In the US, 75 per cent of boys believe they will be earning $1m a year by the time they reach 40. [The Observer, 3rd February 2002]
Based on market capitalisation, the entire American steel industry could be acquired for $7 billion. [Bloomberg News]
In Britain, 313m dinner parties and social gatherings are hosted each year. [The Observer, 3rd March 2002]
Cambridge University Press only removed the date of creation of the world (4004 BC) from its edition of the Bible in 1900. [Aeons, Martin Gorst, 4th Estate]
In 2000, 2,200 British girls aged 14 or under became pregnant. [Prospect, p13]
The average cost of getting married in Britain is ?11,725. [The Observer, 10th March 2002]
Adult "paradoxical frogs," which are found in the Amazon and Trinidad, are a third of the size of their tadpoles. [Encarta Concise English Dictionary, Bloomsbury]
The most expensive property addresses are those ending in Lane, followed by Way, Road, Avenue, Close, Street and (the cheapest) Drive. [The Observer, 17th February 2002]
In Brazil, Avon ladies, who sell make-up door-to-door, outnumber members of the military. [Washington Post, 19th February]
Slavery was legal in Saudi Arabia until the 1960s. [Prospect, p67]
Britain has overtaken Portugal in prisoners per capita to head the list of EU countries. [Martin Narey, head of the prison service]
The average age of retirement in Britain is 58. [The Observer, 10th March 2002]
There are only five world leaders who have held power longer than Malaysia's Mahathir Mohamad: Fidel Castro, Saddam Hussein, Daniel Moi, Muammar Qaddafi-and Robert Mugabe. Of these, Mahathir is the only democratically elected leader. [New York Times, 9th February 2002]
