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Best Guess · Puzzle #5 · Sunday, October 4

Best Guess: the answers

Four questions, each with one true number. Here they are with their answers, how to reason each one out, and where the number comes from. Play today's Best Guess.

  1. 1. About how many students in the high school Class of 2026 took the SAT?

    The answer: nearly 2 million. The SAT turned 100 years old the same year.

    Napkin math
    1. 4Mstudents in a high school class
    2. ×0.5of them take the SAT

    ≈2Mstudents

    Source: College Board, SAT Suite of Assessments Program Results

  2. 2. How many quarts of popped popcorn do Americans eat in a year?

    The answer: about 14 billion. That's 43 quarts for every man, woman and child.

    Napkin math
    1. 330Mpeople in the US
    2. ×52weeks a year
    3. ×1quart (a big bowl) each a week

    ≈17.2Bquarts

    Source: The Popcorn Board, 2018-2022 Evaluation

  3. 3. How many pet cats live in the US?

    The answer: about 73.8 million. The AVMA says the number of pet cats has stayed fairly stable since 1996, while dogs have pulled ahead.

    Napkin math
    1. 130Mhouseholds in the US
    2. ×0.3of them with a cat
    3. ×2cats in each

    ≈78Mcats

    Source: American Veterinary Medical Association, Chart of the month: Long-term trends in pet populations

  4. 4. How many people in the US donate blood each year?

    The answer: about 6.8 million. The Red Cross says only about 3% of age-eligible people give blood in a year.

    Napkin math
    1. 330Mpeople in the US
    2. ÷50people for every donor

    ≈6.6Mdonors

    Source: American Red Cross, US Blood Supply Facts

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