Salient

Pecking Order

By Salient | 10 Sep, 2007

Percentage of Kiwis who spend more on Mothers’ day compared with Fathers’ day: 46

Percentage of Kiwis who spend more on Fathers’ Day compared to Mothers’ Day: 2

Minutes of sleep Kiwi fathers with children aged under a year old lose compared with an average sleeper: 42

Years older that today’s newborn babies’ fathers are compared to their own fathers when they were born: 5

Ratio of husbands who say they fell in love with their spouse at first sight to wives who say this: 2:1

Percentage of newlyweds who say they had sex on the first date: 17

Estimated number of divorces per 1,000 existing marriages in New Zealand last year: 12.5

Percentage change in the amount of housework done by women after they marry for the first time: +17

Percentage change in the amount of housework done by men after they marry for the first time: -33

Percentage of Egyptian women under the age of 50 who have undergone genital mutilation: 96

Percentage of these operations that are now carried out by medical professionals: 75

Number of hours a patient with an infected shin from a mountain bike accident had to wait at North Shore hospital for a hospital bed: 30

Number of seconds that the average person can wait for an elevator before becoming visibly agitated: 40

Estimated number of standard-sized helium balloons required to lift a ten-year-old off the ground: 2,450

Percentage of the 2910 international students enrolled at VUW in 2007 that are from China: 26

Number of children’s choir members from Pink Floyd’s 1979 hit “Another Brick in the Wall” who are now seeking royalties: 1

Estimated amount each member is owed: $441.00

Average number of brand-name items requested per shopping trip by a U.S. child between the ages of four and twelve: 14

Millions of retail sales in 2001 and 2006 in N Z (respectively): 43,831; 60,079

Percentage of women who prefer shopping to sex: 52

Percentage of men who prefer sex: 93

Percentage of runners who say they think about sex while running: 66

Percentage who say they think about running while having sex: 8

Months ago that a Kiwi study found that vegans are disgusted by sex with carnivores because meat-eaters are “composed of the lives of others”: 1

Chances that a child fed “boogy”-flavored jellybeans at a trade show said they tasted like the real thing: 4 in 5

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SOURCES: 1, 2. Newmarket Business Association; 3, 4, 7, 19. http://www.stats.govt.nz/ ; 5, 6. Just Married, Andrew McMeel Publishing (Kansas City, Mo.); 8, 9. Sanjiv Gupta, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor); 10,11. El-Zanaty & Associates (Cairo); 12. New Zealand Herald 22-08-2007; 13. Otis Elevator Company (Farmington, Conn.); 14. Dale A.Syphers, Bowdoin College (Brunswick, Maine)/American Academy of Pediatrics/Harper’s magazine; 15. G. Fontanier; 16, 17. RBL Music (Edinburgh); 18. James U. McNeal, McNeal & Kids (College Station, Tex.); 20, 21. Harpers Magazine October 16 2001; 22, 23. Runner’s World(Emmaus, Pa.); 24. ABC News; 25. Litzky Public Relations (Hoboken, N.J.).