I'm pretty sure the reason I can hardly believe it's almost St. Patrick's Day is probably a little different than the reason most other people can hardly believe it's St. Patrick's Day; somewhat horrifyingly, I will be turning 30 then, so it's more of a candle-blowing holiday for me than a drinking one. That said, though, this “St. Patrick's Day By The Numbers” infographic from WalletHub couldn't be better timed, so here. Have some incredibly interesting trivia about America's fourth most popular drinking holiday. It's helping me distract myself from the fact that I'm getting old, and I'm sure it will be fascinating for you all, too. And yes, that whole “fourth most popular drinking holiday” is one of the pieces of info contained within it. For the curious, New Year's Eve, Christmas, and the Fourth of July take the top three slots.
Anhoo, WalletHub gathered their data from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Retail Federation, Hallmark, Produce News, and their own research. It doesn't really have a theme beyond St. Patty's Day; it doesn't, for example, zero in solely on how much we're expected to spend and what we'll spend it on. But in some ways, that's what makes it one of the most entertaining “by the numbers” graphics I've ever seen: It covers such a wide swathe of knowledge that it's sure to brighten up any trivia lover's day. So here — have a look at six of my favorite takeways from it, illustrated with GIFs and presented with a little additional commentary. Scroll down to see the full infographic; it's totally worth it. I promise.
1,258,000: The market value in dollars of a leprechaun's pot of gold.
Assuming the pot contains 1,000 gold coins weighing one ounce each. Think I could retire early if I ever found one?
45: The number of pounds of green vegetable dye used to turn the Chicago River green.
For the curious, that is roughly equal in weight to that of your average five-year-old.
11: The percentage of people who are planning a St. Patrick's Day vacation.
This is odd to me; I wasn't aware that St. Patty's Day was a big enough holiday to warrant a vacation. I mean, my friggin' birthday is on St. Patty's Day and I don't usually plan a vacation for it. Is this really a thing people do? Is it because it often lines up with spring break? Someone enlighten me, please — I must know!
4.6 billion: The total amount in dollars we're expected to spend on St. Patrick's Day this year.
This number is so mind-blowingly large I can't even deal with it as anything other than an abstract concept.
13 million: The number of pints of Guinness that will be consumed on St. Patty's Day.
At least it's not gross green beer, right?
16: The number of locations in the U.S. named Dublin.
Huh. Fancy that.
Check out the full infographic with all the trivia you could ever want to know about St. Patty's Day below:
Images: Greencolander/Flickr; Giphy (3); WalletHub
