US utility patents grantedDeaths from falling out of bed in the US
American patents granted, climbing year by year. American deaths from falling out of bed, also climbing. There is no patent for staying in bed, though one suspects the data is asking for one.
US utility patents granted grew from about 165,000 in 2005 to over 350,000 by 2021 as software, biotech, and Chinese-applicant filings expanded. Deaths from falling out of bed in the US also climbed steadily across this window, almost entirely as a function of an aging population: most such deaths involve adults over 65, and the over-65 cohort grew from 36 to over 55 million people in the same period. Both lines are demographic and economic accumulation; one in research output, one in a sad bedroom statistic. The country got older and more inventive at once.
Aging populations produce both more inventions and more late-life accidents. The same demographic, two different ledgers.
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Want to learn more about why correlations like “US utility patents granted” vs “Deaths from falling out of bed in the US” don't prove causation? Read our guide to statistical thinking.
