Stats of the day

From The Prize:

By 1929, 78 percent of the world's autos were in America. That same year, there were five people for each motor vehicle in the United States, compared to 30 people per vehicle in England and 33 in France, 102 people per vehicle in Germany, 702 in Japan, and 6,130 per vehicle in the Soviet Union.

I don't think this lack of consumption by other countries is due to high-minded environmentalism either. Also found this interesting:

Of the 184 member of the [Venezuelan] in the mid-1890s, at least 112 managed to claim the rank of general.

Yikes.