DAILY DIRT: Only Albert Einstein beats out Morgan Freeman in ‘most popular ever’ ranking

Daily Dirt for Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025

I think Denzel Washington might have gotten shortchanged a bit … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,186 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Have you ever wondered who the most popular people ever might be, at least according to Americans?

There’s a market research-based company in Great Britain that specializes in that kind of undertaking. It’s called YouGov and its methodology involves obtaining responses from an invited group of Internet users, and then weighting these responses in line with demographic information. It coordinates public data, featuring a diverse range of survey results, articles, trackers and popularity rankings.

You Gov is a widespread operation that also has bases in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.

The bottom line? The process is way too technical for my feeble brain, but here are the 10 most popular people in history through the end of 2024, according to Americans via YouGov:

• 1. Albert Einstein
• 2. Morgan Freeman
• 3. Abraham Lincoln
• 4. Robin Williams
• 5. Samuel L. Jackson
• 6. Betty White
• 7. Denzel Washington
• 8. Benjamin Franklin
• 9. Keanu Reeves
• 10. Harrison Ford

I can actually understand Morgan Freeman being on the list. After all, who doesn’t love that guy? But … Samuel L. Jackson, especially at No. 5, was probably the biggest surprise for me. Keanu Reeves in the top 10 was kind of a shock, too.

2. Did you know (Part 258)

• That tall, pleated white hat that chefs wear is called a toque and has 100 folds in it, representing the number of ways to prepare eggs.
• That Facebook has 2.89 billion monthly users, which is more than the combined populations of China (1.4 billion) and India (1.3 billion).
• That Elvis Presley had 18 No. 1 hits in his career but only won three Grammys in 14 nominations.
• That the speed of a computer mouse is measured in “Mickeys”. Go figure.
• That seven states have the cardinal as the state bird, including Illinois.

3. There should be two quality NFL playoff games on today. Here’s my picks:

NFC championship game: Washington 28, Philadelphia 24. I’m leaning toward the upset here. Washington is on a mighty roll behind youthful and exciting quarterback Jayden Daniels, and Philadelphia seems to have a few too many question marks when it comes to injuries, starting with its own QB Jalen Hurts.

AFC championship game: Kansas City 31, Buffalo 28. Haters are gonna hate, claiming the Chiefs get way too many favorable calls from game officials, but those kind of things always surface in the midst of a dynasty run like KC is enjoying. I’m rooting for the Chiefs, simply because I want to see more Patrick Mahomes-Andy Reid commercials.

Steve Thought O’ The Day – Some MLB spring training camps open as soon as Feb. 11. Woo-hoo!!!

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He loves the overs.