Harper’s Index

Average number of new federal [Crime|crimes] that [Congress|Congress] creates each year

Date on which the U.S. must leave its only [SouthAmerica|South American] military installation, by order of [Ecuador|Ecuador], its host

Date on which Playgirl [Magazine|magazine] will become an online-only publication

Amount that Paris Hilton’s [Parenting|parents] have donated to [JohnMcCain|John McCain]’s campaign

Amount the co-founder of the [Homosexuality|gay] dating [Internet|website] [Men|Manhunt] has

Number of registered users on AshleyMadison.com, a site for people who “want to explore the new [Adultery|infidelity]‚”

Number of scenes of or references to [Sex|sex] between a [Marriage|married] couple shown during an average week of [NBC|NBC] programming

Number showing or referencing [Adultery|adultery] or [Sex|sex] with minors, respectively

Chances that a U.S. [Women|woman] who gives [Child|birth] is [Marriage|unmarried] at the time

Minimum number of [Child|children] in the United States who have at least one [Parenting|parent] in the country illegally

Portion of U.S. [Housing|subprime mortgage] buyers since 2003 who might have qualified for a prime mortgage

Chance that a 411 call in the United States is handled by a federal [Prison|prisoner]

Number of [Marijuana|marijuana] [Plants|plants] found under cultivation inside [Miami|Miami]’s Mall of the Americas in [August|August]

Average number of [Hours|hours] per week that an American and a [China|Chinese] person, respectively, spend [Shopping|shopping]

Number of the 77 applications to [FreeSpeech|protest] during the [Beijing|Beijing] [Olympics|Olympics] this [Summer|summer] that were denied

Number that were withdrawn by the petitioners or suspended for incorrect paperwork

Number of [SouthKorea|South Koreans] pardoned by the country’s president on [August|August] 15

Total votes cast online last [Fall|fall] to decide which [Thanksgiving|Thanksgiving] [TurkeyBird|turkeys] [GeorgeWBush|President Bush] should pardon

Margin by which U.S. [Dog|dog] owners favor [JohnMcCain|John McCain] over [BarackObama|Barack Obama]

Percentage of Americans in 2006 who were “not at all‚” confident that [GeorgeWBush|President Bush] had won reelection “fair and square‚”

Estimated value of U.S. economic growth lost due to the [Recession|global credit crisis]

Number of times that speakers at the [RepublicanParty|Republican] National Convention said the word “economy‚”

Number of times they referred to [GeorgeWBush|President Bush] by name

Minimum number of reporters who traveled to Wasilla, [Alaska|Alaska], in the two weeks following Sarah Palin’s selection as VP

Estimated number of votes that [Oprah|Oprah Winfrey’s] endorsement swung to [BarackObama|Barack Obama]’s primary campaign

Amount that corporate donors to both conventions have spent lobbying [Congress|Congress] since 2005

Minimum amount the U.S. government has paid [Corruption|contractors] in [MiddleEast|the Middle East] since 2003

Total value of federal small-[Business|business] [Corruption|contracts] obtained by [AfricanAmerican|Blackwater] between 2005 and 2007

Percentage of former terrorist groups worldwide that stopped operating because of military force used against them

Percentage that stopped because they had achieved their stated goals

Percentage of [Afghanistan|Afghans] who say they would support a coalition government that included the [Taliban|Taliban]

Chances that an [Israel|Israeli] [Arab|Arab] says he or she would rather live in Israel than anywhere else

Average number of [Religion|religions] practiced in each world nation

Estimated number in [PapuaNewGuinea|Papua New Guinea], which has the most

Percentage of U.S. [Doctor|doctors] who think God has the power to cure a fatally injured patient

Chance that a U.S. [RepublicanParty|conservative] today believes church leaders should be involved in politics

Chances in 2004

me “[BarackObama|Obama]‚”

Margin by which Americans would rather watch [Football|football] with [BarackObama|Obama] than with [JohnMcCain|McCain]

Number of free tattoos of [BarackObama|Obama]’s face given out so far by a body artist in Moore, [Oklahoma|Oklahoma]