Monday, Mar. 17, 2003

Numbers

64% Percentage of cities nationwide that have lost police to National Guard and military reserve call-ups

21% Percentage of cities that have lost fire fighters

26% Percentage of cities that say they are less able to provide services as a result

1.64 billion Number of movie tickets sold in 2002, the most in 45 years

$89 million Cost to produce the average movie in 2002, 14% more than in 2001

213 Baghdad's ranking in a survey of the 215 best and worst cities of the world

1 Ranking of Zurich, Switzerland, in the same survey

29% Drop in sales of Chevrolet's Silverado, a large pickup truck, during February

33% Increase in sales of Toyota's Prius, a gas-electric hybrid

500,000 Number of preventable drug side effects suffered by non-hospitalized older Americans each year

20% Percentage of drug side effects due to patients' mistakes

Sources: National League of Cities, AdAge.com Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Wall Street Journal, JAMA