You’re reading Significant Digits, a daily digest of the numbers tucked inside the news.
2.3 televisions
Average number of televisions in American homes in the year 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which is down from 2.6 in 2009. The percentage of household units that do not own a television is 2.6 percent, double the rate in 2009. [EIA.gov]
$2.99
Papa John’s pizza is testing a $2.99 fee that will let you cut to the front of line when ordering delivery. Just when you thought you could simply eat a pizza without confronting the fundamental class struggle inherent in capitalist society. [The Associated Press]
$3.75 per mile and $0.65 per minute
Current charge for Uber black car service in San Francisco, down from the ride hailing service’s prices of $4.90 per mile or $1.25 per minute in 2012. This has ticked drivers off, as seen in a leaked video of Uber’s CEO having a testy argument with his Uber driver over the company’s business practices. [Bloomberg]
4.3 percent
That’s the unemployment rate in Denmark, a number so low that Danish companies cannot find skilled laborers to hire even though they’re desperate to do just that. [The New York Times]
$35 per month
YouTube is making a bundle of television channels available for the price of $35 per month. The bundle includes broadcast networks along with “ESPN, ESPN2, Fox News Channel, CBNC, MSNBC, USA, FX, Disney Channel, Bravo, E!, and National Geographic” and 10 local sports channels. [Variety]
$60 million
An unemployed man attempting to sell a book appears to have landed a smashing deal: Penguin Random House won the auction for the memoirs of recent government employee Barack Obama. The bid for the global rights to two books by the former president and first lady reportedly reached more than $60 million. [CNN Money]
If you see a significant digit in the wild, send it to @WaltHickey.