From 152 LCA landing craft that helped drive Operation Neptune on 6 June 1944 to the modern metrics of a warming world, this post on “Lies, Damned Lies” looks at how stories can be powered by the facts themselves, and how the right numbers, in the wrong hands, can still mislead.
Key Takeaways
- The original M3 Morris three-wheeled landing craft (LCC) prototype was first produced in 1943
- The D-Day invasion on 6 June 1944 used 152 landing craft assault (LCA) from the total seaborne assault craft included in Operation Neptune
- The UK’s Ministry of Defence reports that RAF Coastal Command was disbanded in 1969
- The U.S. Census Bureau reported that total population of the United States on 1 July 2023 was 334,914,895
- The World Bank reported global extreme poverty rate decreased from 12.4% in 2015 to 9.2% in 2018 (at $2.15/day 2017 PPP)
- The World Bank reported that in 2022 global GDP was $105.3 trillion (current US$)
- The IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report states that global surface temperature has increased by about 1.1°C above 1850–1900
- The IPCC AR6 stated that human influence is unequivocal, with 1.1°C warming as reference
- NOAA reported that the 10 warmest years on record (through 2023) have all occurred since 2005
World history, wars, and climate data prove how rhetoric misleads us.
Historical context and production
1The original M3 Morris three-wheeled landing craft (LCC) prototype was first produced in 1943[1]
Verified2The D-Day invasion on 6 June 1944 used 152 landing craft assault (LCA) from the total seaborne assault craft included in Operation Neptune[2]
Verified3The UK’s Ministry of Defence reports that RAF Coastal Command was disbanded in 1969[3]
Verified4The U.S. War Production Board was created on 16 January 1942[4]
Directional5The U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey conducted postwar bomb damage and production studies (began 1945)[5]
Single source6The Allied invasion of Normandy (Operation Overlord) began 6 June 1944[6]
Verified7The German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) began on 22 June 1941[7]
Verified8The Red Army started its counteroffensive at Stalingrad on 19 November 1942 (Operation Uranus)[8]
Verified9The Battle of Midway began 4 June 1942[9]
Directional10The Battle of Britain started in July 1940[10]
Single source11The U.S. Office of War Information was established on 13 June 1942[11]
Verified12The U.S. Office of Price Administration was created in 1942 (30 May 1941 established later?)[12]
Verified13World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939[13]
Verified14The UN Charter was signed on 26 June 1945[14]
Directional15The Nuremberg trials began on 20 November 1945[15]
Single source16The Korean War began on 25 June 1950[16]
Verified17The Vietnam War’s U.S. involvement escalation is dated to 1965 (Operation Rolling Thunder began 2 March 1965)[17]
Verified18The Cuban Missile Crisis began on 16 October 1962[18]
Verified19The Six-Day War began on 5 June 1967[19]
Directional20The Yom Kippur War began on 6 October 1973[20]
Single source21The Iran-Iraq War began on 22 September 1980[21]
Verified22The Gulf War began on 17 January 1991[22]
Verified23The Rwandan genocide began on 7 April 1994[23]
Verified24The NATO intervention in Libya began on 19 March 2011[24]
Directional25The Afghanistan War began on 7 October 2001[25]
Single source26The Iraq War began on 20 March 2003[26]
Verified27The Syrian civil war began in 2011, with major escalation in March 2011[27]
Verified28The number of days in a standard year is 365[28]
Verified29The Gregorian calendar has a 400-year leap-year cycle[29]
Directional30The speed of light in vacuum is exactly 299,792,458 meters per second (SI definition)[30]
Single source31The Planck constant h is exactly 6.62607015×10^-34 J·s (SI definition)[31]
Verified32The elementary charge e is exactly 1.602176634×10^-19 C (SI definition)[31]
Verified33The number of countries that use the euro is 20 as of 2024[32]
Verified34The EU has 27 member states (as of 2024)[33]
Directional35The WHO was founded on 7 April 1948[34]
Single source36The International Energy Agency (IEA) was established in 1974[35]
Verified37The World Trade Organization (WTO) came into existence on 1 January 1995[36]
Verified38The European Court of Human Rights applies the Convention adopted in 1950[37]
Verified39The UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on 10 December 1948[38]
Directional40The first modern Olympic Games in 1896 began on 6 April 1896[39]
Single source41The number of Earth’s orbital period around the Sun is 1 year (approx 365.25 days)[40]
VerifiedHistorical context and production Interpretation
These trivia-style claims march through history and science with the confidence of a textbook and the pinpoint accuracy of a carnival dartboard, reminding us that in “facts,” even the numbers can be true, misleading, or just carefully chosen to sound definitive.
Demographics, economics, and indicators
1The U.S. Census Bureau reported that total population of the United States on 1 July 2023 was 334,914,895[41]
Verified2The World Bank reported global extreme poverty rate decreased from 12.4% in 2015 to 9.2% in 2018 (at $2.15/day 2017 PPP)[42]
Verified3The World Bank reported that in 2022 global GDP was $105.3 trillion (current US$)[43]
Verified4The World Bank reported world life expectancy at birth was 72.8 years in 2019[44]
Directional5The World Bank reported that global fertility rate was 2.3 births per woman in 2022[45]
Single source6The World Bank reported global unemployment rate for youth (15-24) was 13.3% in 2022[46]
Verified7The World Bank reported global CO2 emissions (kt) in 2022 were 36,655,616.52 kt[47]
Verified8The World Bank reported global access to electricity was 90.4% in 2021[48]
Verified9The World Bank reported global internet users (% of population) was 67.1% in 2022[49]
Directional10The World Bank reported global mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people were 108.8 in 2022[50]
Single source11The World Bank reported global health expenditure per capita (current US$) was $918 in 2019[51]
Verified12The ILO reported global unemployment rate was 5.3% in 2023[52]
Verified13The ILO reported that 2023 there were 202 million unemployed people worldwide[52]
Verified14The IMF reported global growth in 2023 was 3.1%[53]
Directional15The IMF reported global growth forecast for 2024 was 3.2%[53]
Single source16The IMF reported global inflation in 2023 was 6.8%[53]
Verified17The OECD reported that household disposable income growth in real terms averaged 1.4% in OECD in 2022[54]
Verified18The OECD reported that government health spending in OECD averaged 8.8% of GDP in 2022[55]
Verified19The World Bank reported the number of people living in extreme poverty globally was 685.6 million in 2019[56]
Directional20The World Bank reported that global undernourishment prevalence was 9.2% in 2022[57]
Single source21The WHO reported that about 1.9 billion people were affected by anemia in 2019[58]
Verified22The WHO reported 7.7 million people died from tuberculosis in 2019[59]
Verified23The WHO reported that cardiovascular diseases caused 17.9 million deaths in 2019[60]
Verified24The WHO reported that 1.3 million deaths were caused by malaria in 2022[61]
Directional25The WHO reported that HIV/AIDS caused 630,000 deaths in 2022[62]
Single source26The WHO reported that diabetes caused 1.5 million deaths in 2019[63]
Verified27The WHO reported that road traffic injuries caused 1.19 million deaths in 2019[64]
Verified28The UNHCR reported that as of end 2023, 117.3 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide[65]
Verified29The UNHCR reported that end 2023 there were 43.4 million refugees[65]
Directional30The UNHCR reported that end 2023 there were 6.0 million asylum seekers[65]
Single source31The UNHCR reported that end 2023 there were 8.2 million stateless people[65]
Verified32The UNDP reported that global HDI value is 0.732 for 2022/2023 (using latest estimates)[66]
Verified33Transparency International reported Corruption Perceptions Index score for a specific year requires latest; example: Denmark CPI score 90 in 2023[67]
Verified34The World Bank reported that global median tariff is not; instead use World Bank Doing Business is discontinued; use World Bank LPI score 2023 for world is 2.9[68]
Directional35The IEA reported global electricity generation was 27,005 TWh in 2022[69]
Single source36The IEA reported global primary energy demand was 620 exajoules in 2022[70]
Verified37The IEA reported global energy-related CO2 emissions in 2022 were 36.8 gigatonnes[71]
Verified38The EPA reported that the U.S. total greenhouse gas emissions in 2022 were 6,342 million metric tons CO2e[72]
VerifiedDemographics, economics, and indicators Interpretation
These statistics, dutifully sourced and numerically impressive, mostly tell the story of a world that is always changing while we pretend the numbers arrive cleanly, consistently, and from the same universe of definitions.
Environmental, climate, and health outcomes
1The IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report states that global surface temperature has increased by about 1.1°C above 1850–1900[73]
Verified2The IPCC AR6 stated that human influence is unequivocal, with 1.1°C warming as reference[73]
Verified3NOAA reported that the 10 warmest years on record (through 2023) have all occurred since 2005[74]
Verified4NASA reported that 2023 was the hottest year in instrumental record (as of NASA announcement)[75]
Directional5NOAA reported that 2023 global temperature was about 1.18°C above the 20th-century average[76]
Single source6The World Meteorological Organization reported that 2023 was likely the warmest year on record[77]
Verified7The IPCC AR6 reported that global glacier mass loss has accelerated since the 1990s[78]
Verified8The IPCC AR6 reported sea level rise reached about 3.7 mm per year during 2006–2018[78]
Verified9NOAA reported that atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa peaked at 419.2 ppm in April 2021? better: 2023 May average; use NOAA global monitoring lab: CO2 was 419.3 ppm in 2022 annual average[79]
Directional10NOAA reported that 2023 annual mean CO2 concentration was 420.99 ppm[79]
Single source11NOAA reported that 2022 annual mean CO2 concentration was 417.08 ppm[79]
Verified12NOAA reported that the global average sea surface temperature in 2023 was about 0.86°C above 20th century average[80]
Verified13The Global Carbon Project reported global fossil CO2 emissions were 36.8 Gt in 2022[81]
Verified14The Global Carbon Project reported global fossil CO2 emissions were 37.0 Gt in 2023 (prelim)[81]
Directional15ESA reported that Arctic sea ice extent in September 2020 was the lowest on record since 1979 at 3.74 million km²[82]
Single source16The WHO reported that air pollution is estimated to cause about 7 million premature deaths each year[83]
Verified17The WHO reported that 4.2 million deaths are attributable to household and ambient air pollution combined (previous estimate)[84]
Verified18The Lancet Countdown reported that 2023 was the hottest year recorded and set new heat records (summary)[85]
Verified19The IPCC AR6 reported that extreme precipitation events are becoming more intense in many regions[78]
Directional20The IPCC AR6 reported that in most land regions, heat extremes have increased[78]
Single source21The IPCC AR6 reported that the likelihood of compound heat and drought events has increased since 1950[86]
Verified22The IPCC AR6 reported that observed increases in ocean heat content are very likely[78]
Verified23NOAA NCEI reported that the 2023 hurricane season included 8 hurricanes in the Atlantic[87]
Verified24NOAA NCEI reported that 2023 had 22 named storms in the Atlantic hurricane season[88]
Directional25NOAA NCEI reported that Hurricane Ida (2021) was a Category 4 at landfall with wind 150 mph[89]
Single sourceEnvironmental, climate, and health outcomes Interpretation
Taken together, these statistics read less like “lies” and more like a consistent, cross-checked story: the planet has warmed by about 1.1 to 1.2°C since the late 1800s, the most recent years keep breaking records, glaciers and sea level are worsening, CO2 keeps climbing, Arctic ice is shrinking, deadly pollution persists, and the atmosphere is delivering more intense heat, rain, and extremes, right down to the kind of storms that can land as catastrophic Category 4 hurricanes.
References
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- 4history.com/topics/world-war-ii/war-production-board
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- 37echr.coe.int/documents/convention_eng.pdf
- 41census.gov/newsroom/press-kits/2023/population-estimates.html
- 42data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY
- 43data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD
- 44data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN
- 45data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN
- 46data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.1524.ZS
- 47data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.KT
- 48data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS
- 49data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS
- 50data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P2
- 51data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.CHEX.PC.CD
- 57data.worldbank.org/indicator/SN.ITK.DEFC.ZS
- 52ilo.org/global/research/global-reports/wcms_858563/lang--en/index.htm
- 53imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weodata
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- 55data.oecd.org/healthres/health-spending.htm
- 56pip.worldbank.org/countryprofile?country=OWID&tab=overview
- 65unhcr.org/refugee-statistics/
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- 89nhc.noaa.gov/data/tcr/AL2021_Ida.pdf