Stories and Data Sets

1970's Military Draft
In 1970, Congress instituted a random selection process for the military draft. All 366 possible birth dates were placed in plastic capsules in a rotating drum and were selected one by one. The first date drawn from the drum received draft number one and eligible men born on that date were drafted first. In a truly random lottery there should be no relationship between the date and the draft number.
Data set: draft

Results of a weight loss program
Diets-R-Us has devised a new weight loss program for women, consisting of a 2 week program including a diet, an exercise program and some education on healthy living. 87 women volunteered to participate and are weighed before and after the program. In addition there is a six month follow-up were the women are weighed again to see whether the weight loss program had any long term effect.

Number of Deaths by Horsekicks in the Prussian Army from 1875-1894 for 14 Corps
Data set: horsekicks

Number of Mice Results of a small experiment, in which 7 out of 16 mice were randomly selected to receive a new medical treatment, while the remaining 9 mice were assigned to the control group. The treatment was intended to prolong survival after surgery. From "An Introduction to the Bootstrap" by Bradley Efron and Robert Tibshirani.
Data set: mice