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Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life

Tim Harford explains the numbers and statistics in the news and in life.

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More or Less: Hit movies and killer birthdays

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Hit movies and killer birthdays

30/06/2012

BBC World Service - More or Less, Hit movies and killer birthdays

What is the highest-earning film ever if you adjust for inflation?

The Avengers is breaking box office records. But what is the highest-earning film ever if you adjust for inflation? And are birthdays killing us?

The Avengers is already the third highest-grossing film of all time and it hasn’t been released everywhere yet. It's a huge hit. But what is the highest-earning film ever if you adjust for inflation? 

And can it really be true – as a recent study claims to prove – that you are 14% more likely to die on your birthday than on any other day of the year?

(Image: American actor Clark Gable (1901 - 1960) in his role as Rhett Butler kissing the hand of a tearful Scarlett O'Hara, played by Vivien Leigh in Gone With The Wind. Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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