Deathday and Birthday

Keywords: test for proportion, normal approximation

Description

Larsen and Marx (1986) write

There is a theory that the anticipation of a birthday can prolong a person's life. In a study set up to examine that notion statistically, it was found that only 60 of 747 people whose obituaries were published in Salt Lake City in 1975 died in the three-month period preceding their birthday.

Download

The complete data is given in the description.

Source

The data is from Newsweek, March 6, 1983, page 65.

Phillips, D. P. (1972). Deathday and birthday: an unexpected connection. In Statistics: a Guide to the Unknown. Edited by J. M. Tanur et al, Holden-Day, San Fransisco.

Larsen, R. J., and Marx, M. L. (1986). An Introduction to Mathematical Statistics and Its Applications. Second Edition. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, page 295.

Analysis

One sided test for a proportion using a normal approximation. Highly significant.