Welcome to Significant Digits, a daily digest of the telling numbers tucked inside the news.
2 identical testimonies
Two expert witnesses submitted identical testimony to a House subcommittee hearing on an Obama administration proposal aimed at reducing prescription drug costs. The two witnesses belong to separate interest groups that both oppose the administration’s proposal but that happen to be represented by the same a lobbying firm. [The Huffington Post]
8 a.m.
Listen, we try to avoid New York naval-gazing here in Significant Digits, but this story is just so personally consequential that I can’t leave it out. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed legislation that would allow alcohol to be sold in bars and restaurants before noon on Sundays. The current setup really cramps my brunch game. The proposal would permit restaurants to start serving liquor at 8 a.m. That would be a huge win: Once Sunday matches the rest of the week, there will be only four hours each day, from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m., that I cannot be holed up in a bar. [New York Daily News]
52.9 percent
Probability that a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals will be able to redeem a Papa John’s pizza discount after any given game (all it takes is a Cardinals win). That’s thanks to the close promotional relationship Major League Baseball has formed with Papa John’s. Still, Atlanta Braves fans aren’t so lucky; they follow a team with a mere 7.7 percent chance of getting six runs in a game, the trigger for the Papa John’s discount there. The New York Yankees are using the same promotion as Atlanta, but a Yankees fan has a 14.4 percent chance to win the discount each game — of course, presumably they have enough self-respect as New Yorkers not to eat Papa John’s pizza. [FiveThirtyEight]
75 stores
The Gap will close roughly 75 Old Navy and Banana Republic stores, mainly retail shops overseas. Sales fell 6 percent in the first quarter compared to last year. [The Washington Post]
107 hours
That’s how long Portugal ran its electricity system with renewable energy — solar, wind and hydroelectric, exclusively— last week. That’s more than four days. [The Guardian]
511 million pre-cut apples
Want your kids to eat more apples? Just cut them up. A new study found that the share of kids who ate at least half an apple as part of their school lunch was “70 percent higher at schools that served sliced apples.” Americans generally — not just school kids — consumed 511 million pre-cut apples in 2014, a new high. [The Washington Post]
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