Numbers

By Amanda Bower, Val Castronovo, Ling Minhua, Ellin Martens, Julie Rawe, Sora Song, Joel Stein and Josh Tyrangiel

2.3 million DVD copies of Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe as a Roman general turned slave, sold in the 10 days since its release

27 million Estimated number of slaves in the world today

14 Percent drop in lung cancer in California since the launch of an anti-smoking campaign in 1989. The number of smokers dropped 21%

2.7 Percent drop in lung cancer nationwide

20 Consecutive, full-page banner headlines in the New York Times from Nov. 8 through Nov. 21, a peacetime record for the paper

141 The all-time record, set during World War II, from Dec. 21, 1944, through May 10, 1945

57 Percentage of women in a survey who said their dream in life is to be rich

94 Percentage of male respondents who said their dream is to help humankind

Sources: DreamWorks; the American Anti-Slavery Group; CDC; Washington Post; New York Times; umbershoot.net