Monday, May 23, 2016

The numbers don't lie.

Here’s a new feature where from time to time we will look at some of the facts and figures that are affecting our lives, and grossly misinterpret them. I shall call this special feature The Bad Statistician. Yes I shall. Ahem. In the year 2010, the average United States family of four spent $11.46 on unwrought rhodium. (Unwrought rhodium imports totaled $884,811,866, the population was 308,745,538.) The market price for the metal is around $675 an ounce, so somewhere in the average American home there is about a half gram of rhodium. Why would anyone make such a silly purchase?

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Like other readers, I've searched my home and can't seem to locate my allocation of rhodium. However, I did note that the Guinness Book of World Records awarded Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc in 1979 for being the world's all-time best selling songwriter and recording artist. I'm assuming, therefore, that Sir Paul has my allocation in his possession - as well as that of many others. I guess that's okay.

Unknown said...

Like other readers, I've searched my home and can't seem to locate my allocation of rhodium. However, I did note that the Guinness Book of World Records awarded Paul McCartney a rhodium-plated disc in 1979 for being the world's all-time best selling songwriter and recording artist. I'm assuming, therefore, that Sir Paul has my allocation in his possession - as well as that of many others. I guess that's okay.

Dave Maleckar said...

Yes, it is possible that Sir Paul has your rhodium. Or it might be in the junk drawer. Look, if you would just toss ballpoints that don't work in the trash instead of back in the drawer, finding small wayward items would get a lot easier. Avoid complacency, Jim, and don't take the low road as so many do, blaming aging celebrities for clutter around the home.