The Myth of the 95% TV Volume Preference Statistic

You've probably seen this "fact" floating around the internet: 95% of people feel uncomfortable when the TV volume is an odd number. It sounds scientific, specific, and relatable. There's just one problem—it's completely made up.

No legitimate research study has ever documented this 95% figure. The claim appears to have originated from social media posts and fact-sharing websites, spreading virally without any scientific backing whatsoever. It's a classic example of how a relatable observation can morph into a "statistic" through repetition alone.

The Real Psychology Behind Even Number Preferences

Here's the twist: while the statistic is bogus, the phenomenon itself is real. Many people genuinely do prefer even numbers on their TV volume settings, and there's actual science explaining why.

Research shows that even numbers are easier for our brains to process. They appear more frequently in multiplication tables, divide cleanly, and require less cognitive effort to understand. Odd numbers, especially prime numbers, present more of a mental challenge. Our brains spend extra time processing them, and this additional effort has caused us to associate odd numbers with feelings of incompleteness or asymmetry.

Studies on numerical cognition have found that even numbers produce feelings of ease and satisfaction, while odd numbers can trigger slight discomfort in some individuals. But "some individuals" is very different from "95% of people."

It's Not OCD, It's Just Preference

People often joke about having "volume OCD" when they insist on even numbers, but this trivializes actual obsessive-compulsive disorder. What most people experience is simply a preference driven by cognitive fluency—our brains' tendency to favor information that's easier to process.

Interestingly, research suggests that not all even or odd numbers are psychologically equal. Some numbers feel "more even" or "more odd" than others based on properties like:

• Whether they're prime numbers
• If they're divisible by 4 or 5
• Whether they appear in common multiplication tables
• If they're square numbers

This explains why someone might be okay with 15 or 25 (divisible by 5) but uncomfortable with 13 or 17 (prime numbers).

The Appeal of Fake Statistics

Why did this particular myth take off? Because it combined three viral ingredients: a precise-sounding statistic, a relatable quirk, and the validation of feeling "normal" for an odd habit. When someone shares "95% of people do this thing you do," it's comforting—even if it's fiction.

The internet is littered with similar fabricated statistics. "Humans swallow eight spiders per year in their sleep" (false). "We only use 10% of our brains" (false). "You need 10,000 steps daily for health" (arbitrary). These claims spread because they're memorable, not because they're true.

So the next time you adjust your TV to volume 20 instead of 19, know that you're experiencing a real psychological phenomenon—just not one that affects exactly 95% of the population. And if you're perfectly happy with odd numbers? That's normal too. Despite what the internet wants you to believe, humans are far too diverse to fit into neat, made-up percentages.