I have recently become annoyed by the media onslaught of statistics we, as the general public, have to face on a day to day basis. It is a well rounded cliche that you can say anything you like with the right slant on the wrong statistic, but the main issue for me is simply that turning the world into an endless list of figures, constantly being correlated against each other, is a recipe for the de-personalisation of existence. This, in a world of 6 billion plus disconnected people, is dangerous.

So it was with half trepidation, half glee that I stumbled upon the Nation Master website. An online catalogue of worldwide statistics, that allows ANYONE (yes, you, you and you) to plough through and compare pretty much anything they like.

I got to work on Japan and instantly discovered that it has the highest number of deaths by strangulation in the (recognised) world (21,320 in the year 2000)! Comparing this to the fact that Japan has the second highest number of McDonalds (3,598 to be precise) it was clear to me that there was a relationship developing...

Correlating these figures with the other top countries in each category I hit gold! The USA has the highest number of McDonalds and the second highest number of deaths by strangulation!!! Germany also shares the top 5 countries in both categories... Have I proved that asphyxiation danger lurks around every nation's Big-Mac cheese burger and fries? Many would say not, but still, it's better to be safe than sorry... YOU HAVE BEEN McWARNED!

Go check out Nation Master for yourself, and please please please report back any interesting correlations you find... Statistics can be fun!

Categories: Japan, Food, Health, McDonalds, News, Statistics, Fun, Links>, Humor

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