Gallons of molasses that spilled in Boston in 1919, killing 21 people. A new study suggests cold winter temperatures thickened the goo, making it harder to escape.
Numbers in the News
BILL STREICHER/ICON SMI/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES
Pole vaulter (See "100" below)
2.3 million
100
Percentage of track-and-field events—including the long jump and pole vault—that will now be reported using the metric system at high schools in Florida, a first in the U.S.
46.8
Percentage of words correctly identified in TV clips by a Google lip-reading program. A professional lip reader caught only 12.4%.
10
Number of months that the common swift can stay in the air without landing. The birds may sleep during glides.
8
Number of bee species recently added to the U.S. endangered species list—the first bees ever listed.
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