AA (not Alcohol Anonymous) drinks 22 gallons of milk every year - I never kept track of how many gallons of milk I drink, probably 22 gallons, more or less. Perhaps this could be an item on my to-do list for 2007 (ya right!)
AA blinks 3,700,000 times in a year - I would like to know who does the counting?
AA spends 10 minutes and 24 seconds in a shower - I will remember to set the timer next time I take a shower.
Each AA household spends $80 on telephone charges every month - I am not sure if this information is accurate considering the explosive of cell phones and the hi-tech services of Bluetooth, Blackberry and other gadgets. It is typical for each family to have at least two cell phones, a home phone, and high speed (DSL or cable) internet services.
The list also mentioned that a person goes on 100 dates before getting married. My husband and I had less than a dozen dates before we got married since he lived in Michigan and I was in New York. My question is whether the 100 dates was with the same person and if physical intimacy was involved.
I was surprised that AA purchased 35 greeting cards annually per household. With the introduction of einvite, ecards and emails, I thought no one cares to take the time to send cards and write a few personal notes anymore. When my father passed away, I received an email with one sentence expressing sympathy to me and my family. Ms. Emily Post would have been very sad to see this level of cold and impersonal expression.
Additional information can be found on Mr. O'Keefe's website at www.theaverageamerican.com.
I also picked up the book "America by the Numbers, A Field Guide to the U.S. Population" by Dr. William H. Frey and his associates Mr. Bill Abresch and Mr. Jonathan Feasting.
According to "Population Structure" on page 4, my generation was the Late Baby Boomers (people who were born from 1956-1965). Under Asian American Diversity on page 44, I am one of the 30% of Vietnamese American who earned a college degree. I thought the number would be higher. The Taiwanese American is considered the most well-educated with 70% earning college degree.
I am among the 62% of the middle-class Americans with annual income between $50K to $75K (page 91). My excitement of having achieved the level of wealth in the American Dream was crushed when I read today's newspaper that 25% of the "super rich" (those whose household net worth more than $10 million) travel in their private jet to shop for holiday gifts while I had to fight for a parking space in a crowded mall.
According to Elite Travelers Magazine/Prince & Associates "2006 Holiday Spending Survey", the rich spent $91,000 on fine jewelry, $22,300 on spirits, and wearing their designer clothes while I have to wait for sales after Christmas.
In the words of a wise man, novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, "The rich are different from you and me," and the response from another wise man, Ernest Hemingway, "Yes, they have more money." My question is "How much more?"
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