With Valentine's Day approaching, maybe you're thinking about the fish in the sea, of which we're told there are plenty. How many fish really are in your local sea? Well, we'll get back to you in a minute. For now, imagine your predecessors wondering the same thing circa 1880.

Let's have a look at the gender breakdown in the United States at that time, courtesy of this super neat map, which is for sale through our Vintage Visualizations project. Check out a section of the map: 

Those bits of the West and Midwest that were populated at the time were predominantly male--we can easily imagine lonesome cowboys and/or aspiring breadwinners heading westward sans wife or family. But the East Coast? Chock full of ladies, evidently! All this appears even more pronounced when the data is displayed state by state:

Still wondering what's become of these stats today? Well, luckily for you, Soma has the cold, hard, sexy facts right here! (Spoiler alert: there are 24 unmatched single women per 1000 singles in New York. Womp, womp.)

Don't forget to check out the old-timey map!