My brother-in-law Bill H. from West Memphis sent me an email concerning little known facts about America. Here are some of them.
– In more than half of all states in the U.S., the highest paid public employee in the state is a football coach. (That’s OK with me, and as Bill H. once said to me, “You don’t see 50,000 people filling a stadium for a physics lecture.”)
– It costs the U.S. government 1.8 cents to mint a penny and 9.4 cents to mint a nickel. (Obvious solution here: Stop making pennies and make nickels out of copper)
– Almost half of all Americans (47 percent) do not put a single penny out of their paychecks into savings. (If they had it should be worth 1.8 cents)
– When LBJ’s “War on Poverty” began, less than 10 percent of all U.S. children were growing up in single parent households. Today, that number has skyrocketed to 33 percent. (Not good)
– In 1950, less than five percent of all babies in America were born to unmarried parents. Today, that number is over 40 percent. (Even worse)
– The poverty rate for households that are led by a married couple is 6.8 percent. For households that are led by a female single parent, the poverty rate is 37.1 percent. (Surely there are some happier facts out there somewhere)
– In 2013, women earned 60 percent of all bachelor’s degrees that were awarded that year in the U.S. (OK, that’s better)
– According to the CDC, 34.6 percent of all men in the U.S. are obese at this point. (Glad I only ate about half of that chocolate cake today at lunch)
– According to one recent survey, 81 percent of Russians now have a negative view of the United States, which is much higher than at the end of the Cold War era. (Well, we don’t like them either)
– Montana has three times as many cows as it does people. (That’s three cows for every Montanian, I guess)
– One recent survey discovered that “a steady job” is the number one thing that American women are looking for in a husband, and discovered that 75 percent of women would have a serious problem dating an unemployed man. (So then, 25 percent will date a guy without a job, they just won’t marry him)
– According to a study conducted by economist Carl Benedict Frey and engineer Michael Osborne, up to 47 percent of the jobs in the United States could soon be lost to computers, robots and other forms of technology. (Robots will get dates)
– The original name of the city of Atlanta was “Terminus.” Any, “Walking Dead,” fans out there?
– The state with the most millionaires per capita is Maryland. (Lots of dating too)
– One survey of 50-year-old men in the U.S. found that only 12 percent of them said that they were “very happy.” (Probably those rich, dating guys)
– The U.S. has 845 motor vehicles for every 1,000 people. (Makes me wonder why the drive in movie went away)
– 48 percent of all Americans do not have any emergency supplies in their homes whatsoever (Please define emergency supplies).
– There is actually a town in Michigan called “Hell.” (More on this next week)
– If you have no debt and also have 10 dollars in your wallet ... you are wealthier than 25 percent of all Americans (But most women still won’t date you).
– By the time an American child reaches the age of 18, that child will have seen approximately 40,000 murders on television (That must mean I’ve seen around 130,000).
Jay Edwards is editor-in-chief of the Hamilton County Herald and an award-winning columnist. Contact him at jedwards@dailydata.com.