July 2011
26 posts
Unemployment Rates and More in Wolfram|Alpha
NPR recently posted an article from the Associated Press explaining that the unemployment rate in the US for June reached 9.2%. Entering “US unemployment rate” in Wolfram|Alpha provides the following screen which shows a historical graph of the US unemployment rate.
The article also highlights that “Manufacturing had been a bright spot in the economy since the recession ended...
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Wolfram|Alpha Random Feature
Have you tried the random button on Wolfram|Alpha yet? Click it a few times if you ever want to learn something new.
For example, did you know the probabilities of winning in Powerball?
Or which countries have a population of over 125 million?
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An overview of the Netflix price changes
Earlier this month, the Internet was outraged when Netflix announced they would be raising prices on packages including DVDs and online streaming. Even more outrageous than the impending debt ceiling crisis, it seems, but you know, priorities.
So what does this all mean for you, the consumer, and for Netflix?
Want DVDs and streaming? What used to cost you $9.99 a month will now cost $15.98 a...
Launching the Computable Document Format (CDF):... →
Wolfram, the company behind the Mathematica computational software and the Wolfram Alpha “computational knowledge” search engine, has released a new document format today - the Computable Document Format (CDF). As the name suggests, the CDF aims to bring real-time interactivity and computational power to documents, by enabling them to include a variety of graphs and formulas.
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Beer money
Of the 50 States, Alaska brings in the highest tax revenue per capital on the sales of alcoholic beverages, earning $54.93 per person per year.
Wyoming comes in at the bottom of the list, bringing in $3.002 per year per person.
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Notable People Data
Finding fun information about your first name in Wolfram|Alpha is now even better!
Just type in “Notable people named (your name here)” to get a list of notable people who share your first name.
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US Housing starts and permits up
CNNMoney reported today that in June the US saw a rise in new home productions as well as building permits being issued. Using Wolfram|Alpha, you can get a more detailed look at both of these factors.
According to the story: “Housing starts, the number of new homes being built, rose 14.6% in June to an annual rate of 629,000 units, up from a revised 549,000 in May, the Commerce Department...
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Return of the (blank)!
Not to spark any sort of Internet debate as to which is better, “Return of the King” or “Return of the Jedi,” but did you know that there are a total of 52 movies with “Return” in the title?
This also shows that the highest grossing “Return” movie was “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King”, which grossed $377 million. Coming...
Comic Con 2011
Good news, everyone! San Diego Comic Con 2011 is just a few days away!
Did you know that since 2003, cosplayers and fanboys have outnumbered those that attend the Super Bowl?
2010 saw the highest attendance at Comic-Con, with around 130,000 people crammed in the San Diego Convention Center. That is a lot of homemade Darth Vader costumes…
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Wolfram Fun Facts
You may have noticed us posting some fun facts here on Tumblr, but have you seen our Wolfram Fun Facts Twitter feed?
There we have shared such amazing, Wolfram|Alpha generated facts like:
If we all moved to the moon, there would be 1.38 acres of the moon’s surface for every person in the world!
round(log_12(vitamin C in a cubic light year of coffee/kg))) = meaning of life
And the...
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Mmmmmmmm, Simpsons' Food
We doubt that Homer cared about the nutritional information of his Space Age, Out-of-This-World Moon Waffles or Skittlebrau, but it is sure fun to know what is inside!
Check out this amazing Wolfram|Alpha widget that calculates the fat content, carbs, fiber, and other nutritional content of 64 slices of American cheese, a garbage bag full of popcorn, Nuts and Gum (together at last!), and more...
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One Million Miles...of Debt
So just how high is the US debt ceiling? According to Wolfram|Alpha, if the amount of the debt ceiling, $14.294 trillion, was a stack of $1 bills, you wouldn’t hit your head for one million miles!
That is 4.2 times the mean distance between the Earth and the Moon:
And because we can, here is how long it would take light to travel that distance:
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Age ain't nothin but a number, baby!
theeconomist:
Daily chart: the 100 club. Five countries will have more than a million centenarians by the end of the century. China will get there first in 2069, 90 years after its one-child policy was implemented.
Using Wolfram|Alpha you can dig a little deeper into the age data of these countries. By entering “Japan population fraction age 100 in 2050” you get the following...
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Accio Fun Fact!
Harry Potter movies released in November have generally done better on opening weekends than ones released in the summer.
Will movie number 8 beat this trend?
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Introducing Wolfram Personal Assistant Apps for...
Remember the family reunion a few years ago when you met your second cousin who was in your math class two years before that? Awkward.
Don’t think you’ll ever make that final car payment?
Today we’re unveiling the Wolfram Genealogy & History Research and the Wolfram Personal Finance Assistant Apps for iOS!
Avoid those uncomfortable family encounters with the Wolfram...
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Google's Market Cap in Wolfram|Alpha
TechCrunch notes investors added $20 billion to Google’s market cap to bring it from $155.6 billion to $176.1 billion 10 days after the launch of Google+. Using Wolfram|Alpha, you can look at Google’s market cap and see the noticeable growth.
While this is true, if you look at Google’s market cap for the last six months, the current value is still well below their peak of...
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This one time, in Wolfram|Alpha...
…I compared a flute to an alto sax!
Musicians will love this new feature of Wolfram|Alpha! Ask Wolfram|Alpha about any set of instruments to get a side-by-side comparison of parameters and characteristics!
As we strive to make all knowledge computable, it’s important to remember that along with scientific, socioeconomic, and mathematical data, seemingly unlikely candidates—such as...
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Space Shuttle Atlantis began the final United States Space Shuttle mission this morning in Florida! Using Wolfram|Alpha, you can look back at Atlantis’ 25 years.
Wolfram|Alpha has logs of all the previous missions for Atlantis with crew member data and all the orbital info too! Look back at the first mission for Atlantis STS 51J.
What do you think about the future of the Space Program?...
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International Business Data with Wolfram|Alpha
How much does it cost to start a business in India, Mexico or another country? What are the export costs for Brazil compared to Argentina? Wolfram|Alpha makes finding international business data easy with data collected by a World Bank project called, “Doing Business”.
By comparing the export costs for Brazil and Argentina, you can clearly see how the costs in Brazil have jumped up...
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Today’s deep thought:
The old saying “the best thing since sliced bread” has been around for 83 years! July 7, 1928 was the first time sliced bread was sold in stores.
What did people say was the best thing before sliced bread?
Certainly the best thing before sliced bread was not on the same list as the highest carbohydrate foods, right?
[Flickr, avlsyz]
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Your Daily Double:
Answer: The Republican Party, George W. Bush, Nancy Reagan, Dalai Lama, Sylvester Stallone, 50 Cent and Merv Griffin.
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Question: Who’s was born on July 6th?
Talk about quite the group.
Use Wolfram|Alpha to find who you share a birthday with and other fun facts about any date!
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Take to the Streets with Wolfram|Alpha
Walking the entire length of Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles, California could easily seem like you’ve walked across town. In fact, you’ve only walked 1.9 miles. This new Wolfram|Alpha feature lets you map out computations or comparisons of some of the world’s most famous streets.
Even though it’s 1.9 miles, that’s 1.9 miles that can do some major damage to your bank account.
Learn more...
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