The Last Gasp

Weight of vending machine that toppled over, killing Bishop's University student trying to rock a drink loose: 418 kg

Number of deaths caused by toppling-over vending machines in past 20 years: 35

Injuries: 140

Number of African elephants in 1930: between 5 and 10 million

In 1989: 600 000

Number of elephants in captivity in the US: 624

In Canada: 45

Proportion of Canadians who admit to having secretly clipped flowers

from a public or neighbour's garden: 17%

Proportion of hits made with wooden baseball bats in which the ball's speed breaks 100 km/h: 2%.

Proportion of hits made with aluminum bats in which ball speed exceeds 160 km/h: 37%

Number of asteroids in our solar system bigger than 1 km in diameter, the minimum size posing a catastrophic risk to humans: 700 000

Odds the earth will experience a catastrophic collision with an asteroid over the next century: 1 in 5000

Number of people known to have attempted trip over Niagara Falls with safety device such as a barrel: 15

Survivors: 5

Number of people to have survived a deliberate plunge over Niagara Falls without a safety device: 1

Rate at which water rushes over Niagara Falls: 568 000 L/second

Total annual grocery purchases in North America: $500 billion

Purchases of grocery items with reduced fat, salt or sugar: $5 billion

Tonnes of salt produced annually in Canada: 12.5 million

Tonnes of salt spread annually on country's highways, roads and sidewalks: 5 million

Work-related fatalities in Canada, 1999: 835

In 2001: 920

Percentage increase: 10.2

Amount spent annually by insurance companies to help Canadians recover from soft-tissue injuries resulting from car accidents: $4 billion

Proportion by which neck injuries that could be reduced if automobile headrests were adjusted properly: 40%

Number of Canadians licensed to conduct exhibition fireworks demonstrations: 16 500

Number of fireworks-related injuries sustained by Canadian children between 1990 and 1998: 175

Proportion sustained by males: 77%

Proportion of injuries requiring admission to hospital: 12.6%

Number of people working as truck drivers, Canada's most common occupation: 263 000

Proportion who are female: 3%

Average length of time required for a solar eruption to cover the 150 million km separating sun from earth: 48 to 72 hours

Length of time required for the Oct. 30, 2003, solar eruption to reach earth: 19 hours

Proportion of Chinese who rate their country's economy as good to very good: 82%

Proportion of Japanese who rate their country's economy as good to very good: 2%

Number of Canadian adults who access the Internet from home: 15.1 million (63.1%)

Of Canadian adults who access the Internet from home, the proportion with a high-speed connection: 48%

Number of square km of the Brazilian Amazon rain forest lost to deforestation in 2001: 25 500

Proportion of deforested land in Brazil used to create cattle ranches: 80%

Average annual rainfall in the Brazilian Amazon: 2500 mm

In London, England: 610 mm

Average annual rainfall in Vancouver: 1155 mm