About
About NumberReels
- 01
A named source
Every figure starts from a dataset with a name and a period, shown on the clip and on its page.
- 02
The right chart
One of the documented formats, picked for the comparison that matters — not for variety.
- 03
One takeaway
The number lands on the beat, and the clip ends on what it means.
NumberReels turns one statistic into one short animated chart. Each clip runs well under a minute, states where its numbers came from and what period they cover, and ends on the takeaway rather than opening with it.
Why the charts look the way they do
The chart type is chosen for the job, not for variety. A ranking gets bars, because bars are the most accurately read comparison there is. A probability gets a dot grid, because “1 in 14 million” means nothing until you can see it. A share of a total gets a ring or a hundred-square grid depending on how many parts there are. Every format is documented, including how to read it, what it is good for, when it is the wrong choice, and the mistake people reliably make with it.
The terms the clips assume — base rates, confounders, regression to the mean, compounding — are collected in the glossary, written to be read cold and in any order.
Where the numbers come from
The standard is that every video names its source and the period the figures cover, on the clip itself and again on its page, with a link to the source where there is one to link to. Where the underlying data is a simple table, that table is published on the page in full and can be copied as CSV — so you can check the claim rather than take it on trust.
Where a clip falls short of that — an older one whose source was never recorded, say — its page says so plainly rather than quietly omitting the line. Anything that turns out to be wrong goes in the corrections log.
Some clips use illustrative or teaching figures rather than a survey: a birthday-paradox calculation, for instance, is arithmetic rather than a measurement. Those say so in their source line. If a number looks wrong, tell us — corrections are worth more than reach.
What this isn’t
These are explainers, not analysis, and certainly not advice. A chart about savings rates is not financial advice; a chart about health data is not medical advice. A short video is a good way to notice something and a bad way to decide anything.
Reusing the clips
The videos are watermarked and free to repost with credit. Every page has a share menu with a direct download and an embed code, and there is an RSS feed if you would rather subscribe.
Have a say in what’s next
Many clips start as a viewer’s question. Request a reel, vote on the next ranking, or get the week’s clips by email with the newsletter.
3 videos published so far. Browse them all.