Thursday November 26, 2009
GlobalPost has published a listing of the world's fattest countries based on WHO data. Unfortunately, number one on the list, American Samoa, isn't a country at all but a territory of the United States. Nonetheless, their incredible 99.5% obesity rate is worth noting. Following American Samoa, the actual world's fattest country is Kiribati, with a whopping 81.5% obesity rate. The United States follows with 66.7% obesity. Germany is not far behind at 66.5%.
Wednesday November 25, 2009
Law enforcement officials have ruled that the U.S. Census Bureau worker who was found dead hanging from a tree in rural Kentucky in September committed suicide. The Bureau released a statement yesterday, "The death of our co-worker William Sparkman was a tragedy and remains a loss for the Census Bureau family. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends."
Tuesday November 24, 2009
Take a look at this impressive animated county-level map of unemployment rates in the United States from January 2007 to September 2009. Watch as the unemployment rate really expands around mid-2008.
Tuesday November 24, 2009
National Geographic reports on the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, which was the most tranquil hurricane season in quite some time. Although the Atlantic hurricane season doesn't end until December 1, with such a quiet year it is safe to say a major hurricane in the next week is unlikely. There were a mere nine named storms of the season, while the average is fifteen. There were three hurricanes and two of those became major hurricanes. National Geographic says, "Totals were well below yearly averages since 1995, when meteorologists think an ongoing period of increased hurricane activity began in the Atlantic. Hurricane seasons since 1995 have averaged 15 named storms, 8 hurricanes, and 4 major hurricanes."