Harper’s Index

Percentage by which the $750 billion bailout exceeds the total U.S. GDP of a century ago, adjusted for inflation: 50

Percentage by which it exceeds the cost of the entire New Deal: 33

Factor by which it exceeds the cost of the 1990 savings-and-loan bailout: 3

Minimum number of properties the U.S. government was forced to buy as part of the S&L bailout: 43,640

Number of churches and athletic clubs, respectively, that this purchase included: 3, 27

Ratio of the funds U.S. banks paid into the FDIC last year to those they received in ATM fees: 1:1

Percentage of Americans who say they live “paycheck to paycheck”: 47

Percentage of those making over $100,000 per year who say this: 21

Percentage of Fortune 500 companies that own a Web address in which their name is followed by “sucks.com”: 26

Chance in 2003 that a Fortune 500 company was based in an emerging-market country: 1 in 14

Chance today: 1 in 8

Amount a Chinese investor paid in June to have lunch with Warren Buffett: $2,110,000

Number of appearances that a Thai prime minister made this year as a TV chef: 4

Amount he was paid, leading to his ouster in September for receiving outside income: $2,300

Tons of international food aid provided to Sudan last year: 548,400

Estimated tons of food Sudan produces and exports to other countries each year: 534,000

Chance that a person worldwide lacks adequate drinking water due to socioeconomic conditions: 1 in 6

Estimated portion of all freshwater drawn from U.S. sources each year that is used to cool power plants: 1/2

Percentage of Fortune 1000 companies that say a water shortage would be “severe” or “catastrophic” to their business: 40

Percentage that say they have made preparations for such a shortage: 17

Number of complaints filed by corporate whistleblowers with U.S. workplace-safety officials since 2002: 1,288

Number in which the government ruled in favor of the whistleblower: 17

Estimated number of professional “union-avoidance consultants” currently working in the United States: 2,000

Percentage change since 1977 in the size of the U.S. labor force: +61

Percentage change since then in the number of federal wage and hour inspectors: –21

Average value of defense contracts that each Pentagon auditor was responsible for vetting in 2007: $2,030,000,000

Average value each auditor vetted ten years ago: $642,000,000

Date on which Sears began selling an “All American Army” clothing line, with royalties paid to the U.S. military: 9/15/08

Percentage of U.S. Christmas trees purchased in 2001 and 2007, respectively, that were artificial: 21, 36

Number of credit-card solicitations sent to Americans last year: 5,200,000,000

Percentage that were responded to: 0.5

Year in which Cuba’s ban on toasters will be lifted: 2010

Year by which computer server farms worldwide are projected to produce more greenhouse gases than air travel: 2020

Year by which New Orleans is expected to be rebuilt, at the current pace: 2028

Number of years that Google’s CEO says it will take the company to achieve its goals: 300

Number of members in the Facebook group “I Just HATE Pakistan”: 2,973

Number in the group “Belgium Doesn’t Exist”: 1,156

Percentage of total Internet site visits in 2004 and today, respectively, that accessed porn: 17, 10

Number of U.S. postage stamps printed in June whose packaging mistakenly listed a phone-sex number: 4,000,000

Telephone number that was printed in place of 1-800-STAMP-24, the number for reordering: 1-800-TRAMP-24