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[Essay] History As End

1619, 1776, and the politics of the past

By Matthew Karp,

Current Issue July 2021

[Letter from Alabama] Hard Bargain

How Amazon turned a generation against labor

By Daniel Brook,

[Reviews] The Man Who Loved Presidents

On Jon Meacham

By Thomas Frank,

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage increase last year in UFO sightings nationwide : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Maximum percentage by which satellite traffic has been observed to brighten the night sky : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Number of states in which a majority of residents support daylight saving time

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of complaints the BBC received for excessive coverage of Prince Philip’s death : 110,000

[Harper’s Index]

Rank of that coverage among the most complained-about programming in BBC history : 1

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of regular videoconference attendees who report experiencing Zoom fatigue : 53

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of women with Zoom fatigue who ascribe it partly to an increased focus on their own image : 57

[Harper’s Index]

Of men with Zoom fatigue who do so : 35

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of emoji users who wish they had more options to reflect their personal appearance and identity : 3/5

[Harper’s Index]

Who think emojis are an important tool for creating “unity, respect, and understanding” : 3/4

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage change since 1953 in the frequency with which the Supreme Court rules in favor of religious rights : +76

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of judges who have ruled in federal cases to allow religious gatherings despite COVID-19 restrictions : 38

[Harper’s Index]

Of Republican-appointed judges who have done so : 66

[Harper’s Index]

Of Democratic-appointed judges

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of adults with seasonal allergies who experience fewer symptoms if they regularly wear a surgical mask : 36

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated number of face masks that entered the ocean last year : 1,560,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Factor by which the amount of energy polar bears must expend to survive has increased because of the loss of arctic ice : 4

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Wisconsin’s wolf population that was killed during a sixty-hour hunting period this year : 1/5

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of the earth’s land on which humans have not caused species loss : 3

[Harper’s Index]

Number of trees lost each year as a result of the consumption habits of the average person in China : 0.5

[Harper’s Index]

In the United States : 5

[Harper’s Index]

In Sweden : 22

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of commercial air travel emissions caused by the most frequent 1 percent of fliers : 1/2

[Harper’s Index]

Average portion of the global population that does not fly in a given year : 9/10

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of Americans who believe that climate change is causing home values in their area to decline : 21

[Harper’s Index]

Number of homes for sale in the United States this spring : 1,070,000

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum number of real estate agents in the United States this spring : 1,463,806

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of professors at top-ranked universities whose parents earned PhDs : 30

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated factor by which a professor is more likely than a member of the general public to have a parent with a PhD : 25

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which liberals are more likely than conservatives to participate in medical research : 16

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage by which the UberX service has increased binge drinking among Americans aged 21 to 34 : 10

[Harper’s Index]

Minimum portion of the U.S. rental-car fleet that has been sold off during the pandemic : 1/4

[Harper’s Index]

Estimated percentage of earnings that the top 1 percent of U.S. earners do not disclose to the IRS : 21

[Harper’s Index]

Amount of lost revenue this represents each year : $175,000,000

[Harper’s Index]

Portion of Americans who think life is fair : 1/3

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage of conversations that end when both parties want them to : 2

[Harper’s Index]

Percentage by which the length of the average conversation differs from the desired length : 50

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Monday Gallery

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Sore Loser

Sore Loser, oil, molding paste, glass beads, and pumice on canvas, by Sasha Gordon, whose work is on view through July 10 at Matthew Brown Los Angeles.

Courtesy the artist and Matthew Brown Los Angeles

“Untitled (bowl cut)”

“Untitled (bowl cut),” circa 1986, a photograph by Peggy Levison Nolan, whose work is on view through August 22 at the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, in Miami.

Courtesy the artist and Dina Mitrani Gallery, Miami

Cascades

Cascades, Plexiglas, engineered wood, piano wire, ABS strip, acrylic paint, and ink on a birch-plywood panel, by Lucy Williams, whose work is on view through July 3 at Berggruen Gallery, in San Francisco.

Courtesy the artist and Berggruen Gallery

Percentage increase last year in UFO sightings nationwide : 16

Maximum percentage by which satellite traffic has been observed to brighten the night sky : 10

Number of states in which a majority of residents support daylight saving time

Minimum number of complaints the BBC received for excessive coverage of Prince Philip’s death : 110,000

Rank of that coverage among the most complained-about programming in BBC history : 1

Percentage of regular videoconference attendees who report experiencing Zoom fatigue : 53

Percentage of women with Zoom fatigue who ascribe it partly to an increased focus on their own image : 57

Of men with Zoom fatigue who do so : 35

Portion of emoji users who wish they had more options to reflect their personal appearance and identity : 3/5

Who think emojis are an important tool for creating “unity, respect, and understanding” : 3/4

Percentage change since 1953 in the frequency with which the Supreme Court rules in favor of religious rights : +76

Percentage of judges who have ruled in federal cases to allow religious gatherings despite COVID-19 restrictions : 38

Of Republican-appointed judges who have done so : 66

Of Democratic-appointed judges

Percentage of adults with seasonal allergies who experience fewer symptoms if they regularly wear a surgical mask : 36

Estimated number of face masks that entered the ocean last year : 1,560,000,000

Factor by which the amount of energy polar bears must expend to survive has increased because of the loss of arctic ice : 4

Portion of Wisconsin’s wolf population that was killed during a sixty-hour hunting period this year : 1/5

Percentage of the earth’s land on which humans have not caused species loss : 3

Number of trees lost each year as a result of the consumption habits of the average person in China : 0.5

In the United States : 5

In Sweden : 22

Portion of commercial air travel emissions caused by the most frequent 1 percent of fliers : 1/2

Average portion of the global population that does not fly in a given year : 9/10

Percentage of Americans who believe that climate change is causing home values in their area to decline : 21

Number of homes for sale in the United States this spring : 1,070,000

Minimum number of real estate agents in the United States this spring : 1,463,806

Percentage of professors at top-ranked universities whose parents earned PhDs : 30

Estimated factor by which a professor is more likely than a member of the general public to have a parent with a PhD : 25

Percentage by which liberals are more likely than conservatives to participate in medical research : 16

Estimated percentage by which the UberX service has increased binge drinking among Americans aged 21 to 34 : 10

Minimum portion of the U.S. rental-car fleet that has been sold off during the pandemic : 1/4

Percentage of federal tax revenue accounted for by corporate taxes in 1969 : 22

In 2019 : 8

Number of Fortune 500 companies that paid no federal taxes last year : 40

Estimated percentage of earnings that the top 1 percent of U.S. earners do not disclose to the IRS : 21

Amount of lost revenue this represents each year : $175,000,000

Portion of Americans who think life is fair : 1/3

Percentage of conversations that end when both parties want them to : 2

Percentage by which the length of the average conversation differs from the desired length : 50

June 15, 2021

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A Complicating Energy

Greensleeves

Reasons for Staying

Sore Loser

“Untitled (bowl cut)”

Cascades

Past Issues

Harper’s Finest

From the Archive

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SARS was found in tears.

A psycholinguistic analysis of posts on Twitter and Weibo during COVID-19 lockdowns found that residents of Lombardy grew increasingly focused on leisure and residents of Wuhan grew increasingly focused on religion.

Convalescent plasma helps Syrian hamsters fight SARS-CoV-2.

Falling levels of tourist trash during pandemic lockdowns was found to have caused rat infighting, and macaques were reported to have attacked a lab assistant in Delhi and stolen vials of COVID-­19-­infected blood, which at least one monkey then tried to eat.

The World Health Organization warned that SARS will probably return this winter.

Falling levels of tourist trash during pandemic lockdowns was found to have caused rat infighting, and macaques were reported to have attacked a lab assistant in Delhi and stolen vials of COVID-19-infected blood, which at least one monkey then tried to eat.