US traffic fatalities

As Americans have purchased more Spam, more of them have died in traffic, a correlation that connects canned meat to vehicular tragedy with the casual indifference of a chart that does not distinguish between lunch and death. The coefficient is 0.892 across thirteen years, during which both metrics rose with the quiet determination of trends that have found their rhythm and intend to keep it. The can opens, the ignition turns, and the data does not flinch.

Spam sales grew from about 400 million dollars in 2010 to over 600 million by 2022, driven by pandemic pantry stocking that created lasting purchasing habits, inflation that made shelf-stable protein more attractive, and Spam's cultural resurgence in foodie and Asian-American culinary circles. Traffic fatalities grew from about 33,000 to over 42,000 during the same period, reversing decades of decline as smartphone distraction, larger vehicles, and higher speeds overwhelmed safety improvements. Both trends accelerated during and after the pandemic: Spam sales surged as people stockpiled, and traffic fatalities surged as emptier roads encouraged faster driving. The pandemic is the shared accelerant, though both trends were rising before it.

Thirteen years of Spam and traffic deaths growing together is a correlation that captures two facets of American life that peak during uncertainty: comfort eating and dangerous driving. Both trends accelerated when the world got scary, and neither has returned to baseline. The can is shelf-stable. The trend, unfortunately, is not.