Thursday, November 17

I was only off by a factor of .... well, pick a really big number.



At Chris recent birthday party, I busted the old "There are more people alive right now than have ever died" saw. At the time, and for most of the past ten years since I first heard this I really believed it to be true. Because of course the population of earth right now, and even 10 years ago, is just so huge that its genuinely hard to apply any critical faculties to it at all. Six billion of anything just inherently seems like more than is rationally possible. So it's relatively easy to believe that it's so out of control that it has effectively surpassed all other human existence in recorded history. I certainly believed it. I even encouraged those at the table who were having a hard time of it (only about 20% of those present even were that skeptical) to go out and google it for themselves.

So of course upon doing just that, I have to sheepishly report that this entire idea is, as it turns out, bunkum. Check this mathematical proof at the University of Hawaii. Or, just skip down to the bottom line for the big number. As you can plainly see, Earth's total historical population is close to 100 billion people, a LOT more than the 6 that are here right now.

That's 1 person for every $80 of current United States debt. That's right, that's my new, fact checked, totally responsible weird population fact: The United States owes $80 for every man, woman and child who have ever existed on earth.

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