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The American Debt Crisis Infographic

This infographic addresses something that impacts all of us in the U.S. – the debt crisis. The infographic was very informative – with some staggering numbers that makes one wish to either bury one’s head in the sand, or to start some sort of massive, worldwide bake sale. Let’s get on with the data.

Debt

The United States currently owes $14.5 trillion and it’s rising daily. I guess some people see the word “trillion” and it might as well be “bazillion” or “katrillion” Unless one is a Douglas Adams fan, and in that case “Trillion” reminds them of something else, only maybe spelled differently. Either way, it is a very large number that sort of boggles the mind so the graphic breaks it down by if you borrowed a dollar per second how long it would take you to borrow $1 trillion. Then, just multiply that by 14.5 and you get a rough idea of how much money this country owes. It’s as much as all the other governments in the world put together.

Whom Do We Owe?

In a word, everybody. Check out the picture for a breakdown.

Can We Fix it?

The infographic talks about how much each employee in the country would need to make in order to pay off the national debt. It doesn’t look like it’s happening any time soon. The average household makes about $46,000, while each employee would need to make $90,000. And what does that mean, anyway? I guess taxes.

One confusing thing is that, at the bottom, there is this picture of Africa and we’re told that $14.5 billion dollars would feed East Africa for 4,000 years. Since the national debt is $14.5 trillion, did they mean trillion, or billion? We get the idea either way, but I think a little clarification would have been good there. Maybe it’s just me being nitpicky.

Design: B-

It’s ugly, but so is the debt crisis. I don’t like the colors used, or the layout of the thing.

Information: A

F, actually, to the information itself, but an A to the folks who compiled the data.

Source: Prozac Birth Defects

Top 10 U.S. Cities for Plastic Surgery

You might remember several infographics we have reviewed here about the plastic surgery obsession of our civilization. In the past, we’ve examined plastic surgery addiction in Great Britain as well our society’s desire to emulate celebrities through cosmetic surgery, with statistics that were also compiled in Great Britain. Today, we have a graphic that examines the top cities for plastic surgery right here in the good ol’ USA.

The graphic points that out that the number of cosmetic procedures nationwide continues to increase as more and more and Americans seek to change their bodies so that they can project an image that they believe to be perfect. The year 2010 saw 13.1 million cosmetic procedures across this fine nation. That translates to Americans spending 10 billion dollars a year to “perfect” their bodies. Plastic surgery proves its power versus the economic downturn in the US. It’s booming market proven by the graphic above tells us that vanity for most of us is an not expensive as it may seem.

The graphic ranks the top cities for plastic surgery based on the number of plastic surgeons for every 100,000 people over the age of 18 per city. Therefore, this ranking is more a “per capita” ranking, and it should also be noted that the rankings are based solely on the number of doctors who specialize in plastic surgery, not the actual number of plastic surgeries per city.

When this type of metric is used, the end result is that Miami is the number one city for plastic surgery and cities that you would expect to rank, like Los Angeles aren’t even in the top ten. Don’t fear though, California has two cities in the top ten: San Fransisco and Sacramento.

Now, I’m willing to bet that if a different metric was used to measure plastic surgery rates, L.A. would definitely have made the list. How could it not? People consider it to be the “plastic surgery capital of the world.” Could the stereotype be wrong? Could people really be more into plastic surgery in cities like Baltimore and Louisville than they are in Los Angeles? I suppose so, but I’m skeptical. Now, let’s head over to the grading portion of the graphic and see if it needs a makeover.

Design: A-

I think the design here is interesting on many levels. The facts and figures segment graphic at the bottom of the graphic stands out, and the chart was well-done. The color scheme is also excellent.

Content: B

The content is unique. The makers made a very interesting choice in terms of content to use. I applaud them for that.

This graphic has been provided by Sfcosmeticsurgery.com

What are Capital Gains Infographic

What a useful graphic we have here. Mint.com has created a graphic in order to summarize the various aspects of capital gains (and capital losses). They have done so with an incredible attention to detail, leaving no stone unturned. So, what is a capital gain you ask (if you haven’t asked, someone has asked for you.) According to the graphic, a capital gain is the profit that you gain when you sell a capital asset that you own, such as a stock, a bond, a piece of real estate, or a website. On the other hand, when you sell a capital asset for less than the price you bought it for you, you incur a capital loss. It’s important to understand the capital gains and losses apply to both businesses and individuals.

Ok, so what is a capital asset precisely? A capital asset is anything you own, including real estate, securities, furniture, precious metals, stamp and coin collections, jewelery and gems, gold and silver, automobiles etc. etc.–you get the picture. Short term and long term capital gains have different tax rates. Capital gains are generally taxed at a lower rate than personal income, and in some cases capital gains can be offset by capital losses. Capital gains tax rates are determined based on the type of investment and the holding period.

Below is a listing of some of the tax rates for different capital assets:

Collectibles: max tax rate, 28%

Investment Securities: max tax rate, 35%

Real Estate: max tax rate, 25%

Qualified Small Business Stock: max tax rate, 28%

Now, let’s saddle up and go for a ride in the infographic grading valley.

Design: B+

A unique graphic, but I’m not blown away. I’ll tell you where the graphic needs a tad bit of work– at the bottom. Notice the wrong colors were chosen. I say this because you can’t even read the last few words in that extra chart section. That’s the weakest part of the graphic, and it has resulted in me giving it a point deduction.

Content: A-

Mint.com did a stand up job as usual by covering the topic in the best way possible. They didn’t get bogged down with technical details, and they didn’t make the information so basic that the graphic was valueless.

Overall, a very strong graphic.

Google By the Numbers Infographic

Just how massive is Google (in real terms) you ask? More specifically, how many pages are in its index? That is the question this aesthetically pleasing infographic attempts to answer. Even though the precise number of pages in Google’s index is a closely-guarded secret, this graphic relies on math to make an educated guess at the exact number. And that number is..(drumroll please) 40 billion.

That’s quite a lot of pages if I do say so. Google is 1,600 times the size of what it was when it began. According to the graphic, if you were some insane loon who felt the need to display all of Google’s indexed sites on a single monitor, the screen would have to be 6 million miles from corner to corner. So, get cracking. It should only take you about 150 years to build such a monitor.

The graphic covers many other aspects of Google besides its index, such as gmail, youtube (which it acquired in 2006), the business side of Google, and other “stuff” (ie. random facts). Among the fascinating tidbits, gmail’s current storage allowance is equivalent to 1.74 billion full audio CDs. Another intriguing piece of info: because there are 1.5 billion images in Google, you would need 112 million floppy disks if you wanted to store them all. Now, here’s where its gets scary (but the good kind of scary). Google hopes to index about 100 petabytes of information in the near future, which is equal to half of all printed material in human history.

Now, let’s delve into the grading segment.

Design: A-

This graphic’s design is fast and furious. Barely gasping for breath, the graphic sucks you in and never lets go. A nice color scheme coupled with compelling images and charts makes this creation extremely well-done.

Content: B+

The content side contains many unique facts–not run of the mill items either. Interesting tidbits that make you stop and say, “whoa, that’s amazing” flow throughout. There is one mark against this graphic from a content perspective, hampering it from breaking the B+ barrier. The creator must learn the difference between revenue and profit. The youtube portion presents a chart that says, “No revenue.” What they actually mean to say is “No profit,” considering the graphic just discussed that youtube does in fact generate revenue, but only from 14% of its 1 billion videos each day.

Overall, I was impressed by this work. One policy that Google must change though: they ought to allow cats on site, not just dogs. It’s an interesting policy decision because usually it’s the other way around.

Graphic courtesy of computerschool.org

When you need print work done, they even offer free business cards, Conquest Graphics is a great online printing company to use.

The Life of a Cruise Ship Infographic

This infographic displays facts about the world’s largest and most incredible cruise ship: The acclaimed Oasis of the Sea. This ship cost a mere 1.4 billion dollars to construct and took 1,700 hours of engineering and design work prior to the beginning of its construction. All the work that went into this baby was worth it; it can accommodate 5,400 passengers and 2,165 crew hands.

Just don’t ask the captain of the ship to “step on it.” The thing can only travel at a speed of 26 miles per hour, so in many ways, it’s like a big fat walrus with an engine (or three to be exact.) Wait, did I say fat walrus? I meant mammoth walrus. Get a load of this: the ship has a carousel, a 350 yard park, a pool with two diving towers, a golf course, and a basketball court. It’s basically like a little town on board.

Night times on the Oasis are filled with fun. There’s a casino, an amphitheater with a pool, and two surf simulators. Feel like taking a (non-permanent) risk? You can go the fake tattoo parlor and get any tattoo that your heart desires. Good thing the parlor only offers fake tattoos. There are far too many inebriated people who get tattoos on a whim in this world. At the strike of midnight, the song “Midnight at the Oasis” by Maria Muldaur pipes through the halls. (I’m only assuming this; I have no idea if this theory is actually true.)

Do you to like to eat and drink? If so, I think you’ll find the selection on this ship quite satisfying. There are 20 restaurants and 37 bars. Spend enough time on this ship, and you may resolve that there’s no reason to leave.

Infographics Scorecard

Design: A-

The design is above-average. It has a nice “under-the-sea” sort of feel. Many elements were juxtaposed nicely. I would have awarded an “A” instead of an “A-” but I’m a tough grader, and in order for me to hand out an “A,” I have to be blown away by the art.

Content: A

The creator was able to jam enough facts in this graphic to fill a small paper about The Oasis and cruising in general. Details like how many different egg styles are served on the ship were a nice touch. Well-done!

Graphic supplied by Iglucruise