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Updated example of using baby names to illustrate bimodal distributions.

The thing about my way of teaching stats is that my cool, novel examples get old really fast. Like, pop culture is on a thirty-day cycle. Anyway, YEARS ago, 2014 to be exact, I blogged about illustrating bimodal data distributions  using baby name data from the Social Security Administration. Specifically, when an older name comes back into vogue, it has a bimodal distribution when you plot time on the X axis.  I stand by this example. However, all of the data illustrations come from 2014. When our traditionally aged college students were 6 or 7. Which makes this example feel a little stale. However, here is some data,  courtesy of Redditor  fevaah ,  showing  old names that are back in vogue through 2025 ! And Eleanor, Violet, Nora, and Hazel are here, illustrating bimodal distributions for a new generation. If you used my old baby-name data, this is a quick, easy refresh for your lectures (or a fun new addition if you didn't).  If this idea was help...

Online Day 2: Using Mythbusters to review t-test research designs

TL:DR: Imma send my students to YouTube to watch three MythBuster clips that approximately illustrate t-test research designs. Then, they will identify the t-test research design that is illustrated by each of these clips. 



More detail.

MythBusters is a show that gleefully creates research to test urban legends and random questions that arise in day to day life. The questions that my clips tackle are: a) how badly do people drive when distracted by hands-free cell phones, b) could Indiana Jones have really made it through the chamber at the beginning of Temple of Doom and c) what is faster: Weaving in and out of lanes or staying in the right-hand lane when driving?

So, they will watch the clips, and I will ask them questions (they will submit their answers via Google Forms Quiz) to make sure they can tell which sort of t-tests you would use to analyze the data, given research design. Here is the PPT I will use.

I've never used this exact clip in class before. I did something similar using a documentary (see Hartnett, 2013) and maybe it is time to freshen up that example. Seeing as the documentary I used to use isn't available for free, there is even more incentive to use a different program.

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