❗Let's close the gap: We still need your help to raise $40,000 by April 1. Donate now
By The Numbers

Would you rather?

Beidi Zhang Aug 21, 2015
10,000

That’s how many employees at Uniqlo’s Japan locations can opt for a three-day weekend. Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, will give the option of a four-day workweek to some of its workforce starting this fall. According to Bloomberg, about 10,000 employees at Uniqlo Japan can take a three-day weekend in exchange for 10-hour work days. If the initial rollout is a success, the fashion retailer will also consider introducing a shorter week at its corporate headquarters. 

1980s

That’s the time frame of the HBO miniseries “Show Me a Hero.” It focuses on fair housing, dramatizing what happened in Yonkers, New York, when a judge ordered it to provide affordable housing. Showrunner David Simon talks to David Brancaccio about how to best integrate communities and stop discrimination.

$200,000

That’s how much NASA granted researchers to figure out how to turn human waste into usable products, according to Quartz. Mark Blenner, Clemson University professor in the chemical and bioengineering department, is engineering yeast to produce onboard items for astronauts, including plastics and vitamins.  

20 percent

This is how much revenue dropped for John Deere from a year ago, according to the company’s third-quarter earnings report. The fortunes of the equipment manufacturer is tied to farmers, who are struggling with low grain prices; corn and soybean prices have dropped by 45 percent or more since 2012.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.