Here’s another collection of random facts for cocktail party and family reunion chatter:
Another war “surge”: Over 2,200 veterans under 65 died in 2008 because they lacked health insurance.
Relative importance: There are four times as many marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles as there are Starbucks.
On the job benefits: There is 1 chance in 67 that a street prostitute will be arrested by a police officer every week. There is also 1 chance in 33 that a street prostitute will have sex with a police officer every week.
Make room on the Ark: There are roughly 100,000 known venomous animals ranging from cone snails to short tailed shrews.
Look for the money: The George W. Bush presidential library raised over $100 million in the first six months of 2009.
Cap and trade: It takes approximately 10,000 automobiles to emit as much CO2 as one cargo ship.
Lie detection: Scolded dogs look and act guiltier if they are, in fact, innocent.
Signs of the times: The Vatican reported that fewer people are confessing their sins.
Same-sex marriage: States that went Republican last November accounted for eight of the 10 states with the highest divorce rates in 2006.
Maturing more quickly? In the past century marriage ages in the U.S. have dropped from 26 for males and 22 for females, to 22 for males and 20 for females. Also, more girls are now married at 18 than any time since national records were kept.
However: 47 percent of live births in the U.S. are now to unmarried women.
New maturity: 46 percent of American girls between the ages of 6 and 9 use lipstick or lip gloss.
Stereotypes: A recent poll revealed that1 out of 4 Americans believe “the Jews are to blame for the financial crisis.”.
Progress: 20 percent of Republicans now believe that socialism is better than capitalism.
Rap with Polly: Fourteen parrot species are capable of keeping time to music.
Animal rights: Goldfish have been shown to experience fear, anxiety and pain.
Farm subsidies: The U.S. pays 51 cents a gallon subsidy for ethanol and places a tariff of 54 cents on Brazilian ethanol
Foreign policy: Only three UN nations support the U.S. embargo of Cuba: Marshall Islands, Palau, Israel.
Defense/offense? China’s military budget this year – $60 billion. U.S. – $650 billion (add cost of war, nuclear research and veterans – $855 billion). We spend more than the next largest 15 nations combined.
Fired or laid off? As of April 10, nearly half (43 percent) of out-of-work Americans were ineligible for unemployment benefits.
Hope for Tea Partiers: Alzheimer’s patients who have a happy experience retain the good mood even after they can no longer remember what made them happy.
Decision making in nature: Swarming decisions in beehives are made by oligarchy (a few leaders) while flocking decisions among pigeons are made by weighted votes.
A new gerontocracy? The average age of U.S. senators is 64 this year. In 1789 it was 47.
Work for Arizona: The estimated cost to locate, process and deport all illegal immigrants in the U.S. is $285 billion.
Population control: In China there are 124 boys born for every 100 girls.
Entrepreneurial spirit: 23 percent of Chinese say they hope to start a new business within three years, versus 7 pecent percent of Americans.
Comparison shopping: Price of a black Barbie doll in a Louisiana Wal-Mart was $3; for a white Barbie, $5.93.
Evangelists are made not born: Researchers found that the earlier a child starts telling lies, the more successful he or she will be in later life.
Marriages saved: A New Jersey company is marketing a blanket that absorbs odors, especially passed gas.
Rodney Quinn, a former Maine secretary of state, lives in Gorham. He can be reached at rquinn@maine.rr.com.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
