You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the telling numbers tucked inside the news.
1 Larry David
“Saturday Night Live” scored the casting coup of the year, getting Larry David to play doppelgänger and presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders in a sketch about last week’s Democratic primary debate. David’s impression was so dead-on I assume Jim Webb called NBC to ask for equal time. [YouTube]
2 super PAC events
Donald Trump may claim he doesn’t need a super PAC, but the “Make America Great Again” PAC — which like all super PACs seeks to separate rich people from lots of their money in order to elect another rich person — is still supporting his bid. And The Donald has supported the PAC: He’s appeared at at least two of its events. [The Washington Post]
39.1 percent
Canadians vote to elect a new government on Monday, and Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party is leading the polls with 39.1 percent, according to a new tracking poll. The incumbent Conservative Party has 30.5 percent. [The Guardian]
75 percent
Share of the world’s supply of maple syrup that comes from Quebec. Twenty-five Quebec residents are on trial for trying to steal $18 million in maple syrup between 2011 and 2012. [The Guardian]
95 TV markets
Number of television markets — out of about 200 — in which the Dallas Cowboys were the first or second most broadcast NFL team over the past six seasons, by far the most of any team. [FiveThirtyEight]
383 days
Scott Kelly, an astronaut participating in a long-term mission aboard the International Space Station, saw on Friday his 383rd cumulative day in space, beating the previous record held by Mike Fincke. [NASA]
400 feet
Big news (for people who care about the length of bread): There’s a new record for longest baguette. The “Guinness Book of World Records” certified that a 400-foot baguette produced by 60 French and Italian bakers is the new record holder. [The Associated Press]
10.3 million Swiss francs
Spiegel has uncovered evidence that Germany won its bid to host the 2006 World Cup, in part, through bribes. Then-Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus reportedly set up an account with 10.3 million Swiss francs to pay people off. [Spiegel]
$101 million
Combined advertising spending from two daily fantasy sports sites, FanDuel and DraftKings, between August and mid-September. About $81 million of that was DraftKings. [The Wall Street Journal]
$4.6 billion
How much money Medicare’s prescription drug program paid out in the first six months of 2015 on hepatitis C drugs. That’s much more than in the same period last year thanks to new, yet expensive, drugs to treat the liver illness. [ProPublica]
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