Skip to main content
ABC News
Significant Digits For Thursday, July 23, 2015

You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the telling numbers tucked inside the news.

5 gorings

Please stop trying to take pictures next to bison, they are wild animals with very large, very point horns. Five people have been gored by bison at Yellowstone National Park this year. It is unclear how many “likes” their pictures got on Instagram, but I feel like no matter the answer, it probably wasn’t worth getting gored by an ungulate. [National Parks Traveler]


9 cases of leprosy

Florida remains the cradle of American innovation, at least when it comes to the resurgence of generally obsolete infections that can result in disfiguring skin conditions. Armadillos are considered responsible for nine cases of leprosy in the Sunshine State. [The Daily Beast]


10:30 a.m.

The day is currently divided into two halves: 10:30 or later, a grim time of misery and toil; and the time before 10:30 a.m., when you can get breakfast at McDonald’s. According to a memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal, though, the bleakness of post-10:30 a.m. life may soon end, as McDonald’s is considering making all-day breakfast available nationwide after trials in San Diego and Nashville. [The Wall Street Journal]


5 vacated convictions

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is currently serving a 14-year prison sentence after trying to sell President Obama’s senate seat, saw five of his convictions vacated by federal judges and will get a retrial on those counts. [The Hill]


30 percent

That’s the percentage of surveyed Americans who think U.S. military action against the Islamic State group (also known as ISIS or ISIL) is going at all well. [Pew Research Center]


59 percent

That’s the current approval rating of Pope Francis in the U.S., down from 74 percent in February of last year. Among U.S. Catholics, the pontiff’s approval still stands at an all-things-considered-pretty-good 71 percent, though that is down from 89 percent in 2014. It’s unclear how this will affect the Pope in his crucial bid for reelectio- Oh, wait, public opinion literally matters nothing at all for the papacy, and I have no idea why we’re even bothering to ask this stuff. Carry on. [Gallup]


60 percent

At any given time, 60 percent of people in jails around the country are waiting on trials because they can’t afford or obtain bail. [The Takeaway via @TJRaphael]


62,000 Abercrombie & Fitch employees

There’s a class action lawsuit covering 62,000 Abercrombie & Fitch employees related to claims the company forced employees to buy its banal clothing to wear at work. [The Huffington Post]


550,000 video clips

The Associated Press is dropping 550,000 archival news video clips going back to 1895 on to YouTube. The listicle aggregation economy is going to have a field day. [Variety]


27 million dressers

Following the death of two children, IKEA announced a repair program for some 27 million chests of drawers and dressers that posed a tip-over hazard. [Consumer Product Safety Commission]


If you haven’t already, you really need to sign up for the Significant Digits newsletter — be the first to learn about the numbers behind the news.

If you see a significant digit in the wild, tweet it to me, @WaltHickey.

Walt Hickey was FiveThirtyEight’s chief culture writer.

Comments