Power of Data Visualization

Light entertainment on snow day: making light of the meal

You could create the same diagram for all the ingredients with overlapping flavor compounds, as in this diagram.

Inverting the axis for goodness sake

Last week, Wall Street Journal inverted the vertical axis in one of their charts. The last time someone did this, a huge uproar ensued.

Via - Jjunkcharts

It’s a “Weapon of Mass Instruction”: This Guy Built a Tank Covered in Books

Raul Lemesoff has built a ‘Weapon of Mass Instruction.’ His mobile sculpture (‘Arma De Instruccion Masiva’ in Spanish) looks a lot like a military tank as it’s driving down the streets of Buenos Aires, but when it comes to a stop its army green sides are filled with books. Lemesoff is on a mission to distribute books throughout the city and the rest of Argentina, and the only thing he asks when you get a book is that you promise to read it.

Via - visualnews

DNA face estimation

Parabon NanoLabs is working on a service that provides face estimates using DNA found at crime scenes. Pretty cool.

Via - Flowingdata

Face sculptures using DNA from chewed gum

In her 2012 piece Stranger Visions, Heather Dewey-Hagborg used DNA found in public left in chewed gum, cigarette butts, and hair to construct estimated face busts.

Via - Flowingdata

Probably not a heat map

A heat map is a grid of numbers colored by value. I wrote a quick tutorial on how to make the now common statistical visualization.

Via - Flowingdata

How to Make and Use Bar Charts in R

The chart type seems simple enough, but there sure are a lot of bad ones out there. Get yourself out of default mode.

Via - Flowingdata

Best time to visit DMV

I think there are people who still go to the Department of Motor Vehicles without an appointment. Because who doesn't like a good session of waiting in line? Lucky for you, Gene Ekster put together a simple time series that shows the average wait timethroughout the day.

Via - Flowingdata

Oceans of waste

THE oceans are awash with plastic. It is most visible in the huge rotating ocean currents, or gyres, such as the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch" off the coast of California where tonnes of debris float in an area the size of Texas.

Via - Economist

Uptown top ranking

THE WORLD's ten most expensive cities are all found in Australia, Asia and Western Europe, according to the bi-annual cost of living index from the Economist Intelligence Unit, our corporate sibling.

Via - Economist