Harper’s Index

Estimated value of U.S. economic growth lost due to the global credit crisis : $2,000,000,000,000 (see page 35)

Portion of U.S. subprime mortgage buyers since 2003 who might have qualified for a prime mortgage : 3/5

Number of times that speakers at the Republican National Convention said the word “economy” : 31

Number of times they referred to President Bush by name : 1

Minimum number of reporters who traveled to Wasilla, Alaska, in the two weeks following Sarah Palin’s selection as VP : 90

Estimated number of votes that Oprah Winfrey’s endorsement swung to Barack Obama’s primary campaign : 1,015,559

Amount that corporate donors to both conventions have spent lobbying Congress since 2005 : $1,316,151,129

Minimum amount the U.S. government has paid contractors in the Middle East since 2003 : $8,200,000,000

Total value of federal small-business contracts obtained by Blackwater between 2005 and 2007 : $110,000,000

Percentage 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

Percentage of Afghans who say they would support a coalition government that included the Taliban : 54

Chances that an Israeli Arab says he or she would rather live in Israel than anywhere else : 3 in 4

Average number of religions practiced in each world nation : 32

Estimated number in Papua New Guinea, which has the most : 648

Percentage of U.S. doctors who think God has the power to cure a fatally injured patient : 20

Chance that a U.S. conservative today believes church leaders should be involved in politics : 1 in 2

Chances in 2004 : 7 in 10

Percentage of Americans in 2006 who were “not at all” confident that President Bush had won reelection “fair and square” : 32

Minimum number of Brazilians running for political office this year under the name “Obama” : 5

Date on which the U.S. must leave its only South American military installation, by order of Ecuador, its host : 11/12/09

Date on which Playgirl magazine will become an online-only publication : 11/18/08

Amount that Paris Hilton’s parents have donated to John McCain’s campaign : $4,600

Amount the co-founder of the gay dating website Manhunt has : $2,300

Number of registered users on AshleyMadison.com, a site for people who “want to explore the new infidelity” : 2,540,000

Number of scenes of or references to sex between a married couple shown during an average week of NBC programming : 1

Number showing or referencing adultery or sex with minors, respectively : 1, 1

Chances that a U.S. woman who gives birth is unmarried at the time : 2 in 5

Minimum number of children in the United States who have at least one parent in the country illegally : 5,100,000

Average number of new federal crimes that Congress creates each year : 56

Chance that a 411 call in the United States is handled by a federal prisoner : 1 in 136

Number of marijuana plants found under cultivation inside Miami’s Mall of the Americas in August : 360

Average number of hours per week that an American and a Chinese person, respectively, spend shopping : 4, 10

Number of the 77 applications to protest during the Beijing Olympics this summer that were denied : 1

Number that were withdrawn by the petitioners or suspended for incorrect paperwork : 76

Number of South Koreans pardoned by the country’s president on August 15 : 341,864

Total votes cast online last fall to decide which Thanksgiving turkeys President Bush should pardon : 27,726

Margin by which U.S. dog owners favor John McCain over Barack Obama : 43–34

Margin by which Americans would rather watch football with Obama than with McCain : 50–47

Number of free tattoos of Obama’s face given out so far by a body artist in Moore, Oklahoma : 300