If you feel a special, hair-raising electricity in the air today, well that’s no wonder — it’s National Static Electricity Day. Static electricity is the result of an imbalance between negative and positive charges in an object. These charges build up on the surface until they are discharged. This commonly happens when you shuffle about when the humidity is very low and then touch a conductor, such as a door handle or your pet’s wet nose. Static electricity has uses in air purifiers, photocopiers and bonding in the painting of automobiles, as well as sticking party balloons onto walls. Generating and distributing more practical electricity is a $445 billion a year business in the U.S. You can find current data on the country’s economy by downloading the America’s Economy mobile application at <www.census.gov/mobile>.