By the Numbers: Top 10 Tweeters

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Ever wonder who has the most followers on Twitter? Here are the top 10, by the numbers. Please note: these are real people only! For instance, President Obama would easily make this list, but we know for a fact that he isn't the one tweeting on his account at this time. Also note: number of of followers DOES NOT translate to influence on followers. For example, even though our friend Alyssa Milano didn't make this list, her followers are much more likely to click her links, retweet her tweetage, and participate in her community than most of the people on this list. In fact, there's a terrific site called Klout that ranks a tweeter's influence. Go check it out! Meantime, by the numbers, here are your top 10, as of yesterday morning:

10. Katy Perry -3,491,410

Raised a Christian, Katy Perry is a singer/songwriter who started out in the world of gospel. Her later records have been secular and often controversial. She is known for her original fashion sense, integrating bright colors with vintage style.

9. John C. Mayer - 3,602,876

John C. Mayer is an accomplished musician with experience in pop music, guitar, acoustic sound, and jazz and blues. His dating history and social life have both been well covered by the media.

8. Taylor Swift - 3,970,319

A young country music star, Taylor Swift is the youngest person ever to win the Academy of Country Music's Album of the Year and Entertainer of the Year awards. She has recently branched out into acting.

7. Oprah Winfrey - 4,060,639

After having grown up in poverty, Oprah Winfrey has had an incredibly popular daytime talk show since 1986. She has been a major influence on our culture today with such things as Oprah's Book Club, philanthropy, and political activism.

6. Kim Kardashian - 4,514,040

Seemingly famous for being famous, Kim Kardashian stars with some of her family members in the reality show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians." She has also had several acting roles in addition to performing on Dancing With the Stars, and has been known to be in the middle of controversy.

5. Justin Bieber - 4,681,996

Famous for his music, boyish good looks, and forward-swept hair, Justin Bieber is a teenage heartthrob. He's a Canadian singer who got his start by uploading his music videos to his YouTube channel.

4. Ellen DeGeneres - 5,072,270

A famously gay daytime talk show host, Ellen DeGeneres started out as a stand up comedienne and actress in her own show called, "Ellen." Kids will also know her as the voice of Dory in the movie "Finding Nemo."

3. Ashton Kutcher - 5,569,167

Married to Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher got his start in the television show "That 70s Show" and "Dude, Where's My Car?" While he still appears in movies such as "Valentine's Day," he's now better known for being producer and creator of projects such as "Beauty and the Geek" and "Punk'd."

2. Britney Spears - 5,690,685

Performing since she was a child, Britney Spears became incredibly famous for her early musical hits such as "Oops!... I Did It Again." She soon added acting to her resume, but her unpredictable behavior landed her in the hospital multiple times. Her popularity continues to this day, however, and she is ranked as the third msot powerful female musician of the year by Forbes magazine.

1. Lady Gaga - 5,714,890

Lady Gaga is a recording artist well known for her single "Poker Face." Her outrageous outfits and style are influenced by glam rock musicians like David Bowie.

Speaking of Twitter, please take a second to follow @mental_floss, if you're not already! And for some very funny, illustrated tweets, please check out my start-up, the Twitter Hall of Fame, twaggies.com.