$2.4 quadrillion ($2,396,950,000,000,000)

Over at xkcd.com is an incredibly powerful diagram that maps out the immense flow of money that seems to dictate the course of humanity.  To call it an infographic seems to cheapen the level of research and design effort that went into this particular data map.  In fact, this mega-diagram is only really digestible in a poster sized format (which is available) or via an interactive zoom (which is also available).  The statistic for today was one of a long list of choices but given the level of effort that was put into this diagram, it was only fitting that the largest number be selected – the total estimated production of the human race to date.

A zoomed-out version of the diagram can be found here.

Related articles:

• Google’s dependence on advertising (marshallstanton.com)
• Facebook’s massive market capitalization (marshallstanton.com)
• Apple’s desirability (marshallstanton.com)
• Media consolidation (marshallstanton.com)
• Largest bankruptcies (marshallstanton.com)