Harper’s Index

Number of nuclear warheads possessed by all Arab countries combined: 0¹

Minimum number in Israel: 100²

Minutes from nuclear armageddon shown on the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists "doomsday clock" this year: 7³

Minutes by which this differs from the time published set on the clock in 1947, despite 17 adjustments since then: 0⁴

Shipments of nuclear waste to be trucked cross-country once Nevada's Yucca Mountain dump opens in 2010: 96,000⁵

Annual number of "accidents or incidents" that Nevada estimates these trucks will be involved in through 2048: 54⁶

Percentage of the EPA's 1,479 Superfund sites for which no cleanup plan exists: 56⁷

Number of attendees at a New York City "drought awareness" workshop for landlords this spring: 4⁸

Number of states that reported drought conditions in March: 32⁹

Number of states that require certification for the operation of a crematorium: 4¹⁰

Days after scientists this year cited the universe's average color as pale turquoise that it was amended to light beige: 56¹¹

Estimated percentage of matter in the universe determined this year to be invisible: 98¹²

Estimated factor by which total worldwide holdings of derivatives exceed world GDP: 5¹³

Minimum amount a Swiss bank lost last November because of a typing error: $100,000,000¹⁴

Estimated number of Americans who must wear Global Positioning System monitors as a condition of parole: 1,200¹⁵

Number of imprisoned Americans who have been freed by DNA evidence since 1989: 104¹⁶

Minimum number of them who had already confessed or otherwise incriminated themselves: 15¹⁷

Chance that a priest in Boston's archdiocese has been accused of sexual abuse: 1 in 10¹⁸

Number of Britain's Anglican clergy to whom their union is offering martial-arts training this year: 1,500¹⁹

Percentage of British clergy who were attacked on the job between 1997 and 1999: 12²⁰

Percentage of British probation officers who were: 8²¹

Estimated percentage by which British arms sales to African countries next year will exceed such sales in 1999: 400²²

Percentage of U.S. pilots spraying defoliants over Colombia who are contract workers hired through a private firm: 100²³

Number of current Bush Administration officials who were involved in the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal: 4²⁴

Number who were found guilty of criminal acts: 2²⁵

Percentage change since January in the number of words in the Army secretary's Web bio devoted to his Enron career: -85²⁶

Percentage of Enron's 3,100 subsidiaries at the time of its bankruptcy that were located in other countries: 64²⁷

Amount the World Bank has spent since 1992 on 212 projects to extract, transport, or burn fossil fuels: $20,800,000,000²⁸

Amount it has spent since then on its 30 projects involving renewable energy or energy efficiency: $900,000,000²⁹

Number of Amtrak's 41 routes other than the Boston-Washington, D.C., Metroliner that turn a profit: 0³⁰

Percentage change in Metroliner ridership since Amtrak added a new high-speed train to the route two years ago: -9³¹

Hours for which New Orleans's airport was partly evacuated in February over a package later found to contain gumbo: 5³²

Days after September 11 that New Jersey's Iman Abdallah applied to trademark the phrase "Let's roll": 11³³

Days later that the foundation named for the man who immortalized the phrase applied to trademark it: 4³⁴

Number of times Marlboro cigarettes appear or are mentioned in the film In the Bedroom: 5³⁵

Number of product-placement deals the film's producers made with Marlboro's manufacturer: 0³⁶

Percentage of writers of U.S. clinical-practice guidelines who have financial ties to pharmaceutical companies: 58³⁷

Number of New York City restaurants whose use of the term "Viagra" on the menu has been protested by Pfizer: 3³⁸

Number of Manhattan's 123 Starbucks outlets that are within two blocks of another one: 68³⁹

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