Today is St. Patrick’s day, and the economic website Wallethub has published some interesting facts about this most Irish of holidays. Just over half of Americans plan to celebrate St. Patty’s this year. And 82% of those celebrants plan to wear green (no word on what the other 18% plan to wear). In Chicago, the city pours 45 pounds of vegetable-based dye into the river to turn it green. The color goes away after five hours—though some say the color never really goes away.
The first St. Patrick’s Day parade in Boston took place in 1737. And this year, almost $5 billion dollars will be spent on the green holiday. A full $13 million of that money will go toward pints of Guinness.
On a more serious note, please be careful this holiday. A life is claimed by drunk drivers every 74 minutes on America’s roads during St. Pat’s. 75% of those fatalities are cause by drivers who’ve consumed twice the legal limit.
