Powerful infographic from the FiveThirtyEight.com website (to whom all respect for numbers-led analysis and comment). Gives the question some context and perspective. And #ContextMatters. (Red dots are suicides, blue are homicides, yellow are accidents)
Overall, 33,000 people a year die from shootings in the USA. That IS a big number.
This article about log scales and how to think about them (and how they naturally reflect how we think about big numbers) pretty much nails it, for me. Using log scales is an essential tool in your mental numeracy toolbox.
Thank you, Chalkface blog.
Thank you, too, Vi Hart for your passionate and engaging video on the topic.
https://thechalkfaceblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/why-logarithms-still-make-sense/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-7tcTIrers&feature=youtu.be
From Atlas Obscura, a sampling of infographics from the 19th century. All with the aim in mind of putting information into a format where it can easily be understood and compared.
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-stunning-early-infographics-and-maps-of-the-1800s