In the second world war, 1.8 per cent of Americans enrolled in the services were killed in action. In Vietnam that figure dropped to 0.6 per cent and in the Gulf war to just 0.005 per cent. [Prospect, page 10]
In Yugoslavia, between 1st October 1993 and 24th January 1995, prices increased by five quadrillion per cent. This number is a 5 with 15 zeros after it. [East European Politics and Societies, Spring 1996]
Trade in American-branded goods in Arab countries has shrunk by a quarter over the past year. [The Economist, 2nd November 2002]
At the beginning of the 18th century, India's GDP was the largest in the world. [Times Online, 17th January 2003]
The word "boredom" did not exist in the English language until after 1750. [Boredom: The Literary History of a State of Mind, Patricia M Spacks, University of Chicago Press]
71 per cent of dead people in the UK are cremated-but only 5 per cent in Ireland. [Prospect, page 54]
The number of newspaper readers under 24 in Britain has shrunk by over a third since 1990. [The Economist, 8th March 2003]
Only ten of 55 Democratic senators voted to empower President Bush to use the US army in the first Gulf war in 1991. Had three or more followed the party line and voted against, Bush would have lost the Senate vote. [Washington Times, 7th March 1991]
In 1921, Britain spent more money running Iraq than on its health budget. [Empire, Channel 4]
When the Channel Tunnel opened in 1994, 15.9m Eurostar passengers were forecast. The actual number was 18 per cent of that-2.9m. In 2001, passenger numbers were 6.9m. [Megaprojects and Risk, Bent Flyvbjerg, Cambridge University Press]
