Statistical Fact
is a collection of “dumb comics for smart people” by Eric Erbes that launched in 2013. The series features mostly statistical-themed gags based on human behavior and other random topics. The illustration style is supposed to mimic old-fashioned cartoonist doodles on a bar napkin while the subject matter remains primarily modern.
Statistical Fact contains examples of:
- 20% More Awesome: Pleasure, fun and bad luck (among other things) are quantified through the magic of mock statistics (see Badder Ladder Luck).
- Apocalypse How: This comic warns readers about doomsday scenario involving legislators and smoke breaks.
- Bad Date: Early signs of a bad date occur when this couple encounters a sidewalk loogie.
- Commercial Switcheroo: This comic parodies PSAs that try to incorporate popular culture to drive home a point. It features the unlikely pairing of Singin' in the Rain and a message about the dangers of imitating movie stunts.
- Duck!: Seen in this comic.
- Fishing for Sole: A fresh outlook on an old fishing trope is displayed here.
- Irony: Minorities becoming majorities in the United States is discussed in this comic.
- LARP: The level of manliness is quantified when someone receives a scar from a LARPing sword fight in this comic.
- Mood Whiplash: Extreme tonal shifts are fertile ground for comedy in this strip.
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Nintendo Hard: Parodied in this comic."0% of violent video games cause violent behavior. 37% of old-school video games cause violent behavior." - Office Golf: This comic features a man suffering from poor depth perception driving a golf ball over the green and through his office window.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Several of the strips involve the author obviously feigning stupidity towards his readers.
- Reverse Psychology: This comic features a mock list of least effective crime prevention techniques there this trope is #27.
- Rule of Three: Statistics and the rule of threes are the basis for many of the gags (example: Sedentary Stalker).
- Take That!: The comic pokes fun at all manner of things, from the Segway to the ineffectiveness of car alarms.
