---
title: "By the numbers: Hotline bling, potty mouths, and more."
description: "Plus: Retail sales might be back while Alexa continues to struggle."
---

[Hustle News ](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news)

# [By the numbers: Hotline bling, potty mouths, and more.](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12-26-21-by-the-numbers)

 Written by [Jacob Cohen](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/jacob-cohen) | Dec 27, 2021 7:39:17 AM

**1)** In July, the federal government is switching National Suicide Prevention Lifeline from a 10-digit number to a 3-digit one, [**988**](https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-lifestyle-health-business-mental-health-90a9d04a8c027a3abbd231d234ed0adf). Calls are expected to increase as a result, so $282m will be spent to bolster network infrastructure, centralize text chats, improve Spanish-speaking capacity, and increase staffing.

**2)** The 7-ton, $10B James Webb Space Telescope, which successfully launched this past weekend, now faces [“**29 days of terror**”](https://www.npr.org/2021/12/20/1065254032/christmas-eve-telescope-launch-has-astronomers-hoping-for-good-tidings-of-great-) where its scientists will nerve-wracklingly watch its instruments unfold and deploy.

**3)** WTF? One study found that from 2019 through November 2021, usage of swearwords  like f—, sh*t, a-hole, and similar terms rose [**41% on Facebook**](https://www.wsj.com/articles/were-cursing-more-blame-the-pandemic-11640008801?mod=hp_listc_pos1) and 27% on Twitter. Along these lines, in the past 18 months, profanity-filtering software company CleanSpeak tripled its filter volume.

**4)** Retail back? Holiday sales jumped [**11%**](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/26/despite-supply-issues-and-omicron-holiday-sales-rise-8point5percent.html) vs. the pre-pandemic 2019 season (Nov. 1 through Dec. 24). These figures are particularly bullish considering Omicron fears and supply chain issues.

**5)** Amazon estimates 25% of US homes have at least one Alexa device. At the same time, internal data shows [**15%-25%**](https://www.theverge.com/2021/12/23/22851451/amazon-alexa-by-the-way-use-case-functionality-plateaued) of new Alexa users are inactive by their 2nd week of owning a device.

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12-26-21-by-the-numbers)

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