Facts & Trends
THE FASTEST TRAINS
A magnetic levitation passenger train set a world speed record of 375 m.p.h. (603 km/h) on a test track in Japan on April 21. Here are top operating speeds, in miles per hour, of some of the world’s other fastest ...
Kilowatts of Energy Used in Ethiopia and the U.S.
Kilowatt-hours of energy used each year by the average Ethiopian citizen: 52 By the average U.S. refrigerator: 454 ...
Anger at Pope’s Mention of Armenian Genocide
Turkish leaders reacted with outrage this week after Pope Francis referred to the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as “the first genocide of the 20th century.” Turkey recalled its Vatican envoy, and President Recep ...
Obese Americans
American men are weighing in at an average of 196 pounds—16 pounds more than in 1990, a new Gallup survey has found.The average weight for women jumped 14 pounds—to 156 pounds— over the same period. Gallup estimates 62 percent of ...
Women Prisoners Who Are Mothers
Percentage of U.S. women prisoners who are mothers of young children: 61 ...
Airlines And The Arctic
Minimum percentage of Arctic warming that has been caused by commercial airline emissions: 10 ...
Things Are Getting Heavy
Mississippi has overtaken West Virginia as the fattest state in the union, with an obesity rate of 35.4 percent. Montana had the lowest obesity rate—19.6 percent ...
FISH MIGRATION
Fish flee existing habitats in search of better ones. Atlantic sea bass, for example, are migrating north to cooler waters—but the heat will chase them there ...
Something Fishy Going On
A Chinese fishmonger found a 3-pound live bomb inside a squid he was cutting up. Police took the squid away and blew it up in a controlled explosion ...
