Anyone engaged in promotional products, either a user or producer, will depend massively on statistics. You need to know whether your promotional umbrella gives more views per pound than a ring binder. Statistics are also invaluable in your everyday life.
Some are obvious. For instance, if you tell someone that their breath smells there is a greater than 70% chance that they will immediately breathe out into your face. Further, someone who produces a letter from a psychiatrist stating that they have been assessed as sane is more likely to be thought of as mad than someone who is merely behaving oddly.
Some statistics are absolutely terrifying. In one year in the USA there were nearly 100 times as many people making out to be a doctor in hospitals than there were actors on TV doing exactly the same, except without the risk of death.
Some statistics give an insight into the human mind. It was found that giving aid in the form of blankets and seed to flood hit Zambian farmers was less productive per pound than giving them just that, pounds, and allowing them to decide on their specific needs. Which is almost as revealing as the fact that more than 40% of sick days are taken on Mondays and Fridays. The percentage increases substantially if one includes only those who had that weekend off.
Some statistics are very believable despite the fact that they make you shake your head. For instance, 39% of breakdowns are due to the car running out of fuel. Others bewilder such as, when asked, 91% of people said they regularly told lies.
Some statistics should give you marketing ideas. 7000,000 local businesses have active pages on Facebook, purpose built pages have more than 5.3 billion fans and in a scientific test of flipping coins, the proportion of heads to tails was 25:19, an anomaly they say.
Sometimes statistics seem to hold the secret of the universe in the figures. The percentage of the general population now in prison is 0.13%. However, the percentage of members of the last House of Commons now inside is 0.61%