You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the telling numbers tucked inside the news.
7 events
In light of the effects of the controversial North Carolina legislation that removes protections for transgender people from local ordinances and forces people to use the restroom of the gender they were designated at birth, the NCAA will move seven planned events from North Carolina in 2016-17. The state Republican Party, which pushed the bill through, did not take it well. [NCAA]
13 games
Week 1 of the NFL saw 13 of 16 games decided by fewer than 10 points, tying the single-week record. True to form, two paragons of victory (the Los Angeles Rams and the Washington Football Team That Really Plays In Maryland) let us down, each getting destroyed Monday night and ensuring that we didn’t break the record. [FiveThirtyEight]
2,560 measurements
A comprehensive study that involved dropping a lot of food found that the five-second rule is not real and that bacteria instantaneously hop onto your food when they contact it. [Medical News Today]
3,028
Number of people shot in Chicago so far this year. In 2015, there were 2,980 total. [Chicago Tribune]
15.1 million viewers
Number of viewers in the U.K. who tuned in to watch last year’s finale of “The Great British Bake Off,” a delightful program that is the most-watched show in Britain. On Monday, the BBC, which broadcast the show, lost the rights to Channel 4. More people watched that finale than watched the Olympics on the BBC. I want to know two things, people: Does this mess with America getting to see more “The Great British Bake Off,” and also what the hell is fondant? Mary Berry never cleared that up. [Variety]
287,176,547
Nelly did not pay some taxes and owes the federal government $2,412,283. Not paying taxes is a poor financial plan in general. But! Fans of the rapper are doing literally the least they can do and are streaming “Hot in Herre” on repeat from streaming services. By Spin’s estimation, at the most lucrative option of $0.0084 per stream, fans will need to play the song at least 287,176,547 times to get him back in the government’s good graces. [Spin]
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