The Statistical Abstract of the United States certainly sounds official. Considering it was published by the government from 1878 to 2012 certainly adds to its credence. Before sharing just a few of the amazing facts in the current edition, note that the Census Bureau ceased publication last year to save money but that a private entity has picked up the ball and versions are available both in print and online.
A few of the items:
- Liquor stores outnumber bookstores by three to one
- More Americans (10.6 million) belong to a fantasy sports league than a book club (5.7 million)
- Americans are eating more peanuts and drinking less coffee
- The number of federa lprison inmates is at a record level of nearly 210,000
- Far more global visitors came to New York (9.3 million) than any other U.S. city. Los Angeles was second at 3.5 million
- More households have dogs as pets than cats
- And no, I can’t explain this one, but the research says more people are injured on toilets than by skiing or snowboarding