For the last week i have been hearing the talking heads on various news channels referring to Gaza as “the most densely populated place on earth” and each time I say to myself “that simply can’t be true”.

It’s not.

Gaza is 139 square miles of real estate that has a population of 1.5 million.

Manhattan is 34 square miles of real estate that has a population of 1.6 million.

According to wikipedia the most densely populated country on earth is Monaco… but fact is not likely to bring about much sympathy for the plight of the Monacans. Even Singapore is more densely populated than Gaza.

If I, from the comfort of my sofa while watching NCIS, can look up this little tidbit, why can’t the professional journalists get it right? More to the point, why can’t professional journalists say “that simply can’t be true” while they sit in their Midtown Manhattan offices in what any rational person would recognize as true density.