Two men go fishing the traditional way off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia. One new study of human ancestry used the genetic diversity of Sardinian men to determine the dates of the last common male ancestor of modern humans.
Two men go fishing the traditional way off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia. One new study of human ancestry used the genetic diversity of Sardinian men to determine the dates of the last common male ancestor of modern humans. Photo by Gianluca Dedola
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180,000-200,000 years ago: the time when humanity’s last common male ancestor likely walked Earth

28.3 mph: the speed at which Boston Dynamics’ Cheetah Robot can sprint (it is one of our 10 favorite athletic robots)

The Week In Numbers: Humanity’s Last Common Ancestor, The Birth Of NASA, And More

$300-$2,000: the money a 3-D printer could save you per year by printing household items

73,000: the number of images used to create this picture of an x-ray telescope shifting its gaze

The Week In Numbers: Humanity’s Last Common Ancestor, The Birth Of NASA, And More

X-Ray Slew Tracks

2,500: the estimated number of baseball bats that shattered in players hands in 2008 (thankfully, the U.S. Forest Service is on the case!)

White Sox at Orioles August 8, 2011

Batter Up

White Sox at Orioles August 8, 2011

112: the atomic number of the radioactive synthetic element Copernicium (see it on this beautiful periodic table, which uses no numbers or letters—only dots)

The Week In Numbers: Humanity’s Last Common Ancestor, The Birth Of NASA, And More

The Periodic Table of the Elements, by electronic structure

4.7 inches: the size of the screen on the new Google/Motorola Moto X smartphone, which is delightfully quiet

The Week In Numbers: Humanity’s Last Common Ancestor, The Birth Of NASA, And More

Motorola Moto X

8 percent: the portion of people in the UK who admit to taking creepshots of hot strangers in a recent survey

548: the number of images in a 2-minute video documenting the rover Curiosity’s first year on Mars

The Week In Numbers: Humanity’s Last Common Ancestor, The Birth Of NASA, And More

1958: the year President Eisenhower signed the bill that created NASA

The Week In Numbers: Humanity’s Last Common Ancestor, The Birth Of NASA, And More

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958