This is such a completely random topic, but it's been on my mind lately. Other than historical information, statistics can be one of the most easily manipulated forms of information out there. Everything from the way questions can be asked in order to gather data, to the information it hides/skews, statistics should always be questioned just as much as Jeff's arguments.
The example that I'm assuming most people are familiar with is that 50% of marriages end in divorce these days. This is one of the most common misconceptions (along with the crazy idea that Jim has a small penis). In order to question it, you have to wonder what data was used. A simple look at US Census Bureau information will give that to you. Now I don't know if the government is intentionally trying to spread this "stat" to scare people out of getting married, that way they don't have kids, can't claim dependents, and get taxed out the ass as a result, but here's the secret:
This common statistic will only look at the number of marriages in a particular year, i.e. 2006, and compare that to the number of divorces filed in 2006. But wait, couldn't people filing for divorce have gotten married anytime before that? Hmm, so basically this stat compares marriages in said year ( i.e. 2006) to the number of divorces FILED in that same year. This basically includes anyone that got married all the way back in 1920, all the way up to the census year. Naturally this number will be higher. If you actually go back and look at the number of people who got married compared to the number of people who got divorced on an individual year to year basis, it will show that the real number is far from 50%. If you actually boil it down, the real number is roughly 25%.
I had to clear that up, because it's been bothering me. Next person who tells me the number is 50% WILL get slapped across the face with a large stick of pepperoni (and no, that's not a sexual reference, I'm talking about a literal piece of pepperoni, and I do have one waiting in my fridge.)
Song of the Week: "Ever Somber" by Dalek. Welcome to the wonderful world of ambient rap.
Quote of the Week: This week you get a twosie:
"Marriage is give and take. You'd better give it to her or she'll take it anyway." - Joey Adams
"They say marriages are made in Heaven. But so is thunder and lightning. "- Clint Eastwood
Random Fact of the Week: You'll take about 23,000 breaths today
Picture of the Week: 
Until next week, Santa Claus isn't real,
Fred
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