Question of the Day:
Are the birthdates of the world evenly distributed over the days of the Gregorian Calendar as we know it?
Original question between me and T-Town: Is there an equal number of Virgos (she) and Sagittariuses (me)?
T-Town: No. Birthdays are not evenly distributed. But I have no proof.
Me: The Intern and I think that they are, although although there might be nation-centric patterns depending on differing social customs.
T-Town: Also in countries with poor health care, babies born during harsher months might be less likely to survive, so there would be less people living with those birth months.
Me: But does it even out overall?
T-Town: Thanks to Hallmark, I can tell you that:
• More people are born in August than any other month (9.07 percent). About 21 million Americans have birthdays in August.
• In recent years, July ranks number two in birthdays (8.80 percent of births) and February is last (7.55 percent)
And also bring you this handy chart:
Rank Month Percent
1. August 9.07
2. July 8.80
3. September 8.62
4. October 8.60
5. March 8.51
6. May 8.30
7. January 8.25
8. June 8.15
9. April 8.12
10. December 8.07
11. November 7.96
12. February 7.55
Me: So the months are pretty evenly distributed, with not more than 1 and a half percent between smallest and largest. But even with that low difference, there ARE more Virgos than Sags. Because I'm low on the list, whereas you are high. So by definition, there actually ARE more Virgos than Sags, especially because both months that contribute to virgo and both months that contribute to sagittarius are close to each other, in their high and low spots, respectively.
T-Town: So are you saying I am more ordinary than you?
Me: Duh.
3 comments:
When speaking of the distribution, you should really cite the standard deviation, which in this case is just under 5% of the mean. So you're right, it's a pretty narrow distribution. (I know, I know. I am what I am...and that's someone who has recently been hanging out more with his microscope than with his roommate.) In any case, the higher number of babies in late summer and autumn makes sense. People have more sex in the winter when it's cold and they're stuck inside together.
and actually when you look at the number of births per number of days in the month, the distribution is even tighter and the order changes... (sorry, the fact February was lowest made the nerd in me come out)... with fewer days than any other month, February is actually the 4th lowest in # births per # days... December's the lowest.
So I'm pretty much the most common person ever . . . a Leo - July 23 to August 22!
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