths worldwide attributable to air pollution: 7,000,000
Number of U.S. Superfund hazardous waste sites: 1,332
Percentage of the world's rivers that flow freely without dams or obstructions: 37
Year the bald eagle was removed from the U.S. endangered species list: 2007
Number of species declared extinct in the United States since 1973: 13

March 25

Year the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire killed 146 workers in New York City: 1911
Number of labor union members in the United States in 1911 (approximate): 2,400,000
Percentage of U.S. workers who are members of a union today: 10
Average hourly wage, in dollars, of a manufacturing worker in the U.S. in 2023: 23.38
Year the 40-hour work week was first mandated by U.S. federal law: 1938
Number of vacation days per year guaranteed by law in France: 30
Estimated global average workweek length, in hours: 44
Percentage of American workers who report being stressed at work: 65
Number of countries with legally mandated paid parental leave: 185
Year the United States adopted the Family and Medical Leave Act: 1993
Estimated economic cost, in dollars, of workplace burnout globally per year: 322,000,000,000

March 26

Year Ludwig van Beethoven died: 1827
Number of symphonies Beethoven composed: 9
Estimated number of times Beethoven's Fifth Symphony has been performed since 1808: 1,000,000+
Percentage of Beethoven's final works composed after he became completely deaf: 100
Year the first compact disc (CD) was released commercially: 1982
Average number of tracks on a standard music album: 11
Year vinyl record sales surpassed CD sales in the U.S. for the first time since the 1980s: 2022
Estimated number of vinyl records sold in the United States in 2023: 43,000,000
Number of songs in the Beatles' entire catalog: 213
Estimated value, in dollars, of the global recorded music market in 2023: 26,200,000,000
Percentage of global music revenues now coming from streaming: 67

March 27

Year the deadliest aviation disaster in history occurred (Tenerife, Canary Islands): 1977
Number of fatalities in the Tenerife runway collision: 583
Estimated number of commercial flights per day worldwide: 100,000
Probability of dying in a commercial plane crash (lifetime risk): 1 in 11,000
Probability of dying in a car crash (lifetime risk): 1 in 101
Average altitude, in feet, at which commercial planes cruise: 35,000
Year the Wright Brothers' first powered flight lasted, in seconds: 12 (1903)
Estimated number of airports worldwide: 41,000
Percentage of global aviation emissions attributable to first- and business-class passengers: 50
Number of commercial aircraft in service globally: 26,000
Year the world's busiest airport (Hartsfield-Jackson, Atlanta) opened: 1926

March 28

Year the Three Mile Island nuclear accident occurred in Pennsylvania: 1979
Estimated amount, in dollars, of the cleanup cost for Three Mile Island: 1,000,000,000
Number of nuclear power plants currently operating globally: 440
Percentage of global electricity generated by nuclear power: 10
Average lifespan, in years, of a nuclear power plant: 40
Half-life, in years, of plutonium-239: 24,100
Number of nuclear weapons tests conducted worldwide between 1945 and 1996: 2,056
Year the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty went into effect: 1963
Estimated weight, in pounds, of enriched uranium in the Hiroshima bomb: 141
Number of countries known to possess nuclear weapons: 9
Year the last nuclear weapon test was conducted by the United States: 1992

March 29

Average number of words in a novel: 90,000
Estimated number of books in the Library of Congress: 17,000,000
Percentage of American adults who did not read a single book in the past year: 27
Year the first novel written on a typewriter was submitted for publication (Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer): 1876
Number of languages James Joyce's Ulysses has been translated into: 40+
Estimated number of copies of the Bible distributed each year: 100,000,000
Year the Gutenberg Bible was printed (the first major book printed with movable type): 1455
Average number of pages in a doctoral dissertation: 204
Estimated percentage of human knowledge digitized as of 2024: 20
Number of volumes in the longest novel ever written (In Search of Lost Time, Proust): 7
Year the Amazon Kindle was introduced: 2007

March 30

Year Vincent van Gogh was born: 1853
Number of paintings Van Gogh completed in his lifetime: 900+
Price, in dollars, for which Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet sold in 1990: 82,500,000
Estimated number of visitors to the Louvre per year: 9,000,000
Number of artworks in the Louvre collection: 380,000
Percentage of the Louvre's collection on display at any one time: 8
Year the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre: 1911
Estimated current value, in dollars, of the Mona Lisa: 870,000,000
Number of times the Mona Lisa has been vandalized: 4
Percentage of works in major art museum collections attributed to women: 15
Estimated global art market size, in dollars, in 2023: 65,000,000,000

March 31

Last day of Q1: percentage of U.S. publicly traded companies that miss quarterly earnings estimates: 30
Average number of S&P 500 trading days per year: 252
Percentage of active fund managers who underperform the S&P 500 index over 20 years: 95
Year the first modern stock exchange opened (Amsterdam Stock Exchange): 1602
Total U.S. national debt, in dollars, as of early 2024: 34,000,000,000,000
Estimated number of credit cards in circulation in the United States: 1,100,000,000
Average American credit card debt per household carrying a balance: 7,951
Percentage of global GDP represented by financial services: 20-25
Number of countries that use the U.S. dollar as their official currency: 11
Year the euro was introduced as a physical currency: 2002
Estimated number of transactions processed by Visa globally per day: 574,000,000