Numbers: Apr. 3, 2006 | TIME

Publish date: 2024-08-21

DEPARTMENT

March 26, 2006 12:00 AM EST

$2,423 Average tax refund so far this year, up 4% from 2005, an increase that the IRS attributes to overwithholding from paychecks

$10 billion Amount overwithheld by Americans annually, effectively giving the government an interest-free loan

39 Most common length of pregnancies, in weeks, for U.S. mothers who gave birth in 2002–the most recent year for which data are available–compared with 40 weeks in 1992

21% Decline from 1992 to 2002 in the number of U.S. babies born late

30 million Bags lost by airlines globally in 2005–a record high–of which 240,000 were never returned to their owners

$2.5 billion Amount airlines spent returning lost luggage to its owners last year, up from $1.6 billion in 2004

5% Tax on disposable wooden chopsticks in China under a timber-conservation law that takes effect April 1

45 billion Pairs of disposable chopsticks the Chinese use each year

Sources: USA Today (2); March of Dimes (2); USA Today (2); National Geographic News (2)

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