In a 1930 essay, 'Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren', economist John Maynard Keynes reckoned that within a century living standards in advanced countries would be four to eight times higher. He then pictured three-hour shifts, or about 15 hours of work a week. His first prediction has roughly come true in rich countries; the second, much less so, and economists are still debating why.
That's the estimate from a WHO-led study published in The Lancet in 2024, covering the half-century since the Expanded Programme on Immunization was launched in 1974. It works out to about six lives saved every minute, mostly infants. The measles vaccine alone accounts for around 60% of those lives.
According to the World Gold Council, about 216,000 tonnes of gold have been mined in all of human history. Because gold is so dense (19.3 tonnes per cubic metre), it would fit in a cube about 22 metres on each side, roughly the height of a seven-storey building. Strikingly, about two-thirds of it has been mined since 1950.