That’s the number of Americans who now describe microwave ovens as a necessity in their lives — more than double the number who said so 10 years ago and a higher percentage than those who now deem a TV essential (64%).

That’s the number of Americans who now say that the U.S. should “mind its own business internationally,” up from 34% in 2004, and just 30% in 2002.

What do Bill O’Reilly, Anderson Cooper and Jim Cramer have in common? The three cable news personalities are all hawking their own line of gifts — from varsity jackets to fitness kits to bobblehead dolls. If you’re wondering how to spend those holiday gifts of cash you may have gotten, here’s a chance to declare your loyalty in the fierce cable news wars.

That’s the number of Americans, about one-in-five, who think the economy will be better off a year from now, while 18% say it will be worse off, and most Americans (56%) say it will be about the same as now.

That’s the number of Americans who now rate the quality of the life they expect to be leading five years from now higher than their current quality of life. As recently as 2002, more than six-in-ten (61%) Americans said their future would be better than their present.

That’s the number of Americans who said in May that they were following the news about high gas prices very closely–making prices at the pump the most closely tracked of any other story, including Iraq, during 2006.

That’s the portion of registered voters who received recorded telephone messages in the final stages of the 2006 mid-term election. These so-called “robo-calls” were the second most popular way for campaigns and political activists to reach voters, trailing only direct mail as a key tool of political communication.

That’s the number of Americans who say that things will be better in the new year — though only 28% are satisfied with current national conditions.

That’s the average number of additional words in the White House press briefings given by Press Secretary Tony Snow compared with his relatively laconic predecessor Scott McClellan. As a result, the typical briefing now lasts about 10 minutes, or 30% longer than under McClellan.