Hobson's Choice

Number of identified minefields in Afghanistan:

4,235

Percentage of Afghanistan's identified minefields in agricultural and grazing lands or near irrigation systems:

90

Number of under-18s actively engaged in armed conflicts - at the last count, 36 - around the world:

300,000

Number of American teenagers carrying guns to school:

1m

Number of children excluded from state schools in the UK in 1990/1991:

2,900

Number of children excluded from state schools in the UK in 1996/1997:

12,700

Percentage of US population that would need to move to Florida for Florida's population density to equal that of Bangladesh:

50

Population of French Guyana before the Kouros Space Centre - the busiest spaceport on Earth - was built in 1968:

60,000

Population of French Guyana now:

160,000

Number of weekly newspapers published in Bhopal, India, in addition to 60 dailies:

364

Of the 70,000 books published in the US each year, percentage published by the five largest conglomerate publishers:

80

Number of leprosy patients in the US:

6,000

Number of Americans who have used Prozac:

22m

Number of miles of hot dog sausage sold annually in Blackpool:

47.5

Number of times Wembley Stadium could be returfed with the candyfloss sold annually in Blackpool:

4

Number of pregnancies worldwide, which have been attributed to Ripley's fertility statues, on display in Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium in Blackpool:

455

SOURCES: THE SPIRIT, AMNESTY UK, THE GUARDIAN, TIMES EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT, BANKER TO THE POOR, MOHAMMAD YUNUS, FOCUS, OUTLOOK, NEW PRESS, LIFE, HARPER'S, MANAGEMENT TODAY, THE ECONOMIST,

BLACKPOOL PLEASURE BEACH, TIMES

EDUCATIONAL SUPPLEMENT.