So, I just had my brain tickled and exercised (so to speak) at the same time.
I was watching a video on Youtube (which was dry and technical) in which the voiceover said (in an excerpt) "...the error cost the company 150 million dollars, which is more than the average average American makes in a year" and I was just O_O wait, what?! I felt somehow, for a good minute really pathetic. I tried to rationalize it by the super rich and then it dawned on me. I felt really dumb for about the next ten seconds and then had a great laugh.
Another excerpt, which I'm sad to say I saw as only an excerpt and not into the context of its entirety, was talking about (I'll insert an example to make it coherent) the fact every person that ever lived had more ancestors than the number of stars in the solar system. That one, sadly, I also was baffled at, and also made me crack up when I caught the nuance. This was in CONTEXT to the above. I was still taken for a ride. I am an astro physics enthusiast...and I still fell for the deadpan joke.
I won't assume that people need this, but just in case I'll explain it. I'm sleep deprived from taking care of a sick friend. So maybe it was just that fact, or maybe others might have fallen for the trick.
Spoiler for the blunt truth: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
- Even if the average American made $365 a year (which obviously they make more than), 150 million is still more than that. ALOT more...but still more.
- The solar system only has one star in it. The Milky way and other galaxies are what contain the vast array of stars.
It made me smile. No, grin in fact. I needed that! I like that kind of humor. Especially when the content is otherwise dry, and it makes you pause and your common sense fights with this esoteric suspicion.