When you stop to think of it, it is a funny concept. Although it describes all of us, it describes none of us. No one considers himself ordinary or run of the mill. But while none of us wants to be the average Americans, we all want to know about him, or her.
Averages define that national character, etch the routines of everyday life.
They give us a benchmark to measure ourselves against. The average person's toes curl when he or she is sexually aroused. The average American is sick in bed seven days a year, missing five days work. The average woman is more inclined to be knock kneed than the average man. The average body has over two million sweat glands and two square yards of skin.