41 Coos Bay Panhandlers Outearn Clerks
In 2008, a police survey found that panhandlers outside a Wal-Mart in Coos Bay, Oregon, could make $300 a day, more than the Wal-Mart store clerk reportedly earned in a week. A police captain named Rodger Craddock said most of the panhandlers were longtime residents who had homes and treated begging as their chosen profession. Police said most were docile and had broken no law.
42 Bacon Wins Lifelong American Loyalty
In 2017, National Today surveyed 1,000 Americans and found that 21% would eat bacon every day for the rest of their lives if given the choice. Another 16% said they could not live without bacon, 18% named it their favorite food, and only 4% said they disliked it. The survey also found that 67% preferred thin-cut bacon and 52% wanted it very crispy. In a separate survey conducted by Smithfield, 65% of Americans said they would support making bacon their “national food.”
43 Remote Workers Save Thousands Annually
In a 2022 FlexJobs survey of 4,502 professionals, 45% of remote workers estimated saving at least $5,000 annually. One in 5 placed their yearly savings above $10,000. Avoiding restaurant meals, gasoline, dry cleaning, and other workplace expenses accounted for those savings.
44 British Adults Forget Basic Mathematics
In a 2016 YouGov survey of 2,000 UK adults, 35% said they no longer knew how to calculate the mode, 31% the median, 28% the mean, and 27% the area of a circle. One in 5 had forgotten how to work out fractions or percentages, while 26% could not calculate a square root. The gaps extended beyond mathematics, with 23% unable to explain when to use a semicolon and 41% unable to recall or explain mitosis. The Oxford Open Learning Trust commissioned the survey to examine how much school knowledge adults retained.
45 Infants Receive Soda Before Toddlerhood
According to a 2008 survey of infant and toddler feeding habits, some American babies were already being served soft drinks every day at just 9 months old. By age 2, more than 10% of toddlers reportedly drank soda daily. The national Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study examined the diets and eating habits of children from birth through age 4.
46 Afghan Men Unaware of 9/11
In 2010, a survey found that 92% of 1,000 Afghan men interviewed in the southern provinces of Helmand and Kandahar had never heard of the September 11 attacks. The International Council on Security and Development questioned men ages 15 to 30 across eight districts where fighting between coalition troops and the Taliban remained intense. Most respondents did not recognize the event that had prompted the U.S.-led intervention in their country nearly nine years earlier. Another 40% believed foreign forces had come to destroy Islam or to occupy and destroy Afghanistan.
47 Menu Anxiety Overwhelms American Diners
In a OnePoll survey of 2,000 American adults, more than 30% reported “menu anxiety,” or distress when ordering at a restaurant or cafe. More than 40% of Gen Z and millennials ages 18 to 43 experienced it, compared with 15% of Gen X and baby boomers ages 44 to 77. Too many choices, unfamiliar ingredients, fear of choosing badly, allergies, and dietary restrictions could turn a simple meal decision into paralysis. The report also cited people who obsessively reviewed menus online before accepting invitations.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
48 Americans Struggle With Basic Science
According to the National Science Board’s 2014 Science and Engineering Indicators, 26% of 2,256 American adults surveyed in 2012 failed to identify that Earth orbits the Sun. Another 49% incorrectly accepted the claim that antibiotics kill viruses, while 47% rejected it, and 47% failed to recognize that electrons are smaller than atoms. The survey also found that 53% incorrectly accepted the false statement that lasers work by focusing sound waves.
49 North Korean Defectors Consider Returning
In a survey released in December 2021 by the Seoul-based Database Center for North Korean Human Rights and NK Social Research, about 18% of 407 North Korean defectors said they were willing to return to the North. Most cited nostalgia, particularly longing for family members left behind, while South Korea’s Unification Ministry also pointed to emotional and economic difficulties during resettlement. Ministry figures classified about 56% of defectors as low-income, with nearly 25% receiving basic livelihood subsidies. At the time, roughly 33,800 North Koreans had resettled in South Korea, while officials had confirmed only 30 returns since 2012.
50 Mario Outranks Mickey Among Children
In 1990, national Q Score research found that Nintendo’s Mario had become more recognizable to American children than Disney’s Mickey Mouse. The result came only five years after Nintendo released Super Mario Bros. in the United States. By June 1993, Nintendo said Mario games had sold 100 million copies worldwide, becoming the first video game franchise to reach that milestone.
