What do you do when you see pie charts, bar graphs, histograms, or any other representation of statistical data? The truth is most of us ignore it. Because let’s face it, whether you like it or not, statistics are plain boring. But this is a lucky day for non-lovers of statistics. In this article, we have revealed some awe-inspiring data that you might have a hard time believing. Nonetheless, they are all verified and accurate. Keep reading to know about the 10 statistics that sound exaggerated but are 100% true.

1 When humans lose weight, 80% of the fat is exhaled through the lungs.

The human body stores fat in cells called “adipocytes” in the form of a compound called “triglyceride.” Triglyceride consists of three kinds of atoms: hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. During oxidation, the chemical bond between the atoms in the triglyceride molecule breaks. One-fifth of the atoms form water (H₂O), and four-fifth forms carbon dioxide (CO₂). Scientists at the University of New South Wales in Australia traced the pathway of every atom. They found that when 10 kg of fat is oxidized, 8.4 kg of fat leaves the body via lungs in the form of carbon dioxide.

It is a common belief that fat simply burns off as energy. But this study shows that the lungs are the primary excretory organ for fat. Each day an average person loses at least 200 g of carbon. A third of it is lost during our sleep. Along with proper sleep, if a person performs one hour of moderate-intensity exercise, it removes an additional 40 g of carbon from the body. Thus, one hour of exercise raises the total fat loss of our body by about 20%. (1, 2)

2 Expensive weddings are directly linked to higher divorce rates.

Weddings can be expensive especially if you are planning a lavish, dream wedding. The wedding economy is steadily rising, and in most countries, weddings are a billion-dollar business. While diamond companies, bridal magazines, and even social media are imposing the idea that weddings need to be spectacular and expensive, a survey shows that the opposite might be true. The survey was conducted by two economics professor, Andrew Francis-Tan and Hugo M Mialon. They surveyed the wedding of 3,000 people living in the United States and found that the more a couple spend on their wedding, the more likely they are to get divorced.

The study reveals that weddings which cost less than $1,000 decreases the likelihood of ending in divorce when compared with those which cost over $20,000. Even though spending money on a lavish wedding might not be a good idea, spending money on the honeymoon can be worthwhile. According to the study, money spent on honeymoons such as taking a relaxing, post-wedding trip lowers the chances of divorce in the future. (1, 2)

3 Half of the world’s population lives on 1% of its land.

Right now, 7.3 billion people are living on planet Earth. With 196.9 million square miles of Earth’s surface covered by land, one would expect the population to be evenly spread out throughout the landmass. When New York-based data cruncher Max Galka decided to check this out, he discovered a startling fact. Galka used the grided population data published by NASA. The grided population data represents the world population in the form of tiny, square-shaped cells without regard for administrative borders.

The grid used by Galka was comprised of 28 million cells, each measuring roughly three miles by three miles. The areas which had a population density of about 900 people for every square mile were colored in yellow, and the rest were in black. When Galka completed his black and yellow map, he noticed that the yellow portion was spread over only 1% of Earth’s land surface. This indicates that half of the total world population lives on only 1% of the land. Most of the yellow region is located in Asia, especially in India, Bangladesh, and China.

On the map, one can locate the most populated island in the world, the island of Java in Indonesia, through its bright yellow color. The island of Java is about the same size as New York State, but with a population of 10 million. The single most populated cell in the world is located in Cairo. Describing it in his blog, Galka says, “The area, which measures only nine square miles (14.4 square km) is home to over a million people.” (1, 2)

4 Only one in 200 women are colorblind, but one in 12 men suffer from it.

Color is an integral part of our life. Since our childhood, we start associating colors with objects such as apples are red and the sky is blue. But surprisingly, not everyone can see all the colors. Every one in 12 men are affected by color blindness, and every one in 200 women suffers the same problem. While some color blindnesses are genetic, others can be caused due to diseases such as multiple sclerosis and diabetes. Also, some people acquire this condition due to medication or ageing.

The most common form of color blindness is red/green color blindness. Despite its name, the sufferer does not mix up the red and green colors. Rather, they mix up all colors which have some red or green as part of the whole color. For example, a person suffering from red/green color blindness cannot distinguish between blue and purple. It’s because they fail to detect the red element of purple color. (1, 2)

5 More than 80% of the ocean is unexplored.

The ocean covers 70% of the Earth’s surface and affects its elements such as weather and temperature. All living creatures on the Earth including humans rely heavily on oceans, both directly and indirectly. Today, the human race has achieved many scientific developments helping them to explore every nook and cranny of the world. Yet, about 80% of the ocean remains unexplored and unobserved.

To this date, researchers have generated maps of about 10% of the seafloor using sonar and other underwater exploration equipment. With the rapid development in technologies, we now have seafaring robots, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) at our disposition. They can be controlled remotely using computer programs so are capable of collecting visual images and actual samples from the ocean. But, it will be quite a while before mankind can completely explore the deepest and darkest corners of oceans. (1, 2)