Fact of the Day

An average of 105 snow storms occur in the continental United States each year.
Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center

The prevalence of obesity among U.S. adult males was 32.2 percent in 2007-2008; it was 35.5 percent among females.
Source: Journal of the American Medical Association

In a quarter of the land in the Northern Hemisphere, there’s an underground layer that is frozen all year long.
Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center

Permafrost is ground that remains frozen for at least two consecutive years.
Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center

December 2009 set a record for the greatest snow extent over North America in the 44-year history of snow cover maps produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Source: NOAA

The percentage of non-elderly persons in the U.S. with private health insurance was 79 percent in 1968; it remained around that level until 1980, and then dropped to 67 percent by 2007.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

In a 2009 survey, 6 percent of adults under age 65 said they had requested a refill of a prescription via the Internet and 3 percent said they had made a medical appointment online.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

In a 2009 survey, half (51 percent) of adults under age 65 said they had used the Internet to look up health information during the previous 12 months.
Source: National Center for Health Statistics

The Groundhog Day tradition was brought to the United States by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania, and it has its roots in the Christian Candlemas Day.
Source: Punxsutawney Groundhog Club

Oxfam International, founded in 1995 by nongovernmental groups, has 13 member organizations based in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Ireland, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Quebec, Spain and the United States.

Source: Oxfam International