Flowing Data

One of my favorite ways to waste my time is looking at these beautiful, fluid charts in Flowing Data. The questions they try to answer eclectic and always interesting for a geek like me. I can see how for some, these investigations could be pointless - nothing can be materially accomplished by knowing these stories the data is telling. Yet, there is something special about bringing social sciences, culture and analysis together to get a sense of humankind to the extent possible. 

I particularly love the analysis of the ingredients from cuisines from around the world. Recently, I was reading about the cuisine of Reunion Island, where cultures overlaid and bled into each other to create a particularly unique taste palate. It was interesting to see the analysis from Flowing Data on ingredients use in this context. If the cuisine of any cultural melting pot is analyzed in a time-lapse format, it would be interesting to what external factors and events impacted the ebb and tide of specific cultural influences; if all cultures were able to capitalize their moment in history equally well.