Monday, February 18, 2008

Worldwide Poll: If I received a gift of money, I would... Spend it or Save it?

Spend it: 50.2%
Save it: 49.8%
Men: 51.4% 48.6%
Women: 47.9% 52.1%
Prediction Accuracy: 62.0%

This poll held the title for Closest Call from 2/18/08-3/7/08.

National Poll: When you want snack food, which do you select more often? Sweet or Salty?


Sweet: 60.2%
Salty: 39.8%
Men: 58.4% 41.6%
Women: 63.8% 36.2%
Prediction Accuracy: 67.8%

National Poll: Do you recycle?


Yes: 69.0%
No: 31.0%
Men: 68.3% 31.7%
Women: 70.4% 29.6%
Prediction Accuracy: 68.9%

These numbers were much better than I expected them to be. I'm curious about the recycling programs in the green states (if there are any, that is). In my state, it's pretty tough. My major complaint is that there is no glass recycling anywhere nearby. Lots of paper, a little bit of plastic, and no glass. Also, do you have to pay for your recycling bins like we do? I heard that in California it's mandatory to recycle, so my assumption would be that the state pays for all of it as well. I'm curious to hear what your recycling programs are like! Let me know!

National Poll: Do you wear white clothes after Labor Day?


Yes: 48.7%
No: 51.3%
Men: 46.3% 53.7%
Women: 53.5% 46.5%
Prediction Accuracy: 49.8%

Is this seriously that big of a deal? No one really knows why they do this beyond possible fashion memes. The idea that this came from the south is also struck down pretty well by these results (or gamers in the South just don't care about fashion as much).

National Poll: If you accidentally spill salt, do you throw a pinch over your shoulder? Of course or Never?


Of course: 24.5%
Never: 75.5%
Men: 23.3% 76.7%
Women: 27.0% 73.0%
Prediction Accuracy: 72.6%

National Poll: Do you still watch movies on VHS?


Yes: 35.9%
No: 64.1%
Men: 33.7% 66.3%
Women: 40.4% 59.6%
Prediction Accuracy: 76.3%

National Poll: Which food do you order more often for home delivery? Pizza or Chinese?


Pizza: 84.2%
Chinese: 15.8%
Men: 84.7% 15.3%
Women: 83.2% 16.8%
Prediction Accuracy: 88.7%

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Worldwide Poll: Which would you prefer to watch, baseball or soccer?


Baseball: 45.7%
Soccer: 54.3%
Men: 45.9% 54.1%
Women: 45.3% 54.7%
Prediction Accuracy: 64.5%

Didn't think that many US people liked Soccer.

National Poll: Which do you own more of? MP3s or CDs?


MP3s: 49.4%
CDs: 50.6%
Men: 52.3% 47.7%
Women: 43.6% 56.4%
Prediction Accuracy: 33.0%

I must admit that this particular poll is interesting to me for two reasons: 1) The evenness of the results (sure CDs won it, but we're talking within 1% here) and 2) The fact that most people thought that MP3s would have won the poll, myself included. The difference between genders I honestly attribute to pirating. I'm inclined to think that men will steal music more than women would (especially amongst a college crowd) and I don't think that this particular statistical breakdown shows the digital music spending habits of Wii console owners as much as it confirms how we tend to describe the average P2P users.

Revisiting point #1, while MP3s haven't completely overtaken CDs in this poll, this definitely confirms the fears that the RIAA hold that they're losing CD sales and explains why they're desperately trying to stop people from ripping CDs that they own.

On an personal note, I still prefer to purchase CDs over MP3s. I prefer to have a physical copy that I can re-rip without problems if for some reason my computer crashes (it's happened once to two different computers I own over the course of the last 3-4 years). Having a physical backup that doesn't count towards a time I can burn it (like with a lot of DRM'd MP3s) is reassuring. Additionally, I like to buy my CDs used from Amazon or Half.com. I can usually pick up really good albums from popular artists for $5-7 that are in near mint condition if I am patient enough to wait a year or so to get them. I don't mind doing this and it accomplishes varied different goals for me (the remainder of which I won't go through now).

The idea that music will, in the future, be all digital is kind of scary to me at the moment. The current situation of digital music isn't quite where I want it to be. On the bright side, DRM seems to be disappearing. Music labels seem to be giving up on that point. On the downside, it gets really complex (and sometimes downright impossible) to get replacement MP3s if for some reason I don't have a backup somewhere when I need it. I've read the iTunes horror stories and am glad that I've only ever downloaded their free music downloads instead of investing in albums with them. AmazonMP3 only allows one download ever, so they're not that much better of a prospect. Until this changes (which, knowing the RIAA, probably won't), I'm still going to look into CD purchases.

Any comments on this particular poll (or the state of digital music in general)?

National Poll: Do you sleep on your side or your back?


Side: 74.9%
Back: 25.1%
Men: 72.6% 27.4%
Women: 79.7% 20.3%
Prediction Accuracy: 71.3%

National Poll: If you could turn back time, would you?


Yes: 71.7%
No: 28.3%
Men: 74.0% 26.0%
Women: 66.9% 33.1%
Prediction Accuracy: 84.2%

You know, despite everything I've learned from Doc Brown, I probably wouldn't be able to help myself. It wouldn't be to change things I regret, but rather just to see if it actually worked. Imagine someone tells you, "Hey, you're able to turn back time!" Pretty hard to believe without a testrun. The downside is there's no guarantee that you can go forward again after you've turned back. That would probably be enough to keep me from abusing it too much.

Worldwide Poll: Do you want to live in a foreign country?


Yes: 40.7%
No: 59.3%
Men: 40.8% 59.2%
Women: 40.5% 59.5%
Prediction Accuracy: 51.7%

National Poll: Can you do a cartwheel?


Yes: 45.7%
No: 54.3%
Men: 41.6% 58.4%
Women: 53.8% 46.2%
Prediction Accuracy: 44.8%

National Poll: A cheesecake is... A pie or A cake?


A pie: 42.2%
A cake: 57.8%
Men: 40.4% 59.6%
Women: 45.9% 54.1%
Prediction Accuracy: 66.4%

This particular poll's results were shocking to me. Cheesecake must then be the only cake in the world with a graham cracker crust. I can think of a few cakes with similar consistency, but not quite so that they leave the "cake" category for me like cheesecake does. Does the word "cake" in the name really determine what it is? Is it that word that separates Pumpkin Pie from Chessecake (which for me are practically the same texturally)? Any thoughts on the matter?

National Poll: When you have good and bad news, which do you say first?


Good news: 41.2%
Bad news: 58.8%
Men: 41.1% 58.9%
Women: 41.6% 58.4%
Prediction Accuracy: 53.1%

National Poll: Which do you do more of? Dieting or Exercise?


Dieting: 25.2%
Exercise: 74.8%
Men: 20.3% 79.7%
Women: 35.5% 64.5%
Prediction Accuracy: 54.3%

National Poll: Can you touch your nose with your tongue?


Yes: 18.8%
No: 81.2%
Men: 18.5% 81.5%
Women: 19.5% 80.5%
Prediction Accuracy: 84.8%