More trivia ~ for me, the statistic supporting the op title explains a lot ~ ~ I'll post the whole Index next ~ Sooz

More Republicans Believe In Demonic Possession Than Climate Change
2012/12/22
By T. Steelman

Harper’s Magazine has put out their yearly Index and some of the numbers are … interesting. The subjects range from government numbers to Girl Scouts to, yes, climate change and demonic possession. So let’s take a little trip through numberland and see the way the wind is blowing.

Starting with the number of people who believe in climate change, we can note that Canadians are pretty on-the-ball when it comes to this: 98% of them accept the overwhelming evidence. The percentage of Americans who do is 70, while only 48% of Republicans attach any weight to the problem. On the other hand, Republicans accept demonic possession at a rate of 68%. Apparently evidence means nothing to some people.

The number of girls who are currently Girl Scouts is only 8% — I thought it would be higher than that. But the number of women in Congress who were in the Girl Scouts is 70%. Maybe some of those Girl Scout ethics made these ladies go into public service. Or, in some cases, maybe not (Michele Bachmann, anyone?).

You remember after the election when some folks in Texas screeched about seceding? There was a petition that was posted online and it gained 100,000 signatures within a week. Nevermind that it would not be legal — it’s Texas! You know, all rebel-y and stuff. And Freedomz!

Or how about the $2.5 billion that mortgage lenders set aside in a government settlement? It’s meant to help home owners who have lost their homes due to foreclosure. Some state officials plan on using that money for other purposes: two out of five of them anyway.

With unemployment numbers where they are, it’s interesting to note that some folks have no idea how to present themselves properly at an interview. So-called “millennials” apparently don’t know how to dress for success, as their attire is the number one reason they don’t get the job. Right behind that is their posting of inappropriate pictures on Facebook or Twitter. Come on, kids, it’s called professionalism.

Other strange and fascinating numbers from the article:
•Cost of a pair of “all-American” blue jeans designed by Glenn Beck: $129.99
•Average number of days a U.S. veteran waits for a response to a claim filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs: 260
•Minimum number of Red Bull–sponsored athletes who have died in parachuting, paragliding, and skydiving stunts: 5
•Rank of Philadelphia among U.S. cities with the most per capita purchases of sweatpants and sweatshirts: 1
•Percentage of characters shown on television in the United States who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual: 4.4
•Price of a week-long prostitution training course offered … (in Valencia, Spain)…: $127

And one statistic that really, really needs to change:
•Average salary earned by a full-time-employed male college graduate one year after graduation: $42,918
•By a full-time-employed female graduate: $35,296

Finally, it’s nice to know that the average American need only work for 3.3 minutes to afford a 12-ounce beer. Those workers in India who crave a nice brewski have to work 36 hours to pay for one. God bless the USA.

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/12/22/more-republicans-believe-in-demonic-possession-than-climate-change/

The Index is definitely ... eclectic ~ ~ Sooz

Harper's index — From the January 2013 issue
Harper’s Index

Number of signatures a petition posted on whitehouse.gov must obtain within thirty days to “require a response” ~ 25,000

Number a petition calling for Texas to secede from the Union obtained within a week of being posted last November ~ 100,000

Amount set aside for states to aid homeowners in a 2012 government settlement with mortgage lenders ~ $2,500,000,000

Portion of that amount the states plan to use for other purposes ~ 2/5

Increase since 2009 in the number of people over the age of 55 who are working ~ 3,710,000

Ratio of U.S. farmers age 65 and older to those under the age of 35 ~ 7:1

Rank of “attire” among the leading reasons “millennials” are unsuccessful in job interviews ~ 1

Rank of their posting inappropriate pictures on social media ~ 2

Percentage of the population of Valencia, Spain, that is currently unemployed ~ 28

Price of a weeklong prostitution training course offered there since May ~ $127

Percentage of public U.S. colleges and universities whose tuition has increased by more than half in the past five years ~ 15

Portion of its campuses the University of Phoenix plans to “phase out” beginning this year ~ 1/2

Average salary earned by a full-time-employed male college graduate one year after graduation ~ $42,918

By a full-time-employed female graduate ~ $35,296

Percentage of U.S. girls who are Girl Scouts ~ 8

Of female senators who are ~ 70

Percentage of characters shown on televison in the United States who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual ~ 4.4

Cost of a pair of “all-American” blue jeans designed by Glenn Beck ~ $129.99

Rank of Philadelphia among U.S. cities with the most per capita purchases of sweatpants and sweatshirts ~ 1

Percentage of Canadians who believe in global warming ~ 98

Of Americans who do ~ 70

Of Republicans ~ 48

Percentage of Republicans who believe in demonic possession ~ 68

Minimum number of grave sites photographed to build a grave-finding app for visitors to Arlington National Cemetery ~ 260,000

Average number of days a U.S. veteran waits for a response to a claim filed with the Department of Veterans Affairs ~ 260

Percentage increase in Chicago homicides last year ~ 18

Amount in health-care spending on shooting victims that local officials hope to recoup through a new firearms tax ~ $600,000

Estimated value of marijuana plants found growing on a single lot on Chicago’s South Side last October ~ $5,443,000

Percentage by which the drug- and alcohol-test failure rates for Amtrak workers are higher than the industry average ~ 51

Square footage of a proposed $35 million animal-holding center to be built at John F. Kennedy International Airport ~ 172,165

Minimum number of Red Bull–sponsored athletes who have died in parachuting, paragliding, and skydiving stunts ~ 5

Minutes the average U.S. worker must work to pay for 12 ounces of beer ~ 3.3

The average Indian worker ~ 36

Number of Steak ’N Shake restaurants set to open in the United Arab Emirates over the next five years ~ 40

Estimated tons of meat eaten annually in China ~ 88,000,000

Minimum number of Chinese government agencies whose mission includes containing social unrest ~ 40

Value of bribes reported through Bribr, a Russian anticorruption app released last September ~ $1,577,127

Estimated minimum cost to make and market Peter Jackson’s film-trilogy adaptation of The Hobbit ~ $1,000,000,000

Amount New Zealand’s tourism board has spent to promote the nation as “100 percent Middle-earth” ~ $8,200,000

January Index Sources

1,2 The White House
3,4 Enterprise Community Partners (Washington)
5 Bureau of Labor Statistics
6 U.S. Department of Agriculture
7,8 Adecco Staffing (N.Y.C.)
9 Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Madrid)
10 Conselleria de Justicia y Bienestar Social (Valencia, Spain)
11 Jennifer Ma, College Board (N.Y.C.)
12 The University of Phoenix
13,14 American Association of University Women (Washington)
15,16 Michelle Tompkins, Girl Scouts of the United States of America (N.Y.C.)
17 GLAAD (Los Angeles)
18 Music Today (Charlottesville, Va.)
19 John Fetto, Experian Marketing Services (N.Y.C.)
20 IPAC-CO2 Research (Regina, Sask.)
21 Yale Project on Climate Change Communication (New Haven, Conn.)
22 Pew Research Center (Washington)
23 Public Policy Polling (Raleigh, N.C.)
24 Arlington National Cemetery (Arlington, Va.)
25 Center for Investigative Reporting (Berkeley)
26 Chicago Police Department
27 Cook County President’s Office (Chicago)
28 Chicago Police Department
29 Amtrak Office of Inspector General (Washington)
30 Racebrook Capital (N.Y.C.)
31 Harper’s research
32,33 UBS Equity Research (N.Y.C.)
34 Steak ’N Shake (Indianapolis)
35 U.S. Department of Agriculture
36 Congressional Research Service
37 Harper’s research
38 Kim Masters, The Hollywood Reporter (Los Angeles)
39 Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (Wellington, New Zealand).

http://harpers.org/archive/2013/01/harpers-index-345/

WTH is a "millenial"?