How much does this cow weigh? (Classic)
Planet Money10 Apr 2024

How much does this cow weigh? (Classic)

This episode originally ran in 2015.

About one hundred years ago, a scientist and statistician named Francis Galston came upon an opportunity to test how well regular people were at answering a question. He was at a fair where lots of people were guessing the weight of an ox, so he decided to take the average of all their guesses and compare it to the correct answer.

What he found shocked him. The average of their guesses was almost exactly accurate. The crowd was off by just one pound.

This eerie phenomenon—this idea that the crowd is right—drives everything from the stock market to the price of orange juice.

So, we decided to test it for ourselves. We asked Planet Money listeners to guess the weight of a cow.

Spoiler: You can see the results here.

This episode was hosted by David Kestenbaum and Jacob Goldstein. It was produced by Nadia Wilson and edited by Bryant Urstadt. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

Help support Planet Money and get bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(355)

It’s my tree. Why can’t I cut it down?

It’s my tree. Why can’t I cut it down?

Can the government stop you from cutting down your own tree? In many towns and cities these days, removing a tree now requires a permit. You might have to pay a fee, or promise to plant replacement tr...

12 Jun 25min

Two indicators for lowering the rent

Two indicators for lowering the rent

One specific type of affordable housing used to be popular in American cities, kept rents low, then nearly vanished. Is it time to reconsider boarding houses and single room occupancy units? If they l...

10 Jun 17min

Why is there a supplement craze if they don’t even work?

Why is there a supplement craze if they don’t even work?

One reason the $70 billion supplement industry is set to double in the next seven years? Lax regulation.On today's show, we tell the story of a century-long battle between the U.S. government and … yo...

5 Jun 34min

There's no business like dough business

There's no business like dough business

Have you ever walked around a street, mall, or airport and noticed two or three of the same franchise restaurant within walking distance? Why might one Starbucks or McDonald’s or Wetzel’s Pretzels som...

3 Jun 27min

The sneaky way companies get new chemicals into our food

The sneaky way companies get new chemicals into our food

99% of chemicals in our food right now were added without FDA approval. Many were added in secret, through a sneaky loophole built into the 1958 Food Additives Amendment.It was supposed to require FDA...

29 Mai 35min

The leaked tapes that show how the rich avoid taxes

The leaked tapes that show how the rich avoid taxes

Tax avoidance -- that is, legally reducing your tax bill -- is as American as apple pie. But the line between tax avoidance and tax evasion is often a grey one. On today’s show, a collaboration with T...

27 Mai 26min

The giant factory town that might be a giant mistake

The giant factory town that might be a giant mistake

How does a poor country become a rich country? There's a simple blueprint — or at least, that's what many economists used to believe. But over the years, a lot of rapidly developing economies have sta...

22 Mai 26min

Vacation and why Americans take so little

Vacation and why Americans take so little

Do you work more for more money? Or work less for more time? For some, this is the ultimate economic choice. Every single worker in the European Union is guaranteed four weeks of paid vacation. No mat...

20 Mai 25min

Populært innen Business og økonomi

stopp-verden
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
dine-penger-pengeradet
e24-podden
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
rss-skravla-gar
rss-pa-konto
pengepodden-2
livet-pa-veien-med-jan-erik-larssen
finansredaksjonen
okonomiamatorene
utbytte
stormkast-med-valebrokk-stordalen
morgenkaffen-med-finansavisen
pengesnakk
rss-markedspuls-2
tid-er-penger-en-podcast-med-peter-warren
lederpodden
liberal-halvtime