The best day to buy a Christmas tree, with data

Artificial Christmas trees can range from about $85 to $1K or more

In 2022, 22.34 million real Christmas trees were purchased and sold at a median price of $80. Even so, from a price standpoint, a fake tree is usually the less expensive option in the long run, as they're reusable and can save time and maintenance.

Thirty weird facts about Christmas trees

From its fascinating origin to how yours is grown today, these incredible Christmas tree facts will add a little bit more wonder to your holiday season.

The fall is the best time of year to buy a car

The months of October through December are generally considered the best time to buy a car because old inventory is getting pushed out the door to make room for new cars. In addition to those months, some days of the week are considered better for car buying than others. To find out more, read this article.

The title of 'World’s Largest Christmas Tree' is disputed

Cities in the US, Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands all claim they have the world’s largest Christmas tree—ranging from massive evergreens, TV and communication towers, and hillside light displays.

Advent calendars have become a major seasonal driver for brands

Companies now treat Advent calendars as key holiday products, expanding production as demand surges across categories. Retail data shows beauty and self-care calendars consistently rank among the most popular, as some brands report selling out yearly, and retailers order months in advance.

Online Black Friday shoppers spent over 10% more in 2024 than they did in 2023

Online shoppers shelled out some $11.3M per minute between 10 am and 2 pm on Black Friday 2024, according to Adobe Analytics data. The $10.8B online shoppers spent on Black Friday 2024 was more than double the amount they spent online in 2017.

The best New Year’s Eve drops

There’s more out there than the Times Square ball drop. This list ranks the best of the rest, including the Great Pinecone Drop in Arizona, the Lebanon Bologna Drop in Pennsylvania, and the Pickle Drop in North Carolina.

Valentine's Day is considered the end of 'proposal season'

Wedding website The Knot's internal study found that Christmas is the most popular day to propose. It also kicks off "proposal season," a monthslong season from Christmas to Valentine's Day that's a popular time for lovers to pop the question.

The best items to buy at dollar stores, according to a financial expert

Experts advise purchasing items like greeting cards, pregnancy tests, candy, gift and party supplies, and other items from the dollar store to maximize savings.

This year's first leaf and first bloom in the US, mapped

Spring tends to arrive within a range of dates in the contiguous US. See a map illustrating the most recent year's first leaf and first bloom in relation to historical averages to see how early or late the season arrived.

A nuanced break down of how tariffs are impacting prices

As tariffs have increased to their highest levels since the 1930s, economists have kept a close eye on retail prices. This chart and accompanying explainer shows correlations between key tariff announcements and news and the costs of roughly 350,000 goods from five major retailers.

Tree rings can reveal centuries of environmental change and natural events

The width and shape of tree rings reflect yearly growth conditions like rainfall or snowfall. Scars in the rings can record disruptions such as fires, avalanches, or earthquakes, explaining when and how those events occurred.

There is a best way to wake up—but not a best time

Sleep and circadian rhythm researchers say that waking up at a consistent time each day—even on weekends—and viewing morning sunlight are the best ways to keep body functions running at their peak. (Some users may encounter a paywall.)

The economics of ski resorts

More than 480 ski resorts pack in nearly 65 million visitors each year in the US for historically high prices. Daily lift tickets may cost three figures at many locations. Amid industry consolidation and more stringent land use regulations, ski resorts are upping their prices—a factor that does not appear to be dampening the sport's popularity. Learn more here.

A deep dive into the data behind the romance bookstore renaissance

As the literary genre expands, so does the network of romance-specific stores. Romancing the Data keeps track of the rise of romance bookstores across the globe. This article not only shows how quickly the trend is taking off but also explains how brick-and-mortar shops are simply catching up with audience demand.

Colombia exported 35,000 tons of greens for Valentine's Day bouquets in 2025

The country is home to the green foliage that pads out Valentine's Day bouquets. Over 70% of the country's Valentine's Day exports (an operation that includes 500 flights) went to the United States. Environmental activists warn that the large-scale cultivation is harming a fragile ecosystem.

Explore how fine jewelry investing works

Experts recommend that fine jewelry investors focus on the most in-demand brands like Cartier, and on trends, time periods, and stones with staying power.

Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' is the longest-running No. 1 single

In 2025, the 1994 track spent 20 weeks atop Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. The song has been a popular Christmas number since its release, but streaming has elevated it to a perennial chart-topper: Every time someone plays the song on a service like Spotify (something that’s likely to happen every holiday season), they’re effectively casting a vote for it to hit the chart.

Crunching the numbers on the cost of ransomware

This blog is a preview of the 2022 Crypto Crime Report, offering a summary of ransomware activity in 2021, the most active strains of ransomware, and more (w/ data, charts, and illustrations).

Data center companies are worsening housing undersupply in some regional markets

With large capital to spend, technology giants have disrupted the real estate market, driving up prices by outbidding commercial and residential developers and intensifying competition for available land. A property purchased over several years for $50M in Prince William County, Virginia, was sold to Amazon for $700M in 2025.

Temu mainly sells off-brand items, while Amazon offers brand names

A personal finance expert breaks down the key similarities between Temu and Amazon in a quick video so consumers can decide which is the better choice for their shopping needs.

Leaving cookies for Santa became popular in America during the Great Depression

During the period of economic hardship, many parents wanted to teach their children the importance of sharing and gratitude. The tradition dates even further back to ancient Norse mythology. The god Odin and his eight-legged horse, Sleipner, were left food in exchange for gifts.

Why Friday surgeries are (likely) riskier

Scheduling surgery on a Friday may lead to more complications—up to 5% more often—compared to surgeries performed after the weekend. The research was conducted by a team from the United States and Canada and analyzed data from over 450,000 patients who underwent common surgeries in Ontario between 2007 and 2019. Check out their findings here.

The do's and don'ts of using AI to manage your finances

Experts suggest avoiding asking AI for investment advice, but say it's useful for basic budgeting help. Read this article to learn more.

Charting 4,000 years of human history

Care to hang all of human history on your wall? This data visualization charts 4,000 years of humanity. This "histomap" was originally published in 1931 and sold for $1 per copy of the 5-foot-long chart. It was said to detail the course of...

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Poison ivy can cause rashes year-round since all parts of the plant contain urushiol, the oil that triggers our allergic response.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

Explore chaos in this simulation of two double pendulums, where small differences in the release angles produce wildly different outcomes.