Freakonomics: Questions

The thing about Freakonomics is you really have no clue how they come up with some of the questions that they do.  Some of the questions may seem irreelevent in the beginning of the chapter but towards the end they kind of make everything come together and it all makes total sense somehow.  For example, the first chapter is called "What do Schoolteachers and Sumo Wrestlers have in Common?"  I know what you're thinking... It's a crazy topic and you have absolutely no clue what they are talking about.  That's just the start of the weirdness... throughout basically the whole chapter they don't mention Sumo Wrestlers once and all they talk about is teachers and people cheating and even politics.  But in the end of the chapter it kind of ties it all together and it all makes sense. 

Freakonomics really makes you think about life and question yourself a ton.  It has your mind questioning itself almost every page.  It gives you facts that you almost don't believe.  For example it says, "In a typical election period that includes campaigns for the presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, about $1 billion is spent per year---" (page 11).  You think after reading this statement that our government is crazy and there is no reason they should spend so much money.  But then the book compares it to something we never think about... "It is the same amount, for instance, that Americans spend every year on chewing gum." (page 11).  Now, you always here people constantly complaining about how out government spends loads of money that they shouldn't but people never realize how much we spend on things much less important than our government, like gum.