Tops: See the world's favorite colors, flavors and sounds

What is your favorite color? Do you like cats or dogs better? And with respect to numbers, is there one that is most meaningful to you? Everyone has their predilections, and while we sometimes like unusual things, the truth is that there is a good chance that our preferences match those of many people.

Because Mary Jo DiLonardo from Mother Nature Network has put together a list of “universal” favorites, and we at Mega Curioso have selected some of them for you to check out. Does any of the items below match your preferences?

1 - Pet

Establishing which one is the dearest pet of all is not as simple as it sounds. In the US, for example, several surveys found that dogs and cats are the big winners of American hearts, with 47.6% of US homes housing dogs, and 37.3% serving as home for cats. But, don't think our canine friends get the prize like that, kissed hand.

According to Mary, it is very common in the United States for cat owners to have more than one at home and, in numbers, the country's feline population is 95.6 million - versus 83.3 million dogs. Already here in Brazil, according to a survey by the Brazilian Pet Products Industry Association in 2012, most homes are "dog owners".

There is a population of 35.7 million dogs in the country against 19.8 million cats. And don't think that felines were second in national preference no! They come after pet fish, which here have a population of 25 million.

2 - Color

What was your favorite color, blue? If that was your answer, know that you are not alone in this! In a survey by paint manufacturer Dulux in 30 countries, more than half of respondents said their favorite color was blue. Red and green were not far behind, and yellow did not do very well in the survey, occupying one of the last positions.

Interestingly, according to Mary, a color psychology expert explained that blue has more complex and contradictory meanings than any other shade. This is because, although most blues convey the idea of ​​loyalty, cleanliness and trust, they are also cold tones, and are associated with the feeling of melancholy.

3 - Number

Even if you are not adept at doing a little "flour" every now and then, you should have a favorite number. Because Alex Bellos, a math enthusiast, decided to create a website to find out what was the favorite magic number in the world. And after counting the responses of 30, 000 participants, do you know which one was the big winner? The 7! Is this yours, too?

In addition to number 7, 8 and 3 also had good results in the survey, and Bellos even shared some thoughts from people who participated in the survey. Among the justifications, there were people who said they chose the seven because this is the number of chakras in the body, the number of neighboring planets that the Earth has in the Solar System and because it conveys the sensation of comfort.

4 - Ice Cream

Do you have a favorite ice cream flavor? For according to Mary, a survey revealed that, at least in the US, 27% of the population prefers chocolate ice cream over others, and vanilla was in second place, with 23% of Americans' preference. Cookie and cream flavors came in third with 22% of choices.

In fact, this same survey revealed other interesting information. Separating the search by gender, women prefer chocolate ice cream, but men - with a tiny difference - say they like vanilla more. And you know what? A total of 2% of survey respondents said they don't like ice cream!

5 - Word

In this case, it's not quite a favorite word, it's the most popular word on the planet - and in almost every language. We're talking about the famous "huh?" That all babbles in place of expressions like "huh?", "What did you say?" A group of researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Psycholinguistics evaluated recordings of conversations from various countries, finding that this small vocalization appeared in all and with the same meaning.

The recordings included conversations in Russian, Italian, and Icelandic, as well as indigenous dialects spoken in Laos and Ghana, and the researchers realized that “huh?” Was pronounced in a very similar way in all languages ​​evaluated when the speakers asked about any of them. thing.

As they have explained, this word is so efficient in serving its specific function - that of inquiry - that it has come into existence in different languages ​​independently throughout the world, becoming a virtually universal word.