I took statistics in high school, and the first day the teacher gets up and says, "Let me show you how statistics lie." He gave example after example about how

I took statistics in high school, and the first day the teacher gets up and says, "Let me show you how statistics lie." He gave example after example about how the graphs and data presented were not wrong, but they were definitely meant to bias you into thinking something else. I remember one story in particular, and this is totally anecdotal, but I think it makes a good point. During the cold war, supposedly, there was a foot race between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. The story goes that the U.S. athlete won the race. The Russian newspapers published, "U.S.S.R. takes second place. U.S. athlete finishes next to last." I don't know if it's true or not, but it makes a good point.