If we could shrink the earth's population into a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.  There would be:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both North and South
8 Africans

52 would be female
48 would be male

70 would be non-white
30 would be white

70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian

6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth, and all 6 would be from the United States
80 would live in sub-standard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death
1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer

 

"When you consider our world in such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent"

 

Philip M Harter, M.D., FACEP
Standford University, School of Medicine

 

 

SIGNS THAT YOU HAVE HAD TOO MUCH OF THE 90'S...

 

** You try to enter your password on the microwave.

** You now think of three espressos as "getting wasted."

** You haven't played solitaire with a real deck of cards in years.

** You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

** You e-mail your son in his room to tell him that dinner is ready, and he emails you back "What's for dinner?"

** Your daughter sells Girl Scout Cookies via her web site.

** You chat several times a day with a stranger from South Africa, but you haven't spoken to your next door neighbor yet this year.

** You didn't give your valentine a card this year, but you posted one for your email buddies via a Web page.

** Every commercial on television has a web-site address at the bottom of the screen.

** You buy a computer and a week later it is out of date and now sells for half the price you paid.

** The concept of using real money, instead of credit or debit, to make a purchase is foreign to you.

** Your reason for not staying in touch with family is that they do not have e-mail addresses.

** You consider 2nd day air delivery painfully slow.

** Your idea of being organized is multiple colored post-it notes.

** You hear most of your jokes via email instead of in person.

 

THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME, RECENTLY ISSUED THIS BULLETIN:

"In light of the rising frequency of human-grizzly bear conflicts, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert for bears while in the field.

We advise outdoorsmen to wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them. We also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear.

It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear manure: Black bear manure is comparatively small and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear manure has little bells in it and smells like pepper."

Northwest Notes / 20(2) Apr.-Jun. 1999 / July 9, 1999