11/84Number of years it takes for the information stored in the world’s libraries and computers to double: 8
10/85Salvadoran union activists murdered this year: 8
Percentage of the federal budget that actually is: 1
2/86Percentage of the babies born to unmarried white women under 25 that are given up for adoption: 8
11/86Average number of South Africans detained every hour since the government declared a state of emergency: 8
6/87Percentage of Americans between the ages of 8 and 17 who say they have five or more living grandparents: 8
Number of those days that were Wednesdays: 4
6/88Number of deaths in America, since 1981, caused by vending machines having fallen on people who shook them: 8
Percentage who say that Michael Dukakis is: 8
10/88Number of the last 10 presidential elections that were won by the taller candidate: 8
11/88Number of the 10 states with cuts in personal income taxes between 1986 and 1987 that had Democratic governors: 8
6/89Percentage of all oil spilled in tanker accidents during the past year that is accounted for by the Exxon spill: 8
Percentage change, from 1987 to 1988, in the number of newspaper and magazine articles about AIDS: -36
1/90Number of Latin American countries that have become democracies during the 1980s: 8
1/90Percentage of children in 1988 who said that Pee-wee Herman was “highly qualified” to be president: 8
Percentage who said that Michael Dukakis was “highly qualified”: 8
5/90Ratio of women who buy Mother’s Day cards to men who do: 5:1
Ratio of women who buy Father’s Day cards to men who do: 8:1
2/91Number of years since 1980 in which increases in blue-collar wages have failed to keep up with inflation: 8
4/91Estimated percentage of the oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez that has been removed from the environment: 8
9/91Percentage of the references to male tennis players made by TV sportscasters that use the player’s first name only: 8
Percentage of the references to female tennis players that do: 53 [see page 38]
1/92Number of members of the Cossacks, a Moscow motorcycle gang: 8
Number of motorcycles they own: 1
1/93Average number of crimes against foreigners each day in Germany during the first six months of 1992: 8
1/93Ratio of the average tax levied on a gallon of gas sold in Europe to that on a gallon sold in the United States: 8:1
3/93Ratio of the number of Czechs who have no religious affiliation to the number of Slovaks who have none: 8:1
4/93Number of months since budget cuts at the Bureau of Labor Statistics eliminated government tracking of layoffs: 8
4/93Average percentage of bank deposits in a minority community that are reinvested in the neighborhood: 4
6/93Amount by which the price of a pair of J. Crew broken-in jeans exceeds the price of a pair of regular J. Crew jeans: $8
9/93Number of TV stations that have refused to air a consumer group’s ad advocating a Canadian-style health-care system: 8
10/93Number of trips Bob Dole has made to New Hampshire and Iowa so far this year: 8
Number of the three tax increases supported by Ronald Reagan or George Bush that Dole voted for: 3
10/93Average life span of a hairdo on the head of Hillary Rodham Clinton since last November, in weeks: 8
8/94Average unemployment rate during the 1980s in the ten states with the largest number of immigrants: 6
Average unemployment rate in the ten states with the fewest immigrants: 8
2/96Average change in a Democratic president’s approval rating after sending troops into a new conflict, in points: +2
Average change in a Republican president’s approval rating: +8
2/96Place for which Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Zhirinovsky are tied, among the ten political leaders Russians most trust: 8
4/96Average amount by which the I.Q. of an 8-year-old who was breast-fed exceeds that of one who was not, in points: 8
5/96Number of years it took Bob Dole to agree to sign the “no new taxes” pledge he signed last April: 8
7/96Average number of neuro-active drugs Timothy Leary has ingested each day this year, according to his Web site: 8
11/96Number of weeks Bill Gates served as a congressional page in 1972: 8
12/96Number of ethnic restaurants Bill Clinton sampled at last July’s Taste of Chicago: 8
2/97Number of minor planets named after rock musicians: 8
5/97Number of microphones installed in Redwood City, California, last August as part of its “Urban Gunfire Location System”: 8
6/97Number of Russia’s 97 army divisions that are combat-ready, according to security chief Alexander Lebed: 8
Average number to be launched per second this year: 8
8/97Points by which Frank Gifford’s approval rating exceeds that of Newt Gingrich: 8
8/97Number of films to be released by the end of the year in which Larry King plays himself: 8
2/98Percentage of Americans who believe they are more likely to cheat at cards than Bill Clinton or Al Gore: 8
9/98Ratio of miles of logging and other roads in U.S. national forests to the total length of the interstate highway system: 8:1
9/98Number of years an independent counsel has been investigating Ronald Reagan’s Department of Housing: 8
5/99Average duration in hours of the stupor induced in Japanese beetles by the consumption of geraniums: 8
6/99Number of pups that Bob Dole’s dog Leader has sired with Strom Thurmond’s dog Chelsea Marie: 8
10/99Minimum number of U.S. Army bases in which space has been reserved for Wiccan soldiers’ seasonal rites: 8
1/00Factor by which Microsoft’s average monthly campaign contribution in 1999 exceeded its monthly contribution in 1995: 8
Number of these that were begun in the name of the Catholic Church or to reinstate a deposed monarch: 7
3/00Number of states that introduced legislation forbidding discrimination against motorcylists last year: 8
6/00Number of “marriage studies” majors learning “the art of getting and staying married ” last term at a Pennsylvania college: 8
8/00Minimum number of Haitian politicians assassinated since 1994’s U.S. military intervention: 8
12/00Ratio of the number of attacks on U.S. citizens or property in Latin America last year to those in the Middle East: 8:1
3/01Number of the last 9 presidential elections in which Montana voted Republican: 8
4/01Percentage of U.S. men who say they have neglected their sex lives because of consumer electronics: 8
7/01Factor by which the number of Catholics in Latin America exceeds the number in Italy: 8
11/01Factor by which the number of West Bank houses demolished by Israel this year exceeds the number demolished last year: 8
4/03Months after the fall of the Taliban that the United States began on-site assessment of Afghanistan’s natural resources: 8
10/03Number of the U.N.’s 15 ongoing peacekeeping missions that have been in operation for at least a decade: 8
3/04Days after Italian magistrates began investigating food conglomerate Parmalat last December that its former CEO was jailed: 8
7/04Number of days this year that the Small Business Administration’s largest loan program shut down for lack of funds: 8
10/04Number of its international workers that Doctors Without Borders has lost to political violence in its 34-year history: 8
Number of them killed in Afghanistan in June: 3
6/05Factor by which the average viral load in “socially inhibited” HIV+ men exceeds that in “outgoing” men, in a UCLA study: 8
12/05Number of the 1,035 confirmed Hurricane Katrina‒related deaths that were caused by gunfire: 8
5/06Number of U.S. cities and towns so far that have passed resolutions calling for the impeachment of President Bush: 8
6/06Ratio of the average manufacturing wage in the United States to that in Mexico, before NAFTA took effect in 1994: 6:1
Ratio today: 8:1
9/06Minimum number of states that have received telemarketing calls on their federally issued emergency hot lines: 8
7/07Number of U.S.-run Iraqi reconstruction projects declared successfully “complete” that inspectors visited this year: 8
Number from this sample that were found not to be functioning: 7
10/07Ratio of the number of calories in a candy corn kernel to the number in a real corn kernel: 8:1
11/07Number of the top ten TV shows watched by African Americans in 1997 that were also among the top ten shows overall: 1
Number today: 8
1/08Estimated number of tons of CO2 released on New Year’s Eve from all the champagne bottles uncorked by Americans: 8
Number of minutes it takes all 13,000 New York City cabs to release this much: 7
7/08Estimated percentage of Africa’s elephants poached each year before the 1989 ban on ivory trade: 7
Estimated percentage today, under the ban: 8
9/08Minimum number of times that journalists and politicians on TV have referred to Barack Obama as “Osama”: 8
Times they have referred to Osama bin Laden as “Obama”: 8
9/08Number of the twelve original members of Sha Na Na who hold advanced academic degrees: 8
2/08Length, in feet, of a prehistoric sea scorpion whose fossil was first reported last November: 8.2
4/98Length, in feet, of a wooden penis carried through the streets of Komaki, Japan, during a spring fertility ceremony: 8.3
1/08Price, from a U.K. company, for a can of “ashtray” fragrance, to be used by pubs after a recent smoking ban: £8.50
3/91Record time for the fastest dismantling, without power tools, of an automobile into salable parts, in minutes: 8.7
9/84Number of European monarchs to whom the Murdoch press says Ronald Reagan is related: 9
11/84Number of covers Paris-Match has devoted this year to President François Mitterrand: 2
5/85Latin American countries in which military governments have been replaced with civilian ones since 1979: 9
5/87Hours of nursing care the average hospitalized AIDS patient requires each day: 9
4/88Average number of sexual innuendos broadcast on television each hour during prime time: 9
5/88Number of Israeli soldiers who have been jailed for refusing to serve in the West Bank and Gaza Strip: 9
8/88Number of the last 10 elections that were won by the nominee who gave the most optimistic convention speech: 9
12/88Average number of years of marriage before an unfaithful British husband has his first affair: 8
4/90Number of months the 4 managers of the Moscow McDonald’s attended the Canadian Institute of Hamburgerology: 9
Number of former major league players whose last names are palindromes: 7
8/90Months after Exxon hired Veco International to clean up the Valdez spill that Veco bought the Anchorage Times: 9
10/90Hours it took Jennifer Norwood of the PMRC to transcribe the lyrics of 2 Live Crew’s As Nasty as They Wanna Be: 9
8/91Gallons of suntan lotion sold each summer at Empire Haven Nudist Park and Resort in Moravia, New York: 9
11/91Percentage change, since 1980, in the average amount of tax an American pays to the federal government: 0
Percentage change, since 1980, in the average amount of tax an American pays to state and local governments: +9
Number of the 18 teams whose helmet logos do not include lettering that have won the Super Bowl: 3
4/94Number of the Best Actor/Actress Oscar nominees since 1986 who played a mentally or physically disabled person: 9
5/94Percentage of women in Sub-Saharan Africa who use birth control: 9
9/94Number of European governments suspected of torturing prisoners last year, according to Amnesty International: 9
12/94Number of industrialized countries whose manufacturers pay higher wages than those in the United States: 9
Maximum average speed in miles per hour that Manhattan’s traffic commissioner believes is achievable: 9
1/96Number of U.S. sports arenas renamed for corporations last year: 9
7/96Number of missiles designed for the Pentagon by Jack Ryan, a designer of the first Barbie Doll: 2
Number of months Ryan was married to Zsa Zsa Gabor: 9
7/97Number of years since 1988 in which natural disasters have cost U.S. insurers at least $1 billion: 9
10/97Number of Illinois death-row prisoners released since 1977 after their convictions were overturned: 9
4/98Minimum number of the 10 biological materials suspected in Iraqi warfare research that were supplied by U.S. firms: 9
6/98Number of the 524 subpoenas issued in Rep. Dan Burton’s campaign-finance investigation that have gone to Republicans: 9
1/99Ratio of campaign spending per vote won last year by Newt Gingrich to spending per vote won by Senator Russ Feingold: 9:1
1/00Number of the ten largest multinational corporations that produce automobiles or gasoline: 9
3/00Number of federal fraud charges of which former Mouseketeer Darlene Gillespie was found guilty in 1998: 9
10/00Column inches that the New York Times devoted last August 13 to Joe Lieberman’s resemblance to actor Sam Jaffe: 9
1/01Change since 1981 in minutes per day devoted to homework by Americans between nine and eleven years old: +9
1/01Years that Mexico spent fighting a Texas death sentence given one of its citizens before his execution last fall: 9
5/01Number of murders in New York City last year, per 100,000 residents: 9
8/01Number of new worker-protection rules whose enactment Bush ordered postponed on his first day in office: 9
Number in which foreign-language classes are required: 9
11/01Hours after the September 11 attack that an Alaska congressman speculated that it may have been committed by “eco-terrorists”: 9
1/02Minimum number of the ten biological materials suspected in Iraqi warfare research that were supplied by U.S. firms: 9
3/04Percentage change since 2000 in immigration to Israel: -65
5/04Months into the war that Britain confirmed that all its troops were outfitted with desert clothing: 9
9/04Number of months of his term in office that a Kentucky county’s top elected official has served from jail: 9
1/05Hours after Kerry conceded that a New Yorker posted a personal ad seeking a Bush supporter for a “fair, physical fight”: 5
Number who asked to watch: 9
7/05Number of America’s nine “Founding Fathers” who denied the divinity of Jesus: 7
11/06Days before the end of this fiscal year that Medicare payments to doctors and hospitals will be halted: 9
5/07Weeks after losing his Senate seat that Rick Santorum joined a think tank to start a program called America’s Enemies: 9
9/07Average number of years by which the eight Democratic candidates are older than their spouses: 9
Average number of years by which the nine Republican candidates are: 3
Number of years that Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich are, respectively: 24, 23
10/08Average percentage change in median home values when the proportion of same-sex couples nearby goes up by 1 percent: +9
1/09Hours after the 9/11 attacks that an Alaska congressman speculated they may have been committed by “eco-terrorists”: 9
1/09Number of eligibility restrictions for admission into the Army that have been loosened since 2003: 9
3/09Price, at a Reykjavík restaurant, of a whale kebab called “Moby Dick on a Stick”: $9
12/03Average number of U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq each day since the invasion began: 9.2
12/02Factor by which the cruising speed of NASA’s new hypersonic cruise-missile engine exceeds that of previous missiles: 9.5
11/95Price of The New Hampshire Primer, a how-to book on winning the first presidential primary: $9.95
5/97Price of a packet of Diet Dirt, sterilized soil to be sprinkled over food to make it repugnant: $9.95
11/05Price, from an online vendor, of a “Free Judith Miller ” thong: $9.99
7/84Number of Rolls-Royces in the Soviet Union: 10
2/85Percentage decrease in articles by British scientists in the 2,000 leading scientific journals, from 1973 to 1980: 10
4/85Percentage of Thai women between the ages of 15 and 30 who are prostitutes: 10
11/85Percentage of all federal judges appointed by President Reagan who graduated from Ivy League law schools: 10
12/85Percentage of homeowners in California who have earthquake insurance: 10
10/97Number of months the system has been unable to link the AID’s 40 field offices to the agency’s accounting program: 10
11/08Percentage of former terrorist groups worldwide that stopped operating because of military force used against them: 7
Percentage that stopped because they had achieved their stated goals: 10
1/86Members of the North American Deer Farmers Association: 10
2/86Percentage of the Philippines’ 300 government-owned corporations that are headed by Imelda Marcos: 10
1/87Percentage of Americans who believe AIDS can be contracted by handling money: 10
5/87Rank of U.S. stock markets, among markets worldwide, in percentage gain since 1982: 10
9/87Paces at which the crunch of a pickle should be audible, according to Pickle Packers International: 10
12/87Estimated percentage of parents who, after prenatal testing, decline to learn the sex of their child: 10
4/88Percentage of the Soviet Union’s population that was killed in World War II: 10