Numbers

By Melissa August, Val Castronovo, Fiona Carruthers, Matthew Cooper, Daniel Levy, Ellin Martens, Julie Rawe and Josh Tyrangiel

$66 million Total spent by former G.O.P. presidential candidate Steve Forbes--give or take a few million--on his 1996 and 2000 campaigns

$48 million Total campaign costs of the 342 G.O.P. candidates who ran for House seats in 1998

$1.66 Average retail price per gallon of heating oil--nearly double the price from last winter

4,300,000 Rollback in barrel production implemented last winter by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

1,083 Average 1999 SAT score of test takers who identified themselves as home schooled

1,016 National average SAT score of test takers in 1999

1,680,000 Average daily visitors to eBay.com

20,000 Estimated number of people who say they derive their income from auctioning items on eBay

Sources: A.P.; USA Today; Wall Street Journal; New York Times; USA Today