U.S. STATISTICS GIVE DETAILS OF ALL KINDS, BOTH GOOD AND BAD

A. The story of America's facts and figures, compiled in the 115th edition, including 1,512 charts, graphs and tables, all in more than 1,000 pages.

Q. What is the "Statistical Abstract of the United States"?

Very likely, this dense publication of every imaginable statistic is the source of a good many answers and questions and the popular television show, "Jeopardy." The latest version of the "Statistical Abstract" -- the first one was published by the government in 1873 -- has interesting facts, sobering data and some information that should cause consternation.

For example, an interesting fact: In 1980, just a scant 15 years ago, the sales of lottery tickets in the United States totaled $2.3 billion. By last year the lottery sales total had grown more than tenfold to $28.5 billion.

Or a sobering statistic: Of all reportable diseases, the largest number was for AIDS cases. There were 103,691 new cases reported in 1993. The second-highest number of was for aseptic meningitis: 12,848.

Or information that should worry most Americans: In 1992, there were 6.4 million pregnancies in this country. Sadly, there were only 4 million births. According to the "Statistical Abstract," there were 1.5 million abortions that same year. The rest were miscarriages. Almost one out of every four pregnancies in America ended in abortion that year.

Although the "Statistical Abstract" is brimming with curious data, there isn't a lot of explanation. For example, this year's edition says that in 1992 there were 400,000 injuries involving beds, mattresses and pillows. Figure that one out.

This was nearly 10 times more than the numbers of injuries -- 44,000 involving cleaning agents. The most injuries involved stairs, ramps, landings or floors, a total of 1.8 million in the same year.

In leafing through the thousands of entries, readers of the "Statistical Abstract" are likely to run across all sorts of interesting items: 34 percent of Americans born before 1969 have tried marijuana, but only 3 percent in that age group are current users. Or this: 8 percent of all American households have herb gardens. Now there is a real conversation starter.

The information contained in the "Statistical Abstract" comes from a variety of sources, mostly government reports that are required by some law or maintained as a matter of public record.

But who uses this information? The "Statistical Abstract" is on the must-read lists of public officials, analysts, educators, librarians, researchers and students.

And one other group. The very curious. Anyone who wants to stump friends and associates with little-known information, the "Statistical Abstract" is the best source around.

It also is a good book to keep on the night stand, just in case insomnia strikes.