You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the telling numbers tucked inside the news.
1 year
Atheist Viktor Krasnov could serve up to a year in jail in Russia after saying that there isn’t a god on the Internet. He was charged — under a controversial law — with insulting the feelings of religious believers. [The Guardian]
1.8 percent
Drop in retail sales at Barnes & Noble over the past year, which is pretty good. No, really, it’s pretty good compared to the otherwise large losses in the bookstore industry. Barnes & Noble will close around eight stores this year, which, again, is good: That’s the fewest store closings in 16 years. [The New York Times]
4th season
Just in case you did not get your fill of politics last night, the fourth season of “House of Cards” dropped today, and the reviews say it’s pretty good. Also, I have not watched any of it yet, but this has to be the last season, right? With 4 seasons, 13 episodes per seasons, that’s 52 episodes, which is also how many cards there are in a deck. This is it, yeah? [Digg]
$5 for an 8-hour block
How on Earth does Snapchat make money? It’s complicated and fascinating, based on a new report from Bloomberg Businessweek. For instance, a paid geofilter — that is, a sticker option for photos sent from a specific area — starts at $5 for an 8-hour block. Live stories can cost $100,000 per day for national campaigns, and custom lenses — which do spiffy things for animated videos — can run $450,000 and higher per day. On the other hand, you could just pay DJ Khaled to wear your product. Sounds a bit easier. [Bloomberg]
$5 to $6
Ben Carson is probably dropping out, but if he plays his cards right he could also be cashing in. According to the head of a direct mail company, Carson could rent his small donor lists for about $5 to $6 per name. [The Center for Public Integrity]
47 sads
Donald Trump tweets regularly, and a frequent opinion he has when reacting to news is that it is “sad.” Since June 2015, Trump has described 47 things as sad on Twitter. Sad! [The Washington Post]
49 percent
Share of GOP voters who would be satisfied if Donald Trump is the eventual nominee of the Republican Party, according to seven states where we have such data available. That’s pretty low. Like, somewhere between Ron Paul and Newt Gingrich as the 2012 nominee kind of low. [FiveThirtyEight]
66 percent
According to a new poll, that’s the percentage of Americans who would at least like to see the Senate have a hearing on a potential Supreme Court nominee. In related news, I would like a pony. [Business Insider]
$1.1 billion
AMC Theaters will buy Carmike Cinemas for $1.1 billion to form the largest theater chain in the world, with upwards of 6,000 locations. [The Wrap]
$2.8 billion
Sales of facial recognition equipment last year. Technology originally employed by law enforcement is being sold to retail stores in order to determine things about customers. According to MarketsandMarkets, a market research firm, sales of facial recognition gear will rise to $6.2 billion by 2020. In the U.K., 30 percent of retailers already use it. [Bloomberg]
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