Numbers

By Melissa August, Amanda Bower, Val Castronovo, Randy Hartwell, Daniel Levy, Ellin Martens, Julie Rawe, Chris Taylor and Josh Tyrangiel

5,097 Number of layoffs at Internet companies in the first six months of 2000

36,177 Number of layoffs in the last six months of 2000, a 600% increase

2% Number of American high school teachers surveyed in 1988 who said the only method of birth control they promoted to students was abstinence

23% Number of teachers surveyed today who do so

281,421,906 Official population of the U.S., according to the Census Bureau, a 13.2% increase since 1990

5,578,906 Amount by which demographers underestimated on calculations less than three months ago

6,049 Rank of David Herbert Donald's biography Lincoln on Amazon.com's sales index on December 19 at 8 p.m. E.T.

297 Rank at 10 p.m. E.T. after Bill Clinton recommended it to George W. Bush in an interview on 60 Minutes II

Sources: New York Post; New York Times; Census Bureau, New York Times; Amazon.com