Apparently all that bottled water is being used to wash down all that fructose: if Americans are growing both taller and fatter, can complete sphericity be far behind? But to construct important trends from the entertaining factoids Roberts displays here is to indulge in statistical “pareidolia” (see article elsewhere on this site, “Seeing is believing”), i.e., seeing meaningful patterns where none may exist. He issues caveats that the Census Bureau doesn’t, warning against “false precision”: “nearly as many injuries involve beds as bicycles” because “most people use beds.” Perhaps beds & breakfasts need to convert to bed & bicycles to work off all that avoirdupois? And can all “media usage” really be lumped ... More »

An insightful overview of long-term changes in American society. Well-documented, with additional perspectives that help us see the big picture. I found these quotes particulary revealing: "Americans spent more of their lives than ever — about eight-and-a-half hours a day — watching television, using computers, listening to the radio, going to the movies or reading." And, from Robert Putnam, author of "Bowling Alone": "The distinctive effect of technology has been to enable us to get entertainment and information while remaining entirely alone."

The article presents an interesting collection of statistics without delving deeply into context.