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Anna Marie Jarvis is known as the founder of the Mother’s Day holiday in the United States of America. She started working on getting the holiday recognized in 1907, and succeeded in 1914. However, by the 1920s, she realized that the holiday had become commercialized. She spent her family inheritance campaigning against the holiday that she had helped to establish. She ended up dying in poverty.

Why did she turn against the holiday? Because people started sending their mothers a printed greeting card. As she said,

A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment.
—Anna Jarvis

Click on the link below to go see the full graphic.

via Mother’s Day: By the Numbers.

Graphics BillShrink, infographic

BillShrink has posted an infographic comparing the economies of the United States and China. For example, the GDP of the United States is $14.6 Trillion while the GDP of China is $4.33 Trillion. While it is an interesting comparison, the data needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Some of the numbers that I have seen coming out of China (and even the U.S.) seem to be less than reliable. Still it makes for an interesting infographic.

The United States and China are two of the largest economies in the world. While remarkably similar in some aspects, there are fundamental differences in many areas. Billshrink breaks down how the US and Chinese economies are alike and how they differ in the infographic below.

You can see the full graphic after the jump.

via Head to Head Economies: The US vs China.

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Graphics BillShrink, economic, infographic

Kentucky has the highest average credit card balance of any state, coming in at $10,181.08. Mississippi ranks number 2 with an average credit card balance of $9,821.80. The lowest state is Pennsylvania with an average credit card balance of $2,508.55, but Virginia is not far behind with $2,586.28.

BillShrink has posted a graphic showing these and other fascinating facts about credit cards. They take a look at the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act, or CARD Act, and tell you what it means for you.

Most adults carry credit cards, but many are still not sure what the new CARD Act does to protect them — and what it does not do. Many carry high balances on more than one card and have relied on credit during the recession, driving the balances even higher. Those who have missed payments and damaged their credit during the hard times will find it even harder to pay back the money owed, as people with bad credit are charged significantly higher interest rates. Here is a visual look at the credit card situation in America, which when paired with the poor economy and high unemployment rate, has arguably reached the crisis level.

Demystifying Credit Cards and Consumer Debt

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Graphics BillShrink, infographic

A recent report states that 27 percent of Americans hve less than $1,000 in savings. 54 percent stated that they have less than $25,000 in savings, when not counting their home or pensions. BillShrink has posted an infographic taking a look at the looming retirement disaster in the United States.

Many Americans in real trouble when it is time to retire because they have insufficient savings to carry them through old age. Even those that have retirement accounts at work could be in for a rude awakening when they reach retirement age because billions of dollars in retirement funds that companies owe to workers has not been put aside for them. With the troubled state of the economy, this spells retirement disaster for millions of people.

via The Retirement Disaster in America.

Update 4/9/2010: Added a Full-Resolution graphic after the break.
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Graphics BillShrink, infographic

Thus far I have not succumbed to buying an iPad, for the simple reason that I cannot see what I would use it for, other than reading books in a long, boring meeting. There have been reports of overheating on a typical spring day, and issues with its wireless capability. However, many of my friends, along with 450,000 other people, have bought one.

BillShrink takes a look at the competition to the iPad, and has created a nice infographic. They take a look at the Kindle, the Nook, the Fusion Garage Joojoo, and the WePad. Personally, I do not think of the Kindle and the Nook as competitors to the iPad.

If you’re considering the iPad along with other tablets and eReaders, we’ve whipped up an easy-to-digest comparison between the iPad and some if its “competitors.”

via iPad vs the Competition: Who Will Win The Tablet War?.

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Graphics BillShrink, infographic

BillShrink has posted an infographic taking a look at Billionaires. They start off taking a look at where America’s Billionaires make their money. It is no great surprise that most of America’s Billionaires made it in finance. They then take a look at where they live. My state has zero billionaires, but at least my state was not left off the map like Alaska was. The graphic then expands to take a look at billionaires worldwide.

America’s billionaires are an elite and diverse group of people who either through luck or hard work and strategy have managed to build fortunes that most of us will only ever dream of having. Have a look at how these individuals propelled themselves into the world of the ultra-wealthy and fantasize about what you’d do if you had billions to play with.

via A Look at America’s Billionaires.

Graphics BillShrink, infographic

BillShrink has posted an infographic showing some of the highlights of the history of financial instruments. It is a bit wordy, so you will have to head on over to the site via the link below to actual read the infographic.

The problem with the graphic is that it assumes you know something about the events. I would hazzard a guess that most people do not know about the Dutch Tulip mania, or the South Sea Bubble.

As an interesting footnote in history, Sir Isaac Newton lost twenty thousand pounds by investing in the South Sea Bubble. About the Bubble, Sir Isaac Newton said, “I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men”. As Paul Harvey would say, “Now you know the rest of the story.”

Throughout history, people have relied on various financial instruments to prosper. The concept of buying on credit goes back as far as 4000 BC and many fortunes have been made and lost through market speculation since the 17th century. From rice futures in the 17th century to Enron scam, we lay out the most monumental financial instruments in the history of time.

via A History of Financial Instruments.

Graphics BillShrink, infographic

BillShrink has posted an infographic showing mobile phone usage around the world. One of the surprising statistics from the graphic is that in the United Kingdom, the average age for a child to receive their first mobile phone is eight. I better not let my teenage daughter, who is mobile phone-less, see that! Take a look at the graphic to find some other surprising numbers. From the BillShrink web site:

Even in developing countries, most people in the world now rely on mobile phone service. Not surprisingly, the largest mobile carriers in the world generally service the largest countries in the world. However, the data reveals a few surprises. Here’s a look at who is using mobile service around the world, which providers are used and how people are using their mobile devices.

via Mobile Phones Worldwide – By the Numbers.

Graphics BillShrink, infographic

BillShrink has posted an infographic showing America’s National Debt. What I find interesting is that they not only look at the historical values for the national debt in terms of GDP and undeflated dollars, they also include what the coming years may mean for the debt if trends continue.

For all the talk about China being our biggest lender, BillShrink correctly shows that Japan is our number one lender, for now. Their source for the data is listed as Wikipedia. While it might have been nice to get it from government sources, it turns out that Wikipedia and thus BillShrink, get it correct.

Interestingly enough, they also take a look at two of the valuable assets that America has: gold and oil. Could we use those to pay off the debt? The public debt that is outstanding is about $8 Trillion. Of that, foreign countries hold about $3.689 Trillion. Our gold and oil holdings total about $358 Billion. Thus if we gave foreign countries all our gold and oil we could only pay off a tithe of the debt we owe to foreign countries.

via : Visualizing America’s National Debt

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Graphics BillShrink, infographic

BillShrink has posted an infographic on the history of tipping. There is always a bit of controversy around tipping. For me it seems that tip jars are appearing everywhere. I follow the simple rule that where a person does me a service above and beyond the call of duty, they get tipped more. At a local restaurant, our waitress knows us by name, and provides good service. She routinely gets tipped 30% or more. Here is another tidbit from the infographic:

One simple method of increasing tips, drawing a smiley face on the bill, increases a waitresses tips by 18% but decreases a waiter’s tip by 9%.

I will have to check next time to she if our waitress draws a smiley face on the check. I have never noticed. Hit the link below for more.

via : The History of Tipping

Graphics BillShrink, infographic