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I was an Econ major in college, so this stuff fascinates me. If you like demographics AND infographics, check this out from DesignCo:
The Average Income For Every Neighborhood In America
SEE WHERE THE MONEY LIVES–AND WHERE IT DOESN’T–IN YOUR CITY.
No matter where you live, you probably already have some sort of mental map of where the money resides in your city. It’s one of those data sets you subconsciously start collecting the moment you move somewhere. At first, it’s something you sense in only the broadest geographic terms–understanding that the north side of the city is generally poorer than the rest of it, say–but with time and experience, the map becomes more refined, filled in on the level of neighborhood and street. How well do these perceptions of income line up with reality? That’s what this website shows us.
Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks is an interactive map showing the average income for every neighborhood in America. Type in your address, press search, and there you have it: Your city, shaded by income, according to data from an annual survey conducted by the Census Bureau. The greenest blocks–Census blocks, that is, not city blocks–signify the richest areas, typically bringing in an average household income of $100,000 or more a year. The reddest blocks are the poorest, with annual income somewhere around $20,000. All the rest get some shade of red or green, depending where they fall.
The map was created by Christopher Persaud, a data reporter for a bank website, and on one level, it illustrates a wholly unsurprising trend: In general, inner cities are poorer than the suburbs that surround them. But zoom in a bit closer and things get more interesting. Each city, shaped and reshaped by countless forces over the decades, looks a bit different. This map won’t reveal those stories to you, but it will give you a sense of where they’ve left us today.
In Birmingham, where I currently live, a large Appalachian foothill has long served as a barrier between the poorer downtown areas and the rich suburbs found “over the mountain.” That separation can be seen here, though the mountain cannot. In bigger, more dynamic cities, the very rich and the very poor live as neighbors even without the geological curtain. Persaud points out that median income drops roughly $80,000 in the 10 blocks separating East 86th Street to East 96th Street in New York City.
These sorts of dramatic juxtapositions in wealth jump out right away. The map becomes a bit more difficult to read when you’re looking at areas where the disparity isn’t quite as drastic (which is supposed to be wealthier, pea green or puke green?) Still, the data on display here is fascinating on a number of levels, and poring over it in this form can be an unexpectedly eye-opening experience. You’d think that reducing so many lives in so many places to a handful of shades of green and red would be the most impersonal way to get the point across, but the satellite-eye of Google Maps offers us a new perspective on the matter. In real life, the bad part of town could be a half-mile away. Seen here, it’s right next door.
Interesting bits of trivia from around the world! Thanks Mary! Details from List25:
Depending upon your definition, and whether or not you count Taiwan, there are “approximately” 196 countries in the world as of this writing. So while you may consider yourself to be a knowledgeable global citizen, and we’re sure you are, given the dynamic and complex nature of our planet there are certain to be at least a couple facts on this list that you will find surprising. Here are 25 things that you wouldn’t believe about these countries.
25 Covers the most time zones – France
If you count everything, including overseas territories, then France claims the title by covering 12 time zones. The United States would be the runner-up with 11 and then Russia with 9.
24 Most likely to disappear beneath the waves – Maldives
With all the talks of global warming and rising sea levels, it is the residents of the Maldives that have the greatest reason to fear. With an average height of around 1.8 meters above sea level their nation is the lowest on Earth.
23 Most overweight population – Nauru
With over 95% of its population being overweight, the small island nation of Nauru is by far the fattest country on Earth. Its obesity epidemic is primarily attributed to the importation of western fast food that coincided with an increased standard of living in the 20th century due to the global popularity of its phosphate exports. It’s almost non sequitur…almost.22 Roads made of coral – Guam
photo – theworldgeography.com
Because Guam doesn’t have any natural sand, but rather coral, the island nation makes its asphalt using a mix of ground coral and oil rather than importing sand from abroad.
21 Has 350 sheep for every person – Falkand Islands (UK)
With only about 3,000 people the Falkland Islands are home to approximately half-a million-sheep. Not surprisingly wool is a major export.
20 Oldest sovereign state – Egypt
This largely depends upon your definition of a sovereign state but if you are going by first acquisition of sovereignty then Egypt would be the first country in the world to achieve sovereignty based upon the formation of the first dynasty in 3100 BC.
19 Most lakes in the world – Canada
With over 3 million lakes 9% of Canadian territory is actually fresh water and over 60% of all the lakes in the world are found within its borders.
18 Least likely place to meet your neighbor – Mongolia
photo – theatlantic.com
At 4 people per square mile Mongolia is the least densely populated country on Earth. Compare this to the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong that has the highest population density in the world with 340,000 people per square mile.
17 Largest number of tanks – Russia
It is a strange title to hold, but Russia has by far the most tanks of any army in the world (21,000). Unfortunately for the motherland most of these outdated machines are tributes to its past, and although outnumbered (16,000), the United States has a much more advanced tank inventory.
16 The land of no rivers – Saudi Arabia
photo – americanbedu.com
Sounds a bit strange doesn’t it? For a country as big as Saudi Arabia there has to be at least some sort of flowing water. Well, there isn’t. Most of their fresh water comes from desalinization plants or underground reservoirs.
15 Youngest population of any country – Niger
Generally the worlds youngest country is determined by calculating the portion of the population that is younger than 15. Presently it is Niger that holds this distinction with roughly half of its population having barely reached puberty (49%).
14 Most diverse country in the world – India
In almost every category – culturally, economically, climatically, racially, linguistically, ethnically, and religiously India is either the most diverse countries in the world, or the runner-up.
13 Fastest disappearing nation – Ukraine
With a natural decrease in population of .8% annually, between now and 2050 Ukraine is expected to lose around 30% of its people.
12 Most of its citizens live abroad – Malta
After some rough economic times coupled with an increased birth rate, Malta experienced significant immigration. It was so significant that there are now more Maltese living abroad than within the country itself.
11 Smaller than Central Park in New York City – Monaco
Although Vatican City is smaller (.17 sq mi) than Monaco (.8 sq mi), unlike Monaco it doesn’t have any permanent residents which leaves Monaco as the smallest permanently inhabited nation in the world…smaller than Central Park.
10 Almost entirely covered in jungle – Suriname
With 91% of its land covered in jungle Suriname’s half-a-million residents live primarily along the coast near the capital. Only 5% of the population (mainly indigenous people) live inland.
9 Almost entirely treeless – Haiti
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Haiti, a country that has been so badly deforested that you can tell where it borders the Dominican Republic by looking at a satellite image (Haiti is on the left in the photo above).
8 Largest country with no farms – Singapore
photo – nationalgeographic.com
Although there are a number of small nations in the world that show no hint of having an agriculture based economy, (take Vatican City for example) Singapore is the largest of these urban city-states.
7 Most languages spoken – Papua New Guinea
photo – nationalgeographic.com
Although English is its official language, only 1-2% of the population actually speak it. As the most linguistically diverse country in the world, over 820 languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea or 12% of the world’s total.
6 Most educated people – Canada
With 50% of its population having been educated at the post secondary level, Canada easily has the most educated populace in the world. It is followed by Israel at 45% and Japan at 44%.
5 The “country desert” – Libya
With 99% of the country covered in desert Libya is one of the most arid places in the world and in some regions decades may go by without a single drop of rain.
4 Least peaceful nation in the world – Somalia
photo – latimes.com
Although for the last three years Iraq has been ranked as the least peaceful country in the world, according to the Global Peace Index Somalia overtook it this year for the top spot.
3 Produces most of the world’s oxygen – Russia
Siberia is home to approximately 25% of the world’s forests that span an area larger than the continental United States, making Russia the largest converter of CO2 into breathable compounds.
2 World’s largest opium producer – Afghanistan
photo – wikimedia
Producing a whopping 95 percent of the world’s opium, not even 10 years of occupation by American forces have slowed down the industry.
1 Most people behind bars – United States
When it comes to incarcerating its population, the United States is the world’s uncontested leader. With 2.2 million people behind bars it has 5% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s incarcerated population. China comes in second place at 1.5 million and Russia comes third at 870,000.
It is always fun to window shop zip codes! Any of these near you?
(click picture above for more photos)
From Forbes:
In the Long Island ZIP code 11962, better known as Sagaponack, N.Y., the most expensive property currently for sale is listed at $30 million. That’s for a partially developed 3.8-acre lot of prime beachfront land with a six-bedroom house, a quaint cottage and “room for tennis and pool,” according to the Corcoran Group listing. The property also comes with billionaire neighbors like industrialist Ira Rennert, whose massive Fair Field estate is assessed at $200 million, and hedge fund boss David Tepper, who recently tore down his $43.5 million house to build a bigger one.
The thick concentration of some of America’s richest people helped make the swanky Hamptons village the third most expensive ZIP code in the country for home sales this year, with a median asking price of $3,595,000. It comes in behind two zip codes that regularly grace the top spots of our list: Alpine, N.J., 07620, at No. 1, and Atherton, Calif., 94027, at No. 2.
Alpine is an exclusive New York City suburb where the median home price is $4,295,000, street addresses are regularly scrambled on Google and the residents include celebrities like Stevie Wonder and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. In Atherton, a tony town in the San Francisco Bay area, $ 4,295,000 is the median home price thanks to tech billionaires like Eric Schmidt and Meg Whitman.
We compiled our list with the help of Altos Research, a Mountainview, Calif.-based company that tracks housing data in real time. It pulled pricing information for more than 20,000 ZIP codes across the U.S. for June 2 to Sept. 2, zeroing in on the 500 most expensive. Altos calculated the median asking price for both single-family homes and condominiums, weighting the price based on the mix of local property types. We did not include co-ops. Altos limited the search to ZIP codes where 20 or more residences were listed for sale, including short sales and bank-owned foreclosures on the market. To smooth out any wrinkles caused by a week’s unusual activity (like, say, an expensive home coming to market in an area where luxury properties are rare), Altos used a rolling average for the 90-day period.
Since our list is based on asking prices rather than tax assessments, it may be unfair to assume that our list is completely representative of the communities featured — for example, there could be pockets of long-time residents in modest homes in areas that have become swankier in recent years. Rather, our list is a snapshot of each market’s current activity. “We look at listing prices because, if you were to go into one of these markets with the intention of buying a home, this is what you would see in the market,” says Michael Simonsen, chief executive of Altos Research. In some cases a ZIP may appear more than once on our list. This happens when two or more towns share the same ZIP code.
Median home prices in the 500 ZIP codes we considered are down 2% overall from our 2010 list, which is the mildest depreciation in years. In 2010 prices were off 5% year-over year and in 2009, 7%. Inventory levels have remained about the same since 2009, but real estate appraisers like Jonathan Miller, chief executive of New York’s Miller Samuel , say there’s been an uptick in listings in the luxury end of major U.S. markets this year. “It’s not that we’re seeing prices rise, it’s that we’re seeing more activity,” Miller told Forbes recently.
California dominates our list this year. The Silicon Valley property market continues to benefit from a burgeoning tech industry that’s increased housing demand. In addition to Atherton, Northern California ZIPs that rank highly include Hillsborough 94010 (No. 4); Los Altos Hills (No. 18) and Los Altos (No. 24), which share the ZIP code 94022; Woodside 94062 (No. 31); and Palo Alto 94301 (No. 36).
The celebrity-studded Los Angeles-area figures highly on our list as well. A bevy of $50 million and higher homes landed Beverly Hills 90210 in the fifth spot, Malibu 90265 12th, and the Bel Air section of Los Angeles 90077 19th.David Kramer, a Hilton & Hyland agent specializing in Beverly Hills and Bel Air properties who represented Petra Ecclestone in her purchase of the $85 million Spelling Manor, says he is seeing more $10 million and higher sales this year than he did during the heights of the market in 2005-06. The listing prices in these ZIP codes reflect that, pushing their rankings up from last year.
The tony ski towns of Colorado are also showing strength. Despite condo prices that start as low as $105,000, Aspen’s ritziest ZIP code, 81611 (No. 20), Snowmass 81654 (No. 13) and Snowmass Village 81615 (No. 59) rank highly thanks to a bevy of estates listed for between $20 million and $40 million. And Telluride 81435 debuts on our list at No. 28 thanks to posh pads and ranches belonging to the likes of comedian Jerry Seinfeld and former Goldman Sachs CEO and New Jersey governor Jon Corzine.
Simonsen says that after the bubble burst, asking prices didn’t fall much in these posh Colorado ZIPs but days on the market increased, with homes languishing for an average of about a year before being sold.
A surprise on this year’s list is New York City. Manhattan ZIP codes have long featured on our annual list, but this year the wealthy Upper East Side, Upper West Side and West Village were surpassed by two trendy downtown neighborhoods: SoHo 10012 at No. 6, followed by TriBeCa 10013 at No. 7.
The SoHo and TriBeCa housing markets don’t have as much inventory as some other areas of Manhattan, says Gary Malin, president of the New York City-based realty firm Citi Habitats. “They are always highly sought after because of the wide-open loft spaces with high ceilings … and because there’s not a tremendous density of housing there and always a lot of demand, you’re able to get significant prices.” He notes it’s a very similar dynamic in the West Village 10014, which ranked 35th. The ZIP codes of Lower Manhattan, a neighborhood transformed since the destruction of the World Trade Center, debut in the top 500 this year as well thanks to new luxury condos that peddle outrageous amenities.
For complete coverage of the 500 Most Expensive ZIP Codes in America, click here.
| 1 | 07620, Alpine, NJ | 4,550,000 | 19.3 | 244 | 59 | 53.0 |
| 2 | 94027, Atherton, CA | 4,295,000 | 7.1 | 162 | 41 | 20.0 |
| 3 | 11962, Sagaponack, NY | 3,595,000 | - | 237 | 126 | 30.0 |
| 4 | 94010, Hillsborough, CA | 3,499,000 | 18.7 | 156 | 71 | 43.9 |
| 5 | 90210, Beverly Hills, CA | 3,469,891 | -5.8 | 193 | 275 | 55.0 |
| 6 | 10012, New York, NY | 3,392,574 | 5.3 | 276 | 102 | 25.0 |
| 7 | 10013, New York, NY | 3,317,962 | 7.0 | 333 | 298 | 45.0 |
| 8 | 11976, Water Mill, NY | 3,300,000 | 9.8 | 344 | 223 | 58.5 |
| 9 | 93108, Montecito, CA | 3,099,348 | -1.7 | 232 | 207 | 29.5 |
| 10 | 11568, Old Westbury, NY | 3,095,000 | -0.5 | 248 | 123 | 10.8 |
| 11 | 10023, New York, NY | 3,078,462 | 53.0 | 310 | 568 | 28.8 |
| 12 | 90265, Malibu, CA | 3,054,859 | 11.9 | 229 | 409 | 75.0 |
| 13 | 81654, Snowmass, CO | 2,995,000 | 51.3 | 328 | 51 | 20.0 |
| 14 | 92067, Rancho Santa Fe, CA | 2,949,000 | -3.5 | 248 | 246 | 23.9 |
| 15 | 92661, Newport Beach, CA | 2,947,000 | -3.0 | 271 | 54 | 27.9 |
| 16 | 06831, Greenwich, CT | 2,942,959 | 13.4 | 261 | 258 | 45.0 |
| 17 | 92091, Rancho Santa Fe, CA | 2,810,000 | 51.5 | 216 | 38 | 16.5 |
| 18 | 94022, Los Altos Hills, CA | 2,797,000 | -8.3 | 189 | 34 | 19.5 |
| 19 | 90077, Los Angeles, CA | 2,649,000 | 12.9 | 165 | 109 | 125.0 |
| 20 | 81611, Aspen, CO | 2,647,239 | 2.3 | 293 | 598 | 38.0 |
| 21 | 07976, New Vernon, NJ | 2,572,500 | 19.5 | 222 | 40 | 8.0 |
| 22 | 92657, Newport Coast, CA | 2,536,492 | 8.2 | 183 | 176 | 37.0 |
| 23 | 95030, Monte Sereno, CA | 2,522,500 | 53.1 | 242 | 26 | 5.6 |
| 24 | 94022, Los Altos, CA | 2,522,000 | -17.3 | 104 | 22 | 19.5 |
| 25 | 07931, Far Hills, NJ | 2,497,000 | 20.8 | 175 | 22 | 15.5 |
| 26 | 93920, Big Sur, CA | 2,495,000 | - | 351 | 24 | 10.0 |
| 27 | 11765, Mill Neck, NY | 2,399,000 | -15.4 | 318 | 29 | 15.5 |
| 28 | 81435, Telluride, CO | 2,395,000 | - | 385 | 212 | 23.9 |
| 29 | 11975, Wainscott, NY | 2,388,000 | 13.9 | 345 | 75 | 38.0 |
| 30 | 90402, Santa Monica, CA | 2,307,300 | -1.3 | 155 | 68 | 10.9 |
| 31 | 94062, Woodside, CA | 2,300,000 | 3.2 | 157 | 57 | 47.5 |
| 32 | 06830, Greenwich, CT | 2,268,435 | 0.4 | 280 | 350 | 21.0 |
| 33 | 91302, Hidden Hills, CA | 2,260,652 | -26.0 | 189 | 66 | 13.0 |
| 34 | 21056, Gibson Island, MD | 2,255,000 | -18.5 | 398 | 22 | 3.3 |
| 35 | 10014, New York, NY | 2,252,885 | -40.5 | 332 | 86 | 17.5 |
| 36 | 94301, Palo Alto, CA | 2,199,950 | 27.1 | 85 | 21 | 6.2 |
| 37 | 80113, Cherry Hills Village, CO | 2,195,000 | - | 133 | 87 | 14.9 |
| 37 | 11930, Amagansett, NY | 2,195,000 | 3.4 | 342 | 210 | 14.3 |
| 39 | 94028, Portola Valley, CA | 2,176,500 | -13.3 | 147 | 32 | 20.0 |
| 40 | 95030, Los Gatos, CA | 2,169,950 | -5.4 | 148 | 67 | 20.0 |
| 41 | 10007, New York, NY | 2,129,654 | -0.8 | 437 | 86 | 28.0 |
| 42 | 94920, Tiburon/Belvedere, CA | 2,119,816 | -35.4 | 178 | 93 | 22.3 |
| 43 | 33109, Fisher Island, FL | 2,093,517 | -8.8 | 438 | 221 | 30.0 |
| 44 | 90274, Rolling Hills, CA | 2,040,619 | -47.5 | 145 | 54 | 13.0 |
| 45 | 10003, New York, NY | 2,008,462 | -28.9 | 307 | 166 | 22.9 |
| 46 | 98039, Medina, WA | 1,988,000 | -8.4 | 265 | 43 | 11.3 |
| 47 | 95070, Saratoga, CA | 1,925,000 | 16.5 | 146 | 139 | 17.5 |
| 48 | 92625, Corona Del Mar, CA | 1,905,715 | -5.5 | 156 | 190 | 23.7 |
| 49 | 94904, Kentfield, CA | 1,900,000 | -0.6 | 120 | 25 | 8.8 |
| 50 | 11024, Great Neck, NY | 1,899,000 | 40.8 | 178 | 65 | 12.0 |
| 51 | 94024, Los Altos, CA | 1,895,000 | -36.3 | 119 | 43 | 5.5 |
| 51 | 10577, Purchase, NY | 1,895,000 | -11.0 | 226 | 55 | 9.0 |
| 53 | 11959, Quogue, NY | 1,875,000 | - | 265 | 160 | 18.8 |
| 53 | 93953, Pebble Beach, CA | 1,875,000 | -18.8 | 273 | 133 | 30.0 |
| 55 | 10001, New York, NY | 1,859,885 | 26.9 | 366 | 68 | 8.9 |
| 56 | 92662, Newport Beach, CA | 1,825,000 | -28.9 | 144 | 33 | 6.0 |
| 57 | 90272, Pacific Palisades, CA | 1,819,665 | -14.7 | 160 | 191 | 19.0 |
| 58 | 10580, Rye, NY | 1,799,000 | 8.4 | 186 | 105 | 12.5 |
| 59 | 81615, Snowmass Village, CO | 1,773,523 | 8.1 | 304 | 276 | 29.5 |
| 60 | 90266, Manhattan Beach, CA | 1,756,738 | 7.0 | 125 | 162 | 24.9 |
| 61 | 06878, Riverside, CT | 1,750,000 | 6.3 | 207 | 65 | 14.5 |
| 62 | 02493, Weston, MA | 1,745,900 | 11.6 | 173 | 111 | 18.8 |
| 63 | 07078, Short Hills, NJ | 1,745,000 | 6.2 | 150 | 73 | 9.0 |
| 64 | 92651, Laguna Beach, CA | 1,724,264 | -12.5 | 214 | 398 | 24.0 |
| 65 | 11771, Oyster Bay, NY | 1,711,710 | 32.3 | 200 | 224 | 12.5 |
| 66 | 06870, Old Greenwich, CT | 1,699,555 | 18.2 | 265 | 81 | 10.5 |
| 67 | 93921, Carmel/Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA | 1,698,250 | 20.2 | 173 | 74 | 19.2 |
| 68 | 02807, Block Island, RI | 1,680,000 | 26.2 | 165 | 38 | 24.0 |
| 69 | 32461, Rosemary Beach, FL | 1,679,000 | 50.6 | 352 | 71 | 7.0 |
| 70 | 10024, New York, NY | 1,672,500 | -32.7 | 339 | 112 | 37.5 |
| 71 | 11545, Glen Head, NY | 1,672,000 | -22.4 | 190 | 146 | 11.3 |
| 72 | 92014, Del Mar, CA | 1,660,584 | 2.7 | 202 | 176 | 26.5 |
| 73 | 85253, Paradise Valley, AZ | 1,659,569 | -1.0 | 283 | 272 | 22.0 |
| 74 | 10011, New York, NY | 1,637,424 | -22.4 | 316 | 387 | 39.5 |
| 75 | 07632, Englewood Cliffs, NJ | 1,624,500 | 21.8 | 171 | 82 | 4.0 |
| 76 | 10021, New York, NY | 1,623,962 | -39.2 | 434 | 340 | 50.0 |
| 77 | 81657, Vail, CO | 1,615,516 | 10.4 | 301 | 330 | 22.0 |
| 78 | 10075, New York, NY | 1,613,413 | 7.7 | 327 | 118 | 90.0 |
| 79 | 06880, Westport, CT | 1,610,083 | 1.6 | 188 | 362 | 25.0 |
| 80 | 91108, San Marino, CA | 1,603,000 | -15.3 | 132 | 58 | 7.5 |
| 81 | 08738, Mantoloking, NJ | 1,599,000 | -2.1 | 216 | 87 | 16.0 |
| 82 | 94506, Blackhawk, CA | 1,597,000 | -0.5 | 164 | 36 | 10.5 |
| 83 | 06820, Darien, CT | 1,587,000 | -0.5 | 182 | 208 | 12.8 |
| 84 | 06840, New Canaan, CT | 1,572,804 | -16.1 | 157 | 534 | 13.9 |
| 85 | 22102, Mc Lean, VA | 1,563,585 | - | 159 | 144 | 9.2 |
| 86 | 60043, Kenilworth, IL | 1,550,000 | -21.9 | 267 | 35 | 6.5 |
| 87 | 93066, Somis, CA | 1,549,000 | -0.8 | 268 | 26 | 3.5 |
| 88 | 29482, Sullivans Island, SC | 1,540,000 | -9.0 | 312 | 59 | 2.9 |
| 89 | 94970, Stinson Beach, CA | 1,510,000 | -15.7 | 277 | 26 | 3.7 |
| 90 | 96754, Kilauea, HI | 1,500,000 | 7.8 | 251 | 67 | 14.0 |
| 91 | 07458, Saddle River, NJ | 1,499,450 | -10.5 | 174 | 204 | 13.0 |
| 92 | 80121, Greenwood Village, CO | 1,495,000 | - | 133 | 53 | 7.0 |
| 93 | 10019, New York, NY | 1,493,038 | 8.3 | 370 | 622 | 60.0 |
| 94 | 94574, Saint Helena, CA | 1,492,800 | 10.2 | 216 | 96 | 24.0 |
| 95 | 10504, Armonk, NY | 1,475,000 | 6.7 | 233 | 73 | 13.0 |
| 96 | 92037, La Jolla, CA | 1,473,144 | -12.2 | 170 | 500 | 33.0 |
| 97 | 21662, Royal Oak, MD | 1,467,000 | -4.9 | 253 | 25 | 6.8 |
| 98 | 90274, Palos Verdes Estates, CA | 1,461,097 | -23.8 | 152 | 124 | 10.5 |
| 99 | 10069, New York, NY | 1,461,038 | -34.6 | 528 | 192 | 16.9 |
| 100 | 07924, Bernardsville, NJ | 1,459,500 | - | 180 | 94 | 14.8 |
This might seem trivial and you may already know this, but I still thought this was cool (and I didn’t know it before!) – that little funny symbol – always there – always staring back at you…..
So now you know – from PetaPixel:
Take a look at your camera, and there’s a good chance it’ll have this symbol: Φ — a small circle bisected by a long line that looks like a hieroglyph of Saturn. If you’ve always wondered what it means, today’s your lucky day: it’s called a “film plane mark” (or “focal plane mark”, depending on who you ask), and indicates exactly where the film (or sensor) plane is inside the camera body. One reason the mark is useful is that macro photographers often want to determine the exact distance between their subject and the film plane, and the mark can make this calculation much easier.
What do you call Soft Drinks?
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Pop
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Coke
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Soda
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Something else?
Everyone loves Pizza! Enjoy some Pizza Box history from Gizmodo:
First, man discovered fire. Then a bunch of random stupid unimportant stuff happened. Then, man discovered pizza delivery. And Serious Eats takes it from there, with a fantastic rundown of the evolution of man’s greatest achievement in food transportation.
Did you know, for instance, that pizzas have been carried from one point to another since as long ago as the early 1800s? The tiny copper containers of our forbearers gave way, a century later, to rudimentary paper and twine. Adorable, sure, but not practical. In fact, it was just a brief prelude to the post-WWII Pizza Boom:
The post-WWII years exposed millions of American GI’s to pizza in Italy, so interest dramatically increased upon their return home. In the 1940′s, lots of pizza purveyors offered take-out pies. The pizza would sit on a stiff corrugated base, which could slide snugly into a large paper bag. The bag’s thin structure would allow steam to escape but only at the price of heat loss.
Thanks, Mussolini!
The real hero of our story, though? Domino’s Pizza founder Tom Monaghan, who worked with a Detroit-based company called Triad Containers to develop the first modern-era corrugated pizza coffin that’s still used today to get your pie from Point A to Point Mouth.
It’s a terrific read, a glimpse into our culinary history. Or at least the delicious, greasy, triangular corner. [Serious Eats]
I don’t know about you, but I love maps – and interactive maps are even cooler! Take a look at this one and play with it! Find out who moved in and out of your county and from/to where:
(click on the map below to be taken to the live map)
![American Migration Interactive Map Forbes American Migration [Interactive Map]](http://www.danlikesthis.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/American-Migration-Interactive-Map-Forbes.png "American Migration [Interactive Map]")
From Forbes:
Close to 40 million Americans move from one home to another every year. Click anywhere on the map below: blue counties send more migrants to the selected county than they take; red counties take more than they send. Published on November 16, 2011 | By Jon Bruner | More about the map >
![pixel American Migration [Interactive Map]](http://www.linkwithin.com/pixel.png "American Migration [Interactive Map]"){kind=tracking}
