Look forward to this: It’s Christmas dinner and your already-drunk uncle is about to start talking politics, while your distant cousin is trying to get you into NFTs.
The night is on the brink of turning into a fiasco. What do you do? You share a whimsical fact about how many cookies Santa would have to eat around the world on Christmas Eve.
Peak, a UK-based artificial intelligence company, has gathered a list of data-driven Christmas facts that can be perfect conversation starters.
So, to save you from the dreaded awkward conversation, here’s a gift-wrapped bundle of 15 merry Christmas facts.
Image Credit: Depositphotos.com.
1. This staggering figure from Amazon
If you are one of the last-minute Christmas shoppers turning to online solutions, here’s some not-so-jolly news: On its busiest day, Amazon receives around 41 orders per second, which could impact your shopping experience.
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2. That gift might not have been intended for you … initially
How many times have you recycled an unwanted Christmas gift, passing it down to someone else? Come Christmas; you might find yourself wrapping that ‘oh-my-garland’ tacky fruit bowl your aunt gave you, only to make it someone else’s problem. If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. According to data, one in five Christmas gifts ends up being passed on to someone else as a present.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
3. This 10-story snowman is the world’s tallest
Snowmen are not usually cocky by nature, but this colossal 113-foot tall giant was quite literally looking down on everyone., and with intent. “Angus, King of the Mountain” set the Guinness record for the tallest snowman ever built in Bethel, Maine, back in 1999 and he hasn’t been beaten since.
Image Credit: bethelmaine.com.
4. We use HOW MUCH wrapping paper?
According to the data, a staggering 227,000 miles of wrapping paper are used each year during the festive season. That’s ALMOST enough paper to stretch from here to the moon (that’s 238,900 miles).
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
5. And then there’s all that wrapping paper waste …
And where does all that paper go? Well, not to the moon. Most of it gets tossed into landfills.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
6. On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer…
The biggest argument from Santa Naysayers is always, “It’s impossible for one man to visit every home in one night.” Well, data suggests it might be possible, but Santa would really have to step on it. It’s been calculated that for Santa, Comet, and the crew to make it around the world in one night, the sleigh would need to travel at a staggering 2.34 million mph.
It’s certainly not the speed of light (roughly 671 million mph) , but it’s a lot faster than F1 champ Max Verstappen any day.
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7. We spend a LOT of money
There’s a staggering $26 billion that will be spent this year on Christmas gifts for family and friends. That’s roughly the GDP of Iceland.
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8. All those iPads weigh plenty
iPads are often advertised as being lightweight, but just imagine how many Santa would have to carry around the world. According to the data, Santa’s sleigh would weigh approximately 354,430 tonnes on Christmas Eve, considering all the items he has to deliver.
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9. Most of us are procastinators when it comes to Christmas shopping
According to DHL’s statistics, the majority of people start their Christmas shopping on December 13th with the number of packages at its service points increase by as much as 99%.
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
10. In the UK it’s a very beer-y Christmas
In the United Kingdom, a whopping 250 million pints of beer are consumed over the holidays, enough to fill up 57 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Just think of all the “holy headaches” and “holy hangovers” that follow. Not so jolly.
Image Credit: andresr.
11.Those songs, though…
According to the figures, the holy trio of Christmas songs, — “Last Christmas” by Wham!, “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues and “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey, will be aired 404 million times across radio over the festive period. So, maybe steer clear of the radio.
Image Credit: Amazon.com.
12.Can Santa really eat all those cookies?
We all know Santa has a sweet tooth, but according to the data, the number of cookies he eats around the world could seriously risk diabetes. If he took just two bites from every cookie in the world on Christmas Eve, he would still have to eat 336,150,386 cookies. Santa needs a change in his diet.
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13. (Un)deck the halls?
If everyone switched to using LED lights at Christmas, we could save enough electricity to power a whopping 17,500 homes for an entire year!
Image Credit: DepositPhotos.com.
14. Turkey run
With 10,000,000 turkeys cooked every Christmas in the United Kingdom alone, statistics suggest that if you wait until the 24th to buy yours, there’s a high probability you’ll leave the supermarket disappointed.
Image Credit: filadendron.
15. It’s 11:07 somewhere in the world.
According to the Peak data, Brits indulge in their first glass of a “special” drink as early as 11:07 a.m. on Christmas, a time generally considered earlier than socially acceptable on other occasions.
This article was produced and syndicated by MediaFeed.
Image Credit: Galina Atroshchenko/iStock.
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