The Week by the Numbers: December 29, 2013 – January 4, 2014
By Matt Phifer
Almost 30 – Percent gain in the stock market in 2013
2013 was the best year on Wall Street since 1997 with investors seeing a nearly 30 percent gain on investment. It was a record-breaking year with the Dow Jones closing on highs 52 times despite various issues like the turmoil in Egypt, the Boston Marathon bombings and speculation of a change in Federal Reserve policies. The Dow Jones closed the year with a new record high of 16,576.66. The S&P 500 saw 45 new highs and went up 29.6 percent, the biggest gain in 16 years. The Nasdaq returned to a level not seen since September 2000.
1,058 – Candidates have made the short list to be part of a Mars colony
Mars One, which launched in 2011 and has the goal of beginning a colony on Mars by 2025, has narrowed its candidate list to 1,058 possible Martian colonists from over 200,000 applicants. The applicants will have to undergo rigorous tests including simulations of life on Mars as well as isolation tests in order to determine who will make the final cut. Only 24 of the 1,058 will be selected to make the mission, which Mars One hopes to accomplish in 2025.
Over 1 million – People have signed up for Obamacare
Over 1 million Americans signed up for Obamacare in the month of December, pushing the total number of enrolled citizens to roughly 1.1 million by the end of 2013. The majority of those who signed up did so in the week before the deadline to have coverage in January. The numbers still fall far short of the Obama administration’s initial projections that 3.3 million people would be signed up for healthcare through the federal and state exchanges by the end of the year.
The Week by the Numbers: December 22-28, 2013
By Matt Phifer
1 – Day extension to the deadline to sign up for Obamacare in order to be covered by January 1
On Monday December 22, the Obama Administration extended the deadline for people to sign up for Obamacare by one day to December 23. People who signed up by that date would be covered by January 1. This is the second extension to the Obamacare sign-up deadline after the original December 15 date was extended to December 22 following the issues with the HealthCare.gov rollout.
51 – Touchdowns thrown by Peyton Manning this season, a new single season NFL record
On December 21, Peyton Manning threw four touchdowns vs. the Houston Texans on his way to setting the new NFL single season passing touchdown record by one touchdown. Manning previously held the title from 2004 to 2007 when Tom Brady took the record with 50 touchdown passes. UPDATE: Peyton Manning threw four more touchdown passes in the last game of the season vs. the Oakland Raiders to finish the regular season with 55 touchdown passes.
71 Degrees – Temperature recorded in New York City’s Central Park on December 21, a new record
Sunday December 21 saw a myriad of weather across the United States including an ice storm in upstate New York and New England as well as powerful storms and tornadoes in the southeast. But in New York City and other Mid-Atlantic cities the story was the unseasonably warm weather. The weather service confirmed a high of 71 degrees in New York City’s Central Park, breaking a 1998 record of 63 degrees. It was the second straight day a record temperature was recorded in Central Park after the thermostat topped out at 65 degrees on December 20, breaking the 2011 record of 62 degrees. The warm weather was also felt in Philadelphia, where temperatures reached 68 degrees on December 21.
The Week by the Numbers: October 27-November 2, 2013
By Matt Phifer
2 Years – Amount of Time Served by Michael Jackson’s Former Doctor, Conrad Murray
Conrad Murray, who was sentenced to four years in jail for contributing to Michael Jackson’s death by prescribing him the powerful anesthetic propofal as a sleeping aid was released from jail after serving only about two years of his sentence. A change in California law allowed the duration of Murray’s incarceration to be decreased. Murray has appealed his conviction. His medical license has been revoked or suspended in three states.
6 Weeks – Extension to the Obamacare Sign-Up Deadline
The Obama administration announced that uninsured Americans will have six more weeks to sign up for Obamacare. That means that Americans will have to possess health insurance by March 31, 2014 or pay a tax for failing to be covered by health insurance. The administration admitted that it would be unfair to penalize people using the original deadline after the Healthcare.gov technical glitches that have caused problems for Americans trying to sign up for health insurance.
100 Feet – The Estimated Height of the Wave Ridden by Surfer Carlos Burle
On October 28th, Brazilian surfer Carlos Burle rode what some believe to be the largest wave ever ridden off the coast of Portugal. Burle rode a wave estimated by some to be over 100 feet. The current world record is held by Garrett McNamara, who rode a 100 foot wave off the Portuguese coast in January.
$59.7 Million – Total of Penn State’s Settlements with 26 of Jerry Sandusky’s Victims
On October 28th, Penn State University announced that it had reached settlements with 26 men who say they were sexually abused by former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky. The total of the settlements paid will be $59.7 million. Sandusky is currently serving a 30 to 60-year sentence for abusing at least 10 boys.
The Week by the Numbers: October 20-26, 2013
By Matt Phifer
$17-20 – The Initial Public Offering of Shares of Twitter
Twitter announced that it would sell about 70 million shares of the company between $17 and $20 when it IPO’d. This would raise up to $1.6 billion and value the company at $11 billion. Twitter’s modest IPO price was chosen to avoid what happened to Facebook during its IPO in May 2012 when the company’s shares fell below their offering price.
35 – World Leaders’ Calls were Monitored by the NSA
Previously classified documents released by Edward Snowden show that the NSA was monitoring the calls of 35 world leaders. According to memos, the NSA encouraged workers in agencies such as the State Department and the Defense Department to “hand over their rolodexes.” The identities of the 35 leaders are not known, but the revelation comes not long after German chancellor Angela Merkel accused the United States of tapping her cell phone.
58 – Percentage of Americans Who Support Marijuana Legalization
On October 22nd, Gallup revealed that according to its polling, 58 percent of Americans support marijuana legalization. This is the first time in the poll’s history that a majority of Americans favored marijuana legalization. That is an eight percentage point jump from just two years ago and a drastic increase from the results of Gallup’s initial poll on the issue in 1969, when only 12 percent of those questioned favored legalization. In the past year, Washington and Colorado became the first two states to legalize marijuana.
148,000 – Jobs Created in September
The Labor Department’s delayed September jobs report showed that the U.S. economy added 148,000 jobs in September. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.2 percent.
The Week by the Numbers: October 13-19, 2013
By Matt Phifer
1.5 Percent – The Estimated Increase of Government Benefits in 2014
An AP Analysis has shown that the increase in government benefits could be one of the smallest in four decades. The AP estimated that the increase for social security beneficiaries, disabled veterans and federals retirees could only be 1.5 percent. The exact increase amount will not be revealed until the Labor Department releases its September inflation report.
16 Days – Duration of the Government Shutdown
Late on the night of October 13th, Congress voted to end the government shutdown and avoid a default, which could have put the nation’s credit rating and the world economy in danger. The total time of the government shutdown was 16 days. The Republican party failed in its attempt to halt the rollout of Obamacare and now finds itself with low approval ratings just a little over one year from the 2014 midterm elections. The resolution extends federal funding for government agencies through January 15th and delays enforcement of the debt limit until February 7th.
More than 250 Million Per Year – Rate at which the NSA Collects E-Mail Address Books
Government officials and previously top-secret documents released by Edward Snowden have revealed that the NSA collects hundreds of millions of e-mail address books and buddy lists from live chat services. Based on what the documents describe as a typical daily intake, the NSA collects more than 250 million e-mail address books per year. Analysis of the data allows the NSA to map relationships and search for hidden connections. The collection takes place overseas, but senior intelligence officials told the Washington Post that the program also sweeps in the contacts of some Americans.
The Week by the Numbers: October 6-12, 2013
By Matt Phifer
13 – Fans injured by debris from an accident at the Grand Prix of Houston
Thirteen fans were injured when Dario Franchitti’s car flew into the catch fence on the last lap of October 6th’s Grand Prix of Houston, sending debris into the grandstands. Eleven of the thirteen were treated on site for minor injuries, while two were taken to a nearby hospital. Franchitti suffered two fractured vertebrae, a broken ankle and a concussion in the accident. He was released from the hospital just a few days later.
28 – Year sentence for ex-Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick
Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in prison for corruption on October 10th. U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds said the sentence was intended to send a message that corruption would not be tolerated. Prosecutors said that Kilpatrick extorted bribes from contractors who wanted contracts to do business or continue doing business in the city.
The Week by the Numbers: September 8-14, 2013
By Matt Phifer
12 – Years Since the September 11th Attacks
The 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks was marked with memorials across the country. The names of victims were read at the site of the World Trade Center while President Obama spoke at the Pentagon. On September 10th, workers broke ground on the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
17 – Grand Slam Singles Titles Won by Serena Williams
On September 8th, Serena Williams won the U.S. Open for the fifth time, marking her 17th Grand Slam singles title. She beat Victoria Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1 to secure the title. Williams is now tied with Roger Federer on the all-time Grand Slam singles title list.
$9 Billion + – Estimated Valuation of Twitter, while has filed to IPO
On Thursday, Twitter announced that it had filed paperwork to IPO. Twitter filed confidentially, which is legal for U.S. companies defined as “emerging growth companies” that meet certain criteria, including having less than $1 billion in revenue. People familiar with employees’ private sale of Twitter stock to BlackRock Inc. have estimated the company’s value at more than $9 billion.
11.7 Billion Miles – Distance Voyager 1 is from the Earth
On Thursday, NASA announced that the Voyager 1 space probe had become the first manmade object to leave the solar system. Voyager 1, which was launched in 1977, was intended as a four-year mission to Jupiter, but 36 years and 11.7 billion miles later, the little probe with one-240,000th the memory of a low-end iPhone keeps moving. After months of analyzing the plasma around the probe, NASA decided that Voyager 1 left the solar system and entered interstellar space on August 25, 2012. Voyager 1 is expected to keep sending back data until 2025.
9/11’s Impact: How 9/11 has influenced young people who were in middle school 12 years ago
By Matt Phifer
The pile of presents sat on the table untouched. No special dinner was served. Grandma and Grandpa didn’t come over to celebrate. That’s what Lauren Nugent remembers about her twelfth birthday, which happened to be on September 11, 2001.
“My birthday ceased to exist,” Nugent said as she reflected in an edit suite in 30 Rock.
Nugent, a native of Babylon, New York, is one of a group of Americans who experienced 9/11 in a unique way. As a middle school student she was old enough to realize something terrible had happened, yet was too young to fully comprehend the concepts and magnitude of the day.
But 9/11 has become an important part in the lives of young Americans such as Nugent, who will turn 24 on September 11th. For many of these young men and women their life and career choices have been influenced by that day. For Nugent, 9/11 has made her put things like family first.
September 11th has had a major impact on many young people, influencing their life and career decisions. (Photo by Matt Phifer)
“On my 21st birthday, I was a senior in college and my friends were trying to throw this huge [party],” Nugent recalled, “and I said ‘no’, I’m going to visit my dad in the hospital.”
Nugent’s father, who was recovering from knee surgery, resisted, telling his daughter to go out with her friends and have the fun she never got to have on her birthday.
“I was like ‘nope’, going into the city. I was like, ‘I’m coming to see you.’ In the back of my mind I was a little bit like, ‘if there ever were an anniversary attack and my dad was in the city and he couldn’t walk I’d want to be there,” Nugent said.
That day Nugent’s father went into cardiac arrest. She and her sister, who were the only other people in the hospital room, screamed for help. Their quick action helped save their father’s life.
“My mom said ‘had you not had those values that seeing your father is more important than going out to party on your 21st birthday, your father wouldn’t be alive.”
Andrew Catalano remembers 9/11 as one of his first days in middle school in Roslyn, New York. At the time his immediate feelings were that of confusion.
“I didn’t understand the hatred. I wasn’t able to put things into context. I didn’t understand why people would hate America. I didn’t realize what separated us from other people. I was just an 11-year-old kid,” Catalano recalled. “My biggest challenge was figuring out where my locker was and how to negotiate a day-to-day schedule let alone comprehend the biggest terrorist attack in mankind.”
Catalano remembers being told about the attack on the World Trade Center in class, then being called to the office to be told that his parents were ok.
“When I went into the office I saw through a doorway a couple of teachers watching a TV and those looks,” Catalano remembers, “It was just like this open mouth, jaw on the floor, eyes can’t believe what you’re seeing look.”
When school was let out both of Catalano’s parents met him at the bus stop, a rare occurrence since both worked fulltime. He said the rest of the night was spent watching TV coverage of the attacks with his family and various friends who visited.
“It really did change the course of my life,” Catalano says, “because I went around thinking I’m not invincible. My country is not invincible. We were susceptible to attack like anybody else. Nothing had ever happened on American soil. This was like, the first time something had happened on American soil, in New York City, that was just a few miles down the Long Island Expressway. So it definitely made me more conscious of who I am and how people perceive me and then just realizing how fragile life is that you can leave home that day. You can get hit by a car. You can get struck by lightning. Anything can happen on any day.”
Since that day Catalano has made an effort to always treat people like he will never see them again.
“I don’t want to leave on bad terms with somebody because you can really set yourself up to feel immense amounts of guilt,” Catalano says, “You’ve got to live every day like it’s your last day on Earth. And you’ve got to ask yourself, ‘am I making a positive impact on the people around me? Am I doing something that if I were to die today would I be happy with the way I lived my life?’ And if your answer to that is ‘no’, then you’re doing something wrong.”
Tyler Limeberry, a native of Easton, Pennsylvania, who was also in his first weeks of sixth grade on 9/11 answered the call to public service in response to the attack. In the years after 9/11 Limeberry became a volunteer firefighter in order to help people who have experienced catastrophic events.
“That point in time is probably that person’s worst life event,” Limeberry explains, “I like being the person that’s there to help them through that situation.”
Limeberry pursued a criminal justice degree in college and is now awaiting openings in several police departments. In January he also joined the Pennsylvania National Guard, a decision he says is a direct result of 9/11 and the wars that followed.
“I want to protect this country from enemies both foreign and domestic,” Limeberry says, “I don’t want that [9/11] to ever happen to my family.”
Andrew Hardgrove was a seventh grader in Delaware County, Ohio, who watched the first tower fall on television during study hall. Hardgrove remembers thinking “how could this happen in New York?”
“My grandma, she’s from Germany. She would tell stories about war and World War II and you know growing up in this time we had no wars,” Hardgrove recalls, “It was pretty surreal when you found out this was an attack on our nation as big as, bigger than what Pearl Harbor was.”
Hardgrove’s parents have owned a fire protection business since 1997 that provides services such as cleaning hoods and grease traps in restaurants and servicing fire extinguishers. Hardgrove says 9/11 had a big effect on his decision to join the family business aimed at preventing fires and saving lives.
“It’s the next best thing from joining the army, in my opinion,” says Hardgrove, “to kind of be able to help and prevent things from happening.”
Hardgrove admits that the fire protection industry can do nothing to prevent a terrorist attack, but he gets satisfaction knowing that he is helping others.
“What happened on that day kind of reinforced what I wanted to do,” Hardgrove says, “It’s not exactly a glamorous or money-making industry, but it’s that sense of accomplishment, that sense of help, that sense of you’re basically helping the community.”
These four young people all have had their lives changed by 9/11. None lost a direct relative, but the day impacted the decisions they’ve made and in some cases, even the careers they followed.
And as September 11 approaches again, so does another birthday for Lauren Nugent. But don’t look for her to be partying.
“I’ll just be going home for the night,” Nugent says admitting she’d feel guilty if she celebrated on the anniversary of the day that changed her life.
The Week by the Numbers: August 18-24, 2013
By Matt Phifer
3 Hours – Roughly the time that the Nasdaq was down on August 22
The Nasdaq halted trading for nearly 3 hours on Thursday due to what the Nasdaq called a “connectivity issue.” Nasdaq OMX, which runs the Nasdaq Exchange has always tried to be innovative as the “high-tech” market, but the Nasdaq has been plagued by a number of problems, including Facebook stock opening late when it was to IPO in May 2012.
35 – Number of Years Bradley Manning has been sentenced to Prison
Army Pfc. Bradley Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison, reduced a rank and dishonorably discharged from the military for leaking thousands of government documents to Wikileaks. Manning’s document release was the largest leak of classified documents in American history. Prosecutors originally requested that Manning be sentenced to 60 years in prison. The 25-year-old Manning will get credited for the time he served plus 112 days. Manning, who says he is a woman and asks to be referred to as Chelsea Manning, will be eligible for parole after serving one-third of his sentence.
40 – Number of Years After their Perfect Season that the ’72 Dolphins were honored at the White House
It had been 40 years since the 1972 Dolphins achieved a 17-0 record, the only time an NFL team has ever gone through a Super Bowl winning season unscathed. Finally, four decades later the team was recognized at the White House by President Obama. The tradition of honoring professional sports champions at the White House did not yet exist in 1972 and even if it had, the Nixon Administration was probably too preoccupied with Watergate to worry about sports champions.
300 – Metric Tons of Highly-Radioactive Water leaked from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant
Over 300 metric tons of highly radioactive water has recently leaked out of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The water is said to be radioactive enough that a person standing half a meter away would be exposed to five times the average annual global limit of radiation for nuclear workers.
340 – Hours of the Nixon Tapes Released
The final 340 hours of Nixon tapes were released by the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. These tapes include detailed conversations involving Watergate as well as conversations with future presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. The tapes also include a leadership summit with Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev in June 1973. The final release caps a 17-year release of about 3,700 secretly recorded interactions during the Nixon Administration.
The Week by the Numbers: August 11-17, 2013
By Matt Phifer
4th – Anthony Weiner’s is polling 4th in the NYC Democratic Mayoral Primary
Anthony Weiner’s post-Congress indiscretions have not helped his campaign for mayor of New York. A New York Times/Siena College poll shows Wiener fourth in the Democratic primary polls behind City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, former city comptroller Bill Thompson and public advocate Bill de Blasio. Despite the setback, Weiner vows to continue his campaign.
11 – Murders “Whitey” Bulger in which “Whitey” Bulger was found Guilty
On August 12th, James “Whitey” Bulger, the notorious gangster who ruled Boston’s underworld, was found guilty in a Boston federal court of 11 murders as well as racketeering. The 83-year-old Bulger evaded capture for 16 years after being tipped off to his imminent arrest in 1994. Bulger was discovered in June 2011 living in a seaside apartment in Santa Monica, California. Bulger’s sentencing is scheduled for November 13. He is expected to spend the rest of his life in jail.
30 – Months Jesse Jackson Jr. has been sentenced to Prison
Former congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. was sentenced to 30 months in prison in a federal court in Washington, D.C. August 14 for using $750,000 in campaign funds for personal reasons. Jackson’s wife, Sandi, was also sentenced to 12 months in prison for not reporting $580,000 of income in the couple’s tax returns. Jackson Jr., the son of former presidential candidate and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, represented Illinois’ 2nd District from 1995-2012.
123 – Age of the Oldest Man in the World?
According to Bolivia’s public records the small South American country is the home of the oldest documented person in the history of the world. Their records say that Carmelo Flores Laura is a whopping 123 years old. If this is true, that would make Flores is the oldest documented person in history. According to the Guiness Book of World Records, the oldest person in history whose age could be verified was Jeanne Calment, a French woman who lived to be 122 years, 164 days. The oldest currently living person whose age can be verified with birth documents is 115-year-old Japanese woman Misao Okawa.
The Week by the Numbers: August 4-10, 2013
By Matt Phifer
16 – Medal of Freedom honorees announced
The White House announced 16 people who will be honored with the Medal of Freedom, the highest award that can be bestowed upon a civilian. Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Arturo Sandoval, Ernie Banks and Richard Lugar will be among the 16 who receive the award, which was started 50 years ago by President John F. Kennedy.
18 – States saw significant declines in obesity among low-income preschoolers
According to a CDC report there were declines in childhood obesity among low-income preschoolers in 18 states. The states with the largest absolute decreases in obesity were in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New Jersey and South Dakota, all of which had decreases of at least one percent. The data was determined by collecting the height and weight data from 11.6 million children in federally-funded maternal and child nutrition programs.
$250 Million – The price Jeff Bezos is paying to buy The Washington Post
Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos announced on August 5th that he would be buying The Washington Post and its affiliated newspapers for $250 million. The Washington Post reported that the company’s own newspaper division lost 44 percent in its operating revenue over the past six years.
$448.4 Million – Powerball jackpot that will be split among three winners
$448.4 million will be split among three winners in the third largest jackpot in Powerball history. One ticket was sold in Minnesota, while the other two were sold in New Jersey. The winning numbers were 05, 25, 30, 58 and 59. Sixteen workers from New Jersey bought one ticket together, while Paul White, a project engineer from Ham Lake, Michigan bought the Minnesota ticket.
The Week by the Numbers: July 28 – August 3
By Matt Phifer
1 – Alabama’s Preseason Ranking in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll
The preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll was released on August 2nd and the defending champion Alabama Crimson Tide were ranked first in the country. Alabama has won three of the last four BCS National Championships.
162,000 – Jobs added in July
The July jobs numbers revealed that the economy added 162,000 jobs. More than half the jobs were in retail and the leisure and hospitality industries. The unemployment rate has dropped to 7.4 percent.
Life + 1,000 Years – Ariel Castro’s Sentence
Ariel Castro was sentenced to life plus 1,000 years in a Cleveland courtroom on August 1st. Castro plead guilty to 937 counts, including murder and kidnapping. Castro admitted to holding three women captive and raping them over a period that stretched over a decade. He fathered a child with one of them.
The Week By the Numbers: July 14-20, 2013
By Matt Phifer
7.5% – China’s Second Quarter Growth
China is the second largest economy in the world and it grew 7.5% in the second quarter over what it had the previous year. That is down from 7.7% growth from January to March. The Chinese government has set 7.5% growth as a target for all of 2013. That would mark the lowest rate of expansion in over two decades.
37 – Home Runs by Orioles slugger Chris Davis, tying the AL record at the All-Star break
Orioles first baseman Chris Davis launched his 37th home run of the season over the fences in the Orioles’ 7-4 win over the Blue Jays on July 14th. That ties Davis with Reggie Jackson for the most home runs by an American League player by the All-Star break. Jackson hit 37 home runs by the All-Star break in 1960 while playing for the Athletics. Mark McGwire holds the record for the most home runs by a player at the All-Star break with 39 in 2001.
95th – Birthday Celebrated by Nelson Mandela on July 18th
On July 18th Nelson Mandela, the former anti-Apartheid leader and President of South Africa, celebrated his 95th birthday. Mandela spent his birthday in a hospital where doctors said he was showing steady improvement from a six-week long lung infection.
5,000th – Daily Point of Light Award Presented
On July 15th, President Obama presented the 5,000th Daily Point of Light Award to Floyd Hammer and Kathy Hamilton. The two retired farm owners from Union, Iowa started a non-profit organization that delivers meals to hungry children around the United States and east Africa. The award was started by President George H.W. Bush in 1989 to recognize volunteer service.
$18-20 Billion – The likely debt of the city of Detroit
On July 18th, the city of Detroit filed for bankruptcy, making it the largest American city to ever take such a course of action. Emergency Manager Kevyn D. Orr says that the city’s debt is likely to be between $18 billion and $20 billion. Detroit has shrunk considerably in recent decades. 1.8 million people inhabited the city in 1950, but that number has dropped to 700,000.
The Week By the Numbers Two Week Extravaganza: A Star-Spangled Special
By Matt Phifer
After taking a small hiatus from The Week By the Numbers over the 4th of July holiday, I decided to return with an All-American numerical special. Enjoy!
9 – Number of U.S. Territories
In addition to the 50 states, the United States owns nine territories including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Guam and the Midway Islands.
150 – Years since the Battle of Gettysburg
Civil War re-enactors portray a cavalry battle at the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg re-enactment on July 6. (Photo by Matt Phifer)
From July 1-3, the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania commemorated the 150th anniversary of the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. There were an estimated 51,000 casualties in the battle, which is considered the turning point in the War Between the States.
237 – The Age of the United States
July 4 marked the 237th anniversary of the United States declaring its independence from Great Britain. Yet contrary to popular opinion, most of the signers of the declaration did not sign on July 4th, 1776. The only two who signed the document on that day were President of the Second Continental Congress John Hancock and Congressional Secretary Charles Thomson.
1931 – The Year the Star-Spangled Banner was named the National Anthem of the United States
The Star-Spangled Banner was originally a poem called the Defence of Fort McHenry, which was written by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key, while observing the British attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. The poem refers to the fact that after the battle the American flag or “star-spangled banner” was still waving. The tune the words were eventually put to is actually a Welsh drinking song.
Over 316 million – The Population of the United States
According to the United States Census Bureau, the population of the U.S. is over 316 million people.
The Week by the Numbers: June 16-22, 2013
By Matt Phifer
Sometimes the real story is in the numbers.
0 – Men on George Zimmerman’s Jury
Last week the six person jury was assembled for George Zimmerman’s trial in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. All six jurors are women and none of them are black. Zimmerman is accused of second-degree murder. He claims he was acting in self defense when he killed the Florida teenager. Martin’s murder set off a firestorm concerning race and Florida’s stand-your-ground law.
3 – Charges against NSA leaker Edward Snowden
Late Friday afternoon it was revealed that the Justice Department was charging NSA leaker Edward Snowden with one count of theft of government property as well as two counts under the Espionage Act, including “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.” Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Over the weekend the United States unsuccessfully tried to extradite Snowden from Hong Kong. According to the latest reports Snowden is currently in Moscow seeking asylum in Ecuador.
+13 – Tiger Woods’ U.S. Open Score, his worst 72-hole score in a major as a pro
Tiger Woods ended the U.S. Open with a final round score of 74 en route to a final score of 293, 13-over-par. Woods’ 13-over-par finish is his worst in 72 holes at a major tournament in his professional career.
14 Years – Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s New Sentence
Former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling’s was re-sentenced to 14 years in prison on Friday as part of a court-ordered reduction of his original sentence. Skilling was sentenced to 24 years in prison in 2006 for his part in the collapse of energy company Enron, but a federal appeals court vacated the original prison term in 2009, stating that the sentence was improperly applied. The re-sentencing was delayed as Skilling appealed the charges against him. In addition to his prison time, $40 million of Skilling’s earnings will be distributed to the victims of Enron’s collapse. Skilling was originally found guilty of 19 counts of conspiracy, securities fraud, insider trading and lying to auditors in trying to make Enron look like a success while the business crumbled.
Over 50 – Terrorist Attacks Thwarted by the NSA
On Tuesday, General Keith Alexander, the director of the National Security Administration, told the House Intelligence Committee that over 50 terrorist attacks had been thwarted by the two now controversial programs that monitored cell phone and internet data. Deputy FBI Director Sean Joyce revealed that one of these plots was to blow up the New York Stock Exchange.
The Week by the Numbers: June 9-15, 2013
By Matt Phifer
Sometimes the real story is in the numbers. This week is a short post, but these numbers pack a punch.
.161 – Ike Davis’ Batting Average When Demoted to the Minor Leagues
New York Met Ike Davis was demoted to the team’s Triple-A affiliate on June 9 after a dismal first portion of the season. Davis’ batting average was just .161, the worst of any player in the Major Leagues with enough at bats to qualify for a batting title. His slugging percentage against balls in the strike zone was just .333, which is down from .634 in 2012.
9,000-10,000 – The number of U.S. government requests for information from Facebook in the second half of 2012.
In the wake of the revelations that the NSA has allegedly been requesting information such as phone records, Facebook revealed in a blog post on June 14 that they received between 9,000 and 10,000 requests for information from U.S. government entities in the second half of 2012. The blog post said this ran the gamut from “things like a local sheriff trying to find a missing child, to a federal marshal tracking a fugitive, to a police department investigating an assault, to a national security official investigating a terrorist threat.” Facebook said the data requests applied to between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts. Comparatively, there are 1.1 billion active Facebook users around the globe.
The Week by the Numbers: June 2-8 , 2013
By Matt Phifer
Sometimes the real story is in the numbers and this past week had some pretty fascinating and big numbers.
2 – The Number of Countries That Coca-Cola Does Not Do Business In
On June 4 Coca-Cola opened a new bottling plant in Myanmar. The move comes after the United States lifted economic sanctions on the country, which was ruled by a military junta from 1962-2011. Now Coca-Cola does business in every country in the world except North Korea and Cuba.
2:55 PM– The Least Productive Time of Day
A survey by LondonOffices.com revealed that 2:55 PM is the least productive time of day. Many of the workers surveyed said they go on Facebook and Twitter at this time, while others begin planning their evening. In contrast, 10:26 AM was revealed as the most productive time of the day.
2.6 Miles – The Widest Tornado on Record
On June 4 the National Weather Service reported that the EF-5 tornado that struck El Reno, Oklahoma on May 31 was 2.6 miles wide, which makes it the widest twister on record. Its winds reached a staggering 295 MPH. As of June 3 the Oklahoma medical examiner’s office reported that the tornado and subsequent flooding killed 18 people, including six children, and sent another 115 people to area hospitals.
$12.5 Million – The Price Tag of Napster Co-Founder Sean Parker’s Wedding
Napster co-founder and former Facebook president Sean Parker agreed to pay $2.5 million to the California Coastal Commission on June 3 for his lavish wedding held over the weekend. According to the AP, Parker built a rustic cottage, fake ruins, waterfalls, staircases and a dance floor near the redwood forest and a stream with threatened steelhead trout, an area in which the California Coastal Commission must approve construction. The commission learned of the construction through a complaint. The total cost Parker’s wedding to Alexandra Lenas was already $10 million before the June 3 settlement. The additional $2.5 million will reportedly go to coastal conservation programs.
$33,765,000 – The World Record Price of a Persian Rug
A 17th-Century Persian rug sold for $33,765,000 to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby’s auction on June 5. The bid shattered the previous record of $9.6 million for a 17th-century rug from Iran that was sold in London in 2010. The roughly 8-by-6 foot rug sold Wednesday features swirling vines and vibrant colors. The auction company estimated that the rug would sell for between $5 million and $7 million.