IStock Photo 8562745 © Francois Lariviere

“9 out of 10 dentists recommend sugarless gum.” Even before Trident® popularized this method of hawking merchandise (using the original phrase “4 out of 5”), ads promoting cigarettes took a similar tack, creating a level of unintentional irony that would be hard to replicate today. Americans are so used to hearing the majority of dentists recommend sugarless gum, it may not occur to them to ask what exactly the last, mystery dentist is pushing.

The answer, as it turns out, is: Nothing. The final 1 out of 10—the remaining percentage of surveyed dentists—almost unanimously recommends avoiding gum altogether. The question, asked in a 1976 market research survey, was whether dentists would recommend sugared gum, sugarless gum, or no gum at all to their patients who chew gum. Out of about 1,200 dentists, 85% recommended sugarless gum, with the rest pretty much going to “no gum at all.” There is no hard evidence any dentist was in favor of sugared gum.

Often that final 10% has the power to surprise. One in 10 men, for instance, is completely Levi’s®-less: the odds a man does not own a pair of blue jeans are 1 in 10. Those are the same odds a man is afraid of crowds.

In fact, adult life is peppered with the odd 1-in-10. The odds an adult regularly tries to eat a healthy meal they have hauled to school or work are 1 in 10. The odds a separated or divorced adult has ever had an ulcer are 1 in 10.01. Perhaps not completely off subject, the odds an adult uses swear words in conversation once a day are 1 in 10.

The odds an adult is afraid of being alone in an elevator are 1 in 10—one wonders what else adults fear. Disabling injuries? The odds a long-term disability claim will be due to an injury or poisoning are 1 in 10. Having your car rammed by a driver who has no money for damages? In 8 states—Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia—the odds a driver is uninsured are 1 in 10. Being stuck with a salary that won’t cover the rent? The odds an employed person 16 or older earns less than $16,680 in a year are 1 in 10—the same odds that an employed person 16 or older who is a waiter or waitress earns less than $14,000 in a year.

Of course, not all salaries are low. One in 10 rocket scientists, for instance, receives an astronomical salary: the odds an employed person 16 or older who is an atmospheric or space scientist earns $127,100 or more in a year are 1 in 10. (Speaking of space cadets, the odds a stamp collector collects stamps about space are 1 in 10.)

Depending on who you are or how you look at things, the other 1-in-10 cases can seem either encouraging or disheartening. The odds are also 1 in 10 that a person who has chin augmentation surgery is 13 - 19 years old, or that a household does not have a VCR.

No VCR. No chin. No jeans. And of course, for that 1 in 10, no gum at all.