Thursday, Mar. 08, 2007

Numbers

17.8% Percentage the Chinese military budget will rise this year, to just under $45 billion, which prompted the U.S. to call for the Chinese government to be clearer about the scope and intent of its rapid arms buildup

$481.4 billion Proposed U.S. Defense Department budget for the next fiscal year; China argues it spends only a fraction of what the U.S. spends

85.5 Years of life expectancy for Japanese women in 2005, up by nearly a year from 2000 and longest in the world

33.2 Years of life expectancy for women in Swaziland, where the HIV infection rate is nearly 40% and life spans are the lowest on earth

$100 million Estimated amount that Gap, Apple and Motorola have spent on marketing the RED Campaign, launched a year ago to benefit the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

$18 million Amount the RED campaign has raised worldwide

36 Days that Jennifer Mee, a St. Petersburg, Fla., teen, suffered from constant hiccuping that stopped only when she slept

50 Times that Mee hiccuped per minute

Sources: New York Times (2); Associated Press; BBC; Advertising Age; Associated Press