SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION

Number of Americans who made at least one purchase at Wal-Mart in 2006, by percent: 82%

According to the Internal Revenue Service, the number of American taxpayers who will call the IRS Helpline and receive incorrect information: 1 in 5

Percent of lottery winners who gain weight after winning $1 million or more in prize money: 100%

Number of Americans who will have surgery this year and return home from the hospital with metal tools, sponges, and other foreign objects left inside them: about 2,700 (on average, 60 will die as a result)

Chances that a burglary in the U.S. will be solved: 1 in 7

World life expectancy in 1900: 30 years
World life expectancy now: 64 years
Life expectancy in the United States: 77 years (The U.S. is ranked 46th among all nations for life expectancy)

If an American dies before age 65, they were most likely between the ages of 25 and 44 at the time of their death and it was most likely the result of an accident

Favorite food of the typical N0rth American cockroach: postage stamp glue

Number of possible ways to play the first four moves in a game of chess: 318,979,564,000

U.S. state with the most personalized license plates: Illinois

You have a greater chance of being killed by a teddy bear than a grizzly bear

Size of the New York City Police Department budget: $3.3 million (larger than all but 19 of the world's armies)

Percent of the world's population that is comprised of Americans: 5%
Percent of the world's prison population comprised of Americans incarcerated in the U.S.: 25%

If the earth's population were reduced to 100 people, then 51 would be female and 49 would be male; half of all currency would be held by 6 people; and one person would be about to die and another about to be born

CEO earnings: in 1965 a CEO earned 44 times more than a factory worker employed by their company... in 1998, a CEO earned 326 times that of a factory worker and today a CEO earns 419 times that of a factory worker

U.S. state with the lowest number of suicides per capita: New York (Wyoming has the highest, followed by Montana, Alaska, Nevada, and New Mexico)

World's best-selling musical instrument: Harmonica

The length of your foot is equivalent to the length from your elbow to your wrist

Number of words spoken by the average adult American each day: 5,000 (approximately 80% are spoken to yourself)

World's oldest profession: Witch Doctor

Fastest growing group of Internet users worldwide: Women over age 55

Month during which the most murders occur in the U.S.: August (least murders in February)

Number of voting machine errors detected, reported and verified in the state of Florida that went in favor of Bush in the 2000 election: All

Slogan on New Hampshire license plates: Live Free or Die
Manufacturer of New Hampshire license plates: Prisoners at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord, NH

Age of most Americans living today: 37

Number of Americans who believe the U.S. is comprised of 52 states: 52%

Average age of a woman in New Zealand giving birth for the first time: 30 years

Number of American mothers who give birth for the first time while a teenager: 1 in 4

Country with the most Internet users per capita: Iceland

Country where you are most likely to be struck by lightning: Cuba

Country with the most residents who live alone: United States

Country with the lowest divorce rate: Sri Lanka

Country with the highest rate of female suicide: Sri Lanka

Average number of miles per gallon you can expect if a car-maker's ad claims "30 miles per gallon, city": 23, city and about the same on the highway

Country where you are most likely to be killed while using a power lawn mower: Moldova

State in which Marlboro cigarettes are sold containing more tar and nicotine than those sold in any other state: New York

Percentage of the world's scientists in all fields assigned to military projects: 48%

Number of U.S. presidents who were an only child: 0

The only book to surpass the Bible in distribution as of 2006: IKEA Catalog

World record holder for most commonly stolen book from public libraries: Guinness Book of World Records

How many people were born in the time it took you to read this question?: 3

Number of Catholic Popes who died during sexual intercourse: 4

Name given a group of army soldiers: Mess

Name given a group of frogs: Army

Number of California driver's licenses issued to people named Jesus Christ: 6

Most shoplifted book in the world: Bible

Chance that if you have lived to be over 100 years of age that you are female: 80%

Number of people who can't snap their fingers: 2 out of 3

According to the Food and Drug Administration, the number of maggots or maggot parts allowed in a gallon of orange juice sold commercially in the U.S.: 2

Micheal Jordan makes more money each year from Nike than all of the Malaysian Nike factory workers combined

Most people (75%) claim to wash from top to bottom

Male hospital patients fall out of bed twice as often as female patients