By way of Just Muttering, I found that the ‘The Average American’ has been identified by Kevin O’Keefe. If you’d like to know the characteristics of the Average Joe or Jill or determine whether you are among the numbers of John and Jane Q Public, you’ll have to read The Average American: The Extraordinary Search for the Nation’s Most Ordinary Citizen by Kevin O’Keefe, a former magazine reporter who now runs marketing and consulting firm, or listen to his interview on NPR’s Talk of the Nation (October 25, 2005).
I found the following American Snapshot on the NPR site and have noted where I stand, or fall, so to speak:
According to the book, a majority of Americans:
• Eats peanut butter at least once a week [yup]
• Prefers smooth peanut butter over chunky [absolutely]
• Can name all Three Stooges [sure can, but don’t ask me to name episodes or movies]
• Lives within a 20-minute drive of a Wal-Mart [I think so, but wouldn’t shop there]
• Eats at McDonald’s at least once a year [not a chance — Burger King, maybe]
• Takes a shower for approximately 10.4 minutes a day [I’m faster than that]
• Never sings in the shower [only if I’m alone…in the house, that is]
• Lives in a house, not an apartment or condominium [yes]
• Has a home valued between $100,000 and $300,000 [values have risen since 2003, this number must be higher by now]
• Has fired a gun [never]
• Is between 5 feet and 6 feet tall [5’6″]
• Weighs 135 to 205 pounds [yes, happily on the lower side of that scale]
• Is between the ages of 18 and 53 [for the next three years]
• Believes gambling is an acceptable entertainment option [may be acceptable, compared to dog or cock fights, but not entertaining to my way of thinking]
• Grew up within 50 miles of current home [no, I live clear across the country from the home of my youth]
The Book Description on Amazon says:
To be the perfectly average American is harder than it might seem: You must live within three miles of a McDonald’s [I do], and two miles of a public park [yes]; you must be better off financially than your parents [don’t think so], but earn no more than $75,000 a year [wish I did]; you must believe in God and the literal truth of the Bible [literal truth?], yet hold some views that traditional churches have deemed sacrilegious [absolutely].
So where do you fit in?