You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the telling numbers tucked inside the news. To receive this newsletter in your inbox, subscribe.
12
Ever wonder what the Madden rating would be if an average schlub off the street played in the NFL? I did, and I also happen to be an average schlub off the street. The answer, in my case, was 12 out of 99. [FiveThirtyEight]
22 percent
Despite (or perhaps because of) allegations that Bill O’Reilly may have misrepresented reporting he did in Argentina, the ratings for his show “The O’Reilly Factor” were up 22 percent in February, making it the top cable news show for 171 consecutive months. [AdWeek]
30 percent
Federal funding comprised 30 percent of state revenues in the 2013 fiscal year, down from 35.5 percent in fiscal year 2010. [The Washington Post]
52 percent
52 percent of Obamacare enrollees paying their taxes through H&R Block had to pay back some of their tax credit, with $530 on average being paid back to the government because their subsidies were too high. [H&R Block]
1,500 miles
The Port Authority is considering dropping a rule that limits flights out of LaGuardia Airport to fewer than 1,500 miles. This would open up the airport to flights to the west coast, and is favored by stakeholders like Delta Airlines who use the dumpster fire of a transit facility for flights out of New York. [The Wall Street Journal]
80,000 seats
The California city Inglewood approved plans to build an 80,000-seat NFL stadium at the cost of $1.86 billion. [Los Angeles Times]
$4.8 million
Lots of disclosures on this simple bit of news: Disney* will drop the Boy Scouts of America** from its Voluntears program*** in 2015. This means the company won’t match or donate to the BSA because of its anti-gay policies. In 2010, Disney gave $4.8 million to the scouts. [Boing Boing]
* Disney owns FiveThirtyEight by the transitive property.
** I was in the Boy Scouts for years.
*** A program I have not taken advantage of, but could.
$20 million
RadioShack, which has filed for bankruptcy, will attempt to sell its milquetoast and uninspiring name and trademarks. Bids for the brand’s name begin at $20 million, a price I assume was set by someone who has never asked an average American how she feels about “RadioShack.” [Bloomberg Business]
$23,581,250
Fines issued by speeding cameras in the city of New York in 2014. [WNYC]
12 billion suns
A giant black hole has been discovered, reportedly with the mass of 12 billion suns. I just re-watched “Interstellar” so this seems like the kind of thing that could lead to a real emotional revelation for whoever’s lucky enough to go near it. [National Geographic]
If you haven’t already, you really need to sign up for the newsletter to be the first to learn about the numbers behind the news. I finally did, and since then I’ve lost 5 pounds, slept better and felt more confident at work. Results not guaranteed.
And, as always, if you see a significant digit in the wild, tweet it to me @WaltHickey.