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Census workers only missed four people in the 2000 count.
For an organization accustomed to operating in much higher figures, that sort of error margin may seem acceptable. But that year, when the Census Bureau counted one member in the town of Lost Springs, Wyo., they were off by 80% — the town’s population was five.
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The 2010 Census successfully identified four Lost Springs residents, correcting their mistake from the last time in what appeared to be a quadrupling population increase. Since the 2000 survey, two residents died but one person moved in. No explanation has been provided for the mistake, but the state highway department plans to change the signs that list a population of one.
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