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By The Numbers

You’re probably tweeting this article right now

Marketplace Staff Sep 30, 2015
99 cents

That’s how much author and  computer programmer Andy Weir originally charged for his e-reader book “The Martian.” When it became a best-seller, Weir quickly found himself with both a book and movie deal — the film version comes out on Friday. Using his technical background, Weir aimed to create as accurate a portrayal as he could of what it would be like to live and survive on Mars. Except, of course, where he wanted more drama. 

20

That’s about how many channels on which users of the new TiVo Bolt will be able to skip the entire commercial break of recorded shows. The device will mark the starts and ends of commercial breaks, and with the push of a button, will jump to the end of ads. As the Associated Press writes, the company hopes to avoid any lawsuits from broadcasters by leaving it up to users to turn the feature on.

70 to 80 percent

That’s how much of Canada’s certified organic mussels get shipped to the U.S. But while the seafood meets Canada’s standards to be certified organic, it’s less clear whether they would pass according to the USDA. The U.S. has been debating organic seafood measures for years, which has highlighted a major question: when it comes to the ocean, what constitutes a food being “organic”?

490 minutes

That’s how much time, on average, people now spend consuming some kind of media. That number is made up of time spent on digital media — television and internet — as well as older forms of media, like radio and newspaper. As Quartz writes, the new report by ZenithOptimedia predicts that by 2017, the global average will rise to 506 minutes. You’re probably tweeting this right now, in fact.

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