Compiled by statistician Tyler Vigen, the graph shows a pattern most would never guess. In each year between 1999 and 2009, the number of Americans killed by venomousPoisonous. spiders was matched by the number of letters in the winning word at a national spelling beeA competition in which contestants have to spell a wide selection of words. "Bee" is a word for a community coming together to work..

The bizarre findings on Vigen's website do not stop. Over the same period, deaths by falling into pools increased and declined just as the number of film appearances by Nicolas CageAn American actor who won an Oscar for his role in Leaving Las Vegas. did. The number of divorces in MaineA state on the north-east coast of the US which is famous for its seafood and beautiful scenery. fell at the same rate as the average American's consumption of margarine.  

What Vigen successfully demonstrates is that statistics can seem to prove anything. But because they are seen as an unbiased science, people are ready to accept extraordinary claims. The following are false.

1. Capacity mendacity It is often claimed humans only use 10% of their brains. But according to neurologistsDoctors who specialise in diseases which affect the nervous system., we use almost every part of the brain.  

2. Spiders inside There is no evidence for the claim that a person swallows eight spiders a year while sleeping. Spiders generally avoid humans so it is unlikely you would ever swallow one.  

3. Tails tales The chances of a tossed coin landing on heads or tails is commonly given as 50-50, but that figure is disputed. One experiment found there was a slightly higher chance of it landing on the side that was facing up when it was tossed. Some coins are heavier on one side, and the result can be affected by dirt.

4. Truth sleuths One popular statistic is that everyone tells one lie a day. A study found the actual figure to be 1.65 - but it is possible the people surveyed were not telling the truth.

5. Confused queues The average person is said to spend five years of their life standing in queues. But according to Professor Dick Larson of MIT, the real figure is between one and two years, if you include time stuck in traffic.

6. Peel reveal The overlap of DNA between humans and bananas is commonly put at 95%. The figure is 60%; it is with some primatesThe order of mammals that includes humans, alongside apes like chimpanzees and gorillas. that we share 95% or more of our DNA.

7. Casualty causality One horrifying "statistic" is that 80% of Soviet men born in 1923 were killed in World War Two. It is true a large proportion of males born in Russia that year - around 65% - were dead by 1945, but the majority died before the war started.

Yes: Statistics can be manipulated to prove whatever you want. Politicians in particular are given to quoting the numbers that support their point of view and ignoring the ones that do not.

No: They are incredibly useful when it comes to making decisions, for everything from the treatment of diseases to allocating food to the poor. Without them we would have to rely on guesswork.

Or... The important thing is never to take any of them at face value. Every country should have a team of unbiased analysts to go through them and establish whether they are accurate or not.  

Level 5

Level 3