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Significant Digits For Thursday, April 2, 2015

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7 percent easier

We’re that much closer to Ironman: a lightweight exoskeleton has been developed that reduces by 7 percent the amount of energy it takes to walk. [Fusion]


10 percent of revenues

The European Union is reportedly going to initiate an anti-trust suit against Google. Should the European Commission find fault with the company, Google could be fined up to 10 percent of revenue — more than $6 billion, judging by Google’s revenue last year. [Business Insider]

11 convictions

Eleven teachers and administrators from the Atlanta school system were convicted on racketeering charges after faking standardized test results in order to get bonuses or keep their jobs. The educators were accused of feeding answers and correcting the exams. [Associated Press]


25 percent reduction

California Gov. Jerry Brown has instituted mandatory water restrictions for the state, with an executive order that cuts water use by 25 percent reduction and requires new homes have efficient irrigation systems. [Bloomberg Business]


$99

That’s the reported cost to watch the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight on HD pay-per-view on May 2, which is the highest price for such an event. The highly awaited fight — between arguably the two best boxers of their generation — will also stream in standard definition for only $89 if you feel like watching history on a mediocre stream. [Wall Street Journal]

25,000+ fighters

Experts working for the United Nations estimated that more than 25,000 people have left their home countries to join the Islamic State as fighters. [Associated Press]

316,600 people over 100

As of 2012, there were an estimated 316,600 people who were older than 100 years old still alive. The world’s oldest person just died, and there are now only four people still alive who were born before 1900. [BBC]


$1 million

Sen. Robert Menendez, who represents the greatest state of New Jersey, was indicted by a grand jury on 14 counts including bribery and conspiracy. The senator allegedly accepted over $1 million in gifts from a Dr. Salomon Melgen. [Associated Press]


$5.4 million in illicit profits

The federal government is suing Kraft Foods and Mondelez — which used to be a single company — for violating commodity trading rules. The company allegedly made large purchases in wheat futures in 2011 with the intent to convince sellers it would require less in the future, driving the price down. The company made $5.4 million from the trading. [New York Times Dealbook]

30 million pairs of Crocs

Crocs might be making a comeback. The company is restructuring with fewer styles and stores and a larger emphasis on the core clog. Last year 30 million pairs were sold. A cursory survey of tourists in Times Square last night convinced me this must be an underestimation. [Bloomberg Business]


Our long national nightmare is over: happy day after April Fools’ day. Together, let’s learn to trust again.

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And, as always, if you see a significant digit in the wild, tweet it to me @WaltHickey.

Walt Hickey was FiveThirtyEight’s chief culture writer.

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