So figures TakeToAuction.com, a 16-month-old Internet auction intermediary that hopes to distinguish itself from other dot-coms.
The prices of pints of lager are compared on the basis of anecdotal evidence from beer-drinkers around the world, so figures are regularly updated.
It helped shape the course of the American revolution and so figures prominently in yet another fine history from Nathaniel Philbrick, who wrote "In the Heart of the Sea" (2000) and "Mayflower" (2006).
In a cramped studio apartment, measuring roughly 600 square feet, he said, "I basically took apart my bookshelves and my coat tree and got some papier-mâché and built a hundred or so figures about four feet tall".
Meters are often associated with higher water bills, but this is not so: figures suggest that having a meter also makes us more conscientious, and cuts average usage from around 160 litres a day to 135.
So figures are prepared showing how many people are likely to talk at any one time, whether it is a business or a residential section, whether the ladies of the district are inclined to be garrulous, how fast calls follow each other.
