The Death Toll Comparison Breakdown

One of the things about humans is that they die sometimes, and one of the things humans pay a lot of attention to is other people dying. We do a pretty good job of distracting ourselves from the whole “I’m gonna die one day” thing, but the fixation is there, underneath the surface, and one way it shows through is how riveted we are by other people’s deaths.

The news is an obvious example—just open up and typically, at least half of the headlines are about people dying. Entertainment is another—nothing locks eyes on a screen like the death of a character.

History is a less obvious example, but it’s the parts of history that involve a lot of people dying that usually compel us the most. That’s why there are so many war movies and so few movies about critical legislation being passed.


Some quick notes:

  • The area of each circle in the graphic is exactly proportional to the number it’s representing and to the other circles in the graphic. Note the scale, and how it changes as the numbers grow. I chose circles and area because a one-dimensional scale like a bar graph doesn’t work when numbers are growing 1,000-fold over each other—you need two dimensions to be able to handle such a wide range. But keep in mind that with the way area works, a circle with double the diameter of another circle represents four times the deaths, not two.


Alright, on with it. The Death Toll Comparison Breakdown:


Deaths Key

DEATH1Death Final4DEATH3





More Wait But Why history brush-ups:

From Muhammad to ISIS: Iraq’s Full Story

The American Presidents—Washington to Lincoln

And another one in infographic form: Putting Time in Perspective

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