Shopping mall foot traffic

Between 2005 and 2021, American choking deaths rose steadily and American mall foot traffic declined steadily, and the inverse correlation (r = -0.958) could be used as a parable about leaving the house, if one were so inclined. The food court emptied; the esophagus, unfortunately, did not always cooperate. It would be better if this were not the graph, but it is.

Choking deaths climbed from about 4,500 per year to over 5,300, concentrated in the 65+ demographic whose swallow reflex weakens with age and medication. Mall foot traffic, meanwhile, fell throughout the window, with a roughly 25% decline in the 2010s followed by a pandemic-era cliff, as e-commerce, the death of anchor stores, and the suburbanization of entertainment consumption each did their share. The two are linked by the calendar rather than the cause, but both describe the same aging population's drift away from common public spaces toward private, often home-bound, eating.

The Orange Julius closes. The meal is eaten alone. Please chew. Please visit.