Harper’s Index Archives

Harper’s Index

Chance that a Republican voter has thought about the midterm elections “only a little” : 1 in 3 That a Democratic voter has : 1 in 2 Percentage of midterm campaign advertisements that have…

Harper’s Index

Percentage of U.S. Republicans who say they could not live on the minimum wage : 69 Who support raising it : 37 Minimum number of times since 2011 that members of Congress have accidentally…

Harper’s Index

Percentage of U.S. children under the age of fifteen who expect their parents to pay for most or all of college : 53 Percentage of U.S. parents who plan to do so : 29…

Minimum number of Muslims living in Norilsk, Russia, the site of the world’s northernmost mosque : 30,000 Average daily number of daylight hours Norilsk has during Ramadan this year : 23.8 Portion of people…

Harper’s Index

Portion of Americans who live in areas with harmful levels of air pollution : 1/2 Number of the top five most polluted cities in the country that are in California : 5 Estimated number…

Harper’s Index

Percentage change in the past year in the number of Mexicans requesting U.S. asylum : +160 In the number of anti-Hispanic hate crimes in United States : +233 Number of people fatally shot near…

Harper’s Index

Percentage of all litter on U.S. roadways accounted for by cigarette butts : 36 Estimated additional hours Americans would spend stoned annually if marijuana were legal in most states : 30,000,000,000 Ounces of marijuana…

Harper’s Index

Percentage of black Americans in the South who are prevented from voting because they have been convicted of a felony : 13 Percentage of all criminal defendants in the United States who…

Harper’s Index

Estimated value of goods and services distributed for free on the Internet in 2011 : $376,000,000,000 Portion of the content streamed on Pornhub, the world’s largest pornography website, that is viewed on…

Harper’s Index

Percentage of uninsured Democrats who say they will pay a fine rather than buy health insurance under Obamacare : 15 Percentage of uninsured independents who do : 31 Of uninsured Republicans : 45 Amount Georgia senator…

Harper’s Index

Percentage change since 2007 in the number of cells in the New York City prison system devoted to solitary confinement : +63 Portion of the adolescent prisoners in solitary on Rikers Island…

Harper’s Index

Percentage change in the S&P 500 since its pre-crisis peak : +8 In the price of financial stocks : –44 Portion of wages paid in Manhattan that come from the financial-services industry : 1/3 Percentage by…

Harper’s Index

Date on which John Kerry called the crisis in Syria “our Munich moment” : 9/7/2013 On which Lyndon Johnson said that what “we learned . . . at Munich” committed us to intervention in Vietnam : 7/28/1965…

Harper’s Index

Rank of “Jesus” and “Mohammed,” respectively, among the Wikipedia articles with the most editorial changes : 8,3 Rank of “George W. Bush” : 1 Projected height, in feet, of a Saudi skyscraper, financed by…

Harper’s Index

Number of refugees and internally displaced people in the world last year : 45,200,000 Last year in which there were as many : 1994 Number of hours Chinese workers held the head of a…

Harper’s Index

Estimated number of Americans who have top-secret security clearance : 1,400,000 Average annual cost of detaining an inmate at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay : $900,000 At a supermax prison in the United…

Harper’s Index

Number of U.S. retail jobs Doritos Locos tacos created in the past year, according to Taco Bell : 15,000 Number of retail jobs created worldwide by Apple in that same period : 400 Portion…

Harper’s Index

Percentage change in the past twenty-five years in the Consumer Price Index : +41 In the price of beer : +40 Of books : –1 Number of students currently attending the thirteen Washington, D.C., public schools…

Harper’s Index

Chance that a U.S. combat pilot suffers from a mental-health problem : 1 in 17 That a remote drone pilot does : 1 in 12 Estimated percentage change since 2007 in the number of…

Harper’s Index

Percentage of the U.S. population that is foreign-born : 13 Percentage that was foreign-born in 1913 : 15 Change in the number of undocumented immigrants living in the United States since 2007 : –900,000 Portion of…

Harper’s Index

Number of the 400 wealthiest Americans who count as small-business owners under House Republicans’ definition : 237 Percentage of the Bush tax cuts made permanent by the “fiscal cliff” compromise : 82 Portion of…

Harper’s Index

Projected annual revenue Mexican drug cartels stand to lose from pot legalization in Colorado and Washington : $1,400,000,000 Estimated minimum amount the Zeta cartel makes each year from the sale of coal : $22,000,000…

Harper’s Index

Number of signatures a petition posted on whitehouse.gov must obtain within thirty days to “require a response” : 25,000 Number a petition calling for Texas to secede from the Union obtained within…

Harper’s Index

Estimated percentage of North American pit-viper litters that are “virgin births” : 5 Percentage of freshmen at four-year colleges who declare “Roman Catholic” as their religious affiliation : 26 Who declare “None” : 25 Percentage of…

Harper’s Index

Percentage change since 2010 in the per-pound cost of a Thanksgiving turkey : +22 Portion of the total U.S. corn crop that goes to make ethanol : 2/5 Estimated number of chickens killed after…

Harper’s index

by Harper’s Staff,

Harper’s index

by Harper’s Staff,

Harper’s index

by Harper’s Staff,

Harper’s index

by Harper’s Staff,

Harper’s index

by Harper’s Staff,

Harper’s Index

From the Archive

Got it! Thanks for signing up!

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s Index

Harper’s index

Harper’s index

Harper’s index

Harper’s index

Harper’s index

November 2014

Debug