Wise Men Stats — October

Inspired by Harper's Index

Daily startling statistics, Wise Men Stats style.

October 1

Inspired by Harper's Index

Number of countries that celebrate their national independence day on October 1: 3
Year China's People's Republic was proclaimed, now marked as National Day: 1949
Weight in tons of a mature blue whale's tongue: 3
Number of taste buds on the average human tongue: 10,000
Cost in dollars of the world's most expensive spice (saffron) per pound: 5,000
Number of muscles in a cat's ear: 32
Approximate number of bacteria living on the average human hand: 1,500
Height in feet of the base of an average cumulus cloud: 6,500
Year Starbucks introduced the pumpkin spice latte: 2003
Number of dimples on a regulation golf ball: 336
Percentage of the human body that is water at birth: 78

October 2

Year Mahatma Gandhi was born: 1869
Number of times per minute a hummingbird's heart beats at rest: 1,260
Percentage of the world's oceans that remain unexplored: 80
Number of keys on a standard concert grand piano: 88
Average lifespan in years of a wild raccoon: 2
Depth in feet of the world's deepest lake, Baikal: 5,387
Percentage of Americans who eat breakfast every day: 44
Number of calories burned per hour while sleeping: 63
Year the first Nobel Prizes were awarded: 1901
Speed in mph of the fastest recorded baseball pitch (Aroldis Chapman, 2010): 105.1
Number of petals on an average sunflower: 34

October 3

Year German reunification was officially completed: 1990
Number of hot dogs consumed in the US each year: 20,000,000,000
Distance in miles of the average American's one-way daily commute: 16
Percentage of Earth's land surface covered by forests: 31
Number of dog breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club: 200
Year the first commercial microwave oven went on sale: 1947
Amount in dollars the average American spends on coffee per year: 1,100
Number of bones in a shark's body: 0
Percentage of human DNA shared with a banana: 60
Estimated age in years of Pando, a clonal aspen colony in Utah: 80,000
Weight in pounds of a mature male walrus: 3,700

October 4

Year Sputnik 1, Earth's first artificial satellite, was launched: 1957
Number of active satellites currently orbiting Earth: 7,500
Percentage of Americans who say they believe in ghosts: 45
Speed in miles per second Earth travels around the Sun: 18.5
Number of hours the average American watches television per day: 4.3
Number of text messages sent worldwide every day: 23,000,000,000
Percentage of the world's total water supply that is freshwater: 3
Weight in tons of the Great Pyramid of Giza: 5,750,000
Number of languages spoken in the world: 7,000
Distance in miles from Earth to the Moon: 238,855
Percentage of all species that have ever existed on Earth that are now extinct: 99

October 5

Year UNESCO first observed World Teachers' Day: 1994
Number of teachers employed in US public schools: 3,500,000
Number of languages into which the Bible has been translated: 700
Percentage of adults in the US who read below a 6th-grade level: 21
Number of school days per year required in South Korea: 220
Number of school days per year required in the US: 180
Year the first kindergarten opened in the United States (Watertown, WI): 1856
Number of items held in the Library of Congress collection: 170,000,000
Percentage of US college students who graduate with student loan debt: 65
Average student loan debt in dollars for a US bachelor's degree recipient: 37,000
Number of countries where primary education is not compulsory: 17

October 6

Year Egypt and Syria launched the Yom Kippur War against Israel: 1973
Number of land mines still buried worldwide: 110,000,000
Percentage of World War I military casualties caused by disease rather than combat: 56
Yield in megatons of the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated: 50
Percentage of global military spending accounted for by the United States: 39
Number of nuclear warheads currently in existence worldwide: 12,700
Number of countries that have signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: 191
Length in miles of the world's longest international border, between the US and Canada: 5,525
Number of ongoing armed conflicts worldwide as of 2024: 40
Year the last confirmed use of chemical weapons in a state-sponsored attack: 2018
Average duration in years of civil wars since 1945: 10

October 7

Year the UN General Assembly declared the first World Habitat Day: 1985
Number of people living in urban slums worldwide: 1,000,000,000
Number of people experiencing homelessness in the US on any given night: 582,000
Year the word "skyscraper" first appeared in print: 1883
Height in feet of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building: 2,717
Number of elevators in operation worldwide: 17,000,000
Percentage of New Yorkers living within a 10-minute walk of a park: 85
Amount in dollars spent on home improvement in the US annually: 400,000,000,000
Year the first modern enclosed shopping mall opened (Southdale Center, Minnesota): 1956
Number of square feet of retail space per capita in the US: 24
Percentage of retail purchases in the US now made online: 22

October 8

Year the Great Chicago Fire began: 1871
Number of people who died in the Great Chicago Fire: 300
Acres of Chicago destroyed in the fire: 2,112
Number of structural fires reported in the US each year: 490,000
Percentage of house fires caused by cooking: 50
Time in minutes it takes for a room fire to become life-threatening without sprinklers: 2
Number of fire departments in the United States: 29,705
Amount in dollars of property destroyed by fire in the US annually: 21,000,000,000
Year the first automatic fire sprinkler system was patented: 1874
Percentage of US homes with working smoke detectors: 96
Number of acres burned in the 2023 US wildfire season: 2,700,000

October 9

Year the Universal Postal Union was founded, now commemorated as World Post Day: 1874
Number of pieces of mail delivered by the US Postal Service per year: 128,000,000,000
Year the first email was sent (by Ray Tomlinson): 1971
Number of emails sent worldwide every day: 333,000,000,000
Percentage of daily emails that are spam: 45
Year the first postage stamp was issued (the Penny Black, United Kingdom): 1840
Number of countries in the Universal Postal Union: 192
Cost in cents to mail a first-class letter in the US in 1958: 4
Cost in cents to mail a first-class letter in the US in 2024: 68
Number of post offices in India, making it the world's largest postal network: 154,000
Weight in pounds of the heaviest parcel allowed by the US Postal Service: 70

October 10

Year World Mental Health Day was first observed: 1992
Percentage of adults worldwide living with a mental health disorder: 12.5
Number of people who die by suicide globally each year: 700,000
Percentage of mental health conditions that begin before age 14: 50
Amount in dollars the US spends annually on mental health care: 225,000,000,000
Number of psychiatrists per 100,000 people in the United States: 14
Percentage of Americans who report feeling lonely often or always: 36
Year antidepressants (iproniazid) were first clinically recognized: 1952
Estimated number of people in the US currently taking antidepressants: 45,000,000
Average wait time in days to see a psychiatrist in the US: 25
Percentage of incarcerated people with a diagnosable mental illness: 64

October 11

Year the United Nations established the International Day of the Girl Child: 2012
Number of girls married before the age of 18 every year: 12,000,000
Year women first gained the right to vote in the United States: 1920
Year Marie Curie became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (Physics): 1903
Number of Fortune 500 companies with female CEOs as of 2023: 51
Percentage of unpaid care work performed by women globally: 75
Year Title IX was enacted in the United States: 1972
Number of women currently serving in the US military: 220,000
Percentage of parliamentary seats held by women worldwide: 26
Number of countries where a woman has never served as head of government: 119
Year the US first elected a female Speaker of the House: 2007

October 12

Year Columbus made first contact with the Caribbean islands: 1492
Estimated population of the Americas before European contact: 60,000,000
Percentage of indigenous populations in the Americas who died of disease after contact: 90
Number of distinct Native American tribes recognized by the US federal government: 574
Number of indigenous languages spoken across the Americas before 1492: 1,000
Year the first permanent English settlement in North America was established (Jamestown): 1607
Length in miles of the Pan-American Highway: 19,000
Number of countries in the Western Hemisphere: 35
Percentage of the Amazon rainforest that has been deforested since 1970: 17
Year Brazil became independent from Portugal: 1822
Number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Mexico: 35

October 13

Year the US Navy was formally established: 1775
Number of ships currently in the US Navy fleet: 296
Depth in feet a nuclear submarine can dive: 800
Speed in knots of the world's fastest production submarine: 44
Percentage of Earth's surface covered by ocean: 71
Number of naval battles fought in World War II: 100+
Year the aircraft carrier was first used in combat (HMS Hermes, 1942 context wrong — Langley 1922): 1922
Weight in tons of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier: 100,000
Number of crew members aboard a Nimitz-class carrier: 5,000
Percentage of world trade transported by sea: 90
Number of shipping containers lost at sea every year: 1,000

October 14

Year Christopher Columbus made landfall in the Bahamas (Old Style calendar, OS): 1492
Year Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize: 1964
Speed in mph at which a peregrine falcon dives (fastest animal on Earth): 240
Year Charles Yeager broke the sound barrier in the Bell X-1: 1947
Speed of sound in mph at sea level: 767
Number of commercial flights in the air at any given moment worldwide: 9,000
Weight in pounds of the heaviest aircraft ever flown (Antonov AN-225): 1,320,000
Year the Wright Brothers made their first powered flight: 1903
Duration in seconds of the Wright Brothers' first flight: 12
Altitude in feet of the highest commercial airline cruising altitude: 45,000
Number of airports in the United States: 5,000

October 15

Year the first photograph of Earth from space was taken: 1946
Distance in miles from Earth to the International Space Station: 254
Number of countries that have sent citizens to space: 42
Speed in mph at which the ISS orbits Earth: 17,500
Number of times the ISS orbits Earth per day: 15.5
Year the Hubble Space Telescope was launched: 1990
Distance in light-years to the nearest star outside the solar system (Proxima Centauri): 4.24
Number of confirmed exoplanets discovered as of 2024: 5,500
Percentage of exoplanets discovered by the Kepler space telescope: 70
Temperature in degrees Fahrenheit at the surface of Venus: 900
Age in billions of years of the universe: 13.8

October 16

Year the first World Food Day was observed by the UN: 1981
Number of people who go to bed hungry each night globally: 733,000,000
Percentage of food produced globally that is wasted: 33
Number of pounds of food wasted per person per year in the US: 325
Amount in dollars of food wasted globally per year: 1,000,000,000,000
Number of people who could be fed by the food wasted in the US annually: 25,000,000
Calories in a pound of body fat: 3,500
Number of distinct cuisines recognized by food scholars: 196
Year the first McDonald's franchise opened (Des Plaines, Illinois): 1955
Number of Big Macs sold every second worldwide: 2.5
Percentage of Americans who eat fast food on any given day: 37

October 17

Year the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was proclaimed: 1992
Number of people living on less than $2.15 per day (World Bank poverty line): 700,000,000
Percentage of the world's wealth owned by the top 1%: 45
Number of billionaires in the world as of 2024: 2,781
Combined net worth in trillions of dollars of the world's 10 richest people: 1.5
Year the Dow Jones Industrial Average first crossed 1,000 points: 1972
Year the Dow first crossed 10,000 points: 1999
Percentage of Americans with no retirement savings: 28
Average credit card debt per US household: 7,900
Amount in dollars the US government spends per second: 97,000
Number of countries with a higher GDP per capita than the US: 14

October 18

Year Alaska was formally transferred from Russia to the United States: 1867
Price in dollars the US paid Russia for Alaska: 7,200,000
Price per acre paid for Alaska: 2
Area of Alaska in square miles: 663,000
Number of active volcanoes in Alaska: 141
Length in miles of Alaska's coastline: 6,640
Percentage of US land area accounted for by Alaska: 17
Year Alaska officially became the 49th US state: 1959
Number of brown bears in Alaska: 30,000
Average January temperature in Fairbanks, Alaska, in degrees Fahrenheit: -2
Number of days per year Barrow, Alaska, remains in total darkness: 67

October 19

Year "Black Monday" stock market crash occurred: 1987
Percentage by which the Dow Jones fell on Black Monday: 22.6
Amount in dollars lost in market value on Black Monday: 500,000,000,000
Year the New York Stock Exchange was founded: 1792
Number of shares traded on the NYSE on an average day: 1,000,000,000
Percentage of American adults who own stock: 61
Year the first stock ticker was invented (by Thomas Edison): 1869
Number of companies listed on the NYSE: 2,400
Amount in dollars of global stock market capitalization: 100,000,000,000,000
Average annual return of the S&P 500 since 1957: 10.5%
Number of stock exchanges in operation worldwide: 60

October 20

Year the Battle of Trafalgar was fought: 1805
Number of ships involved in the Battle of Trafalgar: 61
Number of men killed at Trafalgar: 6,000
Year Lord Nelson was born: 1758
Number of wooden warships sunk in the battle: 22
Year the cannon was first used in European warfare: 1346
Number of cannonballs the HMS Victory could fire per minute: 12
Thickness in inches of oak hull planking on a ship of the line: 24
Speed in knots of an average sailing ship of the line: 8
Number of men required to crew HMS Victory: 850
Year the last wooden warship was decommissioned from the Royal Navy: 1871

October 21

Year Thomas Edison successfully tested the first practical incandescent light bulb: 1879
Hours the first light bulb burned before failing: 13.5
Number of patents held by Thomas Edison: 1,093
Number of light bulbs sold in the US per year: 4,000,000,000
Percentage of electricity used for lighting in the US: 10
Energy in watts used by a standard LED bulb versus an incandescent equivalent: 10 vs. 60
Year the first commercial LED bulb went on sale: 1962
Number of hours a modern LED bulb is rated to last: 25,000
Percentage of the world's population that still lacks access to electricity: 10
Number of power plants in the United States: 11,000
Year the first commercial nuclear power plant opened (Shippingport, Pennsylvania): 1958

October 22

Year the Cuban Missile Crisis began when Kennedy addressed the nation: 1962
Number of days the Cuban Missile Crisis lasted: 13
Number of Soviet nuclear warheads in Cuba during the crisis: 162
Distance in miles from Cuba to Florida: 90
Year the Soviet Union and United States signed the first nuclear arms limitation treaty: 1972
Number of US military bases outside American territory: 750
Year the Berlin Wall fell: 1989
Length in miles of the Berlin Wall at its maximum extent: 96
Number of people who died attempting to cross the Berlin Wall: 140
Year the Soviet Union formally dissolved: 1991
Number of countries that emerged from the Soviet Union: 15

October 23

Year Hungary declared independence from Soviet rule, beginning the 1956 revolution: 1956
Number of Hungarians who fled the country after the 1956 uprising: 200,000
Year Mole Day is celebrated by chemistry students (Avogadro's number): annually
Number in Avogadro's constant (atoms/molecules per mole): 602,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
Year the periodic table was first published (Dmitri Mendeleev): 1869
Number of elements on the modern periodic table: 118
Number of elements that occur naturally on Earth: 94
Temperature in degrees Celsius at which tungsten melts (highest of all metals): 3,422
Year the electron was discovered (J.J. Thomson): 1897
Weight in grams of a single grain of rice: 0.028
Number of atoms in a grain of sand: 43,000,000,000,000,000,000

October 24

Year the United Nations was officially established: 1945
Number of member states in the United Nations: 193
Number of official languages of the United Nations: 6
Amount in dollars the US contributes to the UN budget annually: 12,500,000,000
Number of UN peacekeeping operations currently active: 11
Year the UN Security Council first authorized a peacekeeping mission: 1948
Number of people protected by UN peacekeeping forces: 125,000,000
Percentage of UN peacekeeping forces contributed by developing nations: 90
Year the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted: 1948
Number of articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: 30
Number of countries rated "not free" by Freedom House: 57

October 25

Year the Charge of the Light Brigade took place (Battle of Balaclava): 1854
Number of men who rode in the Charge of the Light Brigade: 673
Number killed in the charge: 118
Year Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote his poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade": 1854
Number of wars Britain has been involved in since 1700: 100+
Year the Battle of Agincourt was fought: 1415
Number of English soldiers versus French at Agincourt: 8,000 vs. 36,000
Number of English dead at Agincourt: 112
Number of French dead at Agincourt: 6,000
Year longbows were replaced by firearms as England's primary military weapon: 1595
Distance in yards a trained English longbowman could accurately shoot: 250

October 26

Year the Erie Canal opened, linking the Hudson River to the Great Lakes: 1825
Length in miles of the Erie Canal: 363
Time in days to travel from Albany to Buffalo by Erie Canal: 8
Year the Panama Canal opened: 1914
Number of ships that transit the Panama Canal per year: 14,000
Amount in dollars in tolls collected by the Panama Canal per year: 3,000,000,000
Length in miles of the Panama Canal: 51
Time in hours to transit the Panama Canal by ship: 8
Number of locks in the Panama Canal: 6
Year the Suez Canal was completed: 1869
Percentage of world maritime trade that passes through the Suez Canal: 12

October 27

Year New York City was incorporated as a city: 1682
Population of New York City: 8,300,000
Number of languages spoken in New York City: 800
Number of subway stations in the New York City subway system: 472
Miles of track in the NYC subway: 245
Year the NYC subway opened: 1904
Number of daily subway riders in New York City: 3,600,000
Percentage of New Yorkers who don't own a car: 55
Number of hot dogs sold by street vendors in NYC each year: 16,000,000
Year New York first became the most populous city in the US: 1790
Number of rats estimated to live in New York City: 2,000,000

October 28

Year the Statue of Liberty was dedicated: 1886
Height in feet of the Statue of Liberty from base to torch: 305
Weight in tons of the Statue of Liberty's copper exterior: 62
Thickness in inches of the Statue of Liberty's copper skin: 0.12
Year the Statue of Liberty turned green from oxidation: 1906
Number of steps inside the Statue of Liberty to the crown: 354
Year France and the US agreed upon the gift of the Statue of Liberty: 1865
Amount in dollars raised by Americans to fund the pedestal: 100,000
Number of visitors per year to the Statue of Liberty: 4,500,000
Year the Statue of Liberty was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site: 1984
Weight in pounds of the tablet the Statue of Liberty holds: 10

October 29

Year the stock market crashed, triggering the Great Depression (Black Tuesday): 1929
Percentage by which the Dow Jones fell in October 1929: 25
US unemployment rate at the peak of the Great Depression in 1933: 25%
Number of US banks that failed between 1929 and 1933: 9,000
Percentage of Americans who lived in poverty during the Great Depression: 40
Year the New Deal was launched: 1933
Number of jobs created by New Deal programs: 8,500,000
Year the Great Depression officially ended: 1941
Amount in dollars the US spent on World War II in today's money: 4,700,000,000,000
Percentage decline in US GDP from 1929 to 1933: 30
Number of "Dust Bowl" migrants who moved to California in the 1930s: 300,000

October 30

Year Orson Welles broadcast the "War of the Worlds" radio drama: 1938
Estimated number of listeners who heard the broadcast: 6,000,000
Number of listeners who reportedly believed the Martian invasion was real: 1,000,000
Year H.G. Wells published the novel "The War of the Worlds": 1898
Number of adaptations "War of the Worlds" has received in film, TV, and radio: 50+
Year the first science fiction story is generally dated to (Mary Shelley's Frankenstein): 1818
Number of science fiction novels published per year in the US: 3,500
Year the word "robot" was first used in print (Karel Čapek's play R.U.R.): 1920
Number of industrial robots installed globally in 2023: 540,000
Countries with the highest robot density per worker (South Korea first): 1
Percentage of jobs economists predict automation could affect by 2030: 30

October 31

Year the modern observance of Halloween became widespread in North America: 1900s
Amount in dollars Americans spend on Halloween per year: 10,600,000,000
Number of pounds of candy sold in the US during Halloween week: 600,000,000
Percentage of Americans who celebrate Halloween: 65
Average amount in dollars spent per person on Halloween: 103
Number of people estimated to dress in costume on Halloween: 148,000,000
Most popular Halloween candy in the US (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups): rank 1
Year trick-or-treating became widely popular in the US: 1950s
Number of Jack-o'-lanterns carved in the US each Halloween: 148,000,000
Pounds of pumpkins produced in the US annually: 2,600,000,000
Year Halloween was first observed, tracing roots to the Celtic festival Samhain: 2,000 years ago