CIA
27%
Percentage of CIA recruits offered positions as undercover agents this year who are minorities, a record high; in 2006, only 13% of the recruits were nonwhite
5%
Percentage of the current undercover force that is of Asian–including Middle Eastern–descent
PLANE CRASHES
65%
Percentage decrease in the rate of fatal accidents on U.S. flights over the past decade; the rate is now 1 per 4.5 million flights
7
Number of crashes worldwide this year–none in the U.S.–that have killed more than 20 people
WORLD RECORDS
7.4
Weight in tons of a Guinness-record-breaking vegetable salad made in Pulpí, Spain; the previous record was a 3.6-ton potato salad made in Latvia in 2002
3
Number of hours it took 20 cooks to prepare the salad in a container that measured 59 ft. by 15.7 ft.
CHILDREN’S HEALTH
3
Number of hours of dead airtime broadcast on Nickelodeon on Sept. 29 as part of an effort to encourage kids to exercise. The average American child watches four hours of TV a day
9 million
Number of U.S. children older than 6 who are obese, a measure that has tripled among 6-to-11-year-olds over the past 30 years
Sources: USA Today (2); New York Times (2); BBC (2); AP; Institute of Medicine
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Cybersecurity Experts Are Sounding the Alarm on DOGE
- Meet the 2025 Women of the Year
- The Harsh Truth About Disability Inclusion
- Why Do More Young Adults Have Cancer?
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Michelle Zauner Stares Down the Darkness
Contact us at letters@time.com