Numbers: Jun. 19, 2006
$50 million Estimated value of trips taken by members of Congress and their aides and paid for by private groups from 2000 through mid-2005
$31,171 Value of the priciest trip--a London sojourn for Virginia Republican Thomas Billey Jr., courtesy of Brown & Williamson Tobacco
444% Increase in the number of cosmetic procedures--such as Botox injections--performed in the U.S. from 1997 to 2005
$12.4 billion Amount Americans spent on such work in 2005
73% Proportion of white people in New Orleans, up from 59% pre-Katrina. The black population fell from 37% to 22%
$3,654 Post-Katrina rise in the city's median income, to $43,447, owing largely to displacement of poorer black residents
148 million gal. Amount of wine France and Italy plan to distill into fuel or disinfectant, to avoid a wine glut and keep prices up
$165 million Cost of the distillation, which will be paid by the European Union's "wine budget"
666 Number of legs on a rare inch-long species of millipede recently rediscovered in California
80 Years Illacme plenipes--the leggiest of all 10,000 millipede species--had remained hidden since it was first identified in 1926
Sources: Washington Post (4); USA Today (2); New York Times; International Herald Tribune; AP (2)
Most Popular »
- Former Nazi Hitman, 88, Finally Stands Trial
- Obama's Fort Hood Speech: Lost in Translation
- 21-Year-Old Wins World Series of Poker
- Maclaren's Stroller Recall: A Stumbling Response Online
- After the Recession, an Energy Crisis Could Loom
- I Love Local Commercials
- Does Obama Have a Plan B for the Middle East?
- The Meaning of Manny Pacquiao
- Teen Obesity: Lack of Exercise May Not Be to Blame
- Joe Cada, Poker's New Champion
- Maclaren's Stroller Recall: A Stumbling Response Online
- After the Recession, an Energy Crisis Could Loom
- Former Nazi Hitman, 88, Finally Stands Trial
- Are You Getting Scammed by Facebook Games?
- Canada at War: THE SERVICES: Secrecy Rewarded
- Asia's Economic Forum: Seeking New Growth
- Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin
- Does Obama Have a Plan B for the Middle East?
- Why We Look at Some Web Ads and Not Others
- 21-Year-Old Wins World Series of Poker







RSS