Current Facts 10

616 not 666
Historians studying a newly discovered fragment of the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament announced that the legendary "mark of the beast" is probably 616, rather than 666.
The Week. May 13, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 207, p. 8

Telescope
Vikings, not the Dutch, first developed the telescope, archaeologists say. Magnifying lenses found on the Baltic Sea Island date some 500 years before 16th century Dutch models.
Discover, June 2005, p. 11

Lawns
Forty million acres, 2 percent of the land in the US, is covered with lawns. America's burn 800 million gallons of gasoline a year in their lawnmowers.-US News & World Report
The Week. May 20, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 208, pp. 20

Traffic Lights
Improving the timing of the nation's traffic lights could cut traffic delays by 20 percent and gas consumption by 10 percent.-USA Today.
The Week. May 6, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 206, pp. 18

TV Audience
On 19 evenings of this television season, the US network that captured the most viewers between the ages of 18 and 34, the group most coveted by advertisers, was Univision which broadcasts in Spanish.-The Washington Post
The Week. May 20, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 208, pp. 20

Newspaper
Only 23 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 read a newspaper regularly.-The Washington Post
The Week. May 6, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 206, pp. 18

Police
A New Zeland man who had insulted police by calling them "pigs" was sentenced to spend a day on a pig farm. "There is nothing at all in common with a pig and an officer," he said afterward.
The Week. May 13, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 207, p. 8

Rotting Flesh Water
Residents of Carroll Iowa found chunks of rotting flesh coming out of their taps. Officials believe an animal crawled into water main, died, and is now decomposing.
The Week. May 6, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 206, pp. 6

Dead Fly Water
A Canadian court awarded to $340,000 to a man who found a dead fly in a bottle of mineral water. Waddah Mustapha said he was so traumatized by the discovery that he lost his sense of humor, became unable to shower, and was plagued by returning nightmare which he fell face first into a ditch.
The Week. May 6, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 206, pp. 6

Credit Card
Fifty-six percent of consumers who called their credit card companies to request a lower interest rate got one, according to a recent study by MassPIRG. Such calls typically take five minutes and can save the average consumer hundreds of dollars a year.-Child
The Week. May 20, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 208, pp. 42

Weddings
The average wedding in the US now cost more than $26,000. That's a 50 percent increase since 1990.-Knight Ridder
The Week. May 6, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 206, pp. 18

Russian Ratio
Because of declining fertility rates, social chaos, rampant alcoholism, and primitive healthcare, Russia has 160 deaths for every 100 births. Its population has fallen by 5 million in a decade.-The Public Interest
The Week. May 13, 2005, Vol 5, Iss 207, p. 20