The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked more than 130 cities from most to least expensive, according to a survey of prices across 160 goods and services. Here’s a sampling: 1 – Singapore 2 – Paris 9 – Seoul 22 – New York City
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A Vancouver woman saw the bicycle that was stolen from her put up for sale on Craigslist. She called, met the seller, and asked for a test ride. “And then I just got on it and rode away,” said Kayla Smith.
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Jamie Fox, a 22-year-old from Great Britain with a degree in music, was given a job as a human scarecrow on a farm. Fox will make $400 a week scaring off partridges by playing an accordion, ukulele, and cowbell.
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25%: Share of the world’s population that the U.S. is legally bound to defend thanks to pacts and treaties signed with over 60 countries, according to a report from the Harvard Belfer Center.
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$6 trillion – Upper estimate of the cost to the U.S. of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan
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Reporters Without Borders ranked 180 countries on the basis of conditions for press freedom. A sampling:
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44%: Percentage of U.S. firms since 2008 that have reduced their head counts in part because of automation.
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A Florida man with a “moral opposition” to trimming the plants, grass, and weeds in his yard has racked up over $130,000 in fines. Neighbors complain that Sean Law’s unkempt lawn is an eyesore that’s driving down property values, but Law says it’s his right to grow crops on his property in a natural manner, and calls it a “blunt […]
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Colony collapse disorder, the mysterious scourge that has been killing off honeybees since 2005, has suddenly become a lot more deadly. This past winter, as many as half of all hives succumbed to the disorder—up from one third annually in recent years, and between 5 and 10 percent when hives were healthy. “It is a catastrophe in progress,” beekeeper Steve […]
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Percentage of the current U.S. debt that was accumulated during Republican presidential terms: 71
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