I stumbled across this rage inducing bullshit on Instagram earlier. Seriously, what’s up with people using Instagram for stuff other than photographs? That alone is rage inducing. But ok, consider the gauntlet officially thrown down. Let’s look at this like calm, rational human beings. You fuck.

First off, landing on Mars cost $2.5 billion in total. Not $100 billion. Sure, that still sounds like a lot, but let’s put that into perspective…

(And yes, to clarify, these numbers are purely to give perspective on how much things cost, and nothing else.)

• In 2010, people in the US collectively spent $4.47 billion on DVDs. Also, $131 billion was spent in the US on advertising. 
• In 2011, $24 billion was spent worldwide in McDonalds fast food restaurants. $11.7 billion was spent in Starbucks coffee shops. That’s essentially over $35 billion spent on coffee and cheeseburgers.
• Also in 2011, US companies spent $14.8 billion on internet advertising, over $9 billion of which was spent in the final three months of the year. 
• Finally in 2011, the US military paid between $109 and $431 billion (estimated) in interest on debts incurred in past wars. The total US military expenditure for 2011 was estimated at up to $1.4 trillion!
• In fact, in the first quarter of 2012, US Airways reported revenues of $3.27 billion. In three months, more money was spent on flights with a single company than it took to get to Mars.

So sure. I’m not exactly what we’d call financially well off. But if we’re going to bitch about what money is spent where, let’s get our priorities straight, shall we? Especially before shitting on the achievements of humanity. If it’s that big a deal to you, maybe consider skipping the fries on occasion and donating the money to charity?