The stats page is cached on Cloudflare and updated hourly so if you reload the page and look again you'll see the total number goes backwards.
It pretty much is. We cater to all timezones so there isn't really any quiet period of the day.
I think that name would just cause more confusion. Likewise, if the number stayed static for an hour and then jumped up ~300 people in an instant people wouldn't believe that either. The number you actually see is a very accurate estimate of the actual number. The counter animation just gives a sense of how quickly it really is increasing. You have to be very cynical to see that as a scam.