Life expectancy for the rich and poor
Over the last three decades, the difference in average life expectancy between the poorest and richest 10 percent of Americans has grown. The rich lived 2.8 years longer than the poor in the early 1980s and 4.5 years longer in the late ’90s, and the difference has widened further since then, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
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Trouble with fractions
Nearly half of American eighth-graders cannot put three fractions in order by value. Fractions are typically introduced to students in the third grade.
The Wall Street Journal
Fast food slowdown
McDonald’s posted its slowest-ever drive-through time in 15 years in 2013—an average of 189.5 seconds from order to pickup, or roughly nine seconds longer than the industry average. Chick-fil-A customers have the longest waits, at 203.9 seconds. The fast food slowdown is largely thanks to increasingly complex recipes for fast food.
USA Today
Good news for independent bookstores
Despite competition from Amazon and chain bookstores, the number of mom-and-pop bookshops may be on the rise. The American Booksellers Association says its membership rolls have gone up every year for the past four years, from 1,401 in 2009 to 1,632 this year.
Qz.com
Apple's billions
Apple is rich. The computer-maker’s profits in 2012 dwarfed the competition, outpacing the combined net profits of Coca-Cola, Google, and IBM. The company holds $147 billion in cash reserves, or 10 percent of all non-financial corporate cash in the U.S.
TheAtlantic.com
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