Visualizing Statistics: what do 213,000 Vicodin pills look like?

This may not do with medical visualization directly, but it's visualization nonetheless.We are bombarded with statistics everyday, whether on the news or in magazines. But what impact do they really have? Can people really visualize the impact of America using 15 million sheets of office paper every five minutes or consuming 106,000 aluminum cans every 30 seconds in the U.S?

Chris Jordan's new photographic series entitled Running the Numbers: an American Self-Portrait "visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs."

The original prints are very large, which certainly carry more impact when viewed in person. See Chris Jordan's web portfolio to look at other stunning statistical visualizations.