For 50 years--1920 to 1970--annual garlic consumption in the U.S. languished at a measly half a pound per person.

FORBES: Next Step For Garlic Lovers? Connoisseurship

Kenya, less than half as rich per person as Pakistan, has a schooling system rated three times better.

ECONOMIST: No school, no future

On the one hand comes greatly increased space: the typical American dwelling now has two rooms per person, double Europe's level or America's half a century ago.

ECONOMIST: The economy