Facts & Trends

15,654 - Total known land area, in square miles (40,544 sq km), of U.S. nuclear-weapon bases and facilities 2 - Minimum number of people required to authorize a U.S. nuclear attack ...

The graduating class of 2015 is the most indebted in history, owing a total of $56 billion in student loans.  About 71 percent of college students graduating this year took out loans, at an average of $35,051 each.  In 1996, ...

"We can't end terrorism any more than we can end crime in general.  But I look forward to the day when an act of terrorism by self proclaimed Muslims will be universally dismissed as nothing more than a criminal attack ...

Percentage increase since 1960 in the average weight of a farm-raised U.S. turkey: 72 ...

A homeless man suffering a medical emergency in Washington state attached a note to his dog and sent it for help. Not long after, a local resident found the dog walking along some railroad tracks, read the note, and dialed ...

A British woman has abstained from smiling for the last 40 years in an extreme attempt to ward off wrinkles.  Tess Christian, 50, told the Daily Mail that she adopted a permanent poker face as a child to prevent laughter ...

A solar-powered airplane landed in India on March 10, completing the second leg of its bid to become the first aircraft to circle the world by solar energy alone. Solar Impulse 2, which launched in Abu Dhabi, will make 12 ...

The species of bacteria that dominate our guts may strongly affect whether we’re thin or fat. Researchers at Washington University collected samples of gut bacteria from pairs of twins in which one was obese and the other thin. Then they ...

Some addicts hooked on opioids such as OxyContin and Percocet turn to heroin when they lose access to prescription pills. Heroin, far cheaper than pills, is available through networks that source it from Mexico and Colombia ...

The odds are 1 in 4 million that you’ll be on a bridge when it collapses at some time during your life ...