Uncle Sam Plays His Own Version of Trivia Game

WASHINGTON — How many cars are there in the United States? What percentage of state prison inmates never finished high school? Where do you find such facts? Has the government got a book for you!

To the delight of statisticians and trivia fans alike, the government is publishing the 109th annual edition of the Statistical Abstract of the United States.

The book’s 984 pages contain 1,450 charts and tables giving details about business, society, economics and other aspects of American life.

For example:

There were 135.4 million cars in the United States as of 1986, one for every 1.8 persons. Japan had one car per 4.2 people, while in China there were 1,374 people per car.

There were 841.4 million credit cards in use in 1987, more than three cards for every man, woman and child in the country.

There were 1,441 heart transplants in 1987, up from just 62 in 1981.

The United States was home to 10.3 million milk cows, 10.7 million sheep and lambs, and 53 million hogs and pigs in 1988.

Sales of personal computers increased 651% from 1981 to 1987.

There were 38.7 million cable television subscribers in 1986, at an average monthly fee of $11.09.

A profile of state prison inmates shows that 96% are male; 54% have never been married; 62% failed to finish high school and 31% were unemployed at the time of their arrest.

Women make 5.1 visits to their doctor annually, compared to 4.8 for men. Women also go to the dentist more, 1.7 visits, compared to 1.4 for men.

New single-family homes averaged 1,755 square feet of space in 1987, up from 1,595 in 1980.