'This [the no. 51] appears to be the first uninteresting number, which of course makes it an especially interesting number,
because it is the smallest number to have the property of being uninteresting.
It is therefore also the first number to be simultaneously interesting and uninteresting.'
—David Wells, on the number 51, in The Penguin Dictionary of Curious and Interesting Numbers
(1986)
Approximate percentage of cancer deaths at age 60-69 that were ill-
defined, both sexes combined, for Mexico and 7 other countries
Comment: This graph shows the proportion of male and female neoplastic deaths at age 60-69 years that were
due either to a neoplasm of unspecified nature or to a benign neoplasm. However, the vast majority of these were due to
neoplasms of unspecified nature - see "Unspecified cancer/benign" in the
Information about Causes of Death. The higher the proportion, the greater the
underestimation of mortality rates for specified neoplastic diseases.
For an assessment of how complete and precise death certification is in different countries,
see
Counting the dead and what they died from...
(Mathers et al., Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2005:83:171-7).
Comment: This graph shows the proportion of male and female neoplastic deaths at age 60-69 years that were due either to a neoplasm of unspecified nature or to a benign neoplasm. However, the vast majority of these were due to neoplasms of unspecified nature - see "Unspecified cancer/benign" in the Information about Causes of Death. The higher the proportion, the greater the underestimation of mortality rates for specified neoplastic diseases.
For an assessment of how complete and precise death certification is in different countries, see Counting the dead and what they died from... (Mathers et al., Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 2005:83:171-7).