Over just six days in August, the Washington Post devoted 80,289 words to the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. [New Republic, 7th September 1998]
Out of Britain's six women ambassadors, none is a mother. [The Times, 10th August 1998]
Per capita, the Western Hebrides in Scotland have the highest number of graduates in Britain. [High Life, British Airways, July 1998]
In 1997, there were 5,000 "professional hits" (paid assassinations) in the US, compared with only 1,000 in 1980. The going rate for a hit is $5,000 to $10,000. [The Week]
Over the past year, Iranian football fans have vandalised more than 1,400 buses, according to an official of the state-owned bus company [The Globe and Mail, 8th September 1998]
Manchester United is estimated to have 18 per cent of England's football fans, but receives less than 10 per cent of the Premier League's television revenue. [Financial Times, 8th September 1998]
Moscow generates 36 per cent of Russia's GDP. [Strategic Comments, IISS, April 1998]
By 1996, the world's industrialised countries were consuming less oil than they did in 1978, although their economies were 40 per cent larger. [The Wilson Quarterly, Winter 1998]
Since the collapse of oil prices earlier this year, petrol prices in the US have fallen 14.5 per cent to about $1 a gallon, their lowest level ever. In Britain, prices have not dropped at all, and a gallon is about $5.30. [The Petroleum Economist]
One in every 14 Britons can expect to be seriously injured in an automobile accident in their lifetime. [The Independent, 6th September 1998]
In the US, visually impaired and blind people watch television for an average of 24 hours a week. The shows of most interest are news shows, talk shows and the shopping networks. [American Foundation for the Blind]
Paper use has risen by 40 per cent in offices which have introduced e-mail. [Atlantic Monthly, September 1998]
