The "average" income of American households in 1998 was either $38,885 or $51,855, depending on whether we use the mean or median to measure center. We can say that
(a) $38,885 is the mean because income distributions are skewed to the left.
(b) $51,855 is the mean because income distributions are skewed to the left.
(c) $38,885 is the mean because income distributions are skewed to the right.
(d) $51,855 is the mean because income distributions are skewed to the right.
(e) One of the numbers must be wrong because income distributions are close to symmetric.