In some of the biggest U.S. cities, the answer could be over 100 hours in a single year. 2020 was very unique, however, and traffic was less severe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the average American driver lost 99 hours in 2019, compared to just 26 hours in 2020. Nevertheless, drivers in America still lost a sizeable chunk of time throughout the year. To see exactly how much, we compiled data from INRIX to pinpoint the 10 most congested cities in America....

This transformational device is a prototypical example of a technological breakthrough. It was a tipping point in turning entire business models upside-down, while also impacting our everyday lives at a more fundamental level. New growth opportunities emerged from the ensuing disruption, while many status quo solutions were rendered obsolete. Technological Game-Changers Today’s infographic from BlackRock highlights the pervasive and positive impact that technological breakthroughs can have on the global economy....

However, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the major upheaval of advertising spend, and it is unlikely to recover for some time. The graphic above uses data from Ad Age’s Leading National Advertisers 2020 which measures U.S. advertising spend each year, and ranks 100 national advertisers by their total spend in 2019. Let’s take a look at the brands with the biggest budgets. 2019’s Biggest Advertising Spenders Explore the 100 biggest advertisers in 2019 below: The report offers several ways of looking at this data—for example, when looking at highest spend by medium, Procter & Gamble comes out on top for traditional media spend like broadcast and cable TV....

Gold started 2016 on a torrid pace, as investors scrambled to buy physical gold as well as record-amounts of gold ETFs. A quick glance at the year’s best-performing commodities has gold at the top, beating almost everything (except lumber) in dollar terms so far. Silver, which tends to closely follow gold, has been on a slightly less-skyward ascent. The gold/silver ratio now sits at 80, which it hasn’t reached for an extended period of time since the early 1990s....

The Race for Arctic Domination Note: see full-sized infographic for more legibility. In the year 1776, James Cook was dispatched from Great Britain on an important mission: to discover the Northwest Passage. The famed hypothetical route from the Pacific to the Atlantic was a primary motivation for many British expeditions to the New World. Such a route would expedite trade between Europe and Asia, creating wealth for the kingdoms and merchants that could navigate it....

The Story of Voisey’s Bay: The Auction (Part 2 of 3) Presented by: Equitas Resources, “Nickel exploration in Labrador” Preface The hit at diamond drill hole #2 of 33m of massive sulphides turned Voisey’s Bay from caribou pasture to one of the most exciting stories in the mining world. For a full recap of the events leading to this point, check out Part 1 of the Voisey’s Bay story. In Part 2 of this series, we look at the ensuing bidding war that occurred once it was clear that Voisey’s Bay had all of the action....

The World’s 10 Biggest Oil and Gas Companies Note: to see the bigger version of this infographic, click here. Today’s infographic not only ranks oil producers based on factors such as barrel production per day, but it also compares data from a decade ago with today’s information for better perspective. From 2005 to 2015, global oil usage has only increased from 83 million to 93 million bpd (1.13% CAGR). However, the overall rate at which the Top 10 has grown production has been at a 1....

Which parts of the world are perceived to be most corrupt – and further, how does this data differ between regions, and how has it trended over time? The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) Today’s chart pulls its numbers from the recent 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index report, which has been published by Transparency International annually since 1995. The report scores 180 countries, and is considered the world’s most widely-used barometer for corruption....

With immense pressure on revenues, market share, and distribution stemming from platforms and the migration to digital, the traditional big media players are scrambling to find new models and tactics that work. In addition to forcing companies to evaluate new ways to monetize and distribute content, this industry turmoil has also served up the perfect environment for massive mergers and acquisitions. Big conglomerates aren’t going to go down without a fight, and as a result they are willing to “bet the farm” on M&A to try and compete....

In some places, such as the United States or Germany, economies are able to produce many different goods and services that get exported around the world. These countries tend to house world-class businesses in sectors like financials, technology, consumer goods, and healthcare, with companies that produce highly specialized goods like automobiles, software, or pharmaceutical products. Ultimately, these are innovative economies that can roll with the punches, creating growth even when prospects are dim....

While there are still no flying cars yet, perhaps that is for the better. Instead, it is the integrated application of ultra-fast processors, high-tech sensors, the sharing economy, battery technology, and deep learning that will revolutionize how automobiles operate. The impact will be profound: by 2035, 90% of cars are expected to be driverless and electric. Further, even the ownership of cars will likely be a thing of the past....

Happiness levels depend on a number of factors, including one’s financial security, perceptions of social support, feelings of personal freedom, and much more. This map pulls data from the World Happiness Report to uncover the average happiness scores of 146 countries. It shows average scores from 2019 to 2021, and highlights which countries are the happiest—or unhappiest—and why. How is Happiness Measured? Before diving in, let’s briefly touch on how happiness levels are measured in this report....

Altogether, the country spans 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km²)—making it the third largest country in the world. Even without factoring Alaska and Hawaii into the calculations, the contiguous U.S. land mass can fit up to 30 European countries within it. With this much ground to work with, it raises the natural question of how land actually gets used by America’s economy. For example, what percentage of land is taken up by urban areas, and how much farmland and forests exist in comparison?...

At the most basic level, a standard world map tells us almost nothing about human population. While the borders on a map may give us an idea of political boundaries or even aspects of continental geography, in reality they have little to do with showing population density. That said, it is possible to apply one simple alteration to the world map so that we can make it more interesting from a population perspective – and it turns out that doing so can help us gain insight on where regional population density is the greatest....

Meet the 5 Companies Aiming to Bring the Web to 4.3 Billion New People Infographic sponsored by: Datawind The internet is an essential part of our daily lives, but it is actually only used by a minority of the world’s population. 4.3 billion people across the world do not yet have access to the web. In fact, there are seven countries where more than 100 million people are not yet connected: Brazil, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, India, and Indonesia....

Missing Money: Uncle Sam’s Accounting is Suspect For some time now, the Government of the United States has been effectively checking through their couch for loose change. Anything helps, even if the debt owed is a staggering $17 trillion. Not only is the United States continuing to spend quite frivolously, sometimes they don’t know where the money is going. A thorough review of Uncle Sam’s accounting presents some scathing findings. A few billion missing there, and a couple of trillion gone there....

Using data from NATO, this map reveals what each NATO member country spends on its own national defense. Note: Numbers are 2021 projections. Biggest NATO Defense Spenders The U.S. spends more on defense than any other NATO country. According to the 2021 estimates, U.S. defense spending will be close to $811 billion this year. On the other hand, the defense spending of all other NATO countries combined is projected to be $363 billion, meaning the U....

To gain insight into the world of rare collectibles, this infographic summarizes the biggest auction sales of 2021, spread across 12 different item categories. The Numbers The key details of these sales are listed below in tabular format. Some broke all-time records, while others set the record for 2021 specifically. The Details Here are some interesting facts and details about these rare collectibles, starting with: Pablo Picasso’s Femme assise près d’une fenêtre (Marie-Thérèse) This 1932 painting is a depiction of Picasso’s lover, Marie-Thérèse Walter (1909-1977)....

While this result may not be too surprising, it is interesting to see how today’s concerns compare to that of previous years. For reference, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has grown 8.3% between April 2021 and April 2022, representing a near 40-year high. Poll Results Results were collected in April 2022 and are based on the responses of over 1,000 U.S. adults. In this case, the specific question was: What is the most important financial problem facing your family today?...

A massive asteroid impact triggers a “nuclear winter” effect, or one of the world’s most dangerous supervolcanos erupts. Maybe Donald Trump gets in an epic Twitter feud with Kim Jong-Un that initiates World War 3. Either way, things are going sideways, and the fate of human civilization itself is at stake. Will everything be lost? Enter the ‘Doomsday Vault’ Well, besides the fact that the world’s cities have been replaced by smoking craters, there is some good news for the humans that survive a potentially apocalyptic scenario....