May 31, 2012
"

Percentage by which a woman is more likely than a man to be killed in an identical traffic accident: 28

Year in which the federal government began using crash text dummies modeled on female proportions: 2010.

"

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, June 2012.

May 30, 2012
"Date on which the Iraqi government announced its efforts to ‘eliminate the emo phenomenon’ in Baghdad: 2/13/2012
Minimum number of Iraqi teenagers killed for having an ‘emo style’ since then: 42"

Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, June 2012.

…and Hot Topic quietly shelves their plans for a Middle Eastern expansion.

May 29, 2012
"Number of articles about Mad Men on the Washington Post’s website in the month before the show’s 2012 season premiere: 45
Number about the political violence in Mali during the same time: 3"

Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, June 2012.

At least our priorities in this world are clear.

May 10, 2012
"Number of Americans who renounced their citizenship in 2011: 1,781
Rank of this number among the highest on record: 2"

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, May 2012.

May 9, 2012
"Number of countries in which births are unnaturally male-biased: 23
Portion of the world’s population that lives in those countries: 4/10"

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, May 2012.

May 8, 2012
"Percentage of African countries in which the median age is twenty of younger: 75"

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, May 2012.

May 7, 2012
"Amount the average U.S. worker spends annually on coffee: $1,092."

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, May 2012.

May 2, 2012
"Total advertising revenue of the U.S. newspaper industry in 2011: $23,900,000,000
Of Google: $36,500,000,000"

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, May 2012.

April 30, 2012
"Portion of all wealth in the United States that is controlled by people over the age of forty-two: 9/10"

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, May 2012.

April 27, 2012
"Percentage of the income gains in the first year of the recovery that went to 1 percent of U.S. earners: 93"

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, May 2012.

April 26, 2012
"Percentage of its profits that GE paid in federal taxes in the past decade: 2.3"

Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, May 2012.

Especially interesting based on turning in my own taxes last week after tallying them up myself for the first time in seven years. Perhaps it’s time to incorporate?

April 6, 2012
"Estimated percentage by which the population of Japan will shrink by 2060: 32
Portion of its population that will be out of the workforce by then: 1/2"

Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, April 2012.

In a few hours I will be in the air above the East China Sea on my way to Tokyo, and then a few hours more from the most delicious yakitori of all time.

April 2, 2012
"Value of loose change left at TSA checkpoints in 2010: $409,085.56"

Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, April 2012.

Right now I am somewhere over the Pacific Ocean on my way to Seoul, South Korea.

March 30, 2012
"

Percentage of Americans who believe that the population of the United States exceeds one billion: 28

Who believe that Mitt Romney’s first name is “Mittens”: 2

"

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, March 2012.

March 21, 2012
"Date on which Saudi Arabia last executed a woman for sorcery: 12/12/11"

— Harper’s Index, Harper’s magazine, March 2012.