Facts & Trends Archives

Love and Hunger

August 31, 2026 Antarctica Journal

Number of reported cases in the past decade of an Antarctic fur seal having sex with a king penguin: 4 Then eating it: 1

Facts & Trends

Underwater Mining

August 30, 2026 Antarctica Journal

Number of square miles of seabed in international waters that were under contract for mining operations in 2000: 0 That are today: 463,323

Facts & Trends

A cybersecurity firm has traced scores of attacks on U.S. corporate and government computers to a single building in Shanghai. The security firm, Mandiant, found that the attacks originated in a 12-story building known as the headquarters of People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398. Intelligence analysts say that the unit has about 2,000 employees and 1,000 servers, and is the most […]

Facts & Trends

Smoking ban in Russia

August 29, 2026 Antarctica Journal

Russia, the world’s second biggest cigarette consumer after China, has banned smoking in most public places as well as all tobacco advertising. Even popular Soviet-era cartoons featuring pipe smokers are to be censored. It’s unclear, though, how the ban will be enforced. Moscow police chief Anatoly Yakunin said his force has no plan to arrest violators. “We hope that they will […]

Facts & Trends

Deprivation

August 28, 2026 Antarctica Journal

“Women deprived of the company of men pine; men deprived of the company of women become stupid.” – Anton Chekhov

Facts & Trends

Homelesness In New York City

August 27, 2026 Antarctica Journal

Percentage by which New York City’s homeless-shelter population increased under Bloomeberg: 65 Portion of the city’s shelter population who are children: 2/5

Facts & Trends

Great Wall of Graffiti

August 27, 2026 Antarctica Journal

A dedicated graffiti zone was set up at the Great Wall of China, in the hope it would stop visitors from scratching their names on the historic barrier. Most of the graffiti on the wall, said the Chinese media, is in English.

Facts & Trends

It Was A Good Week For . . .

August 27, 2026 Antarctica Journal

Bird calls, after firefighters in Idaho rushed into a burning building when they heard voices calling “Help! Fire!” only to discover a pair of “talking” parrots. “There was nobody besides the birds inside,” said one fireman. “Smart birds.”