Harper’s Index

Chance that an ACLU member has joined the group since George W. Bush became president: 1 in 2¹

Minimum number of times since 2000 that U.S. news stories have described Al Gore as "president in exile": 26²

Minimum number of federal lobbyists registered since 1999 whose interests cover "terror" or "security" issues: 444³

Estimated number of applications that the U.N. received last year for its 302 weapons-inspector positions: 1,200⁴

Minimum number of U.S.-led bomb strikes on Iraq in the month after inspections were agreed to last winter: 17⁵

Percentage change in the size of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve under George W. Bush: +11⁶

Percentage change in the size of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve under Bill Clinton: -5⁷

Chance that a U.S. soldier killed in the Persian Gulf War was a victim of enemy aggression: 1 in 3⁸

Amount the U.S. Air Force will pay a Texas woman this year for mistakenly hitting her home with a dummy bomb: $12,000⁹

Factor by which the percentage increase in the cost of a U.S. employee health plan since 2001 has exceeded inflation: 7¹⁰

Year in which the last two federal studies of the possible side effects of mass smallpox vaccination were published: 1968¹¹

Number of Americans one study expects to suffer "serious reactions" in the event of such vaccinations: 286,404¹²

Factor by which this study's estimate exceeds that of the other: 16¹³

Number of states whose Blue Cross/Blue Shield insurers were for-profit corporations in 1990 and 2002, respectively: 0, 18¹⁴

Number of Philadelphia's public schools run by one of seven private-sector education management organizations: 45¹⁵

Percentage of Shakespeare's sonnets that contain at least one economic metaphor: 30¹⁶

British price-fixing fine levied last November on Hasbro, the maker of Monopoly: $8,000,000¹⁷

Percentage change since 1964 in the number of different marshmallow shapes to be found in Lucky Charms cereal: +100¹⁸

Percentage change since 1990 in the annual number of large-scale outbreaks of U.S. school-cafeteria food poisoning: +100¹⁹

Percentage points by which wearing a swimsuit increased the average math test score among men in a Michigan study: 4²⁰

Percentage points by which wearing a swimsuit decreased the average score among women: 6²¹

Last date on which instructions for condom use appeared on the federal government's online condom fact sheet: 6/20/01²²

Date on which the Bush Administration announced the cancellation of monthly federal reporting of mass layoffs: 12/24/02²³

Number of announcements of mass layoffs reported in 2002: 17,799²⁴

Annual corporate pension that CSX will pay the new U.S. treasury secretary for the rest of his life: $2,470,000²⁵

Number of the last four years in which CSX paid any federal income tax: 2²⁶

Maximum number of U.S. firms whose 2001 profit exceeded the combined profits of Native American casinos: 16²⁷

Ratio of the combined annual revenue of Native American casinos to that of Las Vegas casinos: 5:3²⁸

Number of active-duty members of the U.S. military, per structure it owns, worldwide: 2²⁹

Ratio of acreage owned by the U.S. military to the size of North Korea: 1:1³⁰

Estimated number of endangered animal and plant species in the Korean demilitarized zone: 49³¹

Number of orphaned newborn puppies successfully breast-fed last fall by a Norwegian woman: 6³²

Number of pygmy monkeys seized from a traveler's pants last December by L.A. customs officials: 2³³

Months after Ohio's Flesh Public Library installed Internet filters in 2000 that the filters blocked its own website: 12³⁴

Minimum number of local activists the Denver police department has gathered information on since the 1950s: 3,200³⁵

Amount the department spent in 2000 to put these names in an internal database: $45,800³⁶

Minimum number of California concerts canceled since August because of new U.S. visa policies: 37³⁷

Number of the 22 Cuban nominees invited to last year's Latin Grammy Awards unable to attend because of such policies: 22³⁸

Chances that an Arab American is Christian: 3 in 4³⁹

Rank shared by Jesus Christ and Bill Clinton among "the greatest Americans of all time," according to Americans: 13⁴⁰

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