EXPLORE BOOK OF ODDS
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The latest stories
Against the Odds: The Odds of Being John Quincy Adams
Modern Americans are familiar with the Kennedy and Bush dynasties, but the first American political dynasty was the Adams family. John Quincy Adams, son of the 2nd president of the United…
Read the story →Which US President Fought a Fatal Duel?
Of the 45 people who have served as US president, one, Andrew Jackson, killed a man in a duel: Charles Dickinson, on May 30, 1806, in Kentucky.
Read the story →The odds a male online dater will lie about his height on his profile are 1 in 1.81 (US, 2008).
1 in 1.81 The odds a male online dater will lie about his height on his profile are 1 in 1.81 (US, 2008). SOURCE(S) Catalina L. Toma, Jeffrey T. Hancock,…
Read the story →The odds a female online dater will lie about her height on her profile
1 in 1.95 The odds a female online dater will lie about her height on her profile are 1 in 1.95 (US, 2008). SOURCE(S) Catalina L. Toma, Jeffrey T. Hancock,…
Read the story →How Many Married Americans Have Cheated?
In the 2022 General Social Survey, 15.2% of ever-married US adults, about 1 in 7, said they had had sex with someone other than their spouse while married.
Read the story →Do Sweethearts Still Say MARRY ME?
Spangler Candy, the maker of Sweethearts, says MARRY ME is still a classic saying in 2026, but we found no current published figure for how often it appears.
Read the story →Do Admissions Judgments Differ in Bad Weather?
In one study of 682 college files, reviewers' recommendations leaned more on academic ratings on cloudier days and more on social ones on sunny days.
Read the story →How Many US Residents Speak Yiddish?
In the US, about 194,800 people aged 5 and older spoke Eastern Yiddish at home in 2017 to 2021, about 1 in 1,593 by our arithmetic.
Read the story →The Most Popular Baby Names Over Time
In 1920, hemlines were short, whiskey illegal, and girls were named Mary. Or, at least 1 in 17.52. Other names that year, almost as fashionable, were Dorothy (1 in 33.95), Margaret…
Read the story →Open Carry: US Gun Laws Loosen Up
The first gun ever “fired” at a US movie audience was in 1903, in a 10-minute silent film called The Great Train Robbery. In the film’s final shot, a robber points…
Read the story →How Likely Are Same-Sex Kids in a Row?
About 51.1% of US babies born in 2024 were boys, 1,045 for every 1,000 girls by our arithmetic, so each birth is close to a coin toss.
Read the story →How Rare Is Leprosy in the US?
In 2025, the US reported 174 new cases of Hansen's disease (leprosy), about 1 in 2 million people, according to HRSA's National Hansen's Disease Program.
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