Ten things to know about The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful this year

The countdown to our 2015 50 Most Beautiful is on, and there’s no better way to celebrate the impending arrival of Washington’s most coveted list than by sharing some stats from this year’s record-breaking number of nominated beauties.

The Hill was absolutely flooded with more than 500 entries from Most Beautiful hopefuls. Several of those, however, weren’t the only ones striking a fierce stance in their nomination photos.

{mosads}Nominees posing with a large cat: 5

Nominees posing with a dog: 4

It didn’t end there.

Number of dog nominations: 1 (Down from last year’s total of two, when a red panda and panda cub were both nominated but disqualified because the furry pair had no apparent connection to politics.)

The beauty of some of our list wannabes was apparently too blinding, even for the nominees themselves.

Nominees wearing sunglasses: 11

Many of those behind our influx of nomination emails weren’t shy about the relationship status of the 50 Most Beautiful contenders.

Mentions that a nominee is “single”: 11

And in case you need to restore your faith in humanity, we received plenty of entries from ever-adoring significant others who declared their life partners had what it takes to make the cut.

Nominated by a spouse or partner: 17

Even a few moms and other family members couldn’t help but tout the family genes.

Nominated by a family member: 5

And one nominee even showed mom some love.

Nominees posing with mom: 1

For reasons unknown this year, several nominees made clear their love of a particular meal.

Mentions of brunch: 5

Amongst the hundreds of nominations was one for a particularly divine challenger.

Number of nominations for Jesus Christ: 1

Be sure to check out who topped The Hill’s annual 50 Most Beautiful when the full list is unveiled on July 29!

 —Ashley Perks contributed.