July 4, 2023, was the earth’s hottest day on record. The average surface temperature was 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit. This could lead to the Earth’s warmest year on record. [WP 7/6/23]
The following is based on the fact that I was born in 1939 …
- When I turned 60 there were 4.9 workers for every retiree.
- When and IF I turn 100 – in 2039 – there will be 2.9 workers for every retiree.
- The workforce itself is now older than ever. In 1984, people under 40 years old made up more than 60% of the workforce. As of today, that has fallen to 45% today.
[WP 7/1/23]
In 2021, the average medical student graduated with more than $200,000 in debt. [NYT 6/18/23]
Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott, who were wed near Marion, AL, spent the first night of their marriage in the guest bedroom of a funeral parlor because no local hotel would accommodate them. [NYT 5/28/23]
New Jersey’s Ocean Wind I will generate enough energy to power 380,000 homes. [Quartz Daily Brief 7/6/23]
Seattle has the most pickleball courts per capita, probably because the sport was invented on nearby Bainbridge Island in 1965. In the United States there are 250,000 tennis courts and 44,000 pickleball courts.
The top ten pickleball cities are #1 – Seattle, #2 – St. Petersburg, Fla; #3 – Lincoln, Nebraska, #4 – Honolulu, #5 – Madison, Wis, #6 – St. Paul, Minn, #7 – Plano, Texas, #8 – Omaha, Neb, #9 – Boise, Idaho, #10 – St. Louis, Missouri.
There’s now one pickle ball court for every 24,000 residents in these cities.
[Axios What’s Next 6/7/23]
Weddings grow more costly.
The average cost of a U.S. wedding ticked up from $28,000 to $29,000 from 2022 to 2023.
The average was far higher in some places including D.C. – $45,400, New Jersey – $44,219, and Massachusetts – $40,097.
40% of people who have gone to weddings in the past five years went into debt to be there. [Axios PM 5/29/23]