You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the telling numbers tucked inside the news.
1.4 percent decrease
13 teams
The New York Knicks are a dumpster fire. They’re the worst thing to happen to Madison Square Garden since “Godzilla” (1998). Overhydrated toddlers study their game tape to figure out new and innovative ways to wet the bed. They’re terrible. So terrible that not only is almost every team in the NBA certainly superior to them, but the benches of 13 NBA teams are probably better than them too. [FiveThirtyEight]
22 people
In the past week, New York City police officers have appeared to sit back and ignore minor transgressions, seemingly reflecting a conflict between the city’s police department and Mayor Bill de Blasio. In a week one year ago, about 1,400 people were arrested or ticketed for jumping a turnstile in the Subway. This past week, only 22 people were. [The New York Times]
25 megabits per second
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is looking to substantially increase the definition of broadband internet — currently set at 4 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads, 1 Mbps for uploads — to 25 Mbps downstream, 3 Mbps upstream. The definition was last changed in 2010, when “broadband” meant one-20th of what it does today. [Ars Technica]
37 percent decrease
Samsung had a tough year — its operating profit fell about 37 percent in the quarter ending December 2014 compared to the quarter ending December 2013. It’s the fifth consecutive quarter of decline for the world’s top smartphone maker. [The New York Times]
219 years
Age of a time capsule opened Tuesday in Boston. The capsule was placed by Paul Revere and then-Gov. Samuel Adams. Get excited, history buffs: artifacts conservator Pam Hatchfield identified some of the box’s contents as “newspapers,” which as I understand it were fiber-based products developed by people of yore to distribute their blogs. [Boston.com]
796 deaths
According to preliminary BLS data, that’s the number of deaths from construction work in 2013. Latino workers — who are more likely to be undocumented or work for smaller employers — are at increasing risk. [Buzzfeed]
1,200 potential jurors
28,000 tons
Mass of expanded polystyrene — plastic foam — that New York City collected in a year. Beginning on July 1, food establishments in the city will be barred from using such containers. If the new ban is anything like the city’s smoking laws, there will be a ton of pushback to begin with, people will probably stop complaining about it after a while, gradually the policy will expand across the country, and 10 years from now the most dedicated New Yorkers will just take a bus to Virginia every four months to buy their take-out food containers in bulk. [The New York Times]
$100 million valuation
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CORRECTION (Jan. 8, 11:52 a.m.): An earlier version of this article misstated the year that Godzilla encountered Madison Square Garden. It was 1998, not 1999.