The Men’s Underwear Index is an economic indicator used most notably by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to determine the end of economic slumps. Economists say that, as people have more money to spend on non-essential purchases, men (and women) purchase more underwear. While considered by most to be a necessity, underwear has a tendency to hang around past its shelf life during lean years. A surge in spending can give notice that a turnaround is imminent.
The Hemline Index, postulated by economist George Taylor in 1926, maintains that hemlines on women’s dresses and skirts rise with the price of stocks. This is based on the increased popularity of miniskirts in good economies, such as the 1960s, while during bad economic periods such as 1929 and the 1930s, hems can plunge almost immediately. Recent research by the Econometric Institute at the Erasmus School of Economics confirms the correlation, citing that while many hemlines nowadays have stayed high, there has also been a movement in fashion to lower hemlines below the knees.3. Lefties are likelier leaders
Six out of the last 12 US Presidents have been left-handed, and successful politicians, such as John McCain and Ross Perot, in general are more likely to be southpaws than is the rest of the population, which is only 10 percent lefties. Many regard this as pure coincidence, but Daniel Geschwind, a professor of human genetics at UCLA, told The Guardian in 2008, “Six out of the past 12 presidents is statistically significant and probably means something.” Handedness scientist Amar Klar, says that left-handed people “have a wider scope of thinking,” pointing to the disproportionate level of left-handedness in Nobel Prize winners in a 2008 ABC News article.4. Size does matter (in presidential politics)
Since the end of World War II, the taller of the two main party candidates has won the presidential election 75 percent of the time. After tallying up the results from each election, researchers at Texas Tech University determined that Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush are the only presidents in the post-war period to have defeated taller rivals. The findings, published in Social Science Quarterly by Gregg Murray and David Schmitz point to the “big man” tribal leadership of many ancient societies, as well as the impact of physical strength on status in the animal kingdom, as the likely reason for this phenomenon.5. Forget the first Tuesday of November; the president is decided on October 31st
Halloween may be more of a mirror for political opinion than previously thought. Since 1996, the presidential candidate whose likeness sells the most Halloween masks has won the election. CNN Money reported that this trend continued in 2012 as the Barack Obama mask outsold Mitt Romney masks 60 to 40 percent prior to Halloween, according to the popular Halloween outlet Spirit Halloween.6. Nearly one-tenth of all U.S. presidents lost the popular vote
Four times in US history, the man inaugurated as president was the candidate who garnered fewer votes. Owing to the vagaries of the electoral college, John Quincy Adams (1824), Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Benjamin Harrison (1888) and George W. Bush, who lost the popular vote by 500,000 votes in 2000, were all elected president despite loss of the overall vote.7. The US was a dictatorship in the ’70s
For two years, the U.S. was led by a president and vice president who were not elected by American citizens. In 1973, President Richard Nixon’s Vice President, Spiro Agnew, resigned after pleading no contest to a charge that he had failed to report income received in 1967. Nixon then appointed Gerald Ford as VP. When Nixon resigned ignominiously following the Watergate scandal in 1974, Ford became president and appointed Nelson Rockafeller as his veep.8. Our presidential accounting is off
While the U.S. counts Barack Obama as its 44th president, only 43 presidents have ever led the nation. President Grover Cleveland, due to his election to non-consecutive terms from 1885–1889 and 1893–1897, is counted as our 22nd and 24th president. So while there have been 44 presidencies, only 43 people have ever held the office.9. America is its most presidentially stable since 1825
Obama’s reelection in 2012 marked America’s third consecutive stretch of two-term presidents. While this might not seem like much, you’d have to go back about 200 years to find the last such three-peat represented by Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and James Monroe.10. The Washington Redskins control the presidency (usually)
In a classic case of odd correlations, the Redskins Rule states that the last Washington Redskins home game played prior to a presidential election has a high likelihood of predicting the results. In a formula that has been accurate in every election from 1940 to 2000 (with exceptions in 2004 and 2008), the winner of the game has aligned with the winner of the election. When the Redskins win, the incumbent party gains the electoral vote. When they lose, the non-incumbent party wins the vote. The trend was first noticd prior to the 2000 elections by Steve Hirdt, executive vice president of the Elias Sports Bureau. He later amended this rule after the 2004 election, saying, “When the popular vote winner does not win the election, the impact of the Redskins game on the subsequent presidential election gets flipped.” With this knowledge in hand, you can enter, loins girded, the political theater of battle that so often marks the holidays. Uncle Rob will praise your worldliness, while Aunt Mary will praise the value of your political science degree in a declining market.
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