Charts That Explain Things School Didn’t Teach You

Is Your Password Secure?

It’s hard to imagine how insecure most of our passwords are. That’s why someone created this incredibly useful chart to help us understand the level of security we think we have. This chart estimates how long it’ll take for someone to figure out your password if they really want to.

While we understand this was most likely done with computer software, it’s still a little unsettling to think about. Even eight-character passwords are not really secure. That’s it. We’re about to change all our passwords now because we can’t get this out of our heads.

See This Chart before You Ink

Check this chart before getting a tattoo. It illustrates how painful it is to get a tattoo in each area. Some of these are rather obvious, like getting a tattoo on your rib cage. Some tattoos, like the one on your upper chest, seem to hurt more than others.

It makes sense that the facial and calf areas would hurt more. We love how there’s a helpful pain level at the bottom of the chart. The dove represents the places with the least pain, while the skull represents the most painful parts. So who wants to ink?

The Alphabet through the Years

This infographic is for you if you’ve ever been curious about how Latin-based alphabets came to be. It doesn’t go into great detail but demonstrates how each letter has evolved over time. If you closely examine each letter, you’ll see some additional interesting things going on.

For example, the letter U started looking like W. Quite the change if you ask us. Then there are other letters like A or B that have hardly changed at all. The letters can also be traced back to when they were essentially just symbols for various things.

The Stages of an Infant’s Vision

If you have a new-born, it’s understandable if you believe that they can see your face perfectly. But as this chart illustrates, a baby’s vision doesn’t even reach the point where it can distinguish facial features until they are about three months old. Things start becoming clearer at six months.

And by one year, they are reasonably clear. The development of a child’s vision is complete by the age of three. This surprises us a little. And it just emphasizes how much time our bodies need to develop before we are toddlers. Now we know!

A Pictorial Representation of Human Emotions

This is incredible to look at. The chart shows where in your body you feel different emotions. It’s basically a heat map of emotions. But seeing some of these represented as charts really puts things into perspective. For instance, the visualizations of love and happiness make a lot of sense.

The heat map for depression is incredibly sad. Shame has a somewhat dark appearance in its visual representation. According to NPR, this graphic was actually created by experts from Finland and proved to be rather accurate. The group expressed their hope that psychologists could use it to cure disorders.

What Color-Blindness Looks Like

If you don’t already suffer from some type of color-blindness, you’ve imagined what it would be like to be unable to see the full spectrum of colors. Using a picture of veggies, this chart contrasts four alternative forms. The image in the upper left is normal vision.

And the rest depicts what a person who is color-blind would see in the same image. This is also quite helpful if you know anybody you would suspect of being color-blind. Simply use this chart to ask them the colors they see and whether they match.

Before Sticking the Sticker on Your Car

Numerous research studies have been done on the issue of what your bumper sticker says about your personality. Surprisingly, they have a lot to say. Be careful what you stick on your car. This chart breaks down a few of the most popular stickers and describes what each one says.

For instance, an oil rig sticker can mean your husband is away most weekends. Others could be telling strangers where your kids’ school is or that you might be gone on weekends. Studies have also shown a correlation between the number of bumper stickers you own and your level of aggression.

How Long It Takes for Adopted Dogs to Feel at Home

Dogs make excellent friends, but just like with any companion—human or canine—it takes time to form close relationships. This chart shows how long it takes for your dog to start exhibiting some of these characteristics. For instance, a dog will not immediately feel at home in your home.

You probably wouldn’t feel comfortable in a stranger’s home on your first day. But according to the chart, dogs begin settling in at three weeks and start to develop trust at three months. It’s best to create positive habits before that because they also start establishing routines.

Tuition Has Gotten Out of Hand

This chart isn’t political, but it illustrates how the gap between median salaries and college education has widened over time. Most in 1980 could pay off their tuition in about 40 weeks while earning the federal minimum wage of $3.10 per hour. That time increased to 169 weeks in 2016.

Additionally, it shows the minimum pay needed to equal the number of working weeks in 1980. This is an excellent illustration of a chart that simplifies a complex topic. The fact that the difference has grown so considerably in such a short period of time is also rather depressing.

The Commonest Birth Dates

Have you ever met another person who shares your birthday? This chart illustrates the birthday recurrence. That’s right; it tells you how common your birthdate is. So this shows how likely you are to meet someone who was born on the same day as you.

This chart has some interesting data. Birthdays appear to be more frequent in July, August, and September than in January. It can also be hit or miss on the 31st of every month, but that is presumably because not every month has 31 days.

You Can Earn a Decent Living without College

Everyone does what works for them, and this chart shows that if college isn’t working, it’s not the end of the world. The pay for a hairdresser is maybe the most surprising one, but it demonstrates that many high-paying careers exist, even if you don’t attend college.

Most of the other positions are quite close to what we predicted you might earn. Remember that these are merely averages, and you may earn much more, particularly if you ultimately decide to launch your own business after gaining some experience. So what are you waiting for?

How to Remember the Days of Each Month

You can use this helpful chart to remember how many days are in each month. Every month that lands on a knuckle represent a month with 31 days. Normally, the months between each knuckle only have 30 days, but February had to be an exception with 28 days.

You’re good to go if you can recall that one peculiar month. Since February is near the start of the count, it shouldn’t be too challenging. However, everything else lines up flawlessly and falls into place as it should. This is a handy life hack (forgive the pun).

How to Hack into Your Happiness

This useful chart illustrates the various ways you can induce the release of various brain chemicals. It also explains what the chemicals do. After looking at this, some of the activities certainly make sense. It’s amazing to see how each activity affects your body.

For instance, it makes sense that relaxing in the sun or going for a walk would make someone feel better. It’s also sensible that completing a task would cause dopamine to be released. But we didn’t know that playing with a dog releases oxytocin, sometimes known as the “love hormone.”

Your Children’s Likely Hair Colors

Although this chart can’t tell you with confidence what hair color your child will have, it’s still interesting. Predicting a child’s hair color is a fun little exercise for expectant parents. Naturally, one would assume that a child with two brown-haired parents would also have brown hair.

But what truly sticks out is how red hair is present regardless of the parents’ hair colors. That could be because of the gene mutation that causes red hair. However, it’s intriguing to see how often two parents who have the mutation have red-haired children.

He without Sin, Cast the First Stone

This interesting fact covers some of the more common employers of felons. It’s cool because those who have served their time and are trying to restart their lives can find it challenging to find a job. Many companies won’t hire people with a criminal record.

This may cause some people to turn to crime again as a means of subsistence, creating a vicious cycle of incarceration. Nobody wants that. Even if some of these jobs don’t pay the best, many, like those at Target, Starbucks, and Amazon, offer opportunities for advancement and benefits.

What Is Required to Join the 1% Club

This chart demonstrates the minimum income requirements in each state to become part of the 1%. The map is incredibly fascinating. It shows just how much you need to earn to be considered a rich person in your state. But it opens our eyes to a lot more.

It confirms the absurd differences in the cost of living across the United States. California’s cost of living is high, but a state like Mississippi has a considerably lower cost of living. Someone in the 1% in one area might merely be regarded as moderately rich in another.

Land Formations Made Simple

Do you recall the various sorts of land formations that were taught in the classes you studied in elementary school? Well, this is like that but has been made simple. Here, you can see a variety of land formations. We are familiar with the majority of these from school.

But it’s interesting to compare them to their counterparts because things like capes, lagoons, and isthmuses appear to be completely new. Maybe the lagoon should’ve had a much larger body of water in the Tupperware container. They are only separated by a tiny land mass while regularly experiencing spillovers.

Macaroon or Macaron or Macron

French could be hard, but it’s great that a French speaker made this chart to highlight how terribly English people butcher the language. This chart provides clear pronunciations of various popular French words, including macaron and Macron. The former is a desert; the latter is the current French president.

Also, it provides readers with a definition of each, just in case. Merci, France. There is no longer any excuse for not understanding the distinction between a macaron and a macaroon. The first snack contains almonds, while the second one contains coconut. Apparently, they also have different textures.

The Chart for Every English Teacher

Even if this isn’t a chart, graph, or map, it’s still very cool. Wear this shirt to help you remember when to use their, there, or they’re. It even provides you with a few useful visual indicators to help you recognize and remember when to use what.

It is straightforward and effective. And if we knew where to buy one, we would. It sort of begs the question as to why they don’t apply the same idea to other tees or maybe print it on some posters and sell them in stores like bookstores.

The Fastest Way to Make the Chef Hate You

This helpful little guide, which describes how customers can order their steaks, was apparently found on a restaurant’s menu, most likely a steakhouse. Starting with rare, it moves down to well done. Obviously, it also includes a cute little message for those who enjoy their steak well done.

But this is a pretty useful guide. It’s particularly useful for people who might not eat steak often. They can quickly visualize what their steak would look like. It also lets us know that chefs aren’t big fans of well-done steaks, and we should probably steer clear.

How to Make a Nice Sofa Fort

We kinda wish we saw this earlier when we were kids. These instructions illustrate how to create a towering sofa fort fit for any imaginary battle. Most of our forts, however, ended up being made of a pile of sheets. The guidelines are also straightforward.

But we guess they need to be to reach their audience. We might give this a shot on nights when we have nothing else to do. You could possibly even combine two sofas if you have two. The options are endless here, and we’re trying this!

What You Should Do when You Plunge from a Waterfall

We bet you never knew you needed this chart. It explains how to survive a plunge from a waterfall. Apparently, all you need to do is lie flat and descend with your feet first. You’ll want to swim away as quickly as you can once you’ve reached the bottom.

That’s to avoid getting sucked much deeper than you already are. A side note: You could print this out and hang it as a poster on your wall. The colors used here complement the excellent illustrations even more. It could also be great for tour guides at waterfalls.

How to Identify Patterns and Plaids

Those who consider themselves fashion-savvy should try this. There are many distinct patterns and plaids available, and this chart identifies each one and breaks them down. It’s not a bad idea to keep this handy chart in mind the next time you’re trying to synchronize your clothes.

It includes common patterns such as buffalo check and some uncommon ones like madras. Despite having heard several of these names, such as tartar, we never knew about their specific patterns. This chart has answered all our questions. Now we’ll sound like fashionistas.

How Much Snow Is Needed to Cancel School?

This map shows how much snow it takes to close schools. As you can see, many locations close entirely as soon as the first snowflake falls. Even if two feet of snow falls, many poor kids in the North and the Midwest are forced to attend class.

It’s a little odd that not many locations in New Mexico fully shut down when it snows. It’s nice that they have the right equipment to handle heavy snowfall. You would also think that some areas of Tennessee could withstand at least a little snowfall before closing.

Who Goes into the ER First?

This chart was put up in an emergency room to remind patients that they won’t be prioritized because of a cold if paramedics rush in with a heart attack victim. It is odd, though, that someone experiencing an allergic response would be attended to before someone who has broken their leg.

The person experiencing an allergic reaction is probably more at risk of dying, whereas a broken leg will just cause pain. We hope that while they are waiting, the hospital will offer those victims some painkillers. Just remember, it’s not a case of first come, first served.

What Tally Marks Look Like Everywhere

The tally marks on the top left are certainly familiar to anyone schooled in the United States or Europe. But did you know that many different tally marks are used worldwide? You do now, thanks to this chart. If you think about it, it sort of makes sense.

But we don’t know why Spain adopted a different version than the rest of Europe. Although the answer to that wasn’t provided with this picture, it has now made us forever curious. It makes sense that East Asian nations use completely distinct forms, though.

Elevation Heights in the United States

We all know that the United States has two mountain ranges on each coast that span from north to south. This map puts those elevations into perspective. It also demonstrates how flat a large portion of the rest of the country is.

There are also a few noteworthy locations tucked away in this region, such as the Ozarks. The elevation heights in Oregon and Washington State are also surprising. And the entire Western United States may be simply more elevated than the Eastern United States. A good map for schools!

The Human Body’s Stages of Decay

We have no idea why you might need this visual guide, but in case you’ve ever been interested in the various stages of decomposition, here it is. The graphic is quite good and depicts the appearance of a body from when it is still alive until only bone is left.

Again, we’re not sure who might need this, but someone training to be a coroner might find it handy. Since it was done so nicely, it’s also kind of cool to look at. Even though it has a serial killer vibe, the needlepoint artwork is quite stunning.

How to Calculate Taxes

Taxes are tasking to calculate, especially in the United States. While this graph won’t certify you as an accountant, it provides a useful illustration of how taxes really work as opposed to how we typically imagine them. The chart simplifies things by using a straightforward square and relevant colors.

Even if the rate is 40%, it doesn’t mean you’ll pay $40,000 on $100,000 of income. Instead, taxes are typically tiered or staggered, so you pay much less. The graph is a short tool to help estimate what yours might be.

What Each Aircraft Light Means

If you’ve ever seen an airplane going by in the night sky, you may have wondered why it has red and green lights. It’s so other aircraft can identify the plane’s location in the dark. The same rule applies to boat lights.

This diagram describes each position’s appearance and what it would indicate to the pilot. For instance, a pilot would know that a plane was moving toward them if they saw a green light on the left and a red light on the right. This would help them get out of the way ASAP.

How to Google Like a Pro

Google is one of the best things to happen to the Internet. But it can get frustrating when you don’t find what you’re looking for. These tips can amp up your googling effectiveness. For instance, there’s a solution if you don’t want to see a term in your results.

Apparently, all you need to do is add a hyphen before the word. Super! You can include a search word in quotation marks to ensure that only pages containing that term appear in the results. While we’re familiar with some of them, others are quite new!

How to Politely Tell People You Don’t Do Free Jobs

When a friend asks you for a favor, it can be tricky to clarify to them that you are no longer or have never been working for free. This short explanation provides some expressions to politely emphasize that you won’t be doing something for free.

Often it suffices to simply mention the phrase “paid opportunity.” But you can also just ask respectfully if anything is a paid job, which is usually the wiser course of action. It also shows you how to decline an unpaid job. We get the feeling many people need this.

What to Do when Your Friend Gets High

What do you do if your friend smokes too much? Well, this chart gives some tips. It has useful advice on how to comfort and soothe them, such as giving them peppercorns or taking them outside into nature. This is a wonderful way to get ready, especially if somebody you know has an adverse reaction to marijuana.

Having a panic attack is never nice. Keeping them hydrated, sitting them down to watch TV, and telling them to breathe are further suggestions. It’s actually not a bad chart to have, just in case.

The Best Way to Take a Nap

Taking short naps of 15 to 20 minutes can increase productivity. And this handy chart illustrates how to get the ideal amount of sleep without feeling too groggy when you wake or not sleeping long enough. Interestingly, the best time to nap is when you feel yourself getting a little drowsy.

It also suggests that you drink some coffee before getting comfortable to sleep. The caffeine in the coffee won’t start working until just when you’re meant to wake up. You’d better hope you’re one of those people who can fall asleep as soon as you lie down.

These Symbols Are Not the Same

Yep, it’s not always the hashtag or pound sign. This chart highlights the subtle variances in this widely used symbol as well as its functions. The hashtag symbol is slightly slanted, as you can see from the picture, unlike the symbol we use on our phones or when playing tic-tac-toe.

The game sign is perfectly straight and aligned. A different symbol represents musical notes. When you see the sharp symbol on sheet music, it is stretched vertically. This is quite useful and can help us identify which symbols to use in each case.