Life
20 data charts you didn’t know you needed in your life
States with the most actors, how many times Taylor Swift says 'baby' in her songs, these charts have it all.
Randy Aragon
09.28.21

Nowadays, everything is about data. And for just about any subject out there, you can bet there is a compiled cache of information just waiting to be analyzed.

Experts use data to predict, prevent, and identify a whole range of events.

But let’s face it, data can be boring if it’s presented as a table or in narrative form. That’s why infographics are so popular – they’re easy to read and nice to look at.

Here are 22 times data was both informative AND beautiful:

1. Countries you might want to move to based on their high life expectancy

[OC] Countries with a Higher Life Expectancy than The United States (World Health Organization 2019) from dataisbeautiful

The World Health Organization put together this graph on which countries have a higher life expectancy than the United States, and some of the countries might surprise you. (Of course, this is all pre-COVID.)

2. No one likes spam mail

Spam vs. Legitimate Email, Average Global Emails per Day [OC] from dataisbeautiful

If you’ve ever wondered how on earth you get so much spam email, don’t worry – you’re not alone. According to this graph, 84% of email is actually spam which means 16% of the emails we actually get are legitimate. (And even those can be a pain!)

3. Taylor Swift

[OC] The number of times Taylor Swift says ‘baby’ in each of her albums from dataisbeautiful

Now for the important stuff, am I right? (Just kidding.)

Anyone who’s a Taylor Swift fan knows that she says “baby” quite a bit, and this graph proves it. The data shows which albums she said “baby” the most, and her album Fearless topped the rest. Bet you feel a lot more informed now!

4. Comedies from the 70s that won Emmy’s

[OC] Emmy-Winning Comedies of the 1970s from dataisbeautiful

If you grew up in the 70s, then you definitely remember all of these comedies from that era. This person decided to compile data about which comedies from the 70s won Emmy’s, and it will bring back loads of memories for people who grew up in that decade.

Frankly, we’re a little surprised M.A.S.H. is considered a comedy considering the storylines, but it sure was funny when it wanted to be!

5. What states have the most actors

[OC] U.S. states by Number of TV/Film actors. from dataisbeautiful

This graph shows which states the most TV/film actors are from, and it’s actually a little surprising. According to the data, Illinois, New Jersey, and Rhode Island are second to New York.

6. Age of buildings in Paris

Age of the buildings in PARIS (improved version) [OC] from dataisbeautiful

Whether in person or through pictures, we’ve all seen some of the amazing old architecture in Paris. This graph shows the ages of the buildings in Paris, and it’s pretty incredible. It looks like a work of stained glass itself!

7. Top 500 Universities

[OC] Number of top 500 universities in the 2021 QS World University Rankings per 1M of population from dataisbeautiful

This data was used to show which countries had the most top universities, and they’re spread out all over the place. If you have a kid getting ready to go to college, this might be a good graph to refer to.

8. Rent prices in the United States

Median Rent Price in the United States, 2017 to Present [OC] from dataisbeautiful

Yikes, this one is almost painful to look at! Rent has gone up significantly – in fact, it’s higher than a lot of mortgages. And we all know wages haven’t gone up at the same rate. How’s that supposed to work?

9. Wine temperature vs grip style

Wine temperature vs grip style over time [OC] from dataisbeautiful

If you’re a wine lover, this data will tell you the most common way people grip their wine glasses when the beverage is at a certain temperature. It’s pretty amazing that there is data for this, but I guess there’s data for just about anything these days.

You know, technically, you’re always supposed to hold the glass by the stem.

10. Most popular sibling from the GoT Stark family

[OC] Interest about the Stark siblings from Game Of Thrones over time from dataisbeautiful

Poor Robb. And he got such a brutal ending too.

If you love the Game Of Thrones Stark family, you’ve probably wondered who is the most popular sibling? No, you haven’t? Well, we’re going to tell you anyway. Thanks to this graph, we can now say that Jon Snow was pretty much always the most popular. But, obviously, Arya had a good ending.

11. Chess pieces

[OC] Where is each chess piece usually captured? Data from 15000 games from dataisbeautiful

Like your entertainment a bit more high-brow? If you enjoy chess, this data might help your game. The data shows where each chess piece is most likely to be captured from, so you may want to avoid showing weakness in these positions.

12. Harry Potter film characters with the most screen time

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you probably sensed that the Malfoy family was more present in the films than in the books. Frankly, we would have liked to see more Hagrid!

13. Best investments over the last year

You know the market doesn’t make much sense at the moment when a dog-related cryptocurrency investment would have made you more money than Apple stock. What a world!

14. Snicker distribution

Let’s get to the really crucial information. How many bite-sized Snickers were in one person’s Halloween candy bag with each letter. “I” really got shafted there. We feel smarter already.

15. Reddit lurkers

Have you ever scrolled through Reddit just to see what the fuss is about? You’re not alone. The site is mostly lurkers.

16. What night is pizza night?

We Finally Answered One of the Most Important Questions: What Night is Pizza Night? [OC] from dataisbeautiful

Families love and look forward to pizza night. Thanks to this data, we can see which night of the week is most likely to be pizza night. Who are we kidding though, any night is a good night for pizza night!

17. Most attractive hair color

[OC] The most attractive hair color according to my sub r/HowSexy from dataisbeautiful

According to the subreddit r/HowSexy, brown is the most attractive hair color. If you don’t have brown hair, don’t worry, red and blonde are right behind having brown hair. Plus, you can always dye your hair. Or you can just forget it since a subreddit is not exactly a good representation of how people think.

18. U.S. population growth

U.S. Population Growth by State, 2010-2019 [OC] from dataisbeautiful

Many of us have wondered which states in the U.S. have the most population growth? Thanks to data like this we can actually see which states have had the most growth from 2000-1019.

19. States that produce most cattle

[OC] States That Produce The Most Cattle By Value from dataisbeautiful

It’s nice to know where your meat is coming from. According to this graph, California, Texas, and, well, most of the Midwest are providing the majority of cattle – or at least the most expensive cattle.

20. Roads to the Capital

[OC] The quickest route along primary roadways to Washington D.C. from any point in the United States from dataisbeautiful

That’s pretty cool! Driving to Washington D.C. is something that many families do every year, and thanks to this data, you can now see which is the quickest route there from anywhere in the United States.

As you can see, data is great for all sorts of subjects. Thanks to technology, people are able to compile data on just about anything AND make it easier for us to process by creating a visual representation.

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