Matt Yglesias

Chart of the Day

This is what happens when everyone watches a big hockey game and goes to pee between periods:

Great stuff.

19 Responses to “Chart of the Day”

1. DTM says:
   March 9th, 2010 at 9:51 am

   Looks like they were also knocking back a few cold ones during the game.

2. kid bitzer says:
   March 9th, 2010 at 9:55 am

   this, of course, is the central plot conceit behind nick park’s film “flushed away”.
   (and a dandy film it is, too.)

3. Walter Sobchak says:
   March 9th, 2010 at 10:09 am

   I find this fascinating simply because Edmonton is a major metropolis of about a million people where there is so much to do, and that it seemed to shut down for that game. I’m betting in smaller cities across Canada (and even in parts of Minnesota and around Buffalo) that the spikes would be even more pronounced, especially relative to their normal use.

4. Johann says:
   March 9th, 2010 at 10:13 am

   The numbers begin from 300. It’s not great stuff, it’s misleading and stupid stuff.

5. Dismayed Liberal says:
   March 9th, 2010 at 10:22 am

   Johann,

   It’s still more than the top half of the graph – not so misleading as you suggest. And the previous day’s overlayed usage is there to show the relative impact in any event.

6. UserGoogol says:
   March 9th, 2010 at 10:22 am

   Johann: Starting graphs at a non-zero value is perfectly standard procedure; even the great and wise Edward Tufte thinks it’s okay. If what you care about are absolute changes in the value of a quantity instead of relative changes in the value of a quantity, starting at zero is just a waste of space.

   And even if you did plot it that way, 320 is a pretty sizable percentage of 400.

7. LeBron James says:
   March 9th, 2010 at 10:31 am

   CHECK MY $TATS!

8. cleek » What If Everybody in Canada Flushed At Once? says:
   March 9th, 2010 at 10:34 am

   [...] What If Everybody in Canada Flushed At Once? via [...]

9. Thaumaturgist says:
   March 9th, 2010 at 11:11 am

   In Chicago, in the early fifties, water pressure dropped dangerously during commercials on “I Love Lucy.”

10. Aqua Regia says:
    March 9th, 2010 at 11:21 am

    Edmonton is a major metropolis of about a million people where there is so much to do

    False. There is fuck-all to do in Edmonton.

11. Jason L. says:
    March 9th, 2010 at 12:03 pm

    I wonder whether this can be harnessed like the tides are to generate electricity.

12. SkepMod says:
    March 9th, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    Comparing the two graphs, there seems to have been an overall reduction in water use. Spikes aside, wouldn’t beer cause an increase in overall water usage?

    Could it be a normal Saturday-Sunday variation, or were a whole bunch of Canadians peeing in the woods that day?

13. Crissa says:
    March 9th, 2010 at 8:25 pm

    Flushing takes less water than drinking fountains, cooking, etc.

    Perhaps this chart would have been better in percentage of previous day.

    How about electricity consumption? You’d see it spike at those points as well, as people start kettles or dinner or nuke snacks.

14. CJ says:
    March 10th, 2010 at 12:07 am

    The graph’s showing the instantaneous rate of water consumption on a how-much-would-be-used-over-a-day basis, so a change from 320 ML/day to 450 ML/day is actually pretty big: it implies a 50% change in demand over that interval.

15. Maynard Handley says:
    March 10th, 2010 at 12:35 am

    Hmm. Obviously if Canada implemented minute-by-minute variable pricing for water usage people who didn’t need water during those periods would not use it, and the city would be able to shrink its water infrastructure by 15%.
    Just another sad example of Canadian socialism ruining the country for everyone.

16. Phil Price says:
    March 10th, 2010 at 7:09 pm

    Anyone also notice how the consumption is slightly higher before the hour preceding the match compared to the previous day? It can only be the pre-match nerves of the public…

17. Ann Ominous says:
    March 11th, 2010 at 9:09 pm

    Can you say water hammer…

    As for minute by minute variable pricing, I wonder if that would cost more than the potential 15% infrastructure savings. Sometimes, simpler is better.

18. Loughlan Burnett says:
    March 11th, 2010 at 10:40 pm

    This is apparently like the power usage in the UK.

    The largest regular draw of power is just after the annual queens address (christmas message?).

    Apparently its attributed to all of them putting the kettle on for a cup of tea.

    How very British!

19. Digest – March 14 2010 – The Story says:
    March 14th, 2010 at 3:48 pm

    [...] Yglesias drew attention to this great graph earlier in the [...]