In the US, more students learn Latin than Russian, Japanese, Italian, Mandarin and Cantonese combined. [Prospect research]
The Metropolitan Police bill for overtime on Millennium night is expected to be over ?12m. [The Observer, 10th January 1999]
China has increased its estimate of Chinese killed in the second world war from 10m to 35m. The figure for people killed in the Rape of Nanking has risen from 42,000 to 300,000. [Foreign Affairs, November/December 1998]
In Britain in 1981, 66 per cent of men and 61 per cent of women were married. By 2011 the proportions are expected to be 48 per cent and 47 per cent. [Government Actuary's Department]
While filming his forthcoming Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick shot 96 takes of Tom Cruise walking through a door.[BBC Radio 3]
Sixteen per cent of Europeans have to sleep with more than 40 decibels in their bedrooms. [Resurgence, January/February 1999]
In Britain, 50 per cent of university students are over 25. [Britain 1999, Office for National Statistics]
One in four Britons has bought something on the internet. [Continental Research Internet Report 1998-99]
The Simpsons, Sky's most popular non-sporting programme, attracts less than 750,000 viewers. An old Avengers on Channel 4 will attract over 1m viewers and the BBC's EastEnders over 10m. [Guardian Media Guide 1999]
In Britain, less than 1 per cent of death certificates list old age as the cause of death. [Time of our Lives, Tom Kirkwood]
In Russia 100 years ago, 56 per cent of 16-year-olds would live to the age of 60, compared to 54 per cent today. [Atlantic Monthly, January 1999]
