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Answer is yes, but why do you ask? I've been thinking a lot about recycling lately. Can you tell me if the number of burials in the U.S. each year is approximately equal to the number of discarded refrigerators? Just wondering. Thanks. -- Leigh B., Sams Valley Yes, Leigh, it is. Some 2,314,729 Americans went to that big refrigerator in the sky in 1997. And while it's probably impossible to say exactly how many refrigerators were discarded, it's easy enough to do some informed guesswork. There are an estimated 91,947,410 households in the nation. According to "The World Almanac Book of Facts," about 85 percent of those households have one refrigerator, and 15 percent have two or more refrigerators. That suggests 105,739,520 refrigerators in use, not counting commercial ones and those in households with three or more fridges (presumably a small number and one we'll disregard). Assuming a refrigerator lifespan of 20 to 30 years, that means between 1/30th and 1/20th of the total will need replacing each year. But the fridge stock of 20 or 30 years ago was smaller than today's, so today's dead fridge total is probably smaller than the number 20 or 30 years from now. Additionally, a certain percentage of units in their later years are not junked but demoted to rec rooms, there to serve out their days as beer and chip dip coolers. Finally, some are consigned, along with derelict cars and pickup trucks, to the back yards of people who don't spay and neuter their pets. After you deduct for all these factors, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 2 million refrigerators are discarded each year. Hmmm. Now, what did you have in mind? (Send your questions to "Since You Asked," Mail Tribune Newsroom, P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501; or by fax to (541) 776-4376; or by e-mail to: [email protected] Please include your name, address and phone number for verification.) Today's News Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA