Spurious

beautifully meaningless correlations

Encyclopaedia Britannica print sets sold

correlates with

IRS individual tax returns e-filed

r = -0.98298% · 2002-2012
Encyclopaedia Britannica print sets soldIRS individual tax returns e-filed

These two datasets have a 98% correlation over 2002-2012. Remember: correlation does not imply causation. But it does waggle its eyebrows suggestively.

spuriouscorrelation ≠ causation

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