BY THE NUMBERS

By The Numbers, a look at what’s in the news . . . by the numbers. These are just numbers, not suggestions that they mean more or less than what they are. We do not suggest that one number is connected to another. These are simply facts with no extraneous details, bias or slanted reporting. To borrow (and perhaps mangle a bit) a quote from legendary fictional detective Joe Friday, it’s just the numbers, ma’am!

Summer is almost here – and so this week we visit our favorite season.

10:42 p.m.

The summer solstice in the northern hemisphere occurs at 10:42 p.m. our time this Friday, June 20. For those really keeping track, that happens on Saturday, June 21 at 2:42 UTC.

20-27 percent

Educators call it the summer slide – a phenomenon suggesting students might forget about 20 to 27 percent of what they learned over the course of the school year. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons summer breaks have gotten shorter?

93

Yes, we think it’s not enough but there are 93 days in summer. It all comes to an end – sadly – at the autumnal equinox which takes place on Sept. 22.

36

According to Rolling Stone magazine, 36 summer movies will be released this summer. That’s almost three a week. And hey, when it’s really hot, movie theater air-conditioning feels pretty good!

76

That’s the average temperature for the summer in the great Hoosier state. The average high is 85 and the average low 66. Any other Boomers remember when we were kids and summer days reached 90 and sometimes 100. What is this global warming thing anyways?

284

Remember summer vacations when we all piled in the family station wagon and went to see some part of America? Well, according to our friendly AI bot, the average family will drive 284 miles one way for a summer vacation now.

$3.14

The smart folks at the U.S. Energy Information Administration predict the average price of a gallon of gas will be $3.14 this summer – which is well below last year’s average of $3.30.