Monday, February 21, 2011

Index IV

From the "Index" in Harper's magazine for March 2011.

War on Terrorism-Related
  • Estimated percentage change since 2000 in the U.S. defense budget, not including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: +80 
  • Number of American civilians who died worldwide in terrorist attacks last year: 8
  • Minimum number who died after being struck by lightning: 29
  • Estimated spending by Afghans on bribes last year: $2,500,000,000
  • Portion of the country's GDP to which this figure is equivalent: 1/4
  • Percentage of Americans who say they believe the war in Afghanistan has been worth fighting: 34
    Just like the Rest of Us Department
    • Number of companies in which Senate Armed Service Committee staffers are prohibited from owning stock: 48,096
    • The senators themselves: 0
    The Long Grey Line
    • Chance that a female West Point cadet was a victim of "unwanted sexual contact" last year: 1 in 10
    • Percentage of victims who reported such incidents: 14
    • Percentage who said they "took care of it" themselves: 65
    Editorial Observation: What happened with the other 21 percent?
    Cultural Trends
    • Percentage of U.S. high school seniors who have smoked a cigarette in the past month: 19
    • Who have smoked marijuana: 21
    • Date on which student loans first passed credit cards among the largest sources of private debt in the United States: 6/30/10
    • Pounds of antibiotics produced in the U.S. in 2009 that were consumed by humans: 7,275,254
    • Pounds consumed by animals raised for human consumption: 28,808,023
    Editorial Observation: You gotta be shitting me about the third bullet, right?
    Potpourri
    • Number of people caned in Malaysia every year: 10,000
    • Minimum number of people living the flood tunnels beneath Las Vegas: 300
    • Estimated percentage of New Hampshire's bat population that died in 2010: 65
    When do we get to the good news?

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