Two printing rooms introduced paper recycling. Room A recycled a higher percentage of the paper it used than Room B. Room B, however, used far more paper and recycled a greater total weight. A manager initially called Room A the larger contributor to the recycling collection because its rate was higher. After examining both measures, she withdrew that description. A percentage describes a share of a particular total; it does not reveal the size of that total. The manager still considered Room A's rate useful, but she refused to rank the rooms' overall environmental effects from these figures alone. Differences in paper purchasing, transport, and the amount left unrecycled would require further investigation. The report therefore displayed the percentage and the total weight in separate columns, each with a clear label. Keeping both measures visible prevented one legitimate comparison from silently becoming a different claim.