A nuclear warhead is a highly advanced and meticulously engineered device designed to release an immense amount of energy through nuclear fission or fusion reactions. Comprising fissile materials, triggering mechanisms, and containment structures, it operates by initiating a chain reaction within the atomic nucleus, leading to a catastrophic explosion that far surpasses the destructive power of conventional explosives. The controlled release of nuclear energy in warheads underscores their devastating potential, shaping global security dynamics and emphasizing the critical importance of preventing their use.

[OC] Nuclear Warheads by Country
by u/PieChartPirate in dataisbeautiful

This visualization, as posted by Reddit user PieChartPirate, shows off the nuclear warheads by country, specifically from 1950 through 2022. The visualization was created with SJVisualizer, and the source for the data came from Wikipedia. This is a fascinating look at this information, which by 2022, shows that the worldwide leader in terms of nuclear warheads is Russia with 5,889. Following Russia are the United States (5,244), China (410), France (290), United Kingdom (225), Pakistan (170), India (164), Israel (90), and North Korea (50).

According to the data, if you were to go all the way back to 1951, which is where this visualization starts, only two countries are represented – those being the United States (with 320 at the time) and the Soviet Union (with 7 at the time). Within ten years, more countries were topping the rankings, as by 1961, the United States had 19,381 nuclear warheads, the Soviet Union saw a dramatic jump from 7 to 1,874, the United Kingdom had 65, and France possessed just two.

The iconic Big Mac is a two-beef patty, three bun delicacy topped with iceberg lettuce, American cheese, pickles, chopped onions and the super secret Mac Sauce. In 1968, it was so popular with its limited release in Pennsylvania that it was rolled out to every McDonald’s restaurant across the United States. That popularity never waned and there is now an entire economic phenomenon known as ‘burgernomics’ modeled from the Big Mac. Economists will use the price of the big mac as a way to gauge inflation rates and economics across globe. Today the Big Mac is up 40% from 2010. We can see in this video visualization by /u/jcceagle that follows the price of a Big Mac over the last 20 years, just how different cost can be across the globe and over time.
In the year 2000 Norway had the most expensive Big Mac for $4.09, while in the Philippines it cost $1.17. Eight years later, Norway still tops the charts with the most expensive Big Mac but instead of just over four dollars, it increased to $7.88. At that time in the US a Big Mac cost $3.57 while the cheapest was found in Malaysia for $1.70 and the Philippines increased to $1.96. In July 2017 the most expensive Big Mac was down across the board from 2008 to $6.74 in Switzerland. That same year a Big Mac in the US would have cost you $5.30 and $1.70 in the Ukraine. The video also shows an index of currency valued relative to the US dollar where you can see the values changes across the different currency around the world.

Let’s take a incredible journey through history to see the world’s largest cities over time with this animated visualization. This video, created by CityGlobeTour on YouTube, reveals the 20 largest cities in the world at any given moment throughout history from 2800 BC to 2100 AD. Hit play to live through the rise and fall of nearly every civilization of human history.

Play by play:

Starting in the year 2800 BC, the largest city by population was Uruk, Iraq. At a population of 80,000 people, Uruk had double the number of the next largest city which was also located in Iraq, the city of Larak; which had a population of 40,000. Out of the 14 cities listed in the year 2800, ten are located in Iraq, three are in Syria and one is in Iran. By 2500 BC, Uruk’s population is still the largest however it has shrunk to just over 46,000 people and the city of Mari in Syria has moved up the list with a population of 43,853. Just a few hundred years before in 2730 BC, the city of Mari had a population of just 13,797. Jumping even further to 2000 BC the moving chart shows that Egypt and Pakistan are added to the mix and in 1930 BC the city of Memphis Egypt jumps into the number one spot with a population of 56,517. It isn’t until the year 1660 BC that China pops up on the list and very quickly jumps to the top four largest with the city of Erlitou, population of 39,813. In 1500 BC Greece has had a boom in the city of Knossos, population of 42,857. It isn’t until the year 1300 BC that a city has a population of more than 100 thousand. Thebes (Luxor) in Egypt tops the list with 100,726 people in the city. As you can see, this animated bar graph is super interesting, and spoiler alert: it gets even more interesting! As you continue your way through the animation, you’ll notice the US first appear in the year 1834 with New York City’s population of 255,797!