- Only 28 per cent of Americans who earn over $100,000 a year are in favour of free trade. Five years ago the figure was 57 per cent. [Prospect, page 11]
- By the age of 50, the human eye lets in 20 per cent less light. [LA Times, 17th February 2004]
- In 1377, 35 per cent of English men were named John. [The Observer, 14th March 2004]
- In every US presidential election since 1950 bar one, the Republican ticket has included someone named Bush, Dole, or Nixon. [The Guardian, 10th March 2004]
- Over the past year, American share prices have made their biggest gains for 50 years. [The Economist, 13th March 2004]
- The number of people in Britain who work more than 48-hour weeks has risen from 10 per cent to 26 per cent in the last five years. [CIPD]
- In 1990 the average age of video game players was 18; now it is 29. [The Observer, 1st February 2004]
- Until the fall of Edward Shevardnadze last year, US per capita aid to Georgia was higher than to any other country in the world bar Israel. [The Nation, 16th February 2004]
- Per capita, the biggest arms exporter in the world is the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Sweden is second, Jordan third and Norway fourth. [nationmaster.com]
- The largest Chinese community in the world outside China is in San Francisco. The second largest is in Vancouver. [Prospect research]
- In the borough of Lambeth, there are more than 100 pregnancies for every 1,000 females aged 15-17. [Office for National Statistics]
- Three cast members from the 1987 action film Predator have run for the office of state governor in the US, two successfully (Arnold Schwarzenegger, California; Jesse Ventura, Minnesota) and one unsuccessfully (Sonny Landham, Kentucky). [Weekly Standard, 18th August 2003]
