US federal prison populationLionel Messi goals per calendar year
Lionel Messi's goal tally and the US federal prison population, though they ought to have absolutely nothing to do with each other, appear to be locked in a quiet correlation. One imagines Messi, on hearing this, filing for an injunction. The prisons, for their part, have no comment.
US federal prison population fell sharply in 2020 as covid early-release programs emptied overcrowded facilities, while Messi's goal count bent in 2020 because La Liga, Champions League, and the Copa America were all disrupted or compressed by pandemic schedules. Two completely unrelated trends that both had notable 2020 shocks because of the same global disruption.
So the correlation is Messi and the US prison system sharing, against all odds, a single explanation. The virus had a long reach. Even onto the pitch.
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Want to learn more about why correlations like “US federal prison population” vs “Lionel Messi goals per calendar year” don't prove causation? Read our guide to statistical thinking.
